When Linda Valentine got a phone call nearly ten years ago asking if she would be interested in applying to become executive director of what is now the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA), she listened hard for God’s call. At first, Valentine thought to herself, “There’s no way,” but when she later woke up every morning hearing a voice say to her, “Of course you’re going to do this; it’s where your life has been leading,” her path became clear. Today the longest-serving executive director of the PMA and its various predecessor organizations—whose election was first confirmed by the 217th General Assembly (2006) and again by the 221st General Assembly (2014) for an unprecedented third term—announced her resignation from that position effective July 10.

Linda Valentine, executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency at the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A), resigned her position in a June 16, 2015 announcement to staff. The Presbyterian Mission Agency is one of six independent agencies that make up the PC(USA), each with its own executive director.

Members of the General Assembly Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations (GACEIR) gathered in Louisville June 10–12 with related staff to discuss their mandate, hear from panelists on the role of interreligious dialogue in theological education, share interfaith experiences and perceptions, and formulate approaches to share their work with the wider church.

Not only is Martha Moore-Keish an acclaimed theologian, she is also a poet. As the author of such noted books as “Christian Prayer for Today”and associate professor for Theology at Columbia Theological Seminary, she interprets, in language rich with poetic refrain, the Presbyterian emphasis on grace and gratitude.

For world refugee day on June 20th, refugee advocacy week June 29th-July 2nd, and beyond, the Stated Clerk urges a time of prayer and recommitment to outreach and advocacy with refugees and asylees.

Thousands of Central American families are still waiting to be granted asylum a year after crossing the U.S. border. Court dockets and detention centers in the southwest are full and, according to church officials, the scenario is likely to continue for some time.

교외에 위치한 어느 장로교회는 그 교회가 속한 지역이 변하고 있다는 것을 알고 있었다. 그 지역에는 점점 증가하고 있는 라틴 아메리칸계 가족들이 거주하고 있다. 그 교회의 한 사역 장로가 증가하는 라틴 아메리칸 공동체에 자기 교회가 어떻게 접근해야 할지에 대해 묻기 위해 나를 만나기 원했다. 그녀는 교회가 그들의 새로운 이웃들에게 예배할 수 있는 기회를 제공해야 한다고 생각했다. 

Una iglesia presbiteriana suburbana sabía que su vecindario había ido cambiando al ver un incremento de familias latinas inmigrantes que ahora vivían por la zona. Una anciana gobernante de la iglesia quería reunirse conmigo para preguntarme cómo alcanzar a esa creciente comunidad Latina y pensó que la iglesia debería ofrecer oportunidades de adoración a sus nuevos vecinos. 

<한국어> <Espaňol> A suburban Presbyterian church knew that its neighborhood had been changing, with an increasing number of immigrant Latino families now living in the area. A ruling elder from the church wanted to meet with me to ask how they should reach out to the growing Latino community. As a church, she thought, they should offer worship opportunities to their new neighbors, so she was wondering how to start a Spanish-language service.

In the dry, suffocating heat of the Arizona desert, acts of grace are happening in unexpected places—on rooftops, in crawl spaces, under mobile homes. Four Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs) serving with Community Home Repair Projects of Arizona (CHRPA) are doing ordinary work with extraordinary results.