Minute for Mission: National Day of Awareness & Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People

Witness, Share and Evangelize: Minute for Mission: National Day of Awareness & Ac...: May 5, 2024 Photo courtesy of Alethia Oatman Indigenous communities have been struck by the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Wome...

Presbyterian Giving Catalog - Honoring Moms and Dads by Making an Impact

Welcome to Give Hope — your bi-monthly newsletter focused on celebrating and inspiring the power of generosity.

Making Our Parents Proud

With Mother’s Day and Father’s Day fast approaching, we reflect on the immense impact that parents have on our lives. They teach us values, nurture our potential and help shape our character. In addition to biological parents, we celebrate caregivers, legal guardians, adoptive parents, grandparents — and anyone who has contributed to a child’s well-being and growth. This year, encourage your congregation to recognize the profound influence of their parents by giving a meaningful honor gift through the Presbyterian Giving Catalog.

Blossoms For Mom, Guiding Hands for All

To help spread our appreciation, each special day has its own hashtag campaign. For Mother’s Day, we’re encouraging everyone to share a photo of their mom or motherly figure’s favorite flower, along with the hashtag #BlossomsForMom. Similarly, for Father’s Day, we’re inviting everyone to post a photo that captures a memorable moment with their dad or a fatherly mentor using #PhotosOfDad. This is a chance to honor all those who’ve provided parental guidance, whether through kinship, mentorship, or choice.

Blossoms for Mom Photos of Dad

Featured Story of Impact: The Ripple Effect

Share this inspiring story from South Sudan that details efforts to provide safe drinking water to communities in dire need. Learn about how this project has greatly reduced the risk of waterborne diseases — and given back hours of the day to children and women, who traditionally spend much of their time fetching water.

READ THE FULL STORY

Paper Chain Reaction: Links of Love Learning Activity

This simple, engaging activity is a great way to visualize the impact of our collective generosity. Each paper chain link represents a commitment to making a difference, illustrating how together, our small acts of kindness create powerful change. Let’s include those who’ve formed part of our support system with a link in their honor — be it stepparents, foster parents, or family friends who have been like parents to us.

LEARN MORE

Spread the Word, Share the Love!

Help us amplify the impact by sharing this email with your friends and family, or by following us on Facebook and Instagram. Together, we can create a ripple effect of generosity and compassion.

Copyright © 2024 Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation. All rights reserved. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202-1396

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship - Gun Violence Prevention BIG News for Congregations May 2024

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship Gun Violence Prevention News for Congregations May 2024 You did it! Expanded Background Checks Rule Adopted !!! Comments came from 388,000 Americans This new rule will help prevent the kind of mass shooting in Charlotte, NC this week, where 4 officers were killed by someone who could not pass a background check. Gun show and online sellers will now be required to conduct background checks, just as gun stores do. Read about the historic new rule HERE Our prayers and love are with the Charlotte, NC community. Lord, have mercy. Announcing.... The James Atwood Institute for Congregational Courage Aug. 22-25, 2024 Come to Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, NM for skills, courage and community! Continuing Education & Training for clergy and lay leaders in gun violence prevention mission for congregations. The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship invites you, and others from your church, to participate in the inaugural James Atwood Institute, which honors the legacy Jim Atwood, Presbyterian prophet of gun violence prevention for nearly 50 years. The purpose of this annual Institute is to expand skills, courage and community so that congregations can deepen their mission of saving lives over the long haul that this movement requires. Come as indivduals or as clergy-lay teams. Come if you are new to this work. Come if you want to be much more effective. Come to chart the future of gun violence prevention, as God's mercy calls us to action. Find a news article about the new Atwood Institute HERE. Keynote Speaker - Father John Dear On Thur. Aug 22 at 7pm MT, the Atwood Institute will open with a keynote speech by Father John Dear. Area local congregations are invited to join us. A Catholic priest, theologian, author of 40 books, John Dear is a globally-reknowned leader in applying the nonviolence of Jesus in our world today. Father Dear will be with us for the entire Institute, delving into the faith basis for courage to save lives. The Atwood Institute is ecumenical. Find a brochure to print out HERE. Print back-to-back and flip on the short side. Send any questions to gvp@presbypeacefellowship.org Space is limited. Some scholarships are available. Registration is now open HERE Support or Sponsor the Atwood Institute! Sponsor or support the new Atwood Institute, providing funds for scholarships and other expenses, and honoring Jim Atwood. Gifts to PPF are tax-deductible. Give now HERE or to discuss Sponsorship, contact HERE. Thank you! And thank you our first Sponsors: First Presbyterian Church of Santa Fe, The Presbyterian Outlook and New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence New Dates!!  Wear Orange Weekend is now June 7-9 Learn more HERE Send us your Wear Orange photos HERE! Photo: Oakland-Cambridge Presbyterian Church, Cambridge, WI Next National Guns to Gardens Days: June 1-2 & 8-9 If you plan an event, please let us know HERE. The Presbyterian Decade to End Gun Violence offers grants for action projects. Congratulations to those who have received grants! Be very specific about your project in your application. Apply HERE. Order Now for June Guns to Gardens Days! T-Shirts & Sweatshirts Guns to Gardens T-shirts and sweatshirts with the Guns to Gardens logo on the front and Isaiah 2:4 on the back. Order for your church volunteers for gun violence prevention events or as a gift. Order HERE Support PPF's Gun Violence Prevention Ministry! We need support from churches, individuals and presbyteries to do this work. Gifts of all amounts are needed. Gifts are tax-deductible.  Give HERE or Mail checks to: "Presbyterian Peace Fellowship" att: Gun Violence Prevention 17 Cricketown Rd. Stony Point, NY 10980 Thank you. GIVE HERE! Learn more at presbypeacefellowship.org/gun-violence gvp@presbypeacefellowship.org  Rev. Margery Rossi, Acting Coordinator margery@presbypeacefellowship.org

