Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly Stated Clerk the Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, II has written to Colombian President Iván Duque condemning “credible reports of a systematic campaign of extra-judicial assassinations that have taken the lives of hundreds of church and community leaders as well as human rights activists in Colombia.”
Nelson called on Duque to “do everything within your power to cause paramilitary activities to cease, to bring those responsible for such illegal acts to justice, and to work in good faith for the full and prompt implementation of the Peace Accords.”
Martha Clark has announced her retirement from the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Clark serves as the General Counsel for the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) and Office of the General Assembly (OGA), as well as the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) A Corporation, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Investment and Loan Program Inc. (PILP), Presbyterian Women in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Inc., Presbyterian Mission Agency Board and Committee on the Office of the General Assembly.
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly Stated Clerk the Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, II has issued a call for all Presbyterians to observe a day of prayer for peace in South Sudan on August 12. The appeal comes in the wake of a fragile peace agreement signed August 5 by the South Sudan government and key opposition leaders.
A representative from a Kenya-based church organization visited the Presbyterian Mission Agency on Monday to discuss the plight facing South Sudanese refugees. The Rev. Nicta M. Lubaale, general secretary of the Organization of African Instituted Churches (OAIC), was hosted by Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.
Charles F. Easley, Sr., vice-moderator of the 215th General Assembly (2003) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), died May 23. Services were held June 2 — just before the 223rd General Assembly — at Radcliffe Presbyterian Church here, where he was a member for more than 50 years. He was 82.
Following his discharge from service as an officer in the U.S. Army in 1962, Easley — born in Dalton, Georgia and the youngest of 13 children — embarked on a distinguished career as an educator, coach and educational administrator. A graduate of PC(USA)-related Knoxville College, Atlanta University (now Clark College) and Columbia University (New York) Teacher’s College, Easley began his career as a teacher and multi-championship coach at Stephens High School in Calhoun, Georgia.
Despite being part of the same church family, Hazel Pflugmacher and Jaquette Easterlin never met.
For Dr. Su Yon Pak, the “personal” is not only political but also profoundly pastoral, prophetic and pedagogical.
Three new mission co-workers will head to Central America in early November to begin service. The Rev. Eliane Menezes will be serving in Guatemala, and Jhanderys Dotel-Vellenga and Ian Vellenga have been called to serve in Nicaragua.
More than 100 people are dead and hundreds more are injured or missing following a 6.9 magnitude earthquake in Indonesia. The quake struck Sunday night on the popular resort island of Lombok. Two days later, rescuers are still pulling survivors from the rubble.
As we approach the fall kickoff to the church program year, my thoughts keep coming back to the Protestant idea of the priesthood of all believers. This doctrine teaches that because of Jesus Christ, there is no need for someone to act as a mediator between the people and God. Everyone is just as spiritual, just as capable of speaking to God, and just as called to deliver God’s message to the world. Everyone is equally called to do God’s work and to minister to God’s people.