Mission Yearbook: Nearly $9 million in grants awarded to 30 congregations that have historic buildings

The National Fund for Sacred Places, a program of Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has announced its newest cohort of grantees. Twenty-nine churches and one synagogue (listed below) have been selected to receive capital grants of up to $500,000 along with tailored technical assistance to support historic preservation efforts, community engagement and enhanced fundraising. This represents both the largest cohort of grantees in a single year and the largest amount of funding awarded in the program’s history, totaling $8.73 million in grants.

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The Irvington Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis is one of three PC(USA) churches to receive preservation funding. (Photo by Craig Shaw)

Now entering its 10th year, the National Fund for Sacred Places is the only nationwide program of its kind, providing financial and professional resources to help congregations remain strong faith communities while they steward some of the nation’s most important and architecturally significant houses of worship. Since its inception, the National Fund has awarded or pledged over $33 million to 168 community-serving congregations representing 28 faith traditions across 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

“Each of the congregations welcomed into the National Fund this year represents a unique story of resilience, history, and service,” said Bob Jaeger, president of Partners for Sacred Places. “These sacred places are not only architectural treasures — they are vital centers of congregational life and community anchors offering meals, education, cultural enrichment, and refuge. We are honored to support their preservation and their continued role in public life.”

Faith communities supported by the National Fund often serve as centers for critical social and cultural activity, providing everything from shelter and meals to after-school programs, concerts and civic dialogue. Research shows that for every $1 invested through the National Fund, more than $4.77 in community impact is generated, making preservation an act of both cultural stewardship and community investment.

Interest in the National Fund continues to be high. For 2025, 319 congregations applied, reflecting both widespread need and a growing recognition that sacred places require external support to maintain their dual role as historic landmarks and community lifelines.

The National Fund 2025 grantees are:

• Saint Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church - Tucson, Arizona
• The Park Hill United Methodist Church - Denver
• Luther Place Memorial Church - Washington, D.C.
• Riverside Church at Park and King - Jacksonville, Florida
• St. Francis of Assisi Parish - Marshalltown, Iowa
• First Church of Deliverance - Chicago
• Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church - Greencastle, Indiana
• Irvington Presbyterian Church - Indianapolis
• Bethany Lutheran Church - Lindsborg, Kansas
• Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral - Louisville
• Hyde Park Seventh-day Adventist Church - Boston
• State Street Church UCC - Portland, Maine
• Wright on Main/Community Christian Church - Kansas City, Missouri
• Calvary Moravian Church - Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• St. Thomas Episcopal Church - Dover, New Hampshire
• First Presbyterian Church of Albany - Albany, New York
• St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery - New York
• Third Presbyterian Church - Rochester, New York
• First Baptist Church of Greater Cleveland - Cleveland
• Our Lady of Lourdes Parish - Cleveland
• Trinity Episcopal Church on Capitol Square - Columbus, Ohio
• Camphor Memorial Church - Philadelphia
• SACCPhilly - Snyder Avenue Congregational Church - Philadelphia
• St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church - Pittsburgh
• San Juan Cathedral - San Juan, Puerto Rico
• St. Patrick Catholic Church - Charleston, South Carolina
• Canton Lutheran Church - Canton, South Dakota
• Belmont United Methodist Church - Nashville, Tennessee
• Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd / El Buen Pastor - Ogden, Utah
• Temple Beth Hatfiloh - Olympia, Washington

For more information on the National Fund for Sacred Places, including eligibility, program details, and the value of sacred places in communities nationwide, visit fundforsacredplaces.org. The National Fund for Sacred Places is made possible thanks to the generosity of Lilly Endowment Inc.

Partners for Sacred Places is the only nonsectarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to the sound stewardship and active community use of older sacred places across America. Partners provides a variety of fundraising, building stewardship, space-sharing, and community engagement services through grant-funded programs and consulting so that sacred places can live into the vital roles they play as community assets in their neighborhoods and our wider society. To learn more, visit sacredplaces.org.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Rebecca Hall, Customer Service Representative, Hubbard Press, Administrative Services Group
Denise Hampton, Vice President & Controller, Finance & Accounting Controller's Office, Administrative Services Group 

Let us pray:

Gracious God, we offer thanks for the deep roots and unquenchable hope you give. We pray that you will support congregations, encourage tireless pastors, and help youth and adults develop servant hearts. All this we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Young people and the Churchwide Special Offerings

Supporting Young People through the Christmas Joy Offering The Christmas Joy Offering is the new home for supporting the ministries working with youth and young adults. This support allows the PC(USA) to offer opportunities like the Presbyterian Youth Triennium and the Young Adult Volunteer program. Read about the impact the Triennium had on these international youth students from Presbyterian Pan American School. Triennium Impact on International Students Support Young People on Pentecost Even though the Christmas Joy Offering is usually received during Advent, Offerings can be received at any time of the year that fits in your church’s schedule. If your congregation has received the former Pentecost Offering during this Pentecost season, consider receiving the Christmas Joy Offering this Pentecost Sunday. View more information on the 2026 changes to Special Offerings as approved by the 226th General Assembly (2024).  Thank you for supporting our young people through the Churchwide Special Offerings. If you have any questions, reply to this email or call us at (800) 728-7228, Ext. 5047. We are the Church. Together.

