The Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP) approved grants totaling $89,800 to fund five self-help projects in the United States and one in Belize. The national committee met recently to approve funding made possible through the One Great Hour of Sharing offering.

In response to an invitation from the pastor of the Presbyterian church in Baghdad, the Rev. Dr. Joanne Sizoo, pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Fort Mill, South Carolina, and coordinator of the Iraq Partnership Network (IPN), is requesting every city in Iraq be covered in prayer by congregations in the U.S.

With a population of more than 60 million people, Myanmar (Burma) is a country rich in natural and mineral resources, but its citizens are some of the poorest in the world. The Rev. Pek Muan Cuang, an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church of Myanmar (PCM), will speak to U.S. congregations and organizations this fall as part of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program’s 2017 International Peacemakers series.

In October 2015, the South Carolina coastline was pummeled by heavy rains and flooding. A year later, Hurricane Matthew caused havoc in North Carolina damaging thousands of homes and businesses. But despite immediate response by Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and a number of other agencies, the need for clean up and repair continues in both states.

The Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Office of Public Witness is calling on Presbyterians across the denomination to come to Washington D.C. this fall to speak out on the proposed federal budget. Church members, presbyteries and synods are being asked to gather on September 12 for a budget briefing, press conference and a visit to congressional offices.

In the seventh installment of Theological Conversations for 2017, the Theology, Formation and Evangelism ministry of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) presents Seeking a Correctable Conscience by John L. Thompson of Fuller Theological Seminary.

A July 28, 2017 ruling by the Commonwealth of Kentucky Court of Appeals affirms the ruling of the Jefferson County Circuit Court that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) dismissal of former employee Roger Dermody is a matter “internal doctrinal affairs” and not subject to state interference.