Guest commentary by Lora Burge Representing PC(USA) World Mission and Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, I recently spent a week in Honduras as part of an emergency delegation of ecumenical faith leaders.  We went to be present during the national strike leading up to the January 26th presidential inauguration and, more specifically, to accompany Fr. Ismael Moreno and human rights organizations in the city of El Progreso.  Fr. Moreno, known and “Padre Melo,” and a number of others within the organizations have received death threats, been watched and persecuted in other ways by security forces for their social justice work. The current Honduran political crisis has been developing since June of 2009 when there was a military coup that removed then president Manuel Zelaya.  The country has experienced weakened democratic processes, increasing human rights violations and ongoing militarization in the intervening years.  This past November saw a presidential election that was both … [Read more...]

Guest commentary by Sam Locke We have a Way Forward Commission, an All Agency Review, a Governance Task Force and others doing faithful work determining how to best move the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) forward. Their work has sparked conversation and controversy, but has overlooked the best (and perhaps simplest) way of moving forward: eliminating the PMA and A Corporation all together. Don’t get me wrong — the PMA does great work. I spent seven years raising money for many of the PMA’s ministries, and the causes and people supporting them are nothing short of inspiring. But our current way of doing business isn’t sustainable. Here is another way forward: Spin-off beloved PMA ministries into separately incorporated 501(c)3 organizations. World Mission, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Presbyterian Hunger program and others would thrive with less bureaucracy and the agility to be laser-focused on their ministries and constituencies. Being detached from the … [Read more...]