Mission Yearbook: Pastor says God meets us in shared grief

The Rev. Theresa Cho, who preached during opening worship at the Annual Event of the Association of Partners in Christian Education, noted in her sermon that the fog is so prevalent in her city, San Francisco, that it has its own Instagram account: Karl the Fog.

Image

The Rev. Theresa Cho

“He uses it to troll us,” said Cho, the pastor and head of staff at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, which is “a hop-skip away” from the iconic — and often shrouded — Golden Gate Bridge.

“Bridging the Gap” was the theme of APCE’s annual gathering, being held online and at the Wyndham Grand Hotel in Pittsburgh. One of Pittsburgh’s monikers is the “City of Bridges.” The Steel City is home to at least 446 bridges.

Cho used Matthew 22:36–40 and three passages about Noah — Genesis 6:9–22, 7:24 and 8:14–19 — as her preaching texts.

She noted that bridges not only cross bodies of water  but they also connect communities together. “Our world, our country, our neighbors need communities connecting together more than ever,” she said. She wondered aloud just when the current atrocities around the world and across the country will cease.

“I wonder if that’s how God felt in this story in Genesis, that life itself is corrupt to the core,” she said. In Genesis, God gets angry and floods the Earth, but before that God instructs Noah to build the ark and fill it with every species.

She asked: How does a loving, compassionate God behave in such a way?

“I get it. I’m angry, too,” Cho said. This is not an angry God, but a grieving God, she said. “Grief can lead one to destroy the very thing that was lovingly created,” she said. “Here in the midst of grief, we find God pushing all of God’s buttons. God cries and grieves for 40 days, shedding enough tears to flood all Creation.”

After 40 days, God makes a covenant with Noah, but after the floodwaters recede, the flood hasn’t changed much. The animals that emerge from the ark have not changed their nature, she said. “What changes is God and God’s approach to humanity” with “unlimited patience and forgiveness.”

She asked: Why choose grief for discussion during opening worship? As author Cole Arthur Riley said, grief keeps us human, Cho said. “For many who have experienced profound grief, we know it is something that never leaves us,” she said. “As educators and pastors, we are trained and conditioned to take on the grief of the world. It can be hard to tend to our own grief, our own losses, our hopes and dreams, our passion and identity. But God promises to be with us and help us carry our grief.”

At the end of 40 days, “Noah reminded God that faithfulness has a way of rearing its stubborn head,” Cho said. “God knows what we go through and promises us that in the co-grieving, we will be together.” She called God “the rainbow bridge that unites us to all that God has called good.”

“May we be reminded that God is ever-present, so we have the strength and courage to cross any bridge that comes our way. Our neighbors need us to show up,” Cho said. “The good news is there’s never a bridge we cross alone.”

“Along with other co-grievers, we walk together. Amen.”

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Beth Zornick, Vice President, Customer Business Systems, Plan Operations, The Board of Pensions
Princeton Abaraoha, Global Ecumenical Liaison-US, Global Ecumenical Partnerships, Presbyterian Life & Witness

Let us pray:

Loving God, stand with us all, we pray. Remind us to notice, encourage, and listen, and inspire us to lead with your Son’s heart. Teach us again how to follow, how to learn and how to lead in your merciful manner. Amen.

