Mission Yearbook: Unification Commission’s work explained through model of church with two committees

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The Rev. Scott Lumsden

Imagine you’re a member of a local Presbyterian church — a unique Presbyterian church with no pastor and no session. The church does have two associate pastors who each lead a committee that plans all the activities of the church. One committee, the Worship Committee, is in charge of Sunday worship and everything that goes with it; and the other, the Program Committee, develops and leads the weekly program of the church. With the help of these two very capable associate pastors, these two committees oversee two entirely separate staffs, with two entirely separate budgets — with very little to no coordination between them.

Additionally, this church has a Board of Trustees who oversees the financial program for the church and provides a shared administrative staff who serves both the Program and Worship committees.

The Program Committee is funded primarily by endowments reaching all the way back into the 200-year history of the church. Though the return on those endowments provides a reliable source of income, it can be challenging to innovate and adapt to the ministry challenges of today because of endowment restrictions.

The Sunday Worship Committee, on the other hand, is funded almost exclusively by the Sunday offering and is challenged by a steadily decreasing membership, which hinders its ability to provide the services its members have come to expect.

One year, after many years of analysis and study, the congregation decided it was time to bring the Program and Worship committees together to fully share the responsibilities of ministering to the church. It no longer made sense (if it ever did) to have two separate committees, two separate staffs and two separate budgets. The church instead wanted to express its unity by being one body, with one staff, and one budget so that it could live out its unity in its vision, its shape and its form.

So, in 2022, the church formed a commission from among its members and gave it all the power it needed to unify the Program and Worship committees so that the overall ministry of the church would be more coordinated, unified and streamlined.

This story is, of course, about the work of the Unification Commission. As a member of this commission, I recognize the oversimplified analogy above has its limitations. But, in general, this is more or less how our national church has been organized and has operated since reunion. I say this because it’s important to remind ourselves that the reasons for unification are primarily structural, not financial. No church would have two separate leadership structures with two separate staffs and budgets — it makes no sense.

For many years, we lived with the current system because we viewed the challenges to change the system as too great. But thanks to the faithful work of many people, the General Assembly is now closer to living up to its calling as the highest council of our church — one who  “constitutes the bond of union, community and mission among all its congregations to the end that the church becomes a community of faith, hope, love, and witness” (G-3.0501). 

Friends, we are not at the end, but at the beginning phases of this large and complex unification journey. And there is more work to be done after the Unification Commission concludes its work at the next Assembly. I ask that if you sense a call to live out the “bond of union, community and mission” in tangible ways at the national level, that you apply to serve on the next governing body that will be established to carry on this charge. You can find out more information about the next governing body and apply here.

It’s been an honor to work alongside the Rev. Jihyun Oh, our first Stated Clerk and Executive Director, her interim senior leadership team, and the whole staff of the Interim Unifying Agency — their commitment and dedication to living into a unified vision of the national church is truly inspiring. And many thanks to as well as our incredibly dedicated and faithful (and tired) Unification Commission members. I pray our efforts to embody a shared vision of the national church in our organizational life as a church continues to be blessed.

The Rev. Scott Lumsden is a member of the Unification Commission.(Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Carissa Herold, Marketing Associate, Presbyterian Women
Michael Hilliard, Sales & Event Coordinator, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation

Let us pray:

Eternal God, grant us sufficient confidence in ourselves, in your Word, and in that inner voice that confirms the truth of your Word, to overcome fears and to lead the people through the narrow gate. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Christ’s mission statement is focus of a Bible study at WCRC’s General Council

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The Rev. Dr. Bridget Ben-Naimah of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Ghana leads Bible study Tuesday for the WCRC's 27th General Council (Photo by William Gibson).

Jesus’ first words in ministry continue to echo across centuries — a call to heal, to free and to restore.

That message came alive during a Bible study session at the 27th General Council of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), where the Rev. Dr. Bridget Ben-Naimah of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Ghana urged believers to live out the mission Christ declared in Luke 4:14–21.

“This passage contains a manifesto for his work and ministry. Some refer to it as a mission statement,” Ben-Naimah said. “Jesus declared, in accordance with the prophecies, that the Spirit of the Lord was upon him — to proclaim the good news of salvation, release captives from bondage, restore sight to the blind and set the oppressed free.”

Ben-Naimah reminded the gathered delegates that if Christians truly believe Jesus is the savior of the world, they must also embrace his mission in their own time.

