Indonesia is a nation consisting of tribes with cultural and religious diversity. In Java, where I live, the majority of the people are Muslim.
When my mother died at the age of 81 on Nov. 3, 2021, young women in the village made flower arrangements called “rencong” at the front of our house. Before the coffin was lifted up, they put the rencong on top of the crate.
About 20 minutes into a recent webinar on prophetic preaching, the Rev. Dr. Kenyatta Gilbert paused to answer questions. After one about preaching in “purple” churches (a mix of political conservatives and progressives in the pews), Gilbert got this question from one of the 30 participants, a pastor also serving a purple congregation: Have I spent enough time understanding the complexity of the lamentation of these people?
After serving for many years as a commissioned lay pastor of Brentwood Presbyterian Church in the Presbytery of Long Island, New York, a Matthew 25 presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Rev. Ida Rosario retired at the end of 2020 to start a new season in her life and ministry. Today she serves as a minister in a small multicultural church that partners with a Hispanic congregation of more recent immigrants.
Several years ago, we faced a mystery in our home. When my older children were 3 and 4 years old, all of our children’s books were getting ruined. The pages were wrinkled, folded and ripping. The books could not fit on the shelves because the damaged pages made each book take up twice as much shelf space as it should have. We were forced to throw the kids’ favorite books in the garbage because they were unreadable. I saw it as a crisis of responsibility. How could our children be so careless with their possessions?
At a gathering of Africa-area mission co-workers in Rwanda last month, “mishmoms” sat together to share their experiences on raising resilient children, as only parents can, with deep understanding. In honor of Mother’s Day, Presbyterian News Service shares their unique perspectives.
The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16–20) is an intercultural call to make disciples of all nations. As we engage in fulfilling this call, our commission to discipleship is sharing the good news of salvation with individuals from these nations in their own languages, traditions and cultures.
As college campuses everywhere become ghost towns over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, with dormitories mostly shuttered and food services closed, many international students find themselves in a unique—and often lonely—position, longing for home. And the promise of a home-cooked meal.