WCC news: A journey of faith, solidarity, and listening across southern Africa

From 3-8 August, the South African Council of Churches, in partnership with the Fellowship of Christian Councils in Southern Africa, welcomed church leaders from Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, Namibia, Tanzania, and Eswatini for a regional solidarity visit to South Africa. Photo: SACC 12 August 2026 Taking place in both the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, the visits provided an opportunity for church leaders to engage with communities, faith leaders, government, and civil society, listening to the lived experiences of migrants and reflecting together on the church's role in promoting human dignity, justice, peace, and social cohesion. They met with migrants and refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and other African countries, as well as community and church leaders, the KZN Christian Council, African Solidarity Campaign, Refugee Social Services, and Lawyers for Human Rights. The group listened to deeply personal accounts of conflict, displacement, and the painful realities of rebuilding lives far from home, the uncertainty many continue to live with, even after decades in South Africa, and the longing for peace in the countries they were forced to leave.  Yet amid these difficult stories, many also spoke with gratitude for the love, welcome, and support they have received from South Africans, churches, and local communities. Rev. Mzwandile Molo, general secretary of the South African Council of Churches, said that those gathered reflected on what the migration crisis has caused—not only in South Africa, but across the region. “We know that many people have been intimidated, harassed, and, in many ways, forced to leave South Africa,” said Molo. “Many of them are our brothers and sisters from within the region.” As they gathered, church leaders across the region raised serious concerns, such as: What is the nature of this crisis? How is it being expressed? And what is its impact on our people and our region? “Part of this process is listening and understanding what has been happening,” said Molo.  “They are doing this because part of their responsibility is to offer a pastoral response—to the people here in South Africa and also to those who have returned to their countries.” In understanding the nature of the crisis, Molo continued, they want to express their solidarity with those who have been affected. “From that perspective, they will share with South African church leaders and communities the prophetic challenge of our time,” said Molo. “Most importantly, throughout this journey, they will ask: How can we respond in a comprehensive way that ensures that events like this do not happen again?” Molo urged that all those who contribute to creating and covering up the chaos in the region be called to account. “And, most importantly, how do we unite the people of our region so that we can restore the values of Ubuntu and the values of Africa, while making a firm commitment to ensuring that migration is managed fairly, humanely, and in a way that strengthens our communities and our region?” he asked. “Our goal is to build a coherent, cohesive, dignified, economically strong, socially united, and politically stable region.” WCC General Secretary, leadership of South African Council of Churches meet with South African H.E. President Cyril Ramaphosa (WCC news release, 30 July 2026) 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

Mission Yearbook: Director of Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center meets with delegation from the PC(USA)

Zoughbi Zoughbi, the founder and director of Wi’am, the Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center, said he wanted a visiting PC(USA) delegation to see what is happening to the people Wi’am serves.

“Justice is so important we almost forget what it means,” he said while hosting the six visitors. “We are glad to see you because you come from a great power, which is associated with great responsibility.”

Image

Zoughbi Zoughbi, at left, makes his case for members of the PC(USA) delegation led by the Rev. Jihuyn Oh, second from right. On the right is Sue Rheem, Representative to the United Nations and manager of the Presbyterian Ministry at the UN.(Photos by Rich Copley)

“We need our ecumenical family,” he said. “Christians here [in and around Bethlehem] feel hopeless and helpless. You are a renewable source of hope for us to hear the voices of the marginalized, depressed and downtrodden.”

Wi’am’s work includes offering children’s programs, job creation, educational and cultural tours, nonviolent resistance, peer mediation and programs for women and children. A longtime partner of the PC(USA), Wi’am first spoke to the delegation and then fed them Qidreh with lamb.

“Wi’am’s is a message of collective responsibility. We shift from dwelling on victimhood to collective responsibility, the cure for every malady. We saw that end conflict in South Africa and Northern Ireland,” he said. “I’m sorry that is not working here.”

Zoughbi called the current age one of the most difficult times in history. Many Palestinians have no jobs. Some do, but don’t have salaries. “How can we deliver a message that it’s worth living a life in this area?”

He wondered if churches and church leaders “are doing their job.”

“What will we have — chaos or community building?” he asked. “How can we be like the first church, delivering good news for the entire Palestinian people?”

For Wi’am, “it’s a blessing to be next to the wall,” he said of the organization’s office space. “This entices us to do more work on the ground.” When staff or others are showered with tear gas, “we are armed from head to toe with onions and perfume [to deal with the tear gas] and hope and faith.”

Image

The Rev. Jihyun Oh, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Executive Director of the Unified Agency, comments during a meeting with Wi'am.

“Nevertheless, we work, and more people are coming to our services,” he said. “The place we are in is a mixed blessing. Risk is a model of life, and we struggle equipped with our faith.”

Because people “feel unsafe at the moment,” Wi’am works with psychologists and social workers “around the clock.”

“After the conflict has stopped, it can take generations to heal,” he said. Clubs for women and youth have been established, and educational workshops are offered “because we believe in synergy.”

“Shame on us Arabs and Palestinians if we are unable to deliver a bottle of water to Gaza,” Zoughbi said.

The Rev. Jihyun Oh, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the PC(USA) and Executive Director of Presbyterian Life & Witness, wondered what renewable hope looks like for Palestinians. She asked: “How do we equip people so they don’t get tired?”

