Saying Palestinians have a right to demonstrate peacefully and with dignity in their decades-long conflict with Israel, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has joined 14 other Christian denominations and organizations in a joint statement, calling for an end to violence in the region.
In just five months, Presbyterian churches across the U.S. will be hosting the 2018 International Peacemakers. This year, 10 peacemakers are expected to take part in the annual event, sponsored by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program.
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.
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.
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.
As the U.S. government continues to debate the future of migrants, refugees and displaced people living in this country, the upcoming Compassion, Peace and Justice Training Day will address the issue head-on. The daylong event, part of Ecumenical Advocacy Training Weekend, will provide Presbyterians an opportunity to learn more about the people most impacted.
All eyes have been on the Korean peninsula in recent weeks as the 2018 Winter Olympics have taken place. Presbyterians and other interested people will get a chance to see and learn about the Korean culture in person later this year.
Critical peace talks began in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on February 6 aimed at ending the ongoing civil war in South Sudan. PCUSA partner, the Rt. Rev. Peter Gai and his ecumenical colleagues, Archbishop John Baptist Odama and Archbishop Paulino Lukudu Loro opened the talks with prayer.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. — Matthew 22:37–40. This message is recited over and over among people of faith, whether they are Jews, Muslims or Christians. The words are unambiguous in their call for us to deal with others within the human family in ways that we ourselves would like to be treated.
