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On the 21st of March, 1960, police officers in the South African township of Sharpeville opened fire on protesters, killing 69. With the incident fresh in its mind, that year the 172nd General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. addressed apartheid for the first time:

The 172nd General Assembly: Expresses its horror at the dangerous conditions in South Africa which the inconsistencies and moral absurdities of apartheid have brought upon that country; Declares its deep concern about the course of events which seem to move with relentless logic...

Then the priest Jehoiada took a chest, made a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar on the right side as one entered the house of the Lord; the priests who guarded the threshold put in it all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord. – 2 Kings 12:9 (NRSV)

Circular letters, fairs, bazaars, gambling, kisses for sale, bachelorette auctions, wills and bequests, pew rents and the tithe, gifts of livestock—American Presbyterians have used every method known to raise funds for the maintenance of pastors and the promotion of missions. The story of Presbyterian...