Presbyterian Mission Agency united nations Archives

A Presbyterian pastor finds hope and direction in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Posted January 29th, 2024

“Nothing is constant but change,” says the philosopher, and we might as well add, “…changing ever faster.” Wherever we look today the world is changing and at an unprecedented rate.

Fighting for gender equality: Event by Ecumenical Women prepares Presbyterians and others to mobilize for advocacy at UN gathering

Posted March 6th, 2023

During a panel discussion on Saturday, engineer Anna Hand of Towson Presbyterian Church in Maryland helped to bring home the spirit-crushing realities that girls and young women sometimes face when they show interest in science, math, engineering and technology (STEM).

Collaboration stokes fire for faith-based advocacy

Posted August 9th, 2022

After a two-year hiatus, a collaboration between the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Columbia Theological Seminary recently resumed with students traveling to the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations (PMUN) and the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness (OPW) to learn about effective environmental advocacy.

Minute for Mission: Hiroshima Day

Posted July 19th, 2022

On Aug. 6, 1945, the United States dropped the first of two atomic bombs on Japan during World War II. The first was dropped on the city of Hiroshima. The second bomb would be dropped a few days later, on Aug. 9, on the city of Nagasaki. It’s estimated that 70,000 to 135,000 people died from the first bomb and 60,000 to 80,000 people died from the second.

How migrants can participate in their own advocacy

Posted May 25th, 2022

Last week, migrants and migrant advocates, working together as Churches Witnessing with Migrants (CWWM), met for its 11th annual international consultation in New York City.

International Peacemaker from Rwanda to discuss her country’s history

Posted April 26th, 2022

An International Peacemaker from Rwanda will visit the United States this fall to share how the country has evolved since the genocide against the Tutsis in 1994.

How to live holy lives amidst threats of destruction

Posted April 7th, 2022

In honor of Earth Week, global partner CEDEPCA (the Protestant Center for Pastoral Studies in Central America) is hosting an upcoming virtual journey to Guatemala which will offer a theological framing of the climate crisis.

Minute for Mission: Earth Day 2022

Posted March 24th, 2022

It’s been more than 50 years since the first Earth Day (1970). Spurred by concerns from that time period about oil spills, polluting factories, and dangerous chemicals being used regularly (described in Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring”), thousands of college students and concerned citizens came together in mass rallies, across political lines. Later that year, the United States Environmental Protection Agency was formed, and federal environmental laws soon followed: the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act. By 1990, Earth Day began to be celebrated globally. The first United Nations Earth Summit was held in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro.

In three weeks, Presbyterians have donated nearly $1 million toward humanitarian relief in Ukraine

Posted March 23rd, 2022

In the three weeks or so since the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) issued an appeal for help, Presbyterians have donated nearly $1 million in response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

UN Secretary-General expresses allyship with women and girls at Town Hall

Posted March 17th, 2022

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres spoke strongly Wednesday about the need to topple the systems that prevent women around the world from achieving parity with men.