Mission Yearbook: Presbyterian leaders from California share impact of devastating wildfires and look to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance for support

The Palisades fire grew to more than 20,000 acres. (Photo courtesy of CalFire)

‘The stronger we’re connected, the stronger our response will be’.

Reeling from wildfires that are continuing to devastate California, leaders from various presbyteries in the Los Angeles area recently gathered online with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, sharing the severity and emotional toll of the disaster.

“I’ve lived in the LA area for 54 years and witnessed many fires, but I've never seen so many of our church members being impacted by fire,” said the Rev. Mark Hong, synod executive and stated clerk of the Synod of Southern California and Hawaii. “Right now, I imagine we’re in kind of a shock stage.”

As a result of a series of wildfires that have ravaged densely populated parts of the region, there have been at least 10 deaths and thousands of impacted structures, including perhaps 15,000-plus homes and commercial properties damaged by the two largest fires (Palisades and Eaton), according to FEMA and others.

Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church is one of the buildings lost, according to the Presbytery of the Pacific.

PDA is continuing to monitor the situation and has been asked by the American Red Cross to deploy some of its disaster spiritual care providers to support their operations, said the Rev. Jim Kirk, associate for National Disaster Response for PDA.

The Rev. Heidi Worthen Gamble is Mission Catalyst for the Presbytery of the
Pacific.

During the online gathering, facilitated by Kirk, leaders from the Pacific, San Fernando and San Gabriel presbyteries participated at PDA’s invitation to sharing information, praying together and hearing about PDA services, including initial assistance grants and emergency grants.

“PDA has begun awarding emergency initial assistance grants to assist presbyteries as they support the impacted communities,” Kirk said. “These grants are typically used in partnership with congregations serving the impacted communities.”

The Rev. Edwin González-Castillo, director of PDA, led opening prayer and remarks, assuring the leaders that the denomination is ready to walk alongside them, both now and in the long-term. He also praised them for being “beacons of hope and resilience” at a time when people need help and reassurance.

“We are grateful for your leadership in this time of crisis and of devastation,” González-Castillo said. “… Smoke may cloud the skies and dim the light of the streets but not the light of compassion and solidarity.”

González-Castillo also quoted from Psalm 46:1 and commended the leaders for doing work that “reflects the love and the care that God calls us to embody in moments of trial.”

The Rev. Heidi Worthen Gamble, mission catalyst for the Presbytery of the Pacific, summed up the disaster, including the loss of Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church, to the group by saying, “It’s devastating. It’s catastrophic, y’all.”

The Rev. Jim Kirk (Photo by Rich Copley)

She has been checking in with pastors in the fire zones and said “many, many people in our churches have lost their homes. Most of the members of Palisades Church left with nothing, at the last minute, and have lost everything. We still don’t know how many churches we might lose or how many more homes will be lost. We are at the mercy of the winds and these winds are like hurricane fire.”

Worthen Gamble, who’s also been staying in touch with Emergency Network of Los Angeles (ENLA), said it will be important to create a sense of community and focus and to be there for “our people” as well as one another. “The stronger we're connected, the stronger our response will be,” she said.

The Rev. Linda Culbertson, general presbyter for the Presbytery of the Pacific, said she’s been taking calls from people previously affiliated with the presbytery who wanted to express their concern. She’s also heard from churches that want to help with things like housing and respite. “I think that's very encouraging, that we can come together as a community.”

Donations can be made to PDA’s U.S. wildfires account, using the code DR000165.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is one of the Compassion, Peace & Justice ministries of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Unified Agency.

Darla Carter, Communications Strategist, Interim Unified Agency Click here to read original PNS story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• David Gambrell, Associate, Worship, Interim Unified Agency
• Greta Garbo, Accounting Clerk III, Administrative Services Group, A Corp 

Let us pray:

Lord God, grant us the humility and wisdom to follow those that you have appointed. Grant us the willingness to perform the tasks that you have commanded for us to do. Let us be constantly reminded of your sovereignty and protect us from those who put stumbling blocks in our way. Amen.

