he theme is set for the 2018 Compassion, Peace and Justice Training Day, to be held April 20, in Washington, D.C. The annual day-long gathering at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church provides Presbyterians with the opportunity to engage on major social justice issues. This year’s theme is ‘A World Uprooted: Responding to Migrants, Refugees and Displaced People.’
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has joined more than 50 faith groups and other human rights organizations urging the U.S. government to extend and redesignate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syrians currently living and working legally in the country.
The immigration conversation is nowhere close to being done. The political discourse around immigration continues to affect communities and the church — in both its witness and its membership. It’s a conversation that should compel leaders (including sessions and mid councils) to continue discerning the call of the church, especially when it comes to welcoming people who come to the United States in pursuit of a better life.
I am an immigrant and a former refugee. I came from Cuba to the United States via Spain in the late ’60s. I belong to that group of people from the “Global South’’ who began migrating to this country by the millions after the liberalization of immigration laws in 1965.
I am an immigrant and a former refugee. I came from Cuba to the United States via Spain in the late ’60s. I belong to that group of people from the “Global South’’ who began migrating to this country by the millions after the liberalization of immigration laws in 1965.
A two-day faith-based forum on supporting LGBTQ refugees is being considered a success. First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York hosted the symposium on the challenges facing LGBTQ refugees and asylum seekers. The church worked alongside several ministries within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), to present the event entitled “Love Welcome.”
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) today, in conjunction with the Office of the Stated Clerk, issued a statement regarding reports the Trump Administration is considering reducing refugee admissions to 50,000 in 2018, the lowest level since passage of the Refugee Act of 1980.
Loan Nguyen waited anxiously at the airport for the arrival of a Syrian family that had traveled 13 hours from Jordan. The family, displaced by war in Syria, had spent more than two years in a refugee camp, trying to find a new home. The couple and their two small children were entering a country they did not know, and they had no idea what to expect.
Many of us have heard that the United States’ form of government was influenced by the practices and beliefs of Presbyterians who crossed the ocean to find religious freedom. Even today, our local municipal meetings and sessions of Congress mirror what takes place in church meeting rooms around the country as elected ruling elders seek to lead each congregation. While we may understand how the church influenced the form of government, we may not always know how traditional Reformed theology has influenced the beliefs that are the bedrock of the Constitution.
Paola Schellenbaum is a trained cultural anthropologist in Italy and abroad. Her work includes research and training on intercultural education and integration. This fall, she will be one of 16 individuals who will visit Presbyterian churches, mid councils and other institutions as part of the International Peacemakers initiative, sponsored by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program.
