A freshly ordained, energetic new pastor arrives to the resounding “Alleluia!” of a grateful congregation. Two years later, she leaves in fury, blaming a toxic environment, with her health in tatters.
Hundreds of people gathered from across the world for an ecumenical prayer service at the Nieuwe Kerk, a 15th-century church in Amsterdam, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) at the very spot in which the organization was founded.
More than 750 faith leaders and faith organizations have written a letter to President Trump and members of the U.S. Congress expressing their “deep concern” over historically low refugee admissions into the United States.
“You cannot understand our history as a country until you understand the history of the church.” That’s how Mark Charles — a Navajo pastor, speaker and author — began his presentation to a room full of missionaries in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, gathered this summer for their annual meeting.
Presbyterian World Mission received a heartfelt message from the Rev. Wickliff Kang’ombe Zulu, Nkhoma Synod prison chaplain, expressing gratitude for sponsorship of his attendance at the eighth annual International Conference on Human Rights and Prison Reform (CURE).
While many voices vied for the attention of Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general consistently listened to people seeking peace from the vantage point of faith, according to a Presbyterian mission leader.
For Bud Frimoth, a 92-year-old World War II veteran and retired minister of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), reading accounts of those working to contain the Mendocino Complex fires that have burned through 350,000 acres in California brought back a few memories from years ago.
Cleanup continues in parts of the northeast following last week’s heavy rains and flooding. Torrential rains dropped several inches on communities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Hundreds of homes and businesses were flooded and cars were submerged in the muddy water.
Dr. Brian K. Blount’s book “Go Preach! Mark’s Kingdom Message and the Black Church Today” sits on my desk. It’s one of the books that survived the move from our rental in Maryland to our Vermont home. During packing, I promised my husband I would limit the books to three large boxes. What didn’t fit wouldn’t come. There just wasn’t room in our 1760-something home for my dog-eared friends. It was painful, but I was brutal in my decisions as to which ones to keep and which ones to give away. It says a lot that “Go Preach!” made the cut.
To assist congregations with the preservation of church records, the Presbyterian Historical Society awards annual Heritage Preservation Grants to PC(USA) congregations, covering up to $500 of the cost to digitize official records.