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Together for the Next Generation: Webinar Invite

You’re invited to join us for our Together for the Next Generation, a global conversation hosted by the WEA Children’s Network in partnership with Reaching Europe’s Children. The mission of the WEA Children’s Network is to equip parents and the Church to love, protect, guide & empower all children. This session is part of a bi-monthly webinar series that brings together voices from across WEA regions and affiliates to share insights, stories, and collaborative practices.  Date: May 19, 2026  Time: 12:00 UTC  Location: Online (Zoom) We are also pleased to welcome special guest panellists from Reaching Europe’s Children. Register Here We hope you can join us for this first gathering in the series. World Evangelical Alliance Over two billion Christians in the world today are represented by three world church bodies. The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is one of those, serving more than 650 million evangelicals belonging to churches that are part of 163 national Evangelical Alliances in 9 regions. Launched in London in 1846, the WEA unites evangelicals across denominations for prayer, evangelism, mission, theological education, religious freedom, human rights advocacy, relief, and engagement in a wide range of social issues. It speaks with one voice to United Nations, governments, and media in public or through behind-the-scenes diplomacy on issues of common concern to the Church. For more information, visit worldea.org WEA has been a charter member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability since 1980. WEA is audited annually by an independent public accounting firm. WEA is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. In the United States, your contribution is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

© Copyright 2026 World Evangelical Alliance

Mission Yearbook: Voices in many languages join to bring renewal at 1001 NWC gathering

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Pastor Marlucia Damacena Crispim (Photo by Zulema Garcia)

At the 1001 New Worshiping Communities National Gathering held in Estes Park, Colorado, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) celebrated a rich tapestry of multicultural and multilingual worship. With over 150 attendees, including 20 who primarily spoke Spanish and many others who were multilingual, the gathering embodied the denomination’s commitment to inclusivity and innovation in spiritual leadership.

One evening’s worship was a powerful moment of connection and vulnerability, led by pastor Marlucia Damaceno Crispim, a commissioned lay pastor serving Iglesia El Buen Pastor, an immigrant congregation in Atlanta. Preaching on Matthew 11 and Psalm 46, Crispim spoke passionately about the exhaustion felt by pastors and community leaders, especially within immigrant churches. Her sermon emphasized the deep need for rest among those who serve tirelessly and resonated deeply with people at all levels of translation.

The Rev. Sara Hayden, associate for apprenticeships for 1001 NWC, said Crispim’s sermon asked important questions of discernment for leaders of new worshiping communities who often balance many jobs alongside their ministries. After the service, Hayden, who speaks both English and Spanish, recalled an important line from Crispim’s sermon: “The Lord, the Creator of heaven and Earth, invites us to come and rest for a little while ... the question for us is, how much is ‘a little’ and is the ‘little’ you've been resting enough?”

The Rev. Laura Beth Buchleiter from Indianapolis reflected, “It was incredibly powerful to watch a majority community be the receivers of the translation. Meaning didn’t quite matter, as much as we like to think it does sometimes.”

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Stephanie Vasquez (center) stands with Latina leaders of new worshiping communities (Contributed photo).

To ensure accessibility, simultaneous translation services were provided by Stephanie Vasquez, manager of the PC(USA)’s Global Language Resources. Vasquez distributed more than 70 headsets, allowing worshipers to hear Crispim’s message in English. Vasquez’s work is foundational to many national PC(USA) events, where she often coordinates with local interpreters to provide real-time translation. Her presence and dedication made it possible for attendees to experience worship across linguistic boundaries.

Reflecting on the experience, the Rev. Nikki Collins, manager of 1001 New Worshiping Communities, noted the subversive power of shifting voice and authority. “It was just the shift of voice and power and the experience of watching people who are always so comfortable in all of our spaces have to figure out something new.” This reversal of roles — where English speakers became the ones receiving translation — created a moment of humility and shared humanity.

The next morning’s worship continued the theme of embodied grace and spiritual renewal. Led by pastors who had immigrated from Ethiopia, Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the service was both a multicultural celebration and a call to understand rest in many contexts.

The Rev. Gilo Agwa, who leads a new worshiping community in Stillwater, Minnesota, preached on Mark 6:31 and Luke 6:12–13. He spoke candidly about the relentless pace of life in immigrant communities, where rest is often elusive. “In my church, 75% of members cannot attend worship on the same Sunday. … People sleep in the church during worship service. It’s not because the worship service is boring, but it’s because there is no rest. They are tired.” His sermon was a heartfelt plea for Sabbath as resistance — a spiritual act of reclaiming dignity and wholeness.