“Who are the captives, the blind, and the oppressed of our time who need to be released, to see, and to be liberated?” she asked. “People may be treated with cruelty and indignity or have their freedom restricted. Others are locked out of normal life — economically, culturally, intellectually, socially, and mentally.”

In some cases, she noted, those seeking solace in faith have been exploited by church leaders.

“In West Africa, some people fall prey to false prophets who control their lives in the name of prophecy,” Ben-Naimah said. “There are young people in Africa who are captives of drug abuse or gambling — seeking to escape their challenges but instead becoming trapped in cycles that destroy their lives. Can we identify the captives?”

She went on to describe the “blind” as those who have lost hope, unable to see beyond despair.

“These could include people in war-torn regions who see nothing but devastation,” she said. “Livelihoods, homes, schools and families destroyed — their dreams and futures buried in rubble.”

Ben-Naimah called on churches to lift people out of captivity, blindness, and oppression by engaging in tangible acts of compassion and advocacy.

“We are called to engage in awareness creation and information sharing that will lead to possible solutions,” she said. “We are called to be the impactful voice of our day — to build capacity for action, to stand in solidarity with those affected, and to create pathways for help.”

She concluded her message with words of comfort and hope.

“If you are the captive, the blind, or the oppressed of today, be encouraged knowing that you matter to Jesus Christ. You matter to the communion of his followers,” she said. “Do not suffer alone. Reach out to sisters and brothers in the Communion for support. Persevere to find help, and you will find it. Christ is our ever-present help in times of trouble.”

Rick Jones, Director of Communications, Presbyterian Life & Witness (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Brian Henson, Desktop Support Analyst, Information Technology Infrastructure, Administrative Services Group
Jessica Hernandez, Electronic Marketing Associate, Electronic Resources & Strategic Business Development, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation

Let us pray:

Lord, remind me that all human beings are my fellows, whatever their age, state of health or handicap. You are at work in each of us to lead us to what is best in us and for us. That is your mission and we are here to serve it. Amen.

Minute for Mission: Palestinian Nakba Remembrance Day

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The Palestinian village of Lifta, on the western outskirts of Jerusalem (Photo by Douglas Dicks)

The Nakba — catastrophe — commemorated on May 15, is not only a past event but an ongoing reality shaping our faith and identity. It is a wound carried across generations, marked by loss, displacement and steadfastness. In this story, we both encounter God and struggle to find God — present in suffering, yet at times painfully hidden.

Remembering is not easy. It is not always safe to speak, to name what has happened and what continues to unfold. We have written so much, told our stories again and again, raised our voices — yet the kind of change that touches daily life often feels distant. Still, on May 15, we are reminded of the danger of silence. We fear forgetting, and we fear what happens if the voices of Palestinians made refugees are no longer heard. We also fear truly listening — to the cries from demolished homes, refugee camps, tents in Gaza, villages in the West Bank facing settler violence and the darkness of military prisons — because listening demands something from us.

We live between a past Nakba and an ongoing one, between the voices of older generations and the urgency of the present. Ours is not a single story, but a chorus that refuses to disappear.

As the war on Gaza deepens our wounds, it feels like another chapter is being written before our eyes. We move from one trauma to another, like moving from one cave to the next — searching for shelter and breath. Yet even there, we keep writing. On the walls, we leave our grief, memory and stubborn hope. We plan, endure, resist. We gather what remains and sing, even as the danger outside does not pass.

Faith, then, becomes both lament and defiance — crying out in pain, yet refusing despair. Even when the road is unclear, we keep praying, trusting that God is with us, and holding to the belief that justice is the only path to a real and lasting peace.

Friday, May 15, marks the 78th anniversary of al-Nakba. Arabic for “the catastrophe,” it refers to the fact that over 750,000 Indigenous Palestinians were violently driven from their homes and over 500 Palestinian villages were destroyed to make way for the 1948 establishment of the State of Israel. The reality of the Nakba, however, is that it never ended. 

Currently, the Palestinian people have never found themselves or their survival more at risk, as an accelerated and increasingly brutal process of apartheid, dispossession, and genocide threatens the erasure of Palestinian society, culture, and history. Meanwhile, all of this is being underwritten by illegitimate theologies and belief systems which serve to provide ideological cover for extreme violence and Palestinian displacement. 