EarthBeat Weekly: The church leaders who are taking the pope's climate message seriously

The church leaders who are taking the pope's climate message seriously Your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change May 3, 2024   Sr. Susan Francois speaks April 22 in New York at a hearing held by environmental leaders to examine Citigroup's record on environmental racism. (Courtesy of The Sunrise Project) Following the news April 23 that the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky, would be the first diocese in the United States to commit to net-zero emissions across its parishes, schools and other institutions, the NCR editorial staff applauded that nearly a decade since the release of Pope Francis' encyclical "Laudato Si', On Care for Our Common Home," some U.S. church leadership finally seems to be taking the pope's climate message seriously. The announcement from the Lexington Diocese comes after two other notable actions from U.S. dioceses earlier this year: that the Archdiocese of Chicago would begin to power its parishes and schools with 100% renewable energy and that the Diocese of San Diego was the first diocese in the U.S. to publicly announce it has divested from fossil fuels. As the editorial writers state, "These are measurable, long-term and large-scale systemic changes." Indeed, this is what the pope and others — including Creighton University professor Daniel DiLeo and Christiana Figueres, the former United Nations climate official who brokered the Paris Agreement — have been urging. This is good news. Read more: Editorial: Finally, (some) US dioceses are taking the pope's climate message seriously And yet, there are other church leaders who for years already have been responding to the urgency of the climate crisis with the type of integral approach Pope Francis has endorsed. When it comes to care for creation, one can't help but think about the efforts of Catholic sisters who have long been championing the cause. One such example from this past week is the Citigroup shareholder advocacy of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, who for the third year in a row have challenged one of the largest investment banks in the world to assess their policies on climate, sustainability and human rights, particularly as they apply to Indigenous people and their land. Global Sisters Report national correspondent Dan Stockman reported that this year the sisters' shareholder resolution won 26% support at Citigroup's annual meeting. Last year, the resolution drew 31% support, and the year prior it received 33% support. "For three years in a row support from investors for our resolution has remained steady at Citi. This is a clear message to the bank that human rights violations are bad for business," said Assistant Congregation Leader Sr. Susan Francois in a statement after the vote. Read more: Catholic sisters urge Citigroup to assess climate, human rights policies     What else is new on Earthbeat:   The Vatican should do more to influence UN climate action by Griffin Thompson Paris Agreement pledges alone won't reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Vatican can respond with an initiative based on the work of the Laudato Si' Action Platform and the competencies of Catholic universities.    Pittsburgh parish creation care group hosts Earth Day fair by Theresa Doerfler St. Teresa of Kolkata Parish houses the Diocese of Pittsburgh's only care for creation group. Its resources fair April 27 explored ways people can live more in line with Laudato Si'.    Kenyan archbishop appeals for humanitarian aid as floods devastate the country by Fredrick Nzwili, OSV News Amid severe floods in Kenya, rescue operations were continuing April 29 as the death toll surpassed 120 people due to excessive rains and floods linked to the continuing El Nino phenomenon in East Africa. Archbishop Anthony Muheria of Nyeri appealed for humanitarian support to aid thousands of displaced people.   What's happening in other climate news: Big Oil hearing: Dems make their case against the industry —Emma Dumain for E&E News Countries consider pact to reduce plastic production by 40% in 15 years —Sandra Laville for The Guardian This New Biden Rule Will Save Americans $2 Billion On Utility Bills —Alexander C. Kaufman for Huffpost The world agreed to create a climate reparations fund. Now comes the hard part. —Naveena Sadasivam for Grist Pontifical charity provides solar panels to Church in Syria and Lebanon —Joseph Tulloch for Vatican News What does family planning look like in a warming world? — Mark Harris for Anthropocene   Final Beat: This week is National Catholic Reporter's Spring Fund Drive. Please support the independent Catholic news, reflection and commentary you trust. Help NCR grow with a one-time donation today. Give now! We appreciate your support. Thanks for reading EarthBeat! Stephanie Clary Environment Editor National Catholic Reporter sclary@ncronline.org Instagram: @stephanieclaryncr   Featured Advertisers   Looking to Hire? Offering Retreats? Selling Books? Place an Ad in NCR's Online Classified Section for Only $75 per Month!   Advertisement