In 1970, the National Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP) began with a question: How should the Church respond to the growing disparity between rich and poor across the globe? Half a century later, the Covid pandemic and a canceled 50th anniversary celebration became an unexpected opportunity to answer that founding question in a new way.
One year ago Saturday, a deadly outbreak of tornadoes ravaged several states in the South and Midwest. Western Kentucky took the brunt of the damage from the storm, which took lives and destroyed homes and property, including the historic Presbyterian Church in Mayfield.
Broad Street Food Pantry in Columbus, Ohio, got its start in 1971 when women from Broad Street Presbyterian Church (BSPC) noticed that more and more people were requesting food from the pastoral staff and wanted to help.
The Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) will host a webinar on Congregation-Based Community Organizing (CBCO) at noon Eastern Time on Wednesday, Nov. 16, to help energize congregations interested in championing issues within their communities, such as affordable housing.
After tornadoes devastated large swaths of Western Kentucky and the Midwest last December, the 10-person congregation of First Presbyterian Church of Calvert City knew it wanted to help, but wasn’t sure how.
During her recent appearance as the guest on “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast,” Margaret Mwale, Associate for Community Development and Constituent Relations for the Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People, offered an SDOP definition for podcast hosts the Rev. Lee Catoe and Simon Doong.
From celebrating World Wetlands Day and engaging in community advocacy to raising their own butterflies and growing their own herbs and spices, Dorchester Presbyterian Church in Summerville, South Carolina, shows love for God’s Creation.
The Advisory Committee of the Presbyterian Hunger Program has approved more than $1.2 million in grants to address hunger and its root causes, from Florida to Madagascar.
Days and weeks after summer flooding ravaged various presbyteries this summer, the extent of the damage continues to be assessed. But the known effects have been significant, from displacing school children and pastors to damaging church basements and parishioners’ homes.
Richard Clay, a certified social studies teacher and a longtime community activist and educational consultant in Detroit, has been blind since the age of 2. As one who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan, the fact that he stressed education — especially the education of the wider community about how to best support people with disabilities — came as little surprise during Wednesday’s “The Struggle Is Real” webinar on poverty and disabilities, put on by the Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People. More than 50 people participated.