“I have known Douglas [Dicks, the PC(USA) global ecumenical liaison who organized the trip] for a long time, and he is not tired. He gives us hope,” Zoughbi said. “If you bring more groups — young people and people who are young at heart — you are sustaining people. You are telling us we are not alone, empowering the weak and bringing accountability.”

“Come and see,” Zoughbi advised anyone considering a journey to Israel-Palestine. “Come, see, reflect and act. We need to change our lenses sometimes, because the old lenses aren’t helpful anymore.”

He said that churches “have the moral ground to do a better job” working against injustice because “we have a rich heritage of solidarity with the oppressed.”

“If we want change, we have to go down to the streets. I have seen how Douglas does that,” he said, with a nod toward Dicks.

Wi’am put out a book called “Your Stories are My Stories,” where children interviewed their grandparents about living under occupation. He said he’d like to take young people to learn from others who have been strengthened by liberation theology in places including South Africa, Northern Ireland, South Korea and South America.

“In a time when so much is being systematically taken from the Palestinian people,” the book states, “we feel the need to light a small candle of hope instead of cursing the darkness, for we know the dawn is coming!”

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Eric Ayala, Spanish Translator, Administrative Services Group
Anna Torba, Multimedia Graphic Designer, Presbyterian Women, Inc.

Let us pray:

God of grace, we ask that you would give us creative ways to serve the people and that they would one day claim the hope and joy of abundant life in Christ. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Kentucky church serves up coffee and connection

Image

The Main Cup coffee shop in Cynthiana, Kentucky. (Photo by Alex Simon)

This video highlights the story of The Main Cup, a coffee shop in Cynthiana, Kentucky, that grew out of a church’s desire to connect more deeply with its community.

Once an unused parsonage slated for possible demolition, the building was reimagined after church leaders participated in the New Beginnings program and clarified a renewed sense of mission. With the support of a dedicated board and a simple vision centered on relationships and quality coffee, The Main Cup opened despite early uncertainty.

Video URL: https://vimeo.com/1155156898?fl=pl&fe=sh

Alex Simon, former Multimedia Specialist, Presbyterian Life & Witness (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Lydia Yost, Director, Operations & Compliance, Investments, The Board of Pensions
Ezra Young, Operations Gift Administrator, Operations, The Presbyterian Foundation

Let us pray:

Dear Lord, you desire that all would enjoy the fruits of their labor and live in peace. Please open a path so that everyone may have a place of your blessing. May your kingdom come and your will be done. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Minute for Mission: Day of Prayer for the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula

Image

North and South Korean Christians gathered in 2017, along with ecumenical colleagues and supporters as part of the Ecumenical Forum for Korea.

“He is our peace … and has broken down the dividing wall.” — Ephesians 2:14 

Each year, Presbyterians around the world join with Korean Christians in observing the Day of Prayer for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, lifting up prayers rooted in grief, hope and a yearning for peace that transcends borders. For many, this is not just a political issue; it is deeply spiritual and profoundly personal.

After World War II, Korea was divided along the 38th parallel, a temporary military line that, in the aftermath of the Korean War (1950–1953), solidified into a permanent and heavily fortified border. What had started as an arbitrary border evolved into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), now considered one of the most militarized borders in the world. “Families, communities and cultures were split almost overnight,” said the Rev. Hyunghee Kim, a United Methodist pastor and Hebrew Bible scholar living in Girdwood, Alaska.

The consequences of this split were deeply personal: Millions of families were torn apart by the conflict, with loved ones stranded on opposite sides of a sealed frontier, unable to reach one another. In 1983, South Korea responded with a poignant national broadcast, “Finding Dispersed Families,” where people went on live television to search for missing relatives. “It became a national moment of weeping, mourning and deep yearning,” Hyunghee said.

For Korean Christians, the longing for reunification is rooted in both faith and history, but the path forward is complex. “I believe that true reconciliation requires not only spiritual healing, but also political, historical and emotional restoration,” said Miyoung Kim, a Korean Presbyterian living in Virginia. “I hope our prayers can come from a place of compassion, humility and a desire to understand its complexity.”

The hope of reunification is more than nationalistic; it is also theological. “Though it is a political reality, the separation is deeply spiritual,” Hyunghee said. “In Korean Christian theology, this longing often parallels biblical themes of exile and return, brokenness and healing, and division and reconciliation.”

