Presbyterian Mission Agency Advocacy & Social Justice Archives

Compassion, Peace & Justice Training Day opens in Washington, D.C.

Posted April 20th, 2018

More than 220 Presbyterians have gathered at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., for Compassion, Peace & Justice Training Day, which kicks off Ecumenical Advocacy Days. The annual gathering brings Presbyterians together to engage in issues of national and international interest. The theme for this year’s event is “A World Uprooted: Responding to Migrants, Refugees and Displaced People.”

Sri Lankan women make their voices heard

Posted April 5th, 2018

In a culture where women often go unheard, the fisherfolk women of Sri Lanka made certain their voices were loud and clear.

Mitzvah: Caring for others in life and in death

Posted April 3rd, 2018

On a sunny July morning, I drove into the Waldheim Jewish Cemetery in Forest Park, a suburb west of Chicago, to attend the burial service for a former hospice patient. Waldheim was founded during the second wave of Jewish immigration to the city in the late 19th century, and it has been the final resting place for women like Sara, a Holocaust survivor from Russia who lived into her 90s.

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to take part in anti-racism event in Washington

Posted April 2nd, 2018

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is partnering with the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. for a truth and racial justice initiative. A three-day gathering called “Unite to End Racism” will be held Tuesday through Thursday in Washington, D.C. The event marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in Memphis.

Commission on the Status of Women concludes at the United Nations

Posted March 29th, 2018

The 62nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women is in the history books and a group of Presbyterian participants have returned home. The commission, which is the principal global intergovernmental body working toward gender equality and the empowerment of women, concluded its annual meeting in New York on Friday.

It’s not easy serving God

Posted March 28th, 2018

Done right, service to God is not an easy task. From the beginning, the people of God struggled with the issue of faithfulness; and those who were chosen to lead them, especially the prophets, were often confounded by the worldly challenges around them and the inner challenges of disobedience within the community of God’s people.

Presbyterians join hundreds of thousands in march against gun violence

Posted March 26th, 2018

Across the country and the world Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people took part in rallies and demonstrations against gun violence. The March for Our Lives was organized by students in various communities.

PC(USA) Office of Public Witness to take part in Washington march against gun violence

Posted March 19th, 2018

Last week, thousands of high school students across the country took part in a 17-minute walk out demanding stricter gun laws. This week, the Office of Public Witness (OPW) will participate in the “March for Our Lives” along the streets of the nation’s capital.

Presbyterians advocate for rural women at the UN

Posted March 13th, 2018

Marvella Lambright didn’t realize that some women use dried cow dung to absorb their monthly flow of blood until she attended her first Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) session at the United Nations several years ago. There she learned that women in some countries don’t have access to the sanitary products that are available in the United States and other parts of the world. This surprised her and helped her realize that the best way to find out what is really happening in the world is to talk with people from other countries.

American religious leaders seek preliminary injunction to stop deportation of immigrants

Posted March 12th, 2018

A group of American religious leaders consisting of priests, rabbis, imams and other clergy, have joined forces to seek a preliminary injunction to stop the deportation of immigrants currently residing in the U.S. The so-called Amici, which include the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and eight Presbyterian pastors, argue that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is trying to silence freedom of speech by targeting immigrants who speak out publicly against U.S. policy on the issue.