Headed into next week’s Presbyterian Mission Agency Board meeting on Jan. 22, the board’s Coordinating Committee met Wednesday to learn more about a plan to better align the agency to more effectively bring about the Matthew 25 invitation with its three foci: building congregational vitality, dismantling structural racism and eradicating systemic poverty.

A U.S. District Court’s decision to block plans to remove protections for migrants coming to this country seeking asylum has come as good news for those working in immigration advocacy for the Office of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

In its eagerness to support and encourage Presbyterian writers, the Presbyterian Writers Guild (PWG) announces a writing contest titled “Ash Wednesday.”  

In December, two young women sought refuge at the home of the Rev. Delia Adelina Leal Mollinedo, a Guatemalan human rights advocate. Their living situation was so precarious they felt unsafe. They had stayed with her before when things were uncertain.

Reviving Negro Spiritual music in its choir, the American Spiritual Ensemble performs to enthusiastic churches and audiences.

Prior to the U.S. State Department returning Cuba to the list of state sponsors of terrorism, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness joined 14 other churches and Christian organizations protesting the move due to its impact on the Cuban people.

Applications from interested presbyteries are now being accepted for the third wave of the Vital Congregations Initiative. And for the first time since the initiative began with a pilot program in 2017, individual churches may also apply — if they have the blessing of their presbytery.

The 225th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is approximately 18 months away, and work is already underway to determine what that assembly will look like.

The Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, and Associate Director of Advocacy, the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, will hold a discussion about the Jan. 6 attack on the United States Capitol on Facebook Live Thursday.

The 2021 APCE (Association of Presbyterian Church Educators) annual event, themed “Anything but Ordinary Time,” is set for February 4-6, but the registration deadline for submitting names for scholarship opportunities is Friday, January 15. The deadline for accessing interpretation services is Friday, January 22. Hopeful participants can register for the three-day online event here. There are several levels of participation available.