Left: Lucy Craft Laney’s portrait is displayed at the Georgia State Capitol. Right: The Rev. Edler Hawkins was the first African-American male moderator of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. (PNS) African-Americans have played a pivotal role in American church history. Many may be familiar with Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, the founders of what is now known as the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which was established in Philadelphia in 1792. Less known but equally as important to the Presbyterian denomination was the Rev. John Gloucester, who founded the First African Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia in 1807. The Presbyterian Church has a rich history of bold, courageous and gifted African-Americans who contributed and continue to contribute to the advancement of the denomination. During this celebration of Black History Month, we stop to recognize some of these leaders who made a profound impact on the Church. Gloucester was authorized … [Read more...]

(PNS) — Across the United States, one of the major struggles for people with criminal convictions is finding work. For many employers, having a criminal record ends the conversation with a prospective employee. After funding a pair of initiatives that helped ex-offenders in Lansing, Michigan, return to the workforce, the Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People has funded a program that is helping those people take their work to the next level. Opportunity Knocks — a project by the NorthWest Initiative’s Advocacy, Resources, Reentry and Outreach program,  composed of ex-offenders advocating for themselves — made a goal of training ex-offenders in the construction field so that they can work their way into better-paying jobs and become journeymen in specific skills. Self-employment is even a possibility with this initiative that provides economic opportunities for members and creates possibilities for people leaving the criminal justice system in the … [Read more...]

Office of the General Assembly staff dress in black to commemorate the “Thursdays in Black Campaign” to raise awareness of the abuse of women. Photo by Randy Hobson. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.     1 Corinthians 13: 4–7 LOUISVILLE (OGA) On a day that represents a celebration of love, you’ll find most people wearing red to commemorate. But for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Office of the General Assembly, the color to wear for Valentine’s Day this year is black. Staff members are participating in the Thursdays in Black Campaign, organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC), to raise awareness about violence against women and children. The campaign grew out of the WCC’s Decade of Churches in Solidarity … [Read more...]

LOUISVILLE (PNS) — Saying he’s “been yearning to come” visit staff at the Presbyterian Center, the Rev. Dr. Alton B. Pollard III, president of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary since Sept. 1, did just that Thursday, quoting this Valentine’s Day scripture from 1 John: “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God …” The Rev. Dr. Alton B. Pollard III, president of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, held a community forum with staff at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Ky. Thursday. He’s holding a photo of his grandson, Alton Brooks Pollard V. (Photo by Rich Copley) “It’s always important to begin with love, because that’s what God is,” said Pollard, who has been a pastor and seminary professor as well as the former dean of the Howard University School of Divinity. It’s “critically important” for him as a new seminary president to establish and develop relationships with Presbyterian “kith and kin,” he said. Most recently the “kin” part … [Read more...]

LOUISVILLE (PNS)  Thursday marks the one-year anniversary of the Parkland, Florida school shooting, which killed 17 students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) continues to mourn with the families, friends and communities who suffered unimaginable pain and loss that day. We hold each and every member of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School community in our hearts.  Featured is a prayer that the Rev. Dr. Laurie Kraus, director of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, wrote last year in the aftermath of this tragedy: O God, who hears the cries of your children, we remember that we are dust, and unto dust we shall return. But not this way, Holy One, not now. It is far too soon to watch even one more child go down to the dust, let alone so many. These your children, their lives ended by another unspeakable act of violence, deserved our care, our protection, our joyful witness as we watched them grow into the fullness of adulthood. But we have … [Read more...]