They came from North, South, East and West. From Bolivia, El Salvador, Haiti, Cameroon, Sri Lanka, India, and the U.S., church and community leaders gathered in Peru for the Quadrennial Joining Hands Conference to assess, re-envision and recommit ourselves to our common and connected work in partnership with the Presbyterian Hunger Program and Presbyterian World Mission.
When soldiers are seeking to reclaim lost territory they have little regard for the peace agreements signed by their national leaders. That’s why the grassroots work of the Rev. Peter Tibi and PC(USA) partner RECONCILE is a critical component of South Sudan’s fragile peace process.
Two months ago, peaceful protestors in Nicaragua were brutally attacked by forces loyal to the government. The ensuing unrest has resulted in the death of nearly 300 people and many Nicaraguans won’t leave their homes for fear of being shot. A special commission of the Organization of American States is investigating the government’s involvement in the violence.
Two years after South Sudan gained independence in 2011, civil war erupted in 2013. The conflict has displaced more than 5 million people, leading to massive human suffering and widespread famine. As part of its response, the 223rd General Assembly (2018) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) passed a comprehensive overture that provides a robust platform for the denomination’s Office of Public Witness to advocate for an end to this war.
A group representing several ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) visited Sri Lanka in January in fulfillment of an overture aimed at eradicating slavery from supply chains. Program representatives included personnel from Presbyterian World Mission, the Presbyterian Hunger Program and Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI).
The Rev. Robert I. “Bob” Rasmussen, a mission co-worker in Malawi from January 1986 until his retirement in August 1992, passed away at his home in Michigan on Thursday, Jan. 25, at age 90. After he retired, Rasmussen and his wife Edith returned to Malawi many times, sometimes for months at a time, to train pastors and to preach and teach.
War lives on in the pain of its survivors and their families long after the violence ends. Members of a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) peace delegation saw the pain in the eyes of more than a dozen South Koreans who were forever changed by the impact of the massacre at No Gun Ri.
Two representatives of the Mexican Communion of Reformed and Presbyterian Churches (CMIRP) recently met with Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) World Mission staff in Louisville to explore the possibility of engaging in mission together.
The Rev. Silfrido Gordillo-Borralles, the group’s general coordinator, and the Rev. Dan Gonzalez Ortega, president of the Theological Community of Mexico, an institution composed of six seminaries in Mexico, met with World Mission Director Jose Luis Casal and Valdir Franca, coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Reconciliation is a sacred space where weary bodies are refreshed and troubled souls are soothed, where the roar of oppression is silenced and the calm of compassion resounds.
