(OGA) To Gladys Mbonifor, the community of Apple Valley, Minnesota, is home and the Spirit of Life Presbyterian Church is family. Mbonifor is from Cameroon where civil war continues to wreak havoc on its citizens. She came to the U.S. in 2011 to find stability for herself and her daughter. Her family that is still in Cameroon has been displaced by violence over the past two years. Shortly upon arriving in Apple Valley, Mbonifor filed for asylum and had been assigned an immigration customs enforcement officer. She was allowed to live in Minnesota if she remained compliant and made all scheduled check-ins. Shortly after her arrival, Mbonifor connected with Spirit of Life and her relationship with the church has grown ever since. “She’s really active in the church. She serves as a deacon and has carried all of the gifts of being a deacon since day one,” said Pastor Rob Smith. “When she came to the church, one of our beloved older members was dealing with dementia. She would visit … [Read more...]

LOUISVILLE (Louisville Seminary communications) — A religious scholar who explained how one of Christianity’s earliest creeds still applies to contemporary life has earned the 2020 Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Religion. Stephen J. Patterson, a professor of religious and ethical studies at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, won the award for ideas he set forth in “The Forgotten Creed: Christianity’s Original Struggle against Bigotry, Racism and Sexism.” Oxford University Press published the book in 2018. In his work, Patterson explores the significance of a baptismal creed adapted in a letter by the apostle Paul to the church in Galatia (Gal. 3:26 and 28): “For in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith; there is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” Christ’s first followers were dealing with race, class and gender issues, slavery and conflicts between … [Read more...]

Guided by a pair of seasoned consultants, about 300 of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s national staff engaged in a difficult and draining conversation about race Wednesday. “This is the way we sharpen our axe, so that as we go through the forest we can deal with (racism) in a way that is a blessing to God,” said the Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett, president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, at the onset of an all-day training informed by a large batch of empirical information compiled by the Racial Equity Institute. “When this information gets translated into our lives, we know we are being the people of God.” REI’s Monica Walker, who recently retired as executive director of the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for Guilford County Schools in North Carolina, called race “the greatest predictor of outcomes” for Americans. Race significantly determines where people live, how much money they’re likely to make and whether the health challenges … [Read more...]

(PNS) The Board of Pensions has presented its first Healthy Pastors, Healthy Congregations seminar in Puerto Rico. Congregational leaders of three churches in the Synod of Boriquén and their pastors attended the seminar, conducted in Spanish at Aguada Presbyterian Church in Aguada. Healthy Pastors, Healthy Congregations provides financial education for ministers and congregational leaders and grants of up to $10,000 to qualifying ministers. After a three-year pilot in North Carolina, the Board of Pensions rolled the program out nationally this year, but circumstances unique to Puerto Rico limited access there. At its fall 2019 meeting, the Board’s Board of Directors adapted requirements for ministers in Puerto Rico, nearly doubling the number of those eligible for the program. “For this seminar, the overarching theme was the same, but there was a lot of effort put into translating not just language, but differences in benefits and taxes to ensure relevance,” said Church … [Read more...]

LOUISVILLE — A new downloadable resource from the Office of Theology & Worship provides analysis and theological reflection on the Reclaiming Jesus Statement.  Signed in 2018 by leaders of several denominations and organizations, the statement and ensuing movement calls on Christians in the United States to “reclaim Jesus” by focusing on what followers of Jesus are required to do. The Theology & Worship resource is in response to a commissioners’ resolution approved at the 223rd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which commended to members, congregations and presbyteries the “Reclaiming Jesus” statement for study, comment and prayer. “In reviewing the Reclaiming Jesus Statement we found commonality with basic affirmations in our Presbyterian understanding of the faith,” said Theology & Worship coordinator, the Rev. Dr. Barry Ensign-George. The office of Theology & Worship document provides a brief outline of the Reclaiming Jesus Statement and … [Read more...]