Presbyterian Border Region Outreach has changed its name to Presbyterian Borderlands Ministries to better represent its ministry on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
When migrants began arriving in large numbers, the Methodist Church Milan started discussions about how to create a culture of welcome. But members didn’t just talk. They are living fully within their own creation that has become a model for like-minded congregations around the world.
Those attending the recent online Presbyterian Border Region Outreach conference enjoyed a 90-minute respite during a workshop given by the Rev. John Cheek and the Rev. Suzanne Malloy.
“I’m a Black Italian, a Black European, a woman who was born in Rome with Somalian roots,” said writer Igiaba Scego. She spoke out about herself after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died in police custody in Minnesota after being pinned to the ground, and whose last words were, “I can’t breathe.”
The medieval church in the 4th century set Dec. 25 as Christmas Day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. In the years that followed, the church expanded the celebration of Christmas to a 12-day festival, running from Dec. 25 to Jan. 6, the observance of Epiphany. For Presbyterians, Epiphany is key to our discipleship of Jesus in the world God so loves.
Refugees and migrants are at the heart of the mission and calling of Protestant churches in Italy. The geopolitical position of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea has made it one of the European countries most involved in the dynamics of migration.
Lucia Santos, a young Filipino marriage migrant, lost her Korean husband in their fifth year of marriage. Their two little children awoke one morning without their father at their side. She discovered that her husband had died by suicide.