Just as one country became two with South Sudan’s independence in 2011, Nile Theological College, offering both Arabic and English curriculum tracks, also split into two campuses in two countries the same year.
As the Rev. Rob Mueller of Divine Redeemer Presbyterian Church in San Antonio put the final touches on the Global Partners exhibit space at the Presbyterian Youth Triennium Tuesday morning, he was experiencing both joy and anguish due to circumstances on the U.S. southern border.
The Vision 2020 Team is using every tool and upcoming event at its disposal to remind Presbyterians that the team’s guiding statement for the denomination matches the PC(USA) acronym: God calls the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to be Prayerful, Courageous, United, Serving and Alive.
During his junior year at Santa Clara University in California, Noah Westfall learned about the need for volunteers to assist new immigrants preparing for U.S. citizenship exams through the Immigration and Citizenship Program in Santa Clara County.
At age 16, Kalief Browder found himself on New York’s Rikers Island, awaiting trial for a crime he said he didn’t commit. Returning from a party in the Bronx, Browder was accused of stealing a backpack holding a credit card, an iPod Touch, a camera and $700. At his arraignment, he was charged with second-degree robbery. Bail was set at$3,000. Browder didn’t have the ability to “bond out” — pay the fee. He would spend the next three years in jail before being released, with his charges dropped.
Rocio Calderon kept a Presbyterian Mission Agency delegation spellbound recently just by telling her story.
Calderon, who grew up in Bolivia, was locked away in a U.S. detention center for two years even after being economically exploited by an employer. One thing that kept her going, she said, was the compassion of the Casa Mariposa Detention Visitation Program, which encouraged her through cards and visits.
During his junior year at Santa Clara University in California, Noah Westfall learned about the need for volunteers to assist new immigrants preparing for U.S. citizenship exams through the Immigration and Citizenship Program in Santa Clara County.