3 Steps to Be Ready for One Great Hour of Sharing Lent begins in two weeks and kicks off the One Great Hour of Sharing season. Let’s make sure you have everything you need for a successful Offering season. Download the Leader’s Guide The Leader’s Guide has everything you need for a successful offering season, including Minute for Mission scripts that you can use in worship to share about the impact of One Great Hour of Sharing. Download the Leader's Guide View Resources From premade social media posts to bulletin inserts, minute for missions and more, be sure to review all of our downloadable resources. Scroll to the bottom of this page to view resources. View Resources (at the bottom) Explore the Impact Partners Map See the partners all around the world that One Great Hour of Sharing supports — there may be some in your own community. This is a great map to explore and use with children when talking about the offering. Explore the Impact Partners Map Thank you for your generous support of Special Offerings. If you have any questions, reply to this email or call 800-728-7228, Ext. 5047.

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WCC news: The film ‘Via Dolorosa: The Path Of Sorrows’ tells Christians in Palestine’s story

Patriarch Theophilos III, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All of Palestine and Jordan, has said it is feared that the ancient Christian community in Gaza “has now dwindled to under 600 people”. From left to right: H.E. Amira Hanania, member of Higher Presidential Committee of Churches Affairs & representative to Europe, and Member of Palestine National Council of the PLO, Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, WCC general secretary, H.B. Patriarch Theophilos III, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine and Head of the Jerusalem Council of Churches, H.E. Mr. Ibrahim Khraishi, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations. Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC 19 February 2025 He was speaking at a showing of the film “Via Dolorosa,” which narrates the path of sorrows from the place where Christianity was born and where its presence is now severely threatened. The film, shown at the United Nations in Geneva on 18 February, details the Christian presence in Palestine, narrated through the eyes of its Christians and capturing important moments that have shaped their history, identity, and resilience.  Patriarch Theophilos said, “We proudly commend this blessed work” of Amira Hanania, the film’s director, “as well as the granted auspices of the World Council of Churches and the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine, as well as all the other international organizations that lent their name and support.” He noted that “The Rum Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem is the oldest continuous religious institution in the Holy Land.” Patriarch Theophilos explained that for some years, there has been financial pressure on the churches.    Dire economic situation “Throughout the West Bank and Jerusalem, the economic situation continues to deteriorate because of the lack of pilgrims, the scarcity of jobs, and the unstable security situation in the West Bank and Jerusalem,” said Patriarch Theophilos Father Ibrahim Faltas, Vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land said, “This documentary is Via Dolorosa for every Christian person in Palestine. Living in Palestine is a part of sorrow. I have been living in Palestine for 36 years. He said he had witnessed the first and second intifadas and the siege of the Nativity Church.  He said the situation now is unparalleled in terms of the challenges and difficulties faced by Christians who have lost faith and hope and “fled the Christian areas in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth.” The Palestinian people rarely get the chance to document their own history, said Greece-based Palestinian Ambassador Hanania, but the film “Via Dolorosa,” shows the path of sorrows from the place where Christianity was born and where its presence is now severely threatened. Before the film was shown, Hanania told diplomats and the public at the UN in Geneva that Via Dolorosa is the first documentary to chronicle the history of Palestinian Christianity through the eyes of its own people.  “It tells their story as they have lived it—free from distortion, free from erasure. It is a living testament to the role of Palestinian Christians in the struggle for justice and a powerful rebuttal to those who seek to erase their identity from the national and international arena.” She said, “In the face of attempts to erase our history and displace our people, we stand here to declare that this land is not just a relic of the past but a living identity that will never be silenced nor erased.” H.B. Patriarch Theophilos III. Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC On the platform were also Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), and H.E. Ibrahim Khraishi, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary for Palestine in Geneva. Pillay told the gathering, “As the World Council of Churches, we stand with you and with all those who seek justice, peace, and the equal dignity and rights of all people in the Holy Land.  “The WCC has repeatedly called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire to stop the bloodshed and destruction in Gaza and allow humanitarian aid to reach those in desperate need.” He said the WCC appeals for the recognition of the “equal God-given value and dignity of every human life, Palestinian and Israeli, Muslim, Jewish and Christian. Only on that basis can a just and sustainable peace be built.” “Thus, we also condemned the attack launched against Israel on 7 October,” said Pillay. He said, however, that the tragic events witnessed in Gaza over the last 16 months, and in the context of escalating violence in the West Bank, represent the opposite of peace – “a rejection and denial of the humanity of the other.” Ivars Kupcis/WCC Land of religion Ambassador Khraishi said, “Our message from Palestine, the land of religion, is a message of peace, and based on the historical national and legal rights of the Palestinian people. No one can drive us out of our land, nor implement any form of forced displacement, or ethnic cleansing or forced migration.” Speaking during the discussion, Palestinian theologian and founder and president of Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem, Rev. Prof. Dr Mitri Raheb, also warned that the Christian presence in Gaza will be eradicated. “Gaza used to be an important Christian hub in Palestine,” he said, noting from their Christianity to another part of the Holy Land. Christianity did not start in Rome, Wittenburg, or Canterbury, he said. It started in Palestine. Mitri warned about the dangers of Christian Zionism, describing it as an “ideology that is weaponizing the bible for political ends,” and noted, “For Israel, it is easier if this is portrayed as a conflict between Jews and Muslims.” But he said, “They (the Christian Zionists) don’t care about the Christian people in Palestine,” nor about Jews He added, “It is time to bring peace to the land where peace was born. Palestine gave Jesus to the World. It is high time to give peace to Palestine.”  Learn more about this event Via Dolorosa: The Path of Sorrows | Documentary event screening Photo gallery  Video interview: H.B. Patriarch Theophilos III Video interview: H.E. Amira Hanania on her documentary "Via Dolorosa: The Path of Sorrows" Screening of "Via Dolorosa: The Path of Sorrows" to shed light on Christian presence in the Holy Land (WCC news release, 30 January 2025) 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 352 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: Southern California fires affect churches and presbyteries

