Several Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission co-workers and other employees are moderating workshops and leading discussion groups at the People on the Move partner conference which convened Sunday in Rome, Italy.
The Presbyterian Mission Agency’s World Mission ministry, in collaboration with the Office of Public Witness and the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations, is launching a webinar series dedicated to the current crisis unfolding in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. The first webinar, scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, Dec. 12, is titled “Jewish and Christian Voices for Peace.”
The Al Amana Centre (AAC) in Oman was founded in 1987, but its roots date back to the country’s first Christian mission in the late 19th century. Its initial iteration was evangelistic ministry, but quickly grew into medical care to serve the common good and live out a Christian witness among non-Christian people and education. It was the only modern hospital in the middle eastern country at the time and remained the only modern medical provider in Oman for nearly 80 years.
A pastor with the Presbyterian Church of Colombia talked about her official role as a government negotiator, helping to bring peace to after more than five decades of internal armed conflict in the South American nation.
Recently a group of Presbyterian Mission Agency personnel joined with ecumenical partners from across Latin America and the Caribbean and delegates from the World Council of Churches and the World Communion of Reformed Churches. They gathered in Bogotá, Colombia, at the “International Encounter for Reconciliation in Colombia: Ecumenical Experiences and Learnings in Peace Building.” The PMA delegation included Ellen Sherby, the Rev. Dr. Valdir França, Sue Rheem, and the Rev. Sarah Henken, PC(USA) mission co-worker serving in Colombia, a country seeking peace after more than 50 years of armed conflict.
“The family members of the thousands killed under the previous Duterte administration are still working for justice and accountability but have few legal options in local and national courts,” reads a World Council of Churches statement on the human rights situation in the Philippines.
Measuring congregational and mid council work to end systemic poverty was the topic of Thursday’s second in a series of Matthew 25 online workshops being offered to help local communities create empowerment, health and wholeness. About 70 people attended.
For 12 days in February, 10 travelers came together in the Philippines and Hong Kong to learn about the root causes and current challenges of forced migration and labor trafficking. Both the group’s itinerary and the combination of participants made for a unique and uniquely powerful experience
The second installment of a video/webinar series highlighting the Christian mission in Myanmar (formerly Burma) resumes at 6 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday. An ecumenical prayer service commemorating the violent regime change in 2021 will broadcast live on the World Mission Facebook page.
A Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) delegation will travel to Eastern Europe this month in a show of solidarity with people in and near Ukraine as the war with Russia continues to create death, destruction and displacement.