As such, Nakba Day is about centering and amplifying the Palestinian experience, shining a light upon and refusing to allow the world to forget, silence, or ignore the truth of the Palestinian experience. So, as our colleagues, friends, and family in Palestine resiliently stand against expulsion, persecution, and erasure, your advocacy within your community and among your networks is essential to the pursuit of a just peace and the preservation of an Indigenous Palestinian presence in the Holy Land. NAKBA DAY 78: A SOLIDARITY TOOLKIT

Omar Haramy of Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, Jerusalem

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff:

Helen Heinzen, Mission Specialist, Stewardship and Funds Development, Administrative Services Group
Lorraine Henry, Director, Advocacy, Plan Operations, The Board of Pensions     

Let us pray:

Our Father, stir the conscience of the nations and awaken people of conscience. Let law be upheld and justice be done. Break the silence of the world’s majority and of those who delay what is right. Give us courage — bring to light and hold accountable all who obstruct justice. Strengthen us to rise, to walk, to return — not with the violence that forced us out but with solidarity, community and nonviolence. Walk with us until our exile ends in home.

Ministry Matters - From trouble to hope—and the silence in between

A Word from the Editor Somewhere around week three of Eastertide, the Easter energy fades. The lilies are gone. The attendance has settled back to normal. And the news cycle has not gotten any better. This is where Jim Harnish's series does its most important work. Jim has been weaving together two unlikely conversation partners: the intimate resurrection stories of the Great Fifty Days, and the wartime sermons of Harry Emerson Fosdick, a pastor who preached hope to congregations whose sons were not coming home. Fosdick was preaching through a world war. The headlines were catastrophic. And week after week, he got back in the pulpit and preached the resurrection anyway—not by ignoring the darkness, but by insisting the light was real and older than the dark. These three pieces follow that same path. One sits with the disciples on the Emmaus road, walking toward a setting sun with nothing left to hope for. One asks the question most pastors have thought but few have said out loud: why is God so quiet when evil is so loud? One answers with the oldest claim in the Christian tradition—that the light has already proven itself stronger than the darkness, and that the question is only which one you are giving your allegiance to. That is not a small question for a week like this one. It may be the only question that matters. —Cameron The light that no darkness can put out by Jim Harnish "We don’t need to cramp Jesus’s metaphor with rigid literalism or smother it with syrupy sentimentality to sense the light that shines in the darkness. The purpose of biblical images of life after death is not to provide detailed knowledge of the chemical composition of the pearly gates or carat weight of golden streets, but to provide orientation for life before death." Learn More Why is God silent when evil rages? by Jim Harnish "Why doesn’t God get down here and do something about the ghastly mess we’ve made of things? If Christ is risen and goes before us, why doesn’t he get busy making some rough places plain and crooked ways straight?"  Read Now When have you found yourself asking God, "Where are you?" — and what did you do with the silence? Starting with trouble and ending with hope by Jim Harnish "The great news of the resurrection is that the Risen Christ still finds us on the road from the past, walks with us through the present, and gives us fresh hope for the future." Continue Reading

The second volume in a landmark three-volume collection, this meticulously annotated gathering of Charles Wesley's personal letters (1750–1765) brings together correspondence never before collected in print, complete with scriptural references and hymn citations. In Becoming a Friendlier Church, Matthew D. Kim calls attention to the crisis of unfriendliness that prevents many churches from welcoming new people into their community. Using concrete examples, Kim shows how even churches that think themselves friendly can unintentionally communicate insularity, apathy, busyness, prejudice, and the pursuit of comfort. Michael Carpenter makes a timely, pastoral case for recovering the Four Alls—the grace-centered framework that once sparked a movement—arguing that these nearly forgotten convictions about salvation's accessibility and transforming power are exactly what today's Methodists need to reclaim their identity and strengthen their witness.

Ministry Matters - The Ascension Is Easy to Miss. Don't.

Yesterday was Ascension Thursday. Most people didn't notice. It always falls on a Thursday, and Thursdays are not exactly prime church-going days. But this weekend, something worth your attention is waiting. Jim Harnish has published the final article in his Great Days for Great Living series, and he saved one of the best for last. In Week 7, Jim asks what it means to experience Christianity not as a form, but as a force. Drawing on Harry Emerson Fosdick's wartime sermons, Karl Barth's theology, and a story from a recent march for immigrant justice in Washington, D.C., he makes the case that the Ascension is not the end of the story. It is the launch pad. This Sunday, many congregations will observe Ascension Sunday. Jim's reflection is the perfect preparation. READ THE ASCENSION ARTICLE HERE This week also marks the end of a seven-week journey through the Great Fifty Days of Eastertide. From Mary weeping at the empty tomb, to Thomas's honest doubt, to the disciples on the Emmaus road, to this week's Ascension, Jim Harnish has woven together lectionary texts, Fosdick's WWII-era wisdom, and the very real challenges of ministry in 2026. If you missed any articles in the series, you can find all seven at the link below. READ THE SERIES HERE Thank you for reading. Thank you for the work you do. It is, indeed, a great time to be alive. The MinistryMatters Team

