In bold and clear language, Presbyterians are calling on President Barack Obama and his administration to end raids on mothers and children from Central America, their detention, and their ultimate deportation back to life-threatening situations.

“Right now, young mothers and children are being rounded up by immigration officials in cities across the country,” the Reverend Alison Harrington, pastor of Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson, Arizona, said via the online faith-based justice community Groundswell.

I write to you today as the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to remind you of this nation’s duty to those who enter our borders seeking refuge, and to urge you to cease raiding the homes of asylum-seeking families who have received orders of deportation.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness and approximately 1,500 organizations are urging Congress to oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade agreement they believe will hurt the American economy and low-wage countries around the world. The pact was reached in October among 12 Pacific Rim countries around a variety of economic policy issues. Supporters say it will promote economic growth with the creation and retention of jobs, improve productivity and reduce poverty. 

Ever since the publication of the results of a 2011 Presbyterian Panel survey, many questions have been circulating across the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) concerning the response to the statement, “Only followers of Jesus Christ can be saved” [see page A-10].

People in Yellowstone Presbytery are learning they can have constructive conversations over even one of America’s most divisive issues—the balance between gun freedoms and gun restrictions.

The 2015 Olof Palme Prize has been awarded to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission partner the Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem and president of the Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land; and the Israeli journalist Gideon Levy, author and columnist for Haaretz, Israel’s oldest daily newspaper.

The Christmas holidays were not so merry and bright for people across six Midwestern and southern states as stormy weather wreaked havoc in many communities. Parts of Texas, Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, New Mexico and Alabama were hit with snow and rain, freezing rain, tornadoes and flooding. 

I sat in front of four young South Sudanese men on the Yei Teacher Training College (YTTC) campus, a video camera in hand. The camera kept wandering away from the student teachers’ faces as I tried to stay focused on the recording, while captivated by their incredibly brave, determined, and spirit-filled testimonies. - Nancy Smith-Mather

The Presbyterian Mission Agency Board of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) met via conference call last evening to receive a first-month report from interim executive director Tony De La Rosa and to hear an update on the churchwide survey from moderator Heath Rada.

The Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) is offering voluntary separation packages to eligible staff members. PMA staff members who are at least 60 years of age and have at least five years of continuous service with the PC(USA) by December 31, 2015, will have 45 days, starting on January 16, 2016, to accept or decline the offer.