Top PC(USA) News of the Week

Week of May 4-8, 2026

Completing a ticket for Co-Moderator The Rev. Dr. Barbara Barkley, who serves a Bay Area church, hears a call to stand alongside the Rev. Dr. Bill Myers at the 227th General Assembly

Imagining a new way forward The Rev. Jihyun Oh addresses an April gathering at the Korean Church of Boston

Accompaniment in action Global delegation begins week of advocacy with worship, hospitality in New York City

Faith-based leaders call for dignity, protection at global migration forum International Migration Review Forum 2026 side event highlights frontline role of faith communities and urgent need for rights-based systems

Kairos Collective re-imagines worship in Milwaukee A new worshiping community with support from the Presbytery of Milwaukee has built connections across communities

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202

WCC news: WCC presidents in Pentecost message: “The Holy Spirit Invites Reimagined Communities of Unity”

The World Council of Churches presidents have published a Pentecost message entitled “The Holy Spirit Invites Reimagined Communities of Unity.” The message reminds us that we are called to life together.  Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC 12 May 2026 “Regardless of the season, place or circumstances, we are called to be agents of new and renewed Spirit-filled communities that show love, envision and practice shalom, promote and engage food security, and seek justice not only within our faith communities but outside of them,” reads the message. “The Holy Spirit invites us to new things, possibilities, and hope and brings us into communities where justice, peace, and love abound.” The message calls for us to invite the Spirit to transform us so that we can be more like Jesus, and concludes with a prayer that reads, in part, “Teach us and lead us anew to be filled with a holy awe of You that can lead and inspire us to be messengers and agents of your signs and wonders.” Pentecost message 2026: "The Holy Spirit Invites Reimagined Communities of Unity" WCC presidents and leadership See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland

RNS Morning Report - Catholic diocese fights Trump administration plan to seize pilgrimage site for border wall

A battle over a New Mexico pilgrimage site The Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico is fighting the Trump administration’s fast-moving attempts to seize its land to extend the southern border wall. The land targeted by the federal government is at the base of Mount Cristo Rey, a mountain and pilgrimage site topped by a 29-foot-tall limestone statue of Jesus Christ. The diocese said the border wall would obstruct pilgrimage routes, according to a recent legal filing. As RNS national reporter Aleja Hertzler-McCain writes, the government wants to use the land to “construct, install, operate, and maintain roads, fencing, vehicle barriers, security lighting, cameras, sensors, and related structures designed to help secure the United States/Mexico border,” according to the government’s filing. And if the case over religious freedom and eminent domain goes to higher courts, it could have broader implications for religious groups at the border, a law professor told RNS. Read the full story below. Top Stories Catholic diocese fights Trump administration plan to seize pilgrimage site for border wall (RNS) — The land targeted by the federal government is at the base of Mount Cristo Rey, a mountain and pilgrimage site topped by a 29-foot-tall limestone statue of Jesus Christ. Spiritually burned out? Tish Harrison Warren and some ancient monks have advice. (RNS) — Dealing with a sense of burnout and the weariness of modern life, author Tish Harrison Warren found help in the words of long-dead Christian mystics. Abraham Foxman, antisemitism umpire for the ADL, dies at 86 (RNS) — As the national director of the Anti-Defamation League for almost three decades, he built up the organization into a formidable agency that tracked antisemitism and extremism, both on the right and the left. Elaborately decorated skeletons in Catholic churches across Bavaria take some visitors by surprise BAD STAFFELSTEIN, Germany (AP) — While they may seem unfamiliar or even disturbing to some visitors, catacomb saints — or Holy Bodies — can still be found in many Baroque Catholic churches and monasteries across Bavaria. Opinion Abraham Foxman was a warrior against hate. His work is hardly complete. (RNS) — Abe Foxman made the world a little less hateful. We need him now more than ever. 20 years after we knew: The end of ‘persistent vegetative state’? (RNS) — Are we finally at a pivot point in how we engage people with massive brain injuries and diseases? ICYMI Black clergy strategize, preach and urge election turnout after Voting Rights Act gutting (RNS) — 'We need accountability. We need to set goals, track registrations, follow up to ensure that those who register actually vote,' a Church of God in Christ bishop said at an 'emergency’ meeting. In underground breastmilk donation networks, motherhood transcends politics and theology (RNS) — While institutionalized milk banks offer solutions for parents in need of milk, informal sharing has created opportunities for parent-to-parent connection — where faith plays a role. Support Our Work As a nonprofit newsroom that covers all faiths, RNS sits uniquely at the intersection of freedom of the press and freedom of religion. News tips or feedback? Email comments@religionnews.com. Like the Morning Report? Share it with a friend. Forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here. We rely on reader donations to power our reporting. Donate here. Or send a check to: Religion News Foundation PO Box 1808 Columbia, MO 65205

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