NEW YORK (PNS) — Doreen Alefaio was on the grounds of the United Nations checking messages on her phone when she realized what was happening back home in New Zealand. Tears started to flow as she saw reports of the attack on two mosques in Christchurch that we now know took the lives of 50 worshipers attending Friday prayers on March 15. A woman who is Muslim approached her and asked where she was from and took her hand when she said, “New Zealand.” “For the next few moments they held hands and cried together at the United Nations, worlds apart but united in grief for the events taking place,” Steph Redhead, Alefaio’s fellow New Zealand delegate to the 63rd UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), wrote on her blog, reflecting on being more than 9,000 miles from home when senseless tragedy put her country in a rare global spotlight. Participants in the March 15 worship service at the UN Church Center, presented by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), prayed over members of … [Read more...]
Hundreds gather to mourn Robina Winbush
(OGA) COLUMBUS, OHIO – Hundreds of mourners gathered on Friday to say goodbye to the Rev. Robina Winbush, who died March 12 at age 61. A procession of clergy, accompanied by African drumming, opened the funeral/worship service at Broad Street Presbyterian Church in her native Columbus, Ohio. Rev. Dr. Mark Ogunwale Lomax delivers the eulogy at the funeral. Photo provided. The service was officiated by the Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett, president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, who also led the worshippers in hymns and prayer. Winbush, the director of Ecumenical Ministries with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Office of the General Assembly, died March 12 as she deplaned in New York. She had just returned from a 10-day visit to the Middle East with a church delegation. The Rev. Dr. Irvin Moxley delivered the opening prayer. “It is here in this holy space that we are able to lay our sorrows and confess our sin. We know God is good all the time,” … [Read more...]
After cyclone disaster, church organizations mobilize to help devastated Africans
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — When Cyclone Idai struck the Southeast Africa coast last week, it swept away everything in its path, including churches, schools and homes in the Mozambican port city of Beira and beyond. By Sunday, the number of confirmed deaths caused by the storm in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, already surpassing 700, continued to rise as churches, Christian relief organizations and agencies raced to aid the three countries most affected by the tropical storm. After causing extensive flooding as a tropical storm, the cyclone — traveling at a speed of up to 177 kilometers (106 miles) an hour — made landfall on the Mozambican coast on March 14 and continued inland. On Saturday, agencies reported that the number of deaths had reached nearly 750 and was expected to rise in the three countries. Last week, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi said the number of deaths in his country could reach 1,000. Initial government estimates said nearly 1.8 million people were … [Read more...]
Religious, civil rights groups ask Pompeo to request expert probe of U.S. racism
(RNS) — Scores of religious and civil rights organizations have asked U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to request an evaluation by a U.N. expert of the scope of racism in the country. “While we appreciate the U.S.’s stated commitment to fighting racism, we believe that commitment ought to manifest itself in tangible actions rather than only words,” reads the letter released Thursday (March 21) by the National Council of Churches. “We are deeply concerned by credible reports indicating a frightening resurgence in white supremacy, which has led to a rise in racism and hate crimes against racial, ethnic, and religious minority communities both in the US and abroad as evidenced by the recent horrific and unspeakable mass murder in New Zealand.” The letter says that the U.S. is 16 months late in submitting its periodic report to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which requires that member countries who have agreed to a 1969 treaty submit regular … [Read more...]
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance responding to several U.S. crises
(PNS) There was a time, it seems to the Rev. Jim Kirk of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, that specific phenomena were isolated to different parts of the calendar. Spring brought severe storms, tornadoes and flooding, while Western fire season was late summer and fall. “What we’re finding — and this is anecdotal — is less and less defined disaster seasons,” says Kirk, Associate for National Disaster Response for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA). “The parameters have expanded with the possibility of severe weather year-round.” Indeed, as spring has sprung, Kirk and PDA personnel are managing several domestic disasters including flooding in the Midwest and late winter severe storms and tornadoes in the Southeast. “I expect PDA will be involved at several levels,” said Greg Smith, a member of the PDA National Response team deployed to the Presbytery of Missouri River Valley to assess damage from flooding that has affected 70 percent of Nebraska, as well as … [Read more...]
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance responding to cyclone in Southern Africa
(PNS) Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is responding to a catastrophic natural disaster in Southern Africa affecting hundreds of thousands of people. Wind damage from Cyclone Idai in Zimbabwe has been compounded by flooding. On March 15, Cyclone Idai made landfall in Beira, Mozambique, and cut a path of destruction through that nation and neighboring Zimbabwe and Malawi, causing widespread storm damage and flooding. More than 1,000 people have already been reported dead, according to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) Associate for International Disaster Response Luke Asikoye. There are fears the death toll will rise significantly. Complicating the desperate situation are additional rains that have been falling in the region, adding to floods and swollen rivers in Malawi, putting more than 350,000 people at risk, according to numerous news sources. Rains this week have added to the flooding by Cyclone Idai. “Now, the most important thing is saving lives,” … [Read more...]
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