RICHMOND, Va. – Union Presbyterian Seminary has been awarded a grant to develop a map to help churches find new ways to communicate the value of religious practices for children and families in a diverse and complicated world. The daily lives of American children and families are significantly affected by ongoing cultural and institutional religion shifts. Technological developments, including the rising popularity of social media, smartphones, and digital gaming and entertainment, have encouraged new forms of social identity formation, most notably that of ‘networked individualism’. Religious participation has continued to decline in North America, leading to higher numbers of persons who describe themselves as ‘spiritual but not religious’ or who are identified by scholars as ‘religious but not affiliated’. “Our research will help congregations retool their approaches to faith formation in ways that address the challenges of contemporary family life and also offer ideas … [Read more...]
Co-moderators make committee appointments
(OGA) After the close of its meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, the 223rd General Assembly tasked the Co-Moderators, Elder Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri and the Rev. Cindy Kohlmann with appointing the membership of 14 special committees, commissions, and task forces. Some committees were established or expanded by the 2016 and 2018 General Assemblies in response to recommendations to commissioners from various sources. The Assembly approved financial implications for the work of these special entities, for the most part, beginning in 2019 through 2020 when reports will be brought to the 224th General Assembly (2020). Presbyterians were invited to consider a call to service and apply via an online application form to be considered for appointment by the Co-Moderators. Hundreds of Presbyterians responded to the call, taking time to reflect about the nature of the work and necessary gifts, experience, and skills need for each special committee, commission, or task force. “We’re so … [Read more...]
Presbyterians help prepare to meet the needs of the coming caravan
McALLEN, TEXAS – The caravan of thousands of Central American immigrants is coming, to be met at the border by the military. Possibly militia groups too – some are loading up their rifles and heading south. As they look ahead, humanitarian groups working with asylum-seekers along the U.S.-Mexico border aren’t sure exactly when and where the caravan will arrive – whether the asylum-seekers will head as a group to one spot or split up and spread out. They don’t know what will happen when the immigrants arrive or what President Donald Trump will do. Already, people in the Rio Grande Valley see the presence of U.S. troops, who are stringing razor wire along the border fence, conducting maneuvers, circling in helicopters overhead. There also are concerns about overwhelming the humanitarian response, with thousands of asylum-seekers approaching and volunteers already exhausted from months of trying to meet the need. Asylum-seekers, many of them families with children, arrive at the … [Read more...]
Prayers for Cameroon
Sisters and Brothers, I urgently call you to prayer for our partners and friends in Cameroon, a nation divided by language between French-speaking and English-speaking regions. Tensions have risen to a deadly and inflammatory level as English-speaking citizens have petitioned, unsuccessfully, for translation of important document from their original French into English. The escalation has resulted in many deaths and most recently a group of armed men entered the campus of the Presbyterian Secondary School (PSS) a Nkwen, Bamenda, and abducted 78 students and three staff members, according to a statement by the Rt. Rev. Samuel Fonki, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Cameroon (PCC). We rejoice in the release of the students today but continue to pray for staff. In addition, the government, intending to quell the political protests, closed several businesses and shut down the internet access in the two English-speaking provinces. In addition: seven of the PCC’s health … [Read more...]
Faith groups mount election turnout efforts that could help both parties
(RNS) — Waves of religious groups are mustering passionate get-out-the-vote efforts in the final hours before the heated midterm elections, with clergy pushing the faithful to the polls in ways that stand to aid both Republicans and Democrats. Convincing religious voters to cast ballots on Election Day on Tuesday (Nov. 6) is hardly a new phenomenon in American politics. But this year’s atypically heated midterm contests appear to have sparked unusually robust efforts by faith-based organizations to galvanize supporters and move the political needle in favor of their respective values, if not their preferred candidates. The conservative Christian group Faith and Freedom Coalition has spent the past few months revving up political operations that have existed for years, hoping to help Republicans capitalize on largely unwavering support for Donald Trump among white evangelical Protestants. According to the New York Times, the group is pumping $18 million into this cycle, a … [Read more...]
Bus station compassion: volunteers help asylum-seekers get to the next place on their long journey to safety
MCALLEN, TEXAS – What happens when the caravan gets here remains to be seen, but a recent fall day at a bus station near the border demonstrated more the resilience and determination of asylum-seekers and humanitarian volunteers – sort of new best-friends in crisis – than any glimpse of a well-designed federal system. On two days that week, immigration officials dropped off roughly 500 asylum-seekers per day, nearly all of them families with children, at the bus station in McAllen, Texas. There was no advance notice of the big numbers – about 300 more immigrants than is typical showing up and needing food, water, and shelter. So many came that the nearby Humanitarian Respite Center, operated by Catholic Charities under the leadership of Sister Norma Pimentel, ran out of space. That’s where families seeking legal asylum in the United States sleep, eat, and use the bathroom between when they are released from detention and their buses actually leave. It’s a small space operated … [Read more...]
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