The Palisades fire has been challenging for firefighters. (Photo courtesy of the
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection)

At least one PC(USA) church is destroyed, and dozens of people have been killed in the wind-whipped blazes.

A series of dangerous fires in the Los Angeles area had grown so large and so destructive that the Rev. Heidi Worthen Gamble could hardly wrap her mind around it. 

“This will go down as the worst disaster in the history of Los Angeles, no doubt, and quite possibly the whole state,” said Worthen Gamble, a mission catalyst for the Presbytery of the Pacific. “It’s monstrous. It's hard to put words to it.”

Communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena have been affected by the wildfires, which have killed at least 29 people, according to The Associated Press. Scores of structures have been damaged or destroyed, including Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church.

“Multiple churches have been impacted and multiple Presbyterians have lost their homes,” said the Rev. Jim Kirk, associate for National Disaster Response for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.

In addition to the Presbytery of the Pacific, the fires are also thought to have impacted the San Fernando and San Gabriel presbyteries, Worthen Gamble said.

“PDA is reaching out and has been in communication with the impacted presbyteries, offering support,” Kirk said. “However, at this time, because it's still an ongoing disaster, it's not safe for people to come in. We pray for the hundreds of first responders who are working diligently and faithfully to keep people and property safe.”

While California is no stranger to wildfires, people are more used to them happening in “canyonlands,” Worthen Gamble said. The individuals who build out there “know those risks,” but the current fires are affecting densely populated areas.

Some roadways became choked with abandoned cars as people opted to flee on foot because of the fast-moving flames in places such as the Pacific Palisades, according to the AP.

Worthen Gamble confirmed that the Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church, which is part of the Presbytery of the Pacific, was lost in the massive Palisades fire, the largest blaze at more than 17,000 acres.

“It's a beautiful church, beautiful campus,” she said. “They had a nursery school on that campus, and it sits on one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in the country … so it's a tremendous financial loss, but we are grateful that there were no lives lost. They were able to evacuate everyone.

The Palisades fire has ravaged Southern California. (Photo courtesy of
the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection)

In Facebook posts, the church thanks neighbors who reportedly picked up hoses to assist firefighters when the church caught fire. Another post quotes Isaiah 9:10: “The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.”

“Pray for those who are in harm's way and the hundreds of firefighters who are risking their own well-being to keep people and property safe” in all areas, Kirk said.

Worthen Gamble said she is grateful for PDA’s support. “I just want the denomination to know how helpful, how effective, how wonderful PDA is, and just encourage folks to support PDA, to help us through donating to PDA for wildfires,” she said. “We will really need all the resources and support possible here. This is just catastrophic.”

Donations can be made to PDA’s U.S. wildfires account, using the code DR000165. 

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is one of the Compassion, Peace & Justice ministries of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Unified Agency.

Darla Carter, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Click here to read original PNS story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Louisa Gallup, Project Associate, Director’s Office, World Mission, Interiam Unified Agency
• Marissa Galvan-Valle, Associate, Hispanic Resources & Relationships, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation 

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, grant us grace to live lives of devotion and discipline that reflect your grace and truth. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: New church plant avoids burnout

Ormewood Church in Atlanta thrives in a location where another congregation had closed.

