Joy of the familiar and joy of the new marked the seventh annual Russia Mission Network conference recently concluded here with the theme “Sharing Faith, Expanding Horizons.”

The Sept. 22-24 gathering included partners from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of the Russian Federation, and the Russian Orthodox Church.

El Salvador on Nov. 11 bestowed the first “Amigo de El Salvador” award on the London-based Archbishop Romero Trust, which celebrates the legacy of human rights advocate Archbishop Oscar Romero.

Some wounds of war are all too visible ― a missing leg, a shattered arm. The invisible wounds of mind and soul are often more difficult to spot, and equally hard to treat.

But those who know where to look can help them heal, and it’s a message that is hitting home for U.S. congregations as more than 1.35 million veterans adjust to civilian life after deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

PETALUMA, Calif. ― Pacific Mission Exchange ― an electronic mission education and funding program of the Synod of the Pacific ― is appealing for modest contributions to aid the historic High Street Presbyterian Church in Oakland, Calif. 

The High Street church building is an architectural gem located in a gang-infested area bordering East Oakland. The church was designed one hundred years ago by the famed architect of Hearst Castle, Julia Morgan. 

The church’s original douglas fir floors can no longer be repaired or refinished. They have now been determined to be a safety hazard. The floors must be replaced immediately …

Ed DeLair, a lifelong Presbyterian, made his first trip to Ghost Ranch when he was only four years old. That early visit turned out to be the first of many, and DeLair is now on his second stint of living on the ranch.

Kathryn Mary Lohre, director of ecumenical and inter-religious relations in the Office of the Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, was installed as the 26th president of the National Council of Churches.

Say the word “interfaith” and the next word to roll off the tongue is probably “dialogue.” It’s hard to think of one without the other.

But college students know there are other ways to communicate, and music may be chief among them.

A veteran human rights campaigner has warned of growing restrictions on religious freedom in Russia, and urged Western governments and churches to do more to address the issue.

As Christians, food is not just something we put in our mouths. It is a gift from God that unites families and communities. It fuels our bodies and gives us life. It can provide a livelihood in areas of little hope, and it can nurture the spirit as much as the flesh.

This week many of you will come together with your family, friends and neighbors to give thanks for the abundance God has bestowed.  It is a time of celebration and joy. 

Although Thanksgiving is an American holiday, your support of the Presbyterian Hunger Program, a ministry of the General Assembly Mission Council, means other families around the world will also be able to share in that abundance.

This new film exposes multinational corporation culpability in the land grab of Africa which makes us reconsider where we get our fruit from. Banned in Cameroon, The Big Banana illustrates the poor working conditions in banana plantations in the Plantation du Haut Penja (PHP) and exposes the adverse impact of corporatocracy government on the people, while reaping super profits for corporations. The side effects of plantation corporations on the people of Africa - and everywhere else in the world - are abject poverty and environment degradation from chemical fumigation. (Cameroon, 2011, 85 minutes, in French with English subtitles; Franck Bieleu, …