PPL eNews, March 2023 | What is the Christian role in foster care?

Compelled by the Gospel, PPL equips Presbyterians to champion human life at every stage PPL ENEWS Foster Care April 2023 Is God calling you to be a Foster Parent or to support those who are?   by PPL Board Member, Rev. Justin L Marple Justin and his wife, Shelby, are licensed foster parents. Father of the fatherless and protector of widow is God in his holy habitation.  God settles the solitary in a home. . .      —Psalm 68:5-6a   Immediately before and after the Supreme Court decision reversing Roe v. Wade there were a flood of tweets and Facebook posts asking where all the pro-lifers are who will sign up to be foster parents to handle the predicted flood of children who would enter the system because of the court’s ruling.  Putting aside whether these prognostications constitute false prophecies and how these posts were seeking to justify murder because some children might need to enter foster care, it is appropriate for all of you who are Christians to consider whether God might be calling you to become a foster parent.  The process of becoming a foster parent is not one for the faint of heart—for the Christian, it involves taking up one’s cross daily.  Sometimes God’s call with regard to particular children may even evolve into a situation where you have the opportunity to adopt the children that you’ve been fostering.  But unless the child is an orphan, it always begins with the goal of reunification with a parent or parents.  In the meantime, you are protecting kids, providing for them, and loving them. READ MORE

PPL EQUIPS PRESBYTERIANS

Preserving the Species by PPL Board Member, Rev. Jonathan B. Leach,   Jonathan reminds us that the antidote  for our culturally-induced fears is a healthy, optimistic hope found in a solid grounding in God’s Word.

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Top 5 Books You Must Read When Adopting from International Adoption or Foster Care From the website of New Beginnings Adoptions Read the List

A Christian Approach to Foster Care - Focus on the Family By Natalie Hetro, Web Jul 9, 2021 · After twelve years as a foster parent, Cindy Tarrant has learned this: “Loving like Jesus looks a little bit different when you can’t leave and go home at the end of the day.”

Read the article Visit PPL's Adoption Resource Page IS GOD CALLING YOU TO SERVE ON THE PPL BOARD?   We are accepting applications for new board members interested in equipping Presbyterians to champion human life. There is no formal application paperwork beyond basic personal information, membership in a Presbyterian or Reformed congregation, and a statement of your personal interest in the prolife cause and what gifts and talents you believe you could bring to the board. Please also list two or three denominational references. Your application would be followed up with a phone interview.   Board terms are three years.  We meet monthly via ZOOM and ask board members to travel to attend our annual meeting in person, at the board member's expense. We are typically hosted by a church as a mission group.  Each board member is also asked to contribute an article to one monthly newsletter per year.   If you are a medical professional, pregnancy care center manager or caseworker, or have public speaking or publishing skills, those abilities and knowledge base are always appreciated, but not required.   Our current board members represent PC(USA), ECO, PCA and RPCNA, but some board members from the ARP, EPC and PCA have recently rotated off, and we hope for more robust representation from those denominations.   Please send inquiries via email to ppl@ppl.org with "Board Member Application" in the subject line, and may God bless your heart for the unborn and their families.

Will you click the donate button today? PPL has set a budget of $80,000 for 2023. That means we need to raise $6700 to meet expenses each month in order to carry on with PPL's gospel compelled mission to equip Presbyterians to champion human life at every stage.

Other ways to give To donate via text from your phone: Text "give" to 1 (717) 537-0909. Follow the prompts on the page that opens to make a gift to equip Presbyterians to save human lives! To donate by check, mail your check to: PPL, PO Box 5239, Lancaster, PA 15606-5239. Online bill pay: Set up a monthly recurring check through your your bank. Give an IRA disbursement and avoid paying income tax on it. Call us for information about giving stocks. Click the donate button below to help PPL make a difference today!

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Change.org Petition: Federally Ban Assault Weapons - Educators, School Clinicians, School Staff & Parents Unite

Federally Ban Assault Weapons: Educators, School Clinicians, School Staff & Parents Unite 6,396 have signed Sasha Kunnemann’s petition. Let’s get to 7,500!

