As Virginia politics is roiled by revelations about senior state officials having worn or countenanced blackface in past years, how America and its churches address racial sin remains an ongoing moral and spiritual imperative. Secular America stresses guilt without atonement. Churches advocate racial reconciliation but often seem to lack the spiritual tools to achieve their laudable goals for the church or the nation.

Americans spent $18.2 billion on a recent Valentine’s Day, showing affection for the special ones in their lives.

Fountain Valley, Calif.: The first of 23 Global Ministry Forums was held last night, February 7, 2019, in Fountain Valley, California at the Living Waters Christian Fellowship church. There were approximately 118 people there to express their thoughts and ideas on a variety of items impacting the future of the Church of God.

As organizers of the International Day for the Unreached (www.dayfortheunreached.org) prepare for the fourth annual event on Sunday, June 9, they are celebrating a big step forward in the goal of seeing the Gospel of Jesus spread to every corner of the globe, and making an “all hands on deck” appeal to focus on and reach those who have yet to hear the gospel.

National Marriage Week USA (www.nationalmarriageweekusa.org), a national campaign to increase marriage education and champion marital success, launched February 7 and will conclude on Valentine’s Day, February 14. Since 2010, this important campaign has sought to espouse the many benefits of marriage, including better health, increased wealth, and greater happiness for married couples and their children.

Every two years, the eight Spanish-speaking regions of the Church of God in the USA gather together to celebrate their unity, heritage and commitment to FINISH the Great Commission. The Church of God office of Hispanic Ministries announces that this year’s National Hispanic Congress will be held on August 1-3, 2019 at the Mesquite Convention Center in Mesquite, Texas.

I have several single friends who hate February. They don’t send flowers or candy on Valentine’s Day. They don’t wait an hour for a restaurant table on Feb. 14 with all the other love-struck couples. This holiday is just a painful reminder that romance has eluded them.

Students at Homestead High School stood up for their rights to have their Christian athletes club on campus, and the school district agreed. Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) advocated for their Christian club to be recognized among the many other student clubs permitted to meet on school property.

The Church of God Division of Education is planning an Enrichment Cruise for November 11-16, 2019. The cruise is the result of the need to create a special focus track in the Mobilize, Lay Ministry program for Marriage and Family and to provide additional training and resources for Marriage and Family.