The Rev. Dr. Stephen (Steve) A. Hayner, president emeritus of Columbia Theological Seminary, passed away today at the age of 66 surrounded by family and friends in the Columbia community. Known by many throughout the world with love, affection, and gratitude, Steve was a person of many honors and degrees who refused to categorize others or himself by achievements. His goal was to always live to and for an audience of One, and his hope was to live life with wide open arms and relational integrity. His life was imbued with joy and freedom, which touched and changed many people along the way.
There is a common perception that many United States immigrants—documented and undocumented—come to the U.S. chasing the “American Dream.” Ask some of the people who formed and maintain the Mexico-based coffee company Café Justo and they’ll tell you otherwise.
“Unification of the family, I think that’s the dream,” said Daniel Cifuentes, a manager at Café Justo in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, and one of the founders. “I think that’s the dream of all of us, to be united with our families.”
The Reverend Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), presented the following resolution during a gathering in Matanzas, Cuba of the Presbyterian-Reformed Church in Cuba.
January 30, 2015
Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
It is with great joy and deep gratitude to God that I greet you in the name of your sisters and brothers in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
As you gather for your first National Synod since the governments of Cuba and the United States began to ease the restrictions under which we have labored for the last 55 years, I give thanks for your amazing …
Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, tornadoes throughout the Midwest, flooding across Iowa—the list could go on and on. If you have found yourself on the receiving end of a major weather catastrophe or other natural disaster in the U.S., you probably learned quickly that a blue shirt means help has arrived. For years, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has been identified with the blue T-shirts worn by volunteers who come and work to repair damaged homes and provide comfort to those whose lives have been disrupted by a disaster.
Lydia Weller always knew that God had a plan for her. She just didn’t see it when she first started applying to college.
This is the second article in the series “Voices from the border and beyond.”
We—a motley crew of 15 Presbyterians traveling on the Voices from the Border and Beyond seminar—are getting quite an education.
The Reverend Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), joined a group of Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders in delivering a letter to President Obama urging “a renewed, determined U.S. effort, in coordination with the Quartet, to work with Israel and the Palestinian Authority to achieve a negotiated two-state peace agreement before it is too late.”
The General Assembly of the PC(USA) has consistently supported a two-state solution. The Quartet – the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and Russia – is a peace initiative established in 2002 as a result of conflict in the Middle East.
After almost two centuries in New York City, the nonprofit American Bible Society is moving its headquarters to Philadelphia.
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary has received a gift of $20,250,000—the largest single donation in the Seminary’s more than 220 year history. This estate gift came from Robert Thomson, a life-long Pittsburgher and Presbyterian. Thomson and two of his brothers generously supported Pittsburgh Seminary during their lifetimes and through their estate plans.
It is estimated that nearly a thousand congregations across the country will be waving 1 million ecofriendly palm fronds as Holy Week observances begin this year. As churches of all denominations remember Christ’s arrival in Jerusalem, palm fronds will play a key role. But have you ever wondered where the fronds come from and how important they are to the people who harvest them?