Progressive Christian college students hope to reorganize a movement that propelled young adults into pro-civil rights and anti-war activities before it was disbanded decades ago.
The U.S. Student Christian Movement, which officially ended more than 40 years ago, will be revived at an Oct. 8-11 meeting at Morehouse College in Atlanta.
"Students will come together to discuss how they will collectively put their faith into action toward progressive Christian concerns," said Luciano Kovacs, North America regional secretary of the World Student Christian Federation, in a statement released by the National Council of Churches.
"SCM USA will provide the coordination of …
Participants at the Presbyterian Youth Triennium have been talking about answering God's call in their lives, under the triennium theme "For Such a Time as This."
Rich Richards, who wrote the Small Group Manual for the July 20-24 event here, had his own call experience with the manual. "This was a Moses moment for me," he said. "Quite literally."
A member of the Triennium Design Team called him, asking if he would consider writing the manual. They called Richards because they knew of his integration of the visual arts in worship, programming, and youth retreats. Small groups are a key component of …
I don't remember when I developed a passion and fascination for the mysteries that lie inside the hearts of people who have been born in different landscapes than my own. I think this love for cultures different than my own was developed somewhere between 49th street and 8th Avenue in New York City.
As a Puerto Rican living in the United States — starting with those college years in New York — who is fascinated by the how cultural values are shaped and developed, I never before realized that within my own ethic identity lies a powerful multicultural …
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu has announced his intention to wind down his public engagements, when he turns 79 in October.
“I think I have done as much as I can, and I really do need time for other things that I have wanted to do,” Tutu told a July 22 media briefing at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town. He also thanked South Africans for their contribution to the world.
Tutu became the first black general secretary of the South African Council of Churches in 1978, and then in 1986 the first black Anglican archbishop of Cape …
When Connie Johnstone saw relatives of Muslim patients praying in a hospital parking lot, or laying out a plastic bag to create a clean spot on the lobby floor, her visions of a meditation room suddenly got a lot broader.
“I took note of that and said, ‘Hey, we need to have a place for them to pray,’” said Johnstone, the former manager of spiritual care at Kaiser Permanente facilities in Sacramento and suburban Roseville, who now holds a similar position in San Jose.
Johnstone wanted to create a space “that calls up beauty, something that is quiet to still …
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who play it safe and those who take risks. So said the Rev. Graham Baird, preaching July 23 at the Presbyterian Youth Triennium.
"Play-it-safers" don’t hang out with unpopular kids, choose profitable careers and marry people who will make them look good, Baird said. But "risk-takers" hang out with those on the margins, choose careers that inspire them and marry those they love.
Preaching from John 3: 1-5, Baird spoke about Nicodemus. Jesus told him that he can't play it safe if he wants to be born again.
"All …
A few days ago, I was handing out bottles of water within a few miles of Israel/Palestine’s only major river, the Jordan.
The village of Al Fasayel lies in a desert landscape, a contrast to nearby Israeli settlements, which have access to almost unlimited water. Al Fasayel itself has not had water on tap for over seven weeks.
The Jordan Valley is an area of stunning natural and rugged beauty. The mountainsides are barren, the illegal settlements in the valley floor dark, fertile green. But the valley is also an area of discrimination and grinding poverty.
The first time I …
The American Jewish Congress (AJC), a national advocacy group that has argued for church-state separation on prayer in public schools, has laid off most employees and suspended operations.
The 92-year-old organization lost $21 million of its $24 million endowment to Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, which devastated a range of Jewish groups, including Yeshiva University. As with other nonprofits, the economic downturn has also hobbled fundraising efforts, officials said.
Once a prominent organization in combating anti-Semitism and promoting women’s rights and other progressive policies, the AJC has struggled in recent years to distinguish itself from the American Jewish Committee and the …
At its July meeting, the Board of Directors of The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) encouraged management to carefully and thoroughly consider the recommendation of the 219th General Assembly (2010) that the Board provide domestic partner benefits and to bring proposals for discussion to its meeting in the summer of 2011 with the intention of making formal recommendations in the fall of 2011. The Board hopes to implement initial changes in 2012.
The Board of Directors was advised that this action will affect many Board constituencies and encompasses an array of complex policy, administrative, and funding issues …
The Presbyterian Youth Triennium, held on the campus of Purdue University this week, is a place for music. Whether it's at worship, concerts or open-mic programs, music can be heard all over.
Music is also a key part of movies, said the Rev. Mitzi Minor on July 22. In dramatic, uplifting or scary scenes, music gives viewers an idea of how to feel and what to expect to happen next.
"But you’re probably figuring out that real life isn't a movie," Minor said.
And although the Bible stories being acted out on stage during Triennium worship services are accompanied …