Worship practices for this day include intercessory prayer, lighting candles for the North and South, and singing beloved hymns like “Let Us Be One” (하나되게 하소서), which prays, “Let us be one, in the love of the Lord.” Likewise, secular songs like “Arirang Alone” (홀로아리랑) express a sense of deep longing.

As we mark this Day of Prayer, let us join in that longing, with candles lit, hymns lifted and hearts open.

Alex Pickell, Peacemaking Fellow, Office of Public Witness

Let us join in prayer for:

Yun Kyoung Yang, Editorial Assistant, Korean, Growing Faith Resources, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
Andrew Yeager-Buckley, Project Manager II, President’s Office, Administrative Services Group

Let us pray:

God of mercy, we weep for what has been lost — families torn, stories silenced, generations divided. Bring healing to this land and peace to your people.

하나되게 하소서, 주님의 뜻 안에서.

Make us one, O Lord, in your purpose and will.

Mission Yearbook: Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb tours Bethlehem university with PC(USA) delegation

The Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, an author, pastor, social entrepreneur and theologian who founded and leads Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem, recently took a six-member PC(USA) delegation around campus and shared lunch with them in the signature domed restaurant on campus.

Image

The Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb shows an art gallery at Dar al-Kalima University to members of a delegation from the PC(USA) (Photos by Rich Copley)

Raheb has been a longtime partner of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). “My claim to fame is I have participated in more PC(USA) General Assemblies than any other pastor. I’ve been to five of them,” he said. “I am proud of the PC(USA) and proud of your stands.”

As home to about 600 students, Dar al-Kalima University focuses on art, culture and design programs, which Raheb said “are really important” in carving out a Palestinian identity. About two-thirds of the students are women. “This is a university invested in women power and gender justice,” he said.

The striking campus “was designed by Palestinian minds and built by Palestinian hands,” he said. “It is a beacon for the whole region.”

Raheb outlined four major challenges that are “facing us and the region”

Settler colonization in Palestine. “Settlers come to a land with the intent to replace Indigenous people. This happened in the U.S. 400 years ago, and so it’s nothing new for you,” Raheb said. “Here, it has happened in a decade, which is unbelievable.” But even with the war in Gaza, Palestinians have been very resilient, he said, and “that’s a sign of hope.”

What Raheb called “the Israelization of the world,” which accelerated after 9/11. Before that terror attack, people who would fly in to visit Israel were frustrated with the level of airport security in Israel. Israel began promoting itself as “being security experts par excellence,” and started exporting its technology after the attacks when authorities worked to make flying safer. “Think about how America looks more and more like Israel,” he said. Even walls have become more popular, and the current American president ran on a slogan of “build the wall” during his first campaign. A “global Palestine has risen up that was not there before. You can see people all over the world demonstrating for Palestine.” There is global Israel, he said, “but you also have global Palestine rising.”

Image

The Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb explains challenges that Palestinians face to members of the PC(USA) delegation, being led by the Rev. Jihyun Oh.

What Raheb called “the Zionization of theology,” which has been going on for a half-century, he said. Christian Zionism used to be limited to the Western world, he said. Now it’s “much stronger” in the Global South. Despite that, “I was shocked positively to see right now we have 20 young Palestinians doing their doctoral work in theology. All these young people are thinking decolonial,” he said.

“The region is not poor; the region is made poor,” he said. In addition, the leaders in the Middle East “are not the best leaders. We didn’t do a good job creating a democratic and just society.” 

Majors in art, culture and design can help address these challenges, he said. “If we did a lecture, 50 people might come, but 40 don’t need to be there” because “they know everything. Five people are there by mistake, and the other five are there to make problems.”

But screen a film and “you will attract people who have not heard about Palestine before,” he said. 

“When we started, there were no Palestinian films,” he said. “We now have films on Netflix our students have worked on.”

There’s also an increased demand for Palestinian art, and Raheb showed the visitors some of the works displayed at the university on their way to a multi-course lunch prepared by student chefs.

“We are proud to be able to contribute to this process,” he said, “as part of our creative resistance.”

Dar al-Kalima University had a campus in Gaza, but it was destroyed during Holy Week in 2024. The 40 staff members are all displaced and live in tents. “Every day I take a shower, I think of them. They are so resilient, and they say we cannot stop,” Raheb said.

Those staffers are working to provide art therapy for children in refugee camps in Gaza. To date they’ve reached 25,000 children. “It’s amazing work. I could not do that,” Raheb said. “It’s the resilience of our people.”

