A nearly hour-long plenary to cap the second week of the Intercultural Transformation Workshops focused on the pain and trauma clergy and lay people alike have been carrying for the past six months during the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and racial injustice, including the killings of African Americans at the hands of police and Wednesday’s grand jury decision on the role of police in the killing of Breonna Taylor of Louisville, Kentucky, on March 13 in her apartment.
Leaders of churches in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) can be pastoral, intercultural and even fun — but it’s rarely spontaneous. Those sought-after qualities normally require careful planning and even some buy-in from the targeted audience.
On the second night of a lecture series sponsored by Union Presbyterian Seminary and the Center for Social Justice and Reconciliation last week, the Rev. Dr. James Forbes spoke on the George Floyd protests, asking if they are a “temporary uprising, a movement or a miracle.”
In a lecture series sponsored by Union Presbyterian Seminary and the Center for Social Justice and Reconciliation this week, the Rev. Dr. James Forbes spoke on “COVID-19: A Parable of Plagues before Deliverance.”
The tragic deaths of African Americans at the hands of police officers have sparked renewed energy into a public debate about race and policing. The Presbyterian Mission Agency created a short video designed to raise awareness of the structural or institutional bias against people of color within the law enforcement and criminal justice systems.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Week of Action concluded with a Day of Service on Sunday that prompted youths and families from two churches in Buffalo, New York to gather for a park cleanup.
