Mission Yearbook: Author discusses how churches can change their own stories to hopeful

Mark Yaconelli remembers receiving a story Bible from his grandmother when he was 5 years old. 

“It had all the glossy pictures; I especially remember an image of Jesus carrying a lamb,” Yaconelli recalls. “The cover was what looked like Jesus’ passport photo. I wondered what it would be like to be able to read this massive, thick book all by myself.” 

Her gift became the foundation of his belief that “story is relationship — the morals, values and plot lines that teach us how to live.”

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Mark Yaconelli speaks at the Luminosity Conference, presented by the Presbyterian Foundation to spark inspiration and innovation in church leaders.

Yaconelli is founder and director of The Hearth and a community builder, retreat facilitator and author of “Between the Listening and the Telling: How Stories Can Save Us.” He delivered one of the plenary session addresses at the inaugural Luminosity Conference, sponsored by the Presbyterian Foundation and held in Orlando, Florida. The conference was designed to offer pastors and church leaders inspiration and thoughts on innovation.

Yaconelli shared his nostalgia for the stories of his childhood — “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and tales of wayward ships floating into the fog off the shore on Nova Scotia. In a time when the world can seem “horrifying,” it is the telling of stories that anchors us in what we believe, he said.

“Remember what we know is true: Each of us came into the world as light. When a baby comes into a room, everyone smiles,” he said. “That was you at one point! You were the light, hungry for experience, hungry for connection, so excited by every new face. That was you; that was me. And we didn’t know what to do with all of that energy. One of the ways we figure it out is that people tell us stories that let us experience courage and creativity. They tell us stories that project the light into the future.”

Churches need to revisit the power of story, Yaconelli said, and especially the story they are telling about themselves.

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The audience at a plenary session led by speaker Mark Yaconelli at the inaugural Luminosity Conference, sponsored by the Presbyterian Foundation and held March 9-11, 2026 in Orlando, Florida.

“Many of our churches are stuck in a bad story,” he told the pastors and church leaders in attendance. “If you as pastors feel anxious, isolated, bitter, hateful, or bored, you are stuck in a bad story. Change it! The story of Jesus is full of life and adventure. It’s like a roller coaster or riding the rapids. Even when disaster comes we know what to do. A pastor friend of mine, who leads a church in Minneapolis and has been deeply involved in the protests, told me, ‘This is what we trained for. We know what to do as the church.’”

Yaconelli then offered an unexpected comparison for the pastors in the audience: competition cooking shows on television.

“You know the shows I’m taking about — chefs are given a set of crazy ingredients, and they have to make a dish out of them,” he said with a grin. “Here’s sardines, a pineapple, and some Cream of Wheat. Go!” The chefs are connoisseurs of taste, he said. “We are supposed to be connoisseurs of light. We are supposed to be connoisseurs of love.”

He invited the audience to imagine a church with three widows, a multilingual congregation and a bunch of kids. “Go! How do we make this church work? This is what we should have been learning in seminary. We are the healing response to the separation the world imposes. How do we bring us closer together?”

The rules of the cooking competition say you have to make something delicious out of the ingredients you have. The rules of being a pastor say you have to make light and love with the people you have in the pews. “Trust what you know,” he implored. “You know the thing in your church that needs to die — do it! You know what brings you and others light — do that! In living churches, the pastors are doing what brings them light and the church follows. Do the thing you love.” 

Read reports about Luminosity Conference workshops here and here.

Chuck Toney for the Presbyterian Foundation (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

John Wilkinson, Vice President, Stewardship and Funds Development, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation
Ruth Gardner, Vice President, Human Resources, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation              

Let us pray:

O God, may the saving power of your Holy Word and Holy Spirit continue to bring us out of darkness and into your wonderful light. In the name of Jesus, our Savior, we pray. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: A small congregation, a legacy of hope

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Exterior of the Witherpoon St Presbyterian Church (Lia Abrams)

Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church in Princeton, New Jersey, has a rich history of faith, education and working for justice. Its roots reach back to the 1830s, when Black worshipers from Princeton’s First Presbyterian Church began forming a separate worshiping community amid racial exclusion. Its history includes Betsey Stockton, a formerly enslaved missionary and teacher, and the Rev. William Drew Robeson, father of Paul Robeson, who served as its pastor.

Today, I see that history reflected in the congregation. Witherspoon is a small church whose members bring so much knowledge, experience and talent. As I get to know them, I am struck by how intelligent, well-educated and accomplished they are. Their stories and conversations teach me things that go beyond the classroom.