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Educators, School Clinicians, School Staff and Parents Petition to Federally Ban Assault Weapons **Please include your title when signing** This petition is led by March Fourth, a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy group with one mission: federally ban assault weapons now. The U.S. has experienced over 2,000 school shootings since 1970, with numbers dramatically rising since the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in 2012. On average there are almost 40 school shooting incidents every year, or three per month. This epidemic of school shootings is uniquely American, and it’s unacceptable.  Every year educators, clinicians and school staff across the country attend trainings to keep them updated on skills they need to run their schools and classrooms. These trainings now include how to operate during a lockdown drill, effectively calling on our teachers and school staff to become bullet shields, crisis responders and medics. However, these trainings are useless if a shooter enters their schools and classrooms with an assault weapon, a weapon that Uvalde’s only pediatrician said his patients were entirely powerless against. Our schools are meant to be safe havens, second homes for our children. And for so many they are, until they are not. Assault weapons are designed to cause mass destruction. They are unforgiving and instantly deadly. They enter the body to liquefy organs, leaving pure and unrecognizable devastation. There is no training that can prepare teachers, clinicians and staff to face this potential  occupational hazard. We have made it commonplace to call on our teachers to serve as first responders and to live in a world where they question how they would manage if faced with this utterly impossible situation. How will I protect all of my students at once? How will I help students with disabilities move and hide? How will I keep my young students calm and quiet during the chaos? How will I shield them if I get shot?  How will any sort of training save lives against a weapon of war? How is any of this freedom? March Fourth is working tirelessly with one goal in mind–federally ban assault weapons. Ban the weapons that have become a fatal standard in school shootings. Ban the weapons keeping us from ensuring our schools are safe. Ban the weapons that have taken so many students, teachers, clinicians, and school staff.  We are calling on the U.S. Senate to pass S.25 and the House of Representatives to pass H.R. 698, to federally ban assault weapons so we can stop the never ending list of school shootings in America.  If you are an educator, clinician, parent or school staff, please use your voice to keep our schools safe by signing this petition. Students can sign our petition here https://chng.it/rzZWh7FM Join us–the time is now! To donate directly to March Fourth, visit our site: https://www.wemarchfourth.org/donate

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Presbyterians for Earth Care - New Webinar Taking a Look at the Latest Climate Report from IPCC

NEW WEBINAR! Urgent climate action can secure a livable future for all — The latest report from the IPCC Webinar Date: Tuesday, April 11, 2023 Time: 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm EDT (6:30 CDT, 5:30 MDT, 4:30 PDT) Presenter: Dr. C. Mark Eakin In March, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the first parts of the Synthesis Report covering the 6th Assessment Report. The IPCC has now spoken even more clearly that we must act urgently to address the climate crisis to stabilize the climate we leave our children. Despite such urgent pleas, most governments continue to move slowly. This webinar will provide a summary and insights into the latest report and the need for us all to act now to address the climate crisis. Dr. C. Mark Eakin is a retired oceanographer, having spent over 30 years with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He was a contributing author or reviewer of multiple IPCC reports, was Chief Science Advisor for the Sundance- and Emmy- winning film Chasing Coral, and has testified before the US Congress. He is a ruling elder serving at Warner Memorial Presbyterian Church in Kensington, MD, in the National Capital Presbytery, and the Presbyterians for Earth Care.

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Can we help you and/or your church care for creation? Help us grow! Please let us know if there is anyone we should add to our list! Email us at presbyearthcare@gmail.com. Please help us to continue to assist individuals and churches in creation care work by donating to PEC on our secure website for donations. Presbyterians for Earth Care is a national eco-justice network that cares for God’s creation by connecting, equipping, and inspiring Presbyterians to make creation care a central concern of the church.

Copyright (C) 2023 Presbyterians for Earth Care. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you are a member of Presbyterians for Earth Care, or because you opted to join our email list. Our mailing address is: Presbyterians for Earth Care P.O. Box 8041 Prairie Village, KS 66208