Translation also occurred in the process of hearing the good news, not just through words but also through the body. The multicultural forms of music that morning made the embodiment of worship palpable. Gina Brown from The Faith Studio in Atlanta said, “I wasn’t able to stand and sit like everyone else. … I just closed my eyes and decided to worship that way and connected with the Spirit.”

The Rev. Rola Al Ashkar, leader of Їama Embodied Ministries in Sacramento, California, added, “I feel at home, feeling welcomed and accepted in a place that doesn’t think I’m weird for moving my body [and] accepting feeling good in the body as a form of worship.”

Together, these moments of multilingual proclamation, embodied worship, and shared rest painted a picture of a church that is learning to listen deeply — to the Spirit, to one another and to the diverse voices that make up its body. 

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

Let us join in prayer for:

Patricia Haines, Executive Vice President, Benefits, The Board of Pensions
Ian Hall, Interim President and CFO/COO, President’s Office, Administrative Services Group

Let us pray:

Lord God, thank you for your gift of love that transforms our lives. Thank you for giving us opportunities to share and receive that love. Continue your work in our churches. We ask all of this as your children. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Transformation like Paul’s is urged by Palestinian pastor

The Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac leads Bible study for the 27th General Council of
the World Communion Reformed Churches. (Photo courtesy of the WCRC)

At the 27th General Council’s worship and Bible study, the Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac — a Palestinian pastor, author and theologian based in the West Bank — urged Christians to embrace transformation modeled after the Apostle Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus.

Preaching from 1 Timothy 1:12–17, Isaac reflected on Paul’s gratitude for God’s mercy and how the encounter with Jesus fundamentally changed his life. The service also included members of the Indigenous Caucus, who participated in a symbolic planting of reed sticks “to affirm the holiness of this place, this gathering and this act of faith.” A team of dancers carried the Bible forward before the congregation called out the names of martyrs and saints from their own communities.

Isaac centered his message on four ways Paul was transformed after meeting Christ.

The first change, Isaac said, was in Paul’s understanding of God. “Gone is Paul’s view of a tribal God, the God of violence,” he said. “Instead, Paul encounters a God who seeks people, not to judge them, but to save them.”

Second, Paul’s perception of himself shifted. “Before knowing Christ, Paul was very proud of himself,” Isaac said, drawing laughter as he compared Paul’s Pharisaic pride to boasting about holding a doctorate in theology. Paul’s encounter with Jesus, he added, “shattered supremacy into pieces.” Calling himself the worst of sinners, Paul embodied a “theology of humility” that Isaac said is sorely needed today.

The third transformation was in how Paul viewed others. Before his conversion, Paul looked at people with condescension. But, Isaac reminded the congregation, “When we despise others, let us remember we despise the Creator.” After Damascus, Paul saw every person as an object of God’s love. “May God deliver us from the sin of religious fanaticism,” Isaac said.

Finally, Paul’s understanding of religion itself changed. “Even Christianity can degenerate into a religion of laws,” Isaac warned. “Paul now positioned himself with the persecuted, not the persecutors.”

Isaac said such transformation is needed now more than ever. “I look at myself and I see the elements of Saul of Tarsus,” he said. “How much we all need — I need — to be transformed.”

He pointed to global and regional suffering — war in Sudan, persecution of Dalits in India, and the ongoing devastation in Gaza — as evidence of humanity’s continued blindness. “Children in Gaza are bombed and killed,” Isaac said. “We have apartheid in Palestine — a Zionist apartheid — and many Christians enable it.”

The war in Gaza, he said, has revealed a painful truth. “Many in the West, including in some churches, do not look at us Palestinians as equals,” Isaac said. “Human rights do not apply to us.”

He criticized silence and complicity among Christians in the face of suffering. “There is overwhelming evidence recognizing what is unfolding as genocide,” he said. “Many in the church chose silence, or worse, chose to defend genocide. Their silence was too loud to ignore.”

Such responses, Isaac said, “turn theology into ideology.” Only a “Damascus-like encounter,” he argued, can shatter violent theologies.

Isaac urged the church “to be shaped by the liberating power of the gospel, not by the politicians and the ideology of the day.” He lamented how difficult it has become to distinguish “the church’s voice from that of political leaders and powers.”

“The church must identify with and be shaped by those on the receiving end of marginality,” he said. “Only when we ourselves are transformed can we be agents of transformation.”

Closing his message, Isaac reminded worshipers that “the One who transformed Saul into Paul is still transforming lives today.”

“We need Christ today more than ever — the Christ who meets us on the road and confronts our blindness, who transforms our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh,” he said. “As new creations in Christ, we can bear witness to hope in a broken and suffering world. Amen.”

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

Let us join in prayer for:

Patricia Haines, Executive Vice President, Benefits, The Board of Pensions
Ian Hall, Interim President and CFO/COO, President’s Office, Administrative Services Group

Let us pray:

Dear Lord, we give thanks that you have gifted each of us for your purpose. May our hearts be open to your leading that we may use those gifts to your glory. We give thanks that we are part of a great family. May we always encourage and support one another in your work in your world. Amen.