by Darla Carter | Presbyterian News Service
The 65th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will be held online over the next two weeks.
LOUISVILLE â Kay Woods was a newcomer to the United Nationsâ largest annual gathering on gender equality and womenâs empowerment when she traveled to New York City in 2019 as part of a Presbyterian delegation.
âWhat I found, personally, is that I just got on fire there,â Woods said of the 63
rd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). There were 5,000 âdetermined, courageous, brilliant, forward-looking women, all working on these issues, and I just got that âWe can do this!â feeling.â
by Darla Carter | Presbyterian News Service
A street scene in Apartadó, Colombia. (Photo by Robyn Davis Sekula)
LOUISVILLE â The Washington office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has signed onto a letter asking President Joe Biden to make the Colombian governmentâs full implementation of 2016 peace accords a priority.
The Office of Public Witness joined more than 20 other groups in signing onto the March 1 letter, which asks Bidenâs administration to âpay attention to preserving and strengthening peace in Colombia and protecting the nationâs endangered human rights defenders.â
The letter centers on peace accords dating back to the Obama-Biden administration that are at risk because of what the signatories describe as âweak implementationâ in the South American country that has been embroiled in 56 years of armed conflict.
by Darla Carter | Presbyterian News Service
Forrest Palmer is a member of the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance National Response Team and is participating in an effort by West Virginia’s Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) to recruit people to fill volunteer positions at COVID-19 vaccination sites. (Contributed photo)
LOUISVILLE â Forrest Palmer said a prayer as he received his initial dose of COVID-19 vaccine last month in the state of West Virginia. The prayer emanated from a place of gratitude, not of fear.
âThe first vaccine that went in I said a prayer of thanksgiving for all of the people that made this possible,â said Palmer, listing off everyone from the pharmaceutical company to the people who participated in clinical trials to the medical staff. âThe shot didnât last that long, but my prayer did.â
OPW advocates for United States to restore humanitarian aid for Palestinian refugees
February 9, 2021
Action by President Biden would provide vital services and cast US as a âforce for positive changeâ
by Darla Carter | Presbyterian News Service
A boy in a Palestinian camp. (Photo by Rick Jones)
LOUISVILLE â The Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is encouraging the American people to rally behind Palestinian refugees by advocating for the restoration of U.S. funding to a vital humanitarian organization.
The Presbyterian Office of Public Witness (OPW) and Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) are pushing for the restoration of aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The agency helps provide vital services, such as health care, education and emergency food assistance, to Palestinian refugees throughout the Middle East, including the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.