Presbyterians for Earth Care has a reputation for presenting its conferences every two years in appropriately picturesque locations such as the Presbyterian conference centers Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, Montreat in North Carolina and Stony Point in New York.
On June 24, word arrived that the Small Business Administration had fully forgiven the $8.85 million Paycheck Protection Program loan received by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation in April 2020.
The newest four-part online series designed to dive deeply into the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Matthew 25 invitation aired Monday night. More than 50 people joined to learn about civil initiative and the engaged church and the evening’s case study, a successful tiny house ownership program in Detroit.
Four weeks of studying the underpinnings of systemic poverty came to an end Monday with a look at Luke’s account of the Widow’s Mite and a scholarly examination of the burden that debt has, especially on people living in poverty.
Due to the ongoing financial impact of COVID-19, the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) is further reducing operations at Stony Point Center (SPC), which will serve as a small retreat center moving forward. In order to reduce expenses and allow time for transition, the small-group retreat model will utilize only the Gilmor Sloane and Allison houses. The main campus will be maintained but will not house guests as the PMA begins a period of prayerful discernment on SPC’s future and explores long-term viability, both missionally and financially.
tony Point Center (SPC) and Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary (JCSTS) have once again teamed up to develop and offer an online curriculum to support the Matthew 25 vision. This second course is titled “Underpinnings of Systemic Poverty” and gives participants a lens through which they can better understand the underlying forces at work in communities that are disproportionately poor.
Monday’s final installment of “Awakening to Structural Racism” provided the more than 200 online participants with a tangible tool: a method for forming a concrete first step that individuals and congregations can take to dismantle systemic racism even as recent news reports indicate those first steps are sorely needed.
Part 3 of the Awakening to Structural Racism online conversation Monday dealt with Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) efforts to dismantle structural racism and white supremacy — even when those efforts are placed on hold during the most recent General Assembly, held online and without the usual committee work because of the pandemic.
On Monday more than 235 people from across the denomination spent two hours online exploring ways they can awaken to structural racism, one of three focus areas in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Matthew 25 invitation.
Nearly 600 people gathered virtually Wednesday to have what is all too often a difficult conversation in a majority white denomination.
With the current unrest and protest in our nation, the call for justice and the dismantling of structural racism is stronger than ever. Committing to become a Matthew 25 church offers one of the first ways that churches can take steps to bring about racial justice.