“The hardest thing about church planting is what we call the ‘anxiety of possibility,’” said the Rev. Jenelle Holmes, organizing pastor of Ormewood Church in Atlanta. Holmes, who has been leading this new worshiping community for eight years, passed on a piece of advice which she received from a mentor with experience in church planting — “act your age as a church.”

“When you are a new organization, there are so many possibilities. There are so many things you could do. There are so many ideas on the table. And if you go after all of them, you're never going to know who you are,” explained Holmes, who described this state as “when we feel overwhelmed by potential.”

In 2017, Holmes was called by a group of invested residents of the Ormewood Park neighborhood in Atlanta after another congregation closed in 2016. The Presbytery of Greater Atlanta was in charge of discerning what to do with the church property, which also housed a thriving preschool on its lower level and playground. Between the closure of Ormewood Presbyterian Church and the starting of a new worshiping community, the Rev. Dr. Lindsay Armstrong, executive director of the presbytery’s New Church Development Commission, spent months engaging neighbors with community organizing techniques and in meetings before gathering the group of invested partners who would call Holmes as the organizing pastor.

“The community had already said ‘no’ to the church that was here,” said Armstrong. “Just starting a new one in the same place was not a given that it would work.”

The pastor nominating committee that called Holmes included only one Presbyterian, but some of its members ended up joining the new worshiping community when Holmes arrived. Katherine Clevenger lived next door and called the campus “the heartbeat of the neighborhood.” Clevenger said she had been “church-hopping” when the discussions about what to do with the property began, so she joined the process and the committee that called Holmes.

Other members agree with Clevenger that since the location of the church is the center of the neighborhood, its mission is tied to being at the heart of the community and its gatherings. “The name of the neighborhood is Ormewood Park, but there is no park,” said Manning Kent, who agreed with another member, C.J. Clark, that “a lot of people consider this church to be ‘Ormewood Park.’”

Ormewood Church offers a green space for kids to play and dogs to roam. Its parking lot is a safe place for teens to learn to skate or to gather for Halloween celebrations and family pizza nights and festivals.

Joslyn Jackson, director for Children’s Ministry and Community Connections, leans into Ormewood Church’s identity as a central gathering place as she creates partnerships with local enrichment groups to offer after-school programming and evening adult classes on the grounds and markets the renting of the church’s space, renovated with the help of grant money.

“There are so many directions you could run, and you’ll probably just exhaust yourself, and you’re going to burn out really quickly,” said Holmes, who advised “choosing and experimenting in very intentional ways.”

With so many options to grow or experiment, organizations and churches can fall into similar patterns of good intentions that lead to burnout if taken on too hastily. To protect against this, Holmes and other leaders of new worshiping communities have received support of trainings and grants through the New Church Development Commission in their presbytery and through 1001 New Worshiping Communities of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). In 2022, Holmes received a sabbatical grant through 1001 NWC, which seeks to fill the gap of new worshiping leaders who are not eligible for grants available to pastors of traditional congregations.

With the support of the neighborhood and the presbytery, Ormewood Church has grown in size, programming and outreach. The church’s leadership team is currently in discernment over how and when to charter as a PC(USA) congregation.

Armstrong described the new church in Ormewood as “alive on Sunday mornings and on all the other times everybody gathers.”

“People come and find friendships here,” said Armstrong. “They find relationships here with God and with one another.”

Beth Waltemath, Communications Strategist, Interim Unified Agency (Click here to read original PNS story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Brian Frick, Interim Executive Director, Stony Point Center, Interim Unified Agency 
• Ingerlene Frick, Associate Director, Marketing & Communications, Stony Point Center, Interim Unified Agency  

Let us pray:

God of the universe, we pray for your church in all places and thank you for the opportunity to join with our siblings around the globe to do your work in the world. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Colorado Springs church ‘the little church that could’

In order to house its immigrant neighbors, Gateway Presbyterian Church in
Colorado Springs, Colo., has transformed a former manse into House Next
Door Ministry. (Contributed photo)

In 2022, Gateway Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, began offering its manse for use by refugees coming from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. Named “The House Next Door,” the ministry started after Ruling Elder Paula Warrell was moved by news reports of Afghan refugees being resettled in Colorado. She proposed utilizing the church’s unused manse to accommodate the transitional housing needs of new arrivals to the United States.

