Although the streets of Charlotte, North Carolina are now quiet following protests in response to the shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott by police, area Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) pastors say the historic and deep-seated sentiment that fostered unrest after this killing remains.
Tired of their country’s civil war and related atrocities, some church women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo bravely walked to the hiding place of a notorious warlord in March 2013, seeking peace.
Hope for reconciliation between the United States and Cuba reached a peak when Barack Obama became the first sitting president in 88 years to visit the island nation. People lined the streets of Havana, chanting for the American president—an act that could have sent them to jail in another era.
Two years ago Presbyterian mission co-workers John and Gwen Haspels were driving down a road in Ethiopia when a man carrying an assault rifle jumped out in front of them. As the couple drove on, the man fired at them, severely injuring both of them. Presbyterians Today recently invited them to reflect on that fateful day and what reconciliation means in the aftermath of such an attack.
The Rev. Eugene Blackwell died yesterday following complications from bone cancer. He was 43. A graduate of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, he served as founding pastor of House of Manna in Pittsburgh beginning in 2009, and as assistant minister to North Way Christian Community.
Two years ago Presbyterian mission co-workers John and Gwen Haspels were driving down a road in Ethiopia when a man carrying an assault rifle jumped out in front of them. As the couple drove on, the man fired at them, severely injuring both of them. Presbyterians Today recently invited them to reflect on that fateful day and what reconciliation means in the aftermath of such an attack.
Reconciliation among Cubans and Cuban Americans. Hope for reconciliation between the United States and Cuba reached a peak when Barack Obama became the first sitting president in 88 years to visit the island nation. People lined the streets of Havana, chanting for the American president—an act that could have sent them to jail in another era.
Reconciliation is a word frequently invoked but seldom understood. Paul’s words from 2 Corinthians beautifully capture a defining aspect of reconciliation: its cosmic significance. In Christ, “there is a new creation” because “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself” (2 Cor. 5:17–19). Reconciliation is part of who we are as Christ’s church.
While it may be true from a Christian perspective that “all lives matter,” says the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Campbell of Highland Presbyterian Church in Louisville, she points out that from the very beginning of United States history we have violated this standard of belief: that all are created equal.