Mission Yearbook: Receiving Nicaea Today’ book calls for justice and renewal

The World Communion of Reformed Churches officially rolled out "Receiving
Nicaea Today" on Tuesday (Photo by William Gibson).

As the Christian world celebrates the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which for the first time gathered the whole of Christendom to affirm together their faith, a new book from the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) seeks to set out its significance for Reformed Christians today.

Launched at the WCRC General Council in Chang Mai, Thailand, the book is titled “Receiving Nicaea Today: Global Voices from Reformed Perspectives” and is available for free download as well as purchase.

Coming in at almost 700 pages, the book contains 34 contributions organized around six sections: Reformed Hermeneutics and the Authority of Creeds; Nicaea and the Empire; Scriptural and Theological Hermeneutics of the Nicene Faith; Nicene Influence on Reformed Synodality and Church Governance; Confessions and Contemporary Witness; and From Creed to Confessing: Worship, Teaching and Mission.

The main editors of the book are Hanns Lessing, WCRC executive secretary for communion and theology, and Daniel Rathnakara Sadananda, former general secretary of the Church of South India.

“In this volume ‘Receiving Nicaea Today: Global Voices from Reformed Perspectives,’ Reformed theologians, together with theologians from the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Methodist, Lutheran, and Anglican tradition, have engaged in critical reflections on the Nicene Creed as it communicates to us in the present tense,” writes WCRC General Secretary the Rev. Dr Setri Nyomi in the preface.

“This a moment of joy and gratitude,” said Lessing during the book launch. “In a way, the production of this book is a miracle.”

The Council of Nicaea agreed on a creed as a statement of faith, later supplemented to become the Nicene Creed, which is said in many churches around the world today. Lessing acknowledged that the Nicene Creed is about unity. “This is of course true,” he said. “But the Nicene Creed also was very much divisive from the very beginning and still splits churches today.”

In fact, the creed — and the Council of Nicaea itself — have repercussions for how we see the church, noted Lessing. “The oneness is not the oneness of a fortified institution where only certain people have access.”

“The 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea is more than a commemorative milestone — it is a Kairos moment, a Spirit-stirred invitation to re-encounter the triune God and to re-examine the covenantal faithfulness of the Church in a  wounded and waiting world,” the book states in its introduction. “For the Reformed tradition, this is not a ritual of nostalgia but a liturgical provocation — a call to interrogate, discern, and renew the very grammar of our believing.”

Professor Heleen Zorgdragger of the Protestant Theological University in Amsterdam, one of the book’s contributors, reflected that reception of the Nicene Creed is not archival recovery but Spirit-led repair and re-voicing. “Nicaea is both gift and wound,” she said. “Naming empire is not distortion but repair.” Lament, reparation, and restructuring the Spirit demands accountable repentance, she added. “This reclaims theology’s imagination,” she said. “May the church stay unsettled: listening to Scripture, inspired by Spirit, standing with the vulnerable.”

Contributor the Rev. Dr. Neal D. Presa, from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and moderator of the WCRC Theology Working Group, described the volume as a gift from the oikoumene to the oikoumene. “May it bless many and inspire us all to ‘Persevere in Our Witness,’ ” he said, citing the theme of the ongoing WCRC General Council, which runs through Thursday. WCRC President the Rev. Najla Kassab formally received the book from Lessing on the floor of the General Council. “May this book invite us to rediscover the creed as a living confession,” she said. “May it enrich our communion and build us to be a better communion.”

To purchase or receive a free PDF download of the book, go here.

Susan Kim for the World Communion of Reformed Churches (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Cheri Harper, Program Manager, Presbyterian Women
Ginger Harris, Senior Closer Funding Manager, Presbyterian Investment & Loan Program  

Let us pray:

Faithful God, empower pastors for your ministry, and help them bear witness to their faith in the Living Lord as they strive to help glorify your name through shared witness. Amen.

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.