families Archives

Westminster John Knox Press releases ‘The Baptism of Your Child’

Posted June 15th, 2018

Westminster John Knox Press is pleased to announce the release of ‘The Baptism of Your Child: A Book for Presbyterian Families.’ There are few occasions more joyous than the presentation of a new baby or small child for baptism.

Minute for Mission: Immigration Sunday

Posted June 12th, 2018

“If I stay in my country, my daughters will become criminals and I don’t want to raise one more criminal. I don’t want to bury my daughters,” one woman said. We met in a migrant shelter on the path north from Honduras to the United States. Her little girls, no older than 10, were sleeping soundly on a blanket at her feet.

Minute for Mission: Fair Trade Day

Posted April 18th, 2018

Haiti Education and Production Initiatives (HEPI) is a nonprofit organization begun in 2010 by members of the Charleston Atlantic Presbytery in South Carolina. Haiti had been a focus of the presbytery for a few years prior to 2010. HEPI’s foci are education for children and adults, and production. Creations of Hope is the production arm of HEPI.

Children are ‘a welcome, holy disruption’

Posted March 26th, 2018

My husband and I had been married for three years when we had our first child. We learned quickly that even though we loved our daughter deeply, kids are disruptive and expensive. The change to our family meant learning to live on less sleep and smaller income. It meant figuring out who would do midnight feedings and make sure there were clean diapers. Once our daughter started crawling, it meant rearranging everything so that it wouldn’t be destroyed by a curious, free-range toddler.

On immigration

Posted January 16th, 2018

Conversations in the church going deeper and farther February 6, 2018 The immigration conversation is nowhere close to being done. The political discourse around immigration continues to affect communities and… Read more »

Celebrating Mother’s Day with ‘mishmoms’

Posted May 11th, 2017

At a gathering of Africa-area mission co-workers in Rwanda last month, “mishmoms” sat together to share their experiences on raising resilient children, as only parents can, with deep understanding. In honor of Mother’s Day, Presbyterian News Service shares their unique perspectives.

Syrian Presbyterian Fellowship receives welcome in California congregation

Posted April 18th, 2017

Like many good things, the Syrian Presbyterian Fellowship began with a relationship. A family from Homs, Syria, and a Californian Presbyterian pastor formed bonds that would bridge cultures and unite hearts.

Innovative pastoral preparation in Zambia

Posted March 24th, 2017

At Chasefu Theological College in Zambia, future pastors learn to tend the soil as well as nurture Christian faith. “Chasefu’s introducing sustainable agriculture courses that will help seminary students better care for their families when they become pastors,” says Charles Johnson, a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission co-worker who teaches the agriculture classes. He added that they will also be able to teach communities techniques to boost crop yields and reduce hunger.

Providing comfort and presence in anxious times

Posted March 23rd, 2017

Like many seekers before him, the Rev. Amir Tawadrous came to American shores on a journey of discovery. Born and raised in Upper Egypt, Tawadrous had also lived with his family in France for two years before returning to Egypt to finish his bachelor’s degree and later his Master of Divinity degree.

When two worlds collide: Ministry in Guatemala and the US

Posted January 25th, 2017

EL PASO. As we move through traffic, I think how much we must seem like ants scrambling to find space as they rush through each other. I am back in City, and each time I come here I am struck by how dense and congested this city is. Just when I think not another person could fit in, more houses are built on precarious mountainsides or on the margins now gobbled up by urban sprawl. It sends me back to another image: Fathers sharing their first warm meal with their children in weeks.