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service

Let us join in prayer for:

Aniria Williams, Administrative Support, Annual Giving, Administrative Services Group
Kaden Wood, Business Analyst, Operations, The Presbyterian Foundation      

Let us pray:

Our loving God, thank you for the gift of those who reach out to their friends in a spirit of love. May their example be a light to the world, that all may live in peace. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Free guide is a primer on Congregation-Based Community Organizing

Churches interested in grassroots organizing as a way to help their communities and boost congregational vitality have a new downloadable resource from the Presbyterian Hunger Program.

The ministry has released a free, eight-page guide, “Congregation-Based Community Organizing (CBCO): A Call to Do Justice, Love Mercy and Walk Humbly.” 

Image

The Presbyterian Hunger Program has released a new guide on congregation-based community organizing.

The guide is a primer on CBCO, which is defined as “a grassroots, faith-rooted approach to building collective power and addressing systemic injustices within local contexts.”

The guide includes tips on getting started; examples of victories won by groups, such as the Missoula Interfaith Collaborative and Justice United Seeking Transformation in Pensacola (JUST Pensacola); and a list of CBCO networks.

The Rev. Phil Tom of the West Kensington Ministry in Philadelphia said congregation-based community organizing allows congregations to be more impactful than working alone and can be utilized by churches of any size.

“It’s about building people power and building community power, and the church can be a part of that, even though it's a small congregation,” Tom said. This kind of organizing can make “a powerful difference in their neighborhood and the city.”

Through research, listening sessions and Nehemiah action assemblies, CBCO groups focus on key issues for problem-solving and advocate for solutions while putting collective pressure on community leaders.

“CBCO is grounded in the belief that, through deep relationships and faithful witness, faith communities are uniquely equipped to walk alongside frontline communities in the shared pursuit of justice and the common good,” the guide notes.

City leaders “see the power in numbers and they see that you’re united,” Tom said.

The Rev. Dr. Angela Johnson, pastor of Grace Hope Presbyterian Church in Louisville’s Smoketown neighborhood, knows the value of CBCO work. She’s co-president of Citizens of Louisville Organized and United Together, better known as CLOUT, which has been pushing for change in that Kentucky city for decades on topics such as police-community relations, gun violence, aging in place and the development of an affordable housing trust fund.

Image

At Louisville Seminary’s Black Church Studies Consultation, the Rev. Dr. Angela Johnson, president of CLOUT, stands next to John Aden, an associate organizer for CLOUT. (Photo courtesy of the Rev. Dr. Angela Johnson)

CBCO is an effective way of holding leaders accountable, Johnson said, and is tied to the idea that elected officials have a responsibility to the people. “They work for us,” Johnson said.

Grace Hope was one of the original conveners of CLOUT. Its most recent victories include successfully campaigning for a crisis intervention center that will offer mental health services and be an alternative to both jail and the emergency room for individuals in need of evaluation. 

Some of CLOUT’s Nehemiah action assemblies, during which key leaders are brought on stage to be asked to commit to solutions, have attracted around 1,000 people, Johnson said. 

“We have gone to the stakeholders in advance and said, ‘This (proposed solution) is what we're asking for. Will you do this?’” Johnson said. “We do that within a committee, and then they come on stage, and we ask them that in front of the people.”

Even if the official doesn’t agree to what CLOUT is pushing for, that “doesn't mean, as far as we're concerned, that it's over,” Johnson said. “We will keep pursuing (the issue) because we know that’s for the good of the people.”

Tom said CBCO can be a way to increase spiritual and congregational vitality and appeal to young people, who want to be active in their communities and in social movements.

Trying to make a difference in the community is part of answering God’s call for justice and to take care of those who are hungry or have other needs, such as being unhoused, Tom said. In passage after passage in the Bible, “how can you ignore the word ‘justice’?”

To download the CBCO guide, go here. To read an article about an episode of the Presbyterian Advocacy Hour that focused on grassroots organizing, go here.

Darla Carter, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Life & Witness (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Caralee Wheeler, Program Associate, Development Office, The Presbyterian Foundation
John Wilkinson, Director, Stewardship & Funds Development, Administrative Services Group

Let us pray:

Lord of the harvest, be with your laborers, so that their faithfulness may bear much fruit. Amen.