Proposed budgets for the Presbyterian Mission Agency — about $61.2 million in 2021 and about $62.9 million for 2022 — will allow the agency two more years to continue the Matthew 25 focus and to carry out no small number of other worthy ministries, too.
1 Corinthians 12:4-6 reminds us of this: “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.” (NRSV)
The Celebrate the Gifts of Women Chapel Service led by Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries (RE&WIM) in collaboration with Presbyterian Women, featured a reflection by Amy Mendez and hymns by a women’s choir, was designed to honor women’s spirituality, struggle and survival.
Alexis Presseau Maloof, who teaches English at a private Islamic school, is an engaged member of the United Presbyterian Church of Peoria in Peoria, Ill. Currently she is serving as a ruling elder in her church and was the co-chair of the Pastor Nominating Committee for a new pastor that just recently wrapped up. Maloof has also been a member of her congregation’s Missions Committee, taught adult education and led a racial justice book club discussion on Debby Irving’s book, “Waking Up White.”
Three women working to disrupt systemic poverty were named recipients of the 2020 Women of Faith Awards Friday by the board of the Presbyterian Mission Agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) during its meeting in Baltimore.
A 2016 study conducted by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Research Services, “Gender and Leadership in the PC(USA)” identified two key findings: gender discrimination is still pervasive within the denomination, and almost half its members are not particularly aware of it. The study is a part of a larger research project assessing the status of women at all levels of the church.
Shannon Schmidt is currently designing an ethics curriculum at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for a class she will be teaching in the spring of 2020. The course will be split between MIT students and incarcerated students who are working toward their bachelor’s degrees and will be taught in a prison-based setting. In addition to this work, Schmidt serves as a facilitator for a support group for formerly incarcerated men in Boston.
As Sharon Gibbons learns more about the challenges women face around the world, it swells her support for women abroad and motivates her to work harder for gender justice closer to home.
