It was upon the communion table where, through God’s Spirit, ordinary means are transformed for extraordinary ends, that on November 20, Hudson River Presbytery transferred the title of the former Stony Point Church and all its property to the newly-created Sweetwater Cultural Center “to promote the education, health and welfare of indigenous or native peoples and to preserve their cultures and ceremonial practices locally, regionally, and around the Western Hemisphere.”
“It was an amazing night.” “The food and the spirit of the people of people there.” “The renewed sense of a community persevering together.” These were some of the reflections from those present at the annual Farm-to-Table Gala that benefits Stony Point, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) conference center located about 45 minutes northwest of New York City.
In response to the news of broad devastation by Tropical Storm Florence in North Carolina and South Carolina, Super Typhon Mangkhut in the Philippines and China along with the continuing recovery in Puerto Rico and other areas by past hurricanes, the annual meeting of Presbyterians for Earth Care (PEC)’s Steering Committee took on a renewed sense of urgency.
Another year’s growing season has come to an end at Stony Point Center. But the timeless lessons learned on the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s national conference center’s working, organic farm are yearlong, and—for 19-year-old David Keiling—even lifelong.
The Presbyterian Mission Agency Board (PMAB) has approved adjustments in the mission budgets for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for the next three years ― authorizing spending increases that the denomination will pay for by drawing down reserves.
La 216a Asamblea General (2004) de la Iglesia Presbiteriana (E.U.A.) autorizó la creación de una Oficina de Asuntos de Inmigración a causa del aumento y de los efectos de un sistema deteriorado de inmigración en los EE.UU. casi ya una década atrás. Esta acción llevó a la formación, unos años más tarde, de una coalición de defensa llamada Presbiterianos para una inmigración justa.
Ahora, se está avanzando para llevar estos esfuerzos al siguiente nivel.
Se llevaran a cabo dos sesiones de entrenamiento para que más presbiterianos alcancen a los recién llegados en sus comunidades y para unirse al movimiento de …
거의 10년 전, 급격한 이민의 증가와 붕괴된 미국 이민 시스템의 결과로 인해 지역 교회들이 새로운 도전들에 직면하게 되면서 제 216차 미국 장로교 총회 (2004)는 이민 담당 사무국 (Office of Immigration Issues)의 창설을 인가해 주었다. 이것으로 인해 몇년 후에는 정의로운 이민을 위한 장로교인들 (Presbyterians for Just Immigration)이라 불리는 후원 동맹이 형성되었다.
이제, 이러한 시도들을 다음 단계로 이끌어 올리기 위한 조치들이 취해지고 있다.
다가오는 두 번의 교육 기회들은 훨씬 많은 장로교인들로 하여금 그들의 지역에 들어오는 새로운 사람들에게 다가설 수 있도록, 그리고 이민자들의 권리들을 충분히 인정해 주기 위한 운동에 참여할 수 있도록 무장시켜줄 것이다:
Nearly a decade ago, as skyrocketing immigration and the effects of a broken U.S. immigration system brought new challenges to congregations, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s 216th General Assembly (2004) authorized the creation of an Office of Immigration Issues. This led to the formation, a few years later, of an advocacy coalition called Presbyterians for Just Immigration.
Now, steps are underway to take these efforts to the next level.
The Rev. Matt Schramm, chair of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board (PMAB), has appointed a three-member Evaluation Committee to review a proposal that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Stony Point (N.Y.) Center be separately incorporated as a constituent corporation of the denomination.
For Farsijana Adeney-Risakotta, a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission co-worker in Indonesia for ten years, interfaith relations is hands-on engagement framed around hospitality and reconciliation.
Her context is a country with the largest Muslim population in the world, a place where she navigates through waters sometimes filled with Muslim-Christian hostility. “I have seen how religion plays a part… in violent action,” said Adeney-Risakotta, who was born in the chain of more than 13,000 islands.