The first-ever International Peacemaker Virtual Symposium will provide a rare opportunity to hear from 16 outstanding individuals who had transformative experiences while being hosted in the United States by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Presbyterians have always supported public education. Jesus calls us to love God with “heart, soul and mind.” Our Reformed tradition affirms education as one way we develop our mind and one way we love God. The PC(USA)’s most recent policy statement on public education stands in that tradition and recognizes “that quality public schools are essential to our society’s efforts to overcome poverty and address social inequality.” The policy statement states that “quality public schools offer a holistic education, one that equips our children to live both meaningful and productive lives. A quality public school … is a place where they learn to think critically and become effective citizens, where they gain an appreciation for the sweep of human history and for the arts. Public schools are one place where children and young people can learn about their own bodies, how to be healthy and stay fit.” The study acknowledges the role of private and charter schools while affirming that quality public schools impact most of our children. Loving our neighbor means loving our neighbors’ children and supporting the public schools, even if we do not have children attending those schools.
World Food Day — celebrated on October 16 every year — commemorates the founding in 1945 of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The FAO was created to respond to famines and the tragedy of hunger in a world of God’s abundance. Despite the abundance of land, water, nutrients and sunlight on this precious planet, even in the 21st century, hundreds of millions of people go hungry on Oct. 16 and throughout the year.
The global pandemic’s impact on mental and spiritual health will be the focus of a panel discussion by the Presbyterian Mental Health Network on Wednesday, Sept. 30.
Congregations looking for ways to be the church together during and even after the pandemic might well find what they’re looking for in the early church practice of house churches.
After a successful first outing looking at the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus pandemic on communities of people who are Black, the “COVID at the Margins” series returned May 18 with a look at a community experiencing overt racism due to the virus: people who are Asian and Asian-American.
