Somos un mundo en duelo. Lamentamos las muchas muertes, no sólo en París, sino también en Beirut, Bagdad y Egipto. Cualquier sentido de seguridad que hemos tenido es gravemente comprometido por estos terribles acontecimientos; por otra parte, nuestro miedo a ISIS crece con cada ejecución exitosa de su agenda violenta.

Mucho se nos ha arrebatado, pero todavía mantenemos la opción de decidir cómo reaccionamos ante nuestro dolor y el miedo. Muchos políticos se han apresurado por alejarse del temible juicio. Más de la mitad de los gobernadores de nuestros estados han tratado de proteger a sus ciudadanos mediante la emisión de las declaraciones que niegan la entrada de refugiado/as sirios/as en sus estados (como si todos los/as potenciales terroristas son de Siria). Algunos/as han ido tan lejos como para exhortar a que se le deniegue la entrada a todos los refugiados, como si eso fuese a garantizar la seguridad de los/as ciudadanos/as de su estado.

Saying it would send a “demoralizing and dangerous message to the world,” 26 national faith-based organizations, including the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), have sent letters to every member of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, urging them to allocate the necessary funds to support refugees in fiscal year 2016

Presbyterians can practice two perennial Christmas traditions, sending cards and giving gifts, all while making a lasting difference through support of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) four churchwide Special Offerings.

Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night, thinking about them. About what they, the survivors of a brutal war in Syria, said when I first met them in 2014. “Tell everyone you know to stand with us against those who are profiting off war,” said one person. “We’d forgotten how to laugh,” said another. And the one that still mars my sleep: “I no longer allow myself to cry.”

Even before the attacks in Paris over the weekend, the Syrian refugee crisis has been generating discussion and responses among Presbyterians across the country and from our partners around the globe. The Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations recently hosted more than 60 Presbyterians from a dozen congregations to discuss the crisis. The intergenerational group from the Presbytery of Long Island heard from several experts about the reality of human displacement at the present time and explored ways congregations can respond.

The Presbyterian Network to End Homelessness (PNTEH) earlier this week partnered with the National Coalition for the Homeless and the Presbyterian Hunger Program to hold two free public forums on homelessness and affordable housing in Washington, D.C.

Since 1988, the first day of December has been designated World AIDS Day; a day devoted to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV. Health organizations, government and non-governmental organizations and individuals worldwide observe it, in part, by highlighting education material and resources around AIDS prevention and control. 

우리는 온 세상과 함께 슬퍼하고 있다. 우리는 파리에서 뿐만 아니라, 베이루트와 바그다드와 이집트에서 많은 사람들이 죽은 것으로 인해 아파하고 있다. 우리가 지니고 있던 어느 정도의 안전감마저 이렇게 끔찍한 사건들에 의해 치명적인 손상을 입었다. 게다가, ISIS가 폭력적 행위들을 매우 성공적으로 수행해 나가고 있는 가운데 그들에 대한 우리의 두려움이 증가하고 있다.

그 들이 우리로부터 많은 것들을 앗아갔지만, 우리는 여전히 우리의 슬픔과 두려움 속에서 어떻게 반응해야 할지를 선택할 수 있다. 많은 정치가들의 슬픔이 신속히 두려운 판단으로 이어졌다. 주지사들 중 절반 이상이 자기 주에 시리아 난민들이 유입되는 것을 거부하는 성명을 발표함으로서 그들의 시민들을 보호하려 하고 있다. 마치 테러분자들이 모두 시리아 사람인 것처럼 말이다. 어떤 이들은 현재 모든 난민들의 유입 거부를 요청하는데까지 치닫고 있다. 마치 그렇게 하면 그들 주에 살고 있는 시민들의 안전이 보장될 것처럼 말이다.

[한국어] [Español] We are a world grieving. We mourn the many deaths, not only in Paris, but also in Beirut, Baghdad, and Egypt. Any sense of security we have had is badly compromised by these horrific events; moreover, our fear of ISIS grows with every successful execution of its violent agenda.

Much has been taken from us but we still hold the choice as to how we react in our grief and fear. Many politicians have rushed from grief to fearful judgment. More than half of the governors of our states have attempted to protect their citizens by issuing declarations denying entry of Syrian refugees into their states (as if all of the potential terrorists are Syrian). Some have gone so far as to call for denial of entry to all refugees at the present time, as if that will guarantee safety to the citizens of their state.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), working in conjunction with Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS), has produced a new documentary on immigration detention in the U.S. “Locked in a Box” follows the lives of individuals who have fled their homelands in search of safety and freedom in the U.S. Instead, the road to freedom has led them to months, or even years, in detention. The film also provides insight on those ministering to the incarcerated.