As a first-year seminarian at Princeton Theological Seminary and a person of color, being among these members gives me hope. They are role models who help me see what is possible in my own future. They are encouraging me by seeing their accomplishments and how they use their knowledge and experience with the church and the wider community. 

Witherspoon reminds me that even a small congregation can make a lasting difference. This church holds a rich history and a community of people who continue to inspire those around them — including a seminarian just beginning her journey.

Lia Abrams, Princeton Theological Seminary

Let us join in prayer for:

Lynnette Berkhimer, 1001 NWC Apprentice, 1001 New Worshiping Communities, Presbyterian Life & Witness
Vicente Guna, Vice President, Digital Strategy, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., A Corporation 

Let us pray:

Loving God, thank you for Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church, its rich history, and the people who share their faith, wisdom and gifts. Bless this congregation as it continues to serve and inspire others. Guide those of us beginning our journey in ministry and help us learn from their example. May we carry that same hope and love into our communities. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: 70 years of women clergy are celebrated

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Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery blesses the ordination of Margaret Towner in 1956. (Photo courtesy of Presbyterian Historical Society)

In 2026, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is celebrating 70 years of women clergy. Twenty years ago, the PC(USA) held anniversary events to celebrate the 50th year of the ordination of clergywomen, the 100th anniversary of women deacons and the 75th anniversary of women elders. These events were a result of General Assembly action referred to the Women’s Ministries unit who were charged with planning these celebrations.

At the event held at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, the Rev. Margaret Towner, the first woman ordained as a minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA), was one of the featured preachers. She was quiet, humble and welcoming, characteristics that she undoubtedly employed as she navigated her ministry in 1956 as the first woman to serve in this role in the Presbyterian Church. 

Despite the attention and recognition she received at her ordination — her photo was featured in Life magazine and other publications — Towner said she “chose to avoid the limelight and continue my work in the local congregation.” No one will ever fully understand her experience. Suffice it to say that she paved the way for many others to follow her.

In 2026, Presbyterians celebrate 120 years of women deacons and 95 years of women ruling elders. Sarah Dickson was the first woman ruling elder, and Tillie Paul Tamaree was the first Indigenous woman ruling elder, both ordained in 1930. There have been numerous women deacons over the past 120 years.

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Twenty years ago, ordination anniversaries were celebrated for PC(USA) teaching elders, ruling elders and deacons at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago. (Contributed photo)

The Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries area planned events where the Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon, the first African American woman ordained as a minister of Word and Sacrament in the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA), was a conference speaker. She was straightforward, funny and a natural-born teacher. She was ordained in 1974 in Catawba Presbytery, which was then an all-Black governing body in the Presbyterian Church.

In 2011, the ministry area held a Clergywomen’s Leadership Institute at The Big Tent in Indianapolis and invited the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Campbell, the first woman to serve as president of a Presbyterian theological seminary, as keynote speaker. Campbell recalled the day that she was ordained in the Presbyterian Church in 1974. “One thing that stuck in my memory was the ordination certificate,” she remembered. “San Gabriel Presbytery’s stated clerk had to add an ‘S’ to the printed ‘He’ on the certificate. Likewise, ‘his’ was typed over on an IBM Selectric typewriter with ‘her.’”

The Rev. Peggy Howland was a frequent guest at the PC(USA)’s Women of Faith Awards breakfast held at the General Assembly, having received the award in 2011. She shared historic photos and articles on her ordination, which were published in the Racial Ethnic Torch magazine. When Howland was ordained two years after Towner in 1958 at Union Church of Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, New York,  The New York Times carried the story the next morning. The headline read, “Presbyterian Church Gets Woman Minister.”

Another Women of Faith Awards recipient was the Rev. Dr. Janie Spahr, ordained in 1974, two years before her “out” ministry with those in the LGBTQIA+ community. Spahr made headlines throughout her ministry and faced disciplinary proceedings. Her call was not recognized by the denomination. Decades later, the 219th G.A. (2010) voted to allow the ordination of LGBTQIA+ Presbyterians. Amendment 10-A was ratified by a majority of presbyteries in 2011.

The world has changed from Towner’s world in 1956 —  or since 1889, when the Rev. Louisa Woosley was ordained to ministry in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Woosley’s ordination was withdrawn, then 24 years later, it was again recognized.

Over the years, many have asked, “Why do you remember the ordination of women? And why do you celebrate the gifts of women?” As the saying goes, if we neglect to remember our past, we are doomed to repeat it —  or at least risk falling into old, harmful patterns. Yet, if we confront our history, we have opportunities to use lessons learned as a guide for our actions, so we can make positive changes and continue to pave the way for others to authentically serve in the church and the society. 