Constructed before the church building, the manse’s basement was the first worship space along with housing the pastor’s family. In the early 2000s, the church’s pastor purchased a home in the community and the church began renting the manse. After a period of discernment, the church decided to change direction with the manse’s use.

“I asked [the session], ‘Do you feel called to be landlords?’” said the Rev. Dr. Victoria Isaacs, the church’s pastor since 2019. The response from church leadership was they wanted to use the manse for other ministries. A $30,000 remodeling effort and 1,500 volunteer hours transformed and updated the manse following the end of the rental agreement and the space was ready to receive refugees by 2022. Watch a video on that process here.

The church partnered with the Lutheran Family Services refugee and asylee program to offer a comprehensive welcome to families relocating the U.S. Lutheran Family Services provides legal services, educational and job assistance, financial guidance and support, translators and social services to the families. As per the guidelines of Lutheran Family Services, Gateway Presbyterian provides six months of transitional housing, an initial furniture and home goods setup, mentoring, day-to-day assistance and companionship.

Church member Scott Lyon leads the refugee mentorship program, saying, “We mentors certainly get as much out of the experience as the refugees.”

Now serving its fourth family, The House Next Door has helped two families from Afghanistan and a Syrian family and recently received an Iraqi family. With anywhere from five to seven active mentors at any time, Lyon said there is great enthusiasm at the church for participating in the ministry.

“I make periodic announcements during church services, and I’m sometimes surprised by the number of people that come up to me,” he said. “People are looking for ways to help. I mean, that’s why you join churches — to be a part of something good and meaningful.”

Lyon said mentors commit to an hour or two a week, helping with daily logistics, shopping and navigating a new cultural context. Refugee children are enrolled in local schools and working-age adults, depending on their language skills, find work in the community.

While communication is often a challenge, Lyon said he’s learned the pleasantries of Arabic and Dari, but adds, “a smile helps you communicate mostly what you need to know” in many situations. The father of one family and Lyon were able to communicate using basic Spanish — both calling on decades-old language acquisition to piece together simple conversations.

Isaacs recognizes how much members of the congregation have given to the mission of The House Next Door. From donations of food and furniture, to crossing cultural and religious boundaries, and learning the basics of food stamps and the immigration process, it has been a growing and learning experience.

“It’s like the old model of mission where you go to help somebody and instead you grow so much,” she said. “[The mentors] have poured themselves into these families. They learn so much about another faith and another culture, but they also learn that humanity is humanity — we’re all human and have a lot of similarities.”

Another positive byproduct of the ministry is how it has activated members of the church to see mission all around them and lets newcomers see the church is putting its faith into action.

“Many of the people who are involved are newer members,” she said. “This has been something that has been interesting, intriguing and attractive to our newer members — like we're actually doing something, getting our hands dirty.”

Gregg Brekke for the Presbyterian Foundation (Click here to read original PNS story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Sherri Finke, Ministry Relations Officer, Presbyterian Foundation 
• Tina Finley, Accounting Clerk, Central Receiving Services, Administrative Services Group (A Corp) 

Let us pray:

Gracious God, we give thanks for moments when we can see the work we do in your name. We are grateful that new life can arise from loss and possibility of disaster. We give thanks for those who give of themselves so that others might have hope. Amen.

WCC NEWS: On Valentine’s Day and always, “Love is the central theme in our Christian faith”

In a short video message, Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, moderator of the World Council of Churches central committee, reflects on the Thursdays in Black Valentine’s Day theme for 2025: “Spread love, choose kindness.” Photo: WCC 13 February 2025 Love is a central theme in our Christian faith,” he says. “I would even go further: love is the central theme in our Christian faith.” He notes that Valentines Day is an opportunity to show our love for others: a message that  seems simple and yet often very painful and complicated for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.  “To talk about it is still a taboo—when it happens in families, at churches, in schools, in sports, in other places in society,” he said. “The truth must be on the table to even open a door for a healing process to begin.” He urges people to stand by the victims of sexual violence. “Spread love, choose kindness—let’s embrace this motto and act upon it,” he concludes.  WCC's Thursdays in Black Valentines Day resources Learn more about Thursdays in Black Celebrate love: share Thursdays in Black Valentine’s Day messages (News release, 12 February 2024)  Spread Love, Choose Kindness | Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm’s Valentine’s Day Message 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 352 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