“I got emotional,” said the Rev. Jeff Johnson, recalling the moment when he found out his congregation had just received a $50,000 Walton Award.
The report of a special U.N. panel that investigated allegations of massive human rights abuses in an ethnic war in Sri Lanka has prompted mixed reactions.
Cancer patients who consider the length of their lives to be “in God’s hands” are more willing than others to spend money on treatments that might extend their lives, a new study shows.
Historical material documenting the medical mission work of “Bari Doctor Miss Sahiba” – the great lady doctor – will grace the worship bulletin cover for this year’s celebration of Presbyterian Heritage Sunday.
Dr. Adelaide Woodard was a Presbyterian missionary to India in 1915. Her patients and her colleagues gave her the title of the great lady doctor after a decade of service there.
Mariano Lucas punched his way through the ventilation hatch in the ceiling of a box truck in the town of Immokalee, Florida. Mariano and his co-workers were held captive for more than two years, forced to labor and deprived of wages for harvesting tomatoes in Florida.
US Assistant Attorney General and Presbyterian Doug Malloy, who handled the case, characterized their condition as “slavery, plain and simple.”
Each man bore marks of heavy beatings to their head and body. One man’s hands were chained behind his back every night, leaving his wrists swollen. Mariano and others would later testify in court and name those who forced them to endure terrible conditions and treatment.
Employers Cesar and Geovanni Navarrete received 12 years each in federal prison on charges of conspiracy, holding workers in involuntary servitude, and peonage. They employed dozens of tomato pickers in Florida and South Carolina.
After 18 months of having an interim president, San Francisco Theological Seminary has named the Rev. James L. McDonald as its 11th president.
McDonald succeeds Laird J. Stuart, who served as interim president.
“Whether leading an institution with a global reach or a church making a difference in its neighborhood, Dr. McDonald has combined academic rigor, high-level management skills, a commitment to service and deep Christian faith throughout his distinguished career,” said Peter van Bever, chair of the SFTS Board of Trustees, in a press release.
McDonald, who expects to take office July 8, comes to SFTS after 13 years with Bread for the World and Bread for the World Institute. Bread for the World is a faith-based advocacy group that urges legislators to end hunger nationally and internationally.
The Rev. Trina Zelle has been named to the newly-created position of Lead Organizer for the Presbyterian Health, Education and Welfare Association (PHEWA), a ministry of Compassion, Peace, and Justice Ministry of the General Assembly Mission Council.
The Mennonite World Conference (MWC) said it has appointed Cesar Garcia of Bogota, Colombia, as general secretary-elect, marking the first time the denomination has chosen a leader from the Global South.
Atop the tiny, white-columned 1842 church where Glen Likens was baptized, where he married his wife, where their children were baptized, where they still worship on Sundays, the steeple is rotting.
In response to the tornados and storms that rocked the southern United States last month, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and the Red Cross are working to provide spiritual care to those affected.