The Rev. Dr. Rhashell Hunter is author of the 2025-2026 Presbyterian Women Horizons Bible Study and teaches Presbyterian Heritage and Polity at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Formerly, she was director of Racial Equity and Women’s Intercultural Ministries in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

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

Let us join in prayer for:

Andrew Browne, Executive Vice President, Engagement & Church Relations, The Board of Pensions
Laura Bryan, Manager, Grant & Scholarship Processing, Presbyterian Life & Witness       

Let us pray:

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

Mission Yearbook: Different ways of being church are explored on ‘Leading Theologically’ podcast

The primary work the Rev. Catherine Neelly Burton puts in with the Presbytery of Southern Kansas is with the 75% of churches in the presbytery with little or no paid leadership. Burton shared an update on how that work is progressing with the Rev. Bill Davis on the first episode of the eighth season of “Leading Theologically,” which is available here.

Davis is senior director for Theological Education Funds Development with the Presbyterian Foundation. During the current season of “Leading Theologically,” he’s exploring the theme “Everything Small Church.” Burton is Mission and Ministry Connector for the Presbytery of Southern Kansas.

On “Leading Theologically,” Burton invited listeners to do the math when it comes to PC(USA) churches being served by a pastor and those being served by someone else. Most Presbyterians go to a church served by a pastor, but most churches can’t afford a full-time pastor, she noted.

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“Unfortunately for a lot of Presbyterians who can’t fathom being in a church without a pastor, a small church probably sounds like it’s dying,” she said. In the Presbytery of Southern Kansas, only two churches have 300 or more members.

Asked by Davis how she defines a healthy small church, Burton said she goes back to a PC(USA) publication, “7 Marks of Vital Congregations,” which includes these marks of congregational health: Lifelong Discipleship Formation, Intentional Authentic Evangelism, Outward Incarnational Focus, Empowered Servant Leaders, Spirit-Inspired Worship, Caring Relationships and Ecclesial Health.

“Honestly, those have nothing to do with staff and nothing to do with size,” she said. “Is the church focused more on what it’s called to do than it is on itself? Does it see a possibility in the future more than it thinks about what it used to be? Size isn’t an issue.”

Congregational health will look different from place to place, even across one presbytery. One church in the Presbytery of Southern Kansas picks an online sermon to listen to when they gather for Sunday worship and sings along with recorded music. “It’s Spirit-inspired worship, even though it’s not what a lot of Presbyterians think of as real worship,” Burton said.

“There’s very little performative membership in rural small churches,” she said. “You’re apt to be engaged in the theological depth of it.”

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Rev. Bill Davis

Figuring out what those churches need “gets distilled down pretty quickly,” she said. “At the end of the day, there’s not going to be a lot of fluff.” Generally, “there are people who love their church and want to learn how to lead them.” Many people in pastor-less congregations “are so receptive to being trained, to gaining more leadership and to understanding more about why we do things.”

Burton says she thinks “a lot” about incarnation in her work. “If we say the church is the body of Christ, what does it mean for that church to be the body of Christ in their community?”

“We will be closing some of these churches in the coming years. We know this,” she said. “But there is great value in that presence of the body of Christ in that community.”

There’s “a lot of good in rural America, and it’s important the church shows up for them, too,” she said. Sometimes, churches in the presbytery will call the Rev. Dr. Beth McCaw, the dean of the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, and ask her, “when are you going to send us a pastor?”

McCaw often replies, “when are you going to send us a pastor to train and send back to you?”

“Our smallest churches just aren’t going to attract someone from the outside,” Burton said.

The work she’s been doing within the presbytery has, she said, taught her a lot about what it means to be the church.

“When you’re in a really small church, you’ve got to distill it down: OK, we want to worship, and so we’ve got to figure out what that looks like. Maybe it’s a recorded sermon and maybe we sing a cappella,” she said. “Probably we’re going to do one more thing. That’s church, as opposed to, ‘what does church do for me?’ That’s a consumer model.”

Upcoming editions of “Leading Theologically” can be seen here.

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

Let us join in prayer for:

Analise Brown, Mission Associate, Financial Aid for Service, Presbyterian Life & Witness
Joey Brown, Associate, Direct Mail and PILLARS, Administrative Services Group

Let us pray:

Beloved God, we want to love you with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Help us to read your Word and understand the truth that will set us free. Teach us, dear Jesus, so that we, too, can teach like you. Amen.

Christmas Joy Offering: Walk Humbly with God Video

Watch the Christmas Joy Offering Video Walk Humbly with God | 2026 Special Offering Video.  Share this video with folks in your congregation to showcase the impact of the Christmas Joy Offering. Offline Viewing Download the video for offline viewing from Vimeo. Here’s how to download a video from Vimeo. Thank you for generously supporting the Christmas Joy Offering. If you have any questions, reply to this email or call us at (800) 728-7228, Ext. 5047. Update your preferences for the latest information on the Christmas Joy Offering.

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Mission Yearbook: YAV participates in ‘Girls on Fire’ panel at CSW in New York

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Olivia Phelps, a Young Adult Volunteer from Wilmington, North Carolina, participated in the the "Girls on Fire" panel in Tillman Chapel at the Church Center for the United Nations.(Photos by Rich Copley)

Ecumenical Women recently hosted its annual “Girls on Fire” panel, an event highlighting young women’s perspectives in advocacy on justice, leadership and what it means to stand up for girls in their generation. Alongside three other women from Canada, the Netherlands and India, I was honored to be invited to participate in the panel while attending the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) as a Presbyterian delegate.

Advocacy has always been an important expression of my faith. I began contacting my elected officials in middle school through emails and phone calls to express my concerns, and by ninth grade, I was arranging in-person meetings with local leaders. The first place I drove after receiving my learner’s permit was to a school board meeting addressing concerns about gun violence. For two summers, I had the privilege of serving as a fellow with the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness in Washington, D.C., where I continued to communicate the concerns of the General Assembly. Now, I serve as a Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) at the U.S./Mexico border, living and working in the communities of Agua Prieta, Sonora, and Douglas, Arizona. 

Earlier this year, I was part of a joint delegation of almost 70 Presbyterians who traveled to New York City for CSW70, the United Nations’ annual review of gender equality. During the event, delegates have the opportunity to attend sessions hosted by both U.N. Member States and nongovernmental organizations.

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Clare Balsan, advocacy associate for the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations, moderated the panel discussion, which included participants from other denominations. 

During the panel at the Church Center for the United Nations, we were asked a variety of questions related to justice and inclusion, particularly for women and girls. When asked which women or girls inspire us to care about justice, we all shared that our mothers and grandmothers were instrumental in planting that seed within us. I also spoke about how deeply I am inspired by women serving in clergy and other church leadership roles, especially given that this remains a polarizing topic across denominations. When asked about moments in which we have witnessed injustice toward women or girls, I reflected on the stories I encounter daily while living alongside the community at the U.S./Mexico border during my year of service.

When I think about the word “justice,” I am drawn to the themes woven throughout Scripture, which reveal a God of love, kindness, and mercy. In passages such as Micah 6:8, Matthew 25, Psalm 82:3, Isaiah 1:17, Deuteronomy 32:4 and Psalm 89:14, justice is not exclusive, as women and girls are included among those celebrated as being created in the image of a loving God.

Throughout the week our delegation attended CSW, the fruits of the Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control were evident in the actions of those within the faith community. The most common theme shared was hope: hope as we walk humbly with God, trusting that all people may experience the justice promised to them in Scripture.

Learn more about Olivia Phelps here, and view a young adult vlog about various CSW-related activities and topics here.

Olivia Phelps, Young Adult Volunteer (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Kendra Bright, Operations and Accounting Associate, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
McKenna Britton, Communications Associate, Presbyterian Life & Witness 

Let us pray:

God, bless those who minister with our young adults. Amen.

Christmas Joy Offering Serves Leaders of the Church

Serving Past, Present and Future Leaders The Christmas Joy Offering is making a difference for past, present and future leaders of the church. Now joined by causes once supported by the Pentecost Offering, the Christmas Joy Offering is making an impact for children at risk, youth and young adults and leadership development for people of color, Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color, and servants of the church in need (through the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions). How Does the Christmas Joy Offering Make an Impact? At-risk children are helped through initiatives like Educate a Child, Transform the World. Youth are helped through events like Presbyterian Youth Triennium. Young adults learn to serve through the Young Adult Volunteer program. Scholarships are provided to students in Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color. The Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions helps servants of the church in their time of need. Be part of making an impact this year by making a gift to the Christmas Joy Offering through your congregation. Read more about this in our Leader’s Guide. Download the Leader’s Guide Thank you for generously supporting the Christmas Joy Offering. If you have any questions, reply to this email or call us at (800) 728-7228, Ext. 5047. Update your preferences for the latest information on the Christmas Joy Offering.

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