by Tammy Warren | Presbyterian News Service
The Rev. Kurt Esslinger and Hyeyoung Lee are PC(USA) mission co-workers in Korea. (Contributed photo)
LOUISVILLE â Years ago, at a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) youth conference in East Texas, Kurt Esslinger felt the Spirit nudging him toward a ministry that reaches out to people who feel they donât belong because of their differences.
He realized that God loves us for our differences, rather than in spite of them. This call led Esslinger to study at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, and there he met a student from Korea exploring her own call to ministry, Hyeyoung Lee. She helped introduce him to Korean culture, and this friendship led to marriage and eventually to becoming mission co-workers in Korea.
Black Caucus president: âWe cannot restâ
February 4, 2021
Thomas H. Priest, Jr. says thereâs more work needed within the PC(USA) to dismantle structural racism
by Darla Carter | Presbyterian News Service
The Rev. Dr. Thomas H. Priest, Jr., president of the National Black Presbyterian Caucus, was the guest of the Rev. Lee Catoe and Destini Hodges Tuesday on “Just Talk Live.” (Screenshot)
LOUISVILLE â “Just Talk Liveâ kicked off Black History Month this week with an appearance by the Rev. Dr. Thomas H. Priest, Jr., president of the National Black Presbyterian Caucus.
The NBPCâs mission, according to its website, is to âserve Jesus Christ, and enrich the black Presbyterian congregations and their communities, through our commitment to congregational enhancement, advocacy, social and racial justice; and challenging the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) when it fails to take seriously the needs of the poor, oppressed, and disenfranchised.â
by Tammy Warren | Presbyterian News Service
During her Young Adult Volunteer year, Californian Maggie Lewis experienced knee-deep snow in Chinook, Montana. (Photo by Courtney Arntzen)
LOUISVILLE â As her college graduation approached, Maggie Lewis remembers feeling that God was calling her to be a missionary in Africa. She didnât know exactly how to make that happen, so she decided to do some research.
âI went to the computer lab and started Googling âmissionary in Africa,â and thatâs when the Young Adult Volunteer program popped up,â said Lewis, who grew up in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). She initially thought sheâd apply to serve as a YAV in Africa or Northern Ireland or Nashville, Tennessee, all of which were among the available YAV sites that year.
by Robyn Davis Sekula | Special to Presbyterian News Service
Presbyterian Church of East Africa Moderator the Rt. Rev. Dr. Julius Mwamba, center left, speaks to Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta at the charter ceremony in December. Mwamba was inducted as the Chancellor of the University during the ceremony. (Contributed photo)
JEFFERSONVILLE, Indiana â Things have changed dramatically for the Presbyterian University of East Africa in the past three years â despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Enrollment is up, construction debt is settled and the university now has a charter signed in December by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
âWe thank God,â says the Rev. Robert Waihenya Ngugi, Secretary General Designate for the Presbyterian Church of East Africa. He also teaches at the university, which is in Nairobi, Kenya. âWe were able to work with our friends, with our enemies, and secure the charter. It was one protracted battle.â
by Emily Enders Odom | Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE â As yet another Christmas has come and gone â and, along with it, the Magi from the East bearing their unique gifts â the spirit of giving that so characterizes this holy season lives on in these ever-lengthening days through the continued generosity of faithful Presbyterians.
Looking back on a year in which charitable giving was expected to drop precipitously, the improbable increase experienced by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) on #GivingTuesday 2020 was nothing short of a Christmas miracle, surpassing all expectations and previous records.
As reported by the Presbyterian News Service on Dec. 10, 2020, the PC(USA)âs #GivingTuesday campaign yielded gifts totaling just over $150,000 as of that date, with a final number promised in the New Year as gifts were continuing to come in.