With eradicating systemic poverty as one of the three goals of the Matthew 25 invitation, Presbyterian Mission Agency Board members took two hours Thursday to hear from a panel what’s being done about it and, around round tables, to discuss poverty’s implications and challenges for congregations, mid councils and other groups.
May the joy of Christ’s Resurrection be yours this Easter Sunday. Today, we are reminded of the abundant hope we have in Christ.
Resurrection hope points us to the promise of eternal life and calls us to celebrate all circumstances where hopelessness is overcome by God’s grace. A good example of this can be found among our brothers and sisters in Haiti who are thriving in new communities that have sprung up after the devastating 2010 earthquake.
As the world struggled to recover from the ravages of a global war, churches across America bore witness to their faith in a united act of generosity that helped relieve human suffering.
Like many churches across the country, Irvington Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis celebrates Palm Sunday with people in the congregation waving palm fronds to commemorate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem shortly before his death and resurrection.
Every year, the first Sunday in Lent is designated “Wear your blue T-shirt to church Sunday” as a testament of one of the ways that One Great Hour of Sharing makes a difference.
Each year, on a Sunday during Lent, Presbyterian churches across the denomination turn their attention to people and communities in need — and take a day to celebrate the mission and ministry of the Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP). April 7 is Self-Development of People (SDOP) Sunday, an opportunity for congregations to focus on work to help disadvantaged people and low-income community groups.
The Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP) has approved grants totaling $155,000 to fund 10 self-help projects in the United States and abroad.
If Luis Ramos Salgado had tried to ride the storm out in his home, he wouldn’t be able to walk down his street on this sunny morning.
“I’d be dead,” he says through a translator, standing in the kitchen of the only home he’s ever known in San Juan’s Caño Martín Peña area.
It’s a pretty port of call.
Mere blocks from where cruise ships pull into San Juan terminal, visitors can find enticing Old San Juan, with its mix of history, shops and restaurants, all open for business, even on a warm but quiet Tuesday night. Veering right, visitors can find conveniences such as bike rentals and a CVS pharmacy, all up and running.
“People go to hotels, Old San Juan and they see the stores open, lights … and they say, ‘Oh, everything is back to normal,’” the Rev. Edwin A. González-Castillo says.
Except it’s not.
