The woman from Iraq was dressed completely in black.  It was the first time she had been to Refugee Family Literacy at Memorial Drive Ministries in Stone Mountain, Georgia in two weeks. When Jennifer Green, director of the program, asked what had happened, she learned the woman’s brother had been killed by a car bomb in Iraq.  Green gave the woman a hug, told her she was sad for her, and took her to class, explaining to her teacher what had happened. It was an English-as-a-second-language class for mothers of children in the program’s preschool. 

트럼프 대통령 탄핵 문제에 대한 미국 의회의 투쟁이 진행됨에 따라, 우리의 기독교 신앙이 정치적 견해와 선호에 뒤떨어지기가 쉬우며, 그런 일이 발생하면 매우 어렵게 됩니다. 또한 성령님께서 이 어려운 과정에 하나님 뜻의 길을 인도하시게 됩니다. 우리의 많은 사람들이 우리의 정치적 선호를 우리의 믿음과 연결시켜 우리가 원하는 것이 하나님 뜻임을 암시할 때 그러한 투쟁은 더욱 어려워집니다. 우리의 정치적 편견을 초월하는 하나님의 인도를 위해 기도하면서 그 함정에서 우리를 구해 주시기를 바랍니다.

A medida que avanza la lucha en el Congreso de los Estados Unidos por la cuestión de los artículos de juicio político contra el presidente Trump, es fácil que nuestra fe cristiana se lleve el "segundo lugar" detrás de nuestras opiniones y preferencias políticas, y cuando eso sucede, es muy difícil para el Espíritu Santo abrirse paso y guiarnos en el camino de la voluntad de Dios. Esa lucha se hace más difícil dado el grado en que muchos de nosotros hemos vinculado nuestras propias preferencias políticas a nuestra fe, lo que sugiere que lo que deseamos es la voluntad de Dios. Que Dios nos salve de esa trampa mientras oramos por la guía de Dios que trasciende nuestro sesgo político.

Preachers, educators and worship planners who want to attend to the three themes of being a Matthew 25 church — building congregational vitality, eradicating systemic poverty and dismantling structural racism — have a new resource beginning with Dec. 1, the start of the new liturgical year, and carrying them through Pentecost on May 31, 2020.

As the struggle in the U.S. Congress over the question of articles of impeachment for President Trump moves forward, it is easy for our Christian faith to take “second place” behind our political views and preferences, and when that happens, it is very hard for the Holy Spirit to break through and lead us in the path of God’s will. That struggle is made more difficult given the degree to which many of us have linked our own political preferences to our faith, suggesting that what we wish for is the will of God. May God save us from that trap as we pray for God’s guidance that transcends our political bias.

Representatives from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and The Episcopal Church met this week at the Transfiguration Spirituality Center in Glendale, Ohio, to discuss mandates affirmed by both churches last year to talk about such issues as what would be needed to lead both denominations toward full reconciliation of ordered ministry.

미국장로교 223차 총회(2018)는 미국장로교회6개 기관과 2개 단체 (여선교회와 총회 법인의 행정 서비스 그룹)는 인종적으로 정당하고 공평한 고용주가 되는 데 필요한 조치를 취하도록 지시했다. 이 행동은 모든 것을 포괄하고 형제자매를 그리스도의 사랑으로부터 지키지 못하게 하는 모든 장벽을 무너뜨리는 우리의 접근 방식을 재확인했다.

La 223a Asamblea General (2018) ordenó a las seis agencias de la Iglesia Presbiteriana (EE. UU.) y a dos entidades (Mujeres Presbiterianas y Grupo de Servicios Administrativos de la Corporación) que tomaran las medidas necesarias para convertirse en empleadores racialmente justos y equitativos. Esta acción reafirmó nuestro enfoque de ser inclusivos y derribar todas y cada una de las barreras que mantienen a nuestros hermanos y hermanas lejos del amor de Cristo.

The six agencies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and two entities (Presbyterian Women and A Corporation’s Administrative Services Group) were directed by the 223rd General Assembly (2018) to take the necessary steps to become racially just and equitable employers. This action reaffirmed our approach to be all-inclusive and to tear down any and all barriers that keep our siblings from the love of Christ.

What a trap! They came to put Jesus in jeopardy with the authorities regarding the payment of taxes to Caesar, and he turned it back on them. They were caught in their own theological trap because they had a double standard. They did their best to get along with the Roman authorities, while quietly teaching their people that God — not the civil authorities — must be the ultimate object of their worship. They taught that in the end, everything belongs to God, so when Jesus put before them the coin showing the image of Caesar, they were in a bind. The worship of the one on the coin was a basic principle of Roman citizenship. He was to be worshiped and obeyed not simply as the political primate, but as a god, and therefore a divine alternative to the God of Israel, to whom the Jewish leaders were bound.