(PNS) — “October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month,” Ruling Elder Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri, Co-Moderator of the 223rd General Assembly (2018), said as she greeted worshipers during Wednesday’s online chapel service. “We understand that gender-based violence, femicide (the killings of women or girls because they are female) and domestic violence are topics and experiences of great pain, and that these resonate with some of us very closely. Parts of today’s liturgy and worship service might be triggering, evoking strong feelings or memories.” The service, conducted completely in Spanish, was designed to raise the awareness of the pain and despair suffered by those impacted by domestic violence daily. In the opening prayer, the Rev. Iris Dalila Santoni said, “We invoke your healing and uplifting grace, and may it be reaching those women, children and all those who suffer from violence; that they can fight, overcome fear and gain wisdom to seek solutions.” And in a … [Read more...]

(PNS) — The final session of the virtual Polity, Benefits, and Mission Conference wrapped up Friday afternoon with more conversation around plans for the 225th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and words of encouragement as the pandemic continues. Kate Trigger Duffert, manager of GA Business and Per Capita for the Office of the General Assembly, provided an overview of the business that is currently slated to be brought before the Assembly next summer. “With all of the referrals coming in, we have a good handle of what will be coming to the Assembly,” she said. “Currently 47 overtures from mid councils are in and there are two new ones that did not come from referral. There is a lot that has been gathered in the last three to four years.” A number of business items to be considered for the 225th General Assembly currently fall into several overall categories; environmental justice, antiracism, equity in the denomination and peacemaking. OGA leaders … [Read more...]

To end systemic poverty, we first must understand its root causes by asking good questions. In Latin America and the Caribbean, two good questions to ask are, “How is the land used?” and “How are the people who live on that land treated?”  In Nicaragua, Indigenous groups who live along the coast and extensive rivers in the eastern half of the country struggle to control their land, despite laws passed in 1987 and 2007 that recognized their land rights. But policies and attitudes of the government encourage encroachment on traditional lands as well as outright confiscation of land for mining, lumber and cattle ranching. At the same time, global warming led to two hurricanes in fall 2020, Eta and Iota. These historically powerful hurricanes devastated many of these same communities. National and international aid to help these remote communities recover has been minimal. In Haiti, the 2010 earthquake set the stage for massive international investment in a Free Trade Zone along the … [Read more...]

(PNS) — Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and the Presbyterian Office of Immigration Issues are joining in calls for support of legislation to grant temporary protected status (TPS) to Cameroonian nationals in the United States. The Cameroon TPS Act of 2021, introduced this week by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), cites ongoing state-sponsored violence, domestic terrorism and heightened tensions between a variety of groups and communities as reasons the West Central African nation is not safe. Despite those realities, refugees are regularly returned to their country by the United States government. “We witnessed deportation flight after deportation flight return Cameroonian migrants last year as the country was in the midst of armed civil conflict,” Amanda Craft, manager for Advocacy in the Office of Immigration Issues in the Office of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), wrote in a blog post highlighting the plight of Black migrants in … [Read more...]

LOUISVILLE (PNS) — Thanks to a new partnership at Stony Point Center (SPC), food that might have been thrown away or composted ended up in the hands of immigrants in the community who needed it. In a small example of how SPC can partner its resources with nonprofit needs, the center found itself with leftover food after a guest group ate significantly less than was brought in to serve them. After Stony Point made a quick call to its new resident nonprofit partner, the food was picked up and taken to a distribution center that Proyecto Faro (Lighthouse Project) had already set up in the community.  At SPC, Proyecto Faro plans to use its space at the to gather and distribute food and clothing — and also provide legal representation and other services — for immigrants in the surrounding community. At SPC, Proyecto Faro plans to use its space on campus to gather and distribute food and clothing — and also provide legal representation and other services — for immigrants in the … [Read more...]

MILWAUKEE (PNS) — Five congregations in the Presbytery of Milwaukee joined together on an initiative inspired by the Matthew 25 invitation to feed the hungry. It led to unexpected, broad collaboration. As congregations join this week with the Presbyterian Hunger Program to celebrate Food Week of Action, the five Wisconsin churches are living into their Matthew 25 calling to feed the hungry.  This summer they built a community garden and now are harvesting the produce, distributing it to people who are experiencing hunger. Food for the Journey is a project of Apostle Presbyterian Church in West Allis, Calvary Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee, Delafield Presbyterian Church in Delafield, Jerusalem Presbyterian Church in Wales and Kettle Moraine Presbyterian Church in Hartland. Each church had something to share. “Food for the Journey started out as a project that none of our congregations could have pulled off on their own,” said the Rev. Nikki Blanks, pastor at Delafield. “The … [Read more...]