Mission Yearbook: From therapy to thriving: Jinishian Memorial Program celebrates milestones for Armenian children and youth

The Jinishian Memorial Program marked significant milestones in the first half of 2025, most notably through its growing support for children and the continued promotion of youth entrepreneurship across Armenia.

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A focus of the Jinishian Memorial Program is on promoting youthful entrepreneurship across Armenia. (Contributed photo)

Administered by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), JMP was established in 1966 through an endowment from Vartan H. Jinishian to provide economic, social and spiritual assistance to millions of Armenians in Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia and other countries. Its fundamental mission is to help people transition from poverty and despair to self-sufficiency and hope.

By the end of the second quarter of 2025, about 200 children had been successfully enrolled at the Sevan Rehabilitation Center in rural Armenia, which provides therapy for children with mental and physical disabilities. The children, ranging in age and diagnosis, are receiving individualized therapies for conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Global Developmental Delay and Jacob’s Syndrome.

“The progress we’ve seen so far this year is incredibly encouraging,” said Eliza Minasyan, JMP’s executive director. “These children are receiving consistent, high-quality support from specialized staff in an environment where they are respected, cared for and given the tools to grow.”

The rehabilitation center continues to offer comprehensive treatment services, including psycho-speech therapy and behavioral support. The therapists have reported improvements in communication, socialization, and self-care — especially among children who had previously lacked access to specialized treatment.

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Grants from the Jinishian Memorial Program have helped to launch a number of new businesses run by young people in Armenia. (Contributed photo)

In addition to its health and social service programming, JMP continues to foster youth entrepreneurship as a path toward long-term community resilience. Several new small businesses — a bakery, a printing house, a beauty salon, a beekeeping enterprise and many others — have launched in various regions of Armenia, supported by JMP grants.

Earlier this year, JMP also celebrated the successful opening of a blood bank in Yerevan, a project that expands life-saving medical infrastructure in the capital and provides vital support to the national health-care system.

Adding to the vibrancy of JMP’s youth-focused work, another successful debate club championship was just recently held in Yerevan, bringing together young participants from across Armenia and Lebanon. The event created a dynamic space for dialogue, critical thinking, and cultural exchange — strengthening connections among youth in the Armenian diaspora and the broader region.

These ongoing efforts were recently observed by two staff members from the Interim Unified Agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). In a visit designed to familiarize them with JMP’s mission, the Rev. Rebecca Barnes and Barry Creech met with program staff and visited project sites.

“The sustainable community development projects of Jinishian were some of the best I've ever seen in their strategy, planning, implementation and evaluation,” said Barnes, coordinator of the Presbyterian Hunger Program. “It especially was an honor to meet grant recipients who have been empowered and infused with hope by this program, to hear their stories and celebrate their achievements.”

Creech, who has been the IUA’s deputy executive director for Administration, added, “Mr. Jinishian, who funded this work in the 1960s to honor his parents, would be very pleased to see how his parents are being remembered in the lives of so many.”

Gohar Aznauryan, Jinishian Memorial Program (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Laura Olliges, Chief Financial Officer, Presbyterian Investment & Loan Program
Sung-Joo Park, Relationship Manager, Presbyterian Investment & Loan Program

Let us pray:

Gracious God, in all places where darkness seems to prevail, we pray that your light would shine. Raise up your children to share the good news that even when resources seem few, you nourish many. Restore your people that we may know light and life through your son Jesus. Amen.

Minute for Mission: Christmas Joy Offering

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It is so easy in our world to forget that community is a catalyst to help each person flourish. Created by God, we do not exist solely for our individual gain; we have been created to be in relationship with our neighbor. The scandal in this is simple: We cannot choose our neighbor, for every person around the globe is part of our extended community.

As we move toward the manger and prepare for the birth of God’s earthly ministry in the person of Jesus Christ, our neighbor, my thoughts wander to the diversity of neighbors. We all have needs and are saddled with the weight of our collective humanity, and Isaiah 40 makes one thing clear — prepare the way — not for ourselves but for our neighbors and indeed for the very presence of God.

Every year the Christmas Joy Offering, one of the Churchwide Special Offerings of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), prepares the way to bring hope through education and emergency assistance. The Church is committed to this not for our own sake, but for the sake of our neighbors so that every person might know the very real presence of God. These simple tasks of providing transformative education and caring for those who have cared for others prepare the way for someone else to feel God’s love anew, especially in life’s most tender moments. As I prepare my heart for the coming Christ child, I will keep others at the forefront, for my faith is nourished when the way is prepared for all of us to live in the wholeness of God’s love.

Rev. Wilson Kennedy, Associate Director, Stewardship and Funds Development, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff:

Kyle Nolan, Ministry Relations Officer, Development Office, The Presbyterian Foundation
Matthew Nurkin,  Vice President & Managing Director, Investments, The Board of Pensions

Let us pray:

O God, as we live this day, help us prepare the way for your Son, Jesus our Christ. May we await his coming with wonder, prepare for him with joy, and serve you more closely this day and every day. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Young women share their hopes for a liberating church at Triennium

 On two afternoons, young women and gender expansive individuals gathering at Presbyterian Youth Triennium met with Presbyterian Women to discuss what models of leadership for women they experience and what they need from the church.

The gathering was offered along with other “affinity groups” like those set up by denominational staff for PresbyQueerians, Black girls and women, Spanish speakers, African immigrants and Black men. These groups offered a safe space to foster community but also served as listening sessions to offer key insights to denominational leadership about what certain groups need to stay engaged as the church evolves.

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Kelsey Law, vice moderator of Presbyterian Women, addressed a group attending Presbyterian Youth Triennium. (Photo by Rich Copley)

“This is a listening space for Presbyterian Women to hear from young women and our gender expansive siblings to help us understand what is it that young women need from our greater church to help stay engaged,” said Kelsey Law, vice moderator of Presbyterian Women.

Law invited participants to string heart- and star-shaped beads of all colors into key chains and bracelets as they described what need from the church each bead represented.

“Gentle love is what drew me into the PC(USA) and it’s what I need to fall further in love with my faith,” said a new youth director, who shared her amazement at her church’s graceful expectation of her. “It’s been really radical to learn to sit, rest — to just be and not feel like my productivity is my worth,” she said.

A young student also chose pink for love.

Purple was chosen for acceptance and light green for more inclusion.

Bright green was held up for a focus on the spiritual connections to nature and commitment to Earth sustainability practices and advocacy.

Light blue symbolized social justice and dark blue cried out for more public advocacy.

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Presbyterian Youth Triennium participants created key chains and bracelets to help describe what they need from the church. (Photo by Rich Copley)

A clear bead encapsulated clarity and transparency. “I picked the clear stars for transparency,” said a seasoned ministry leader, who noted the need to improve in this area. “When women start either a paid or volunteer job at church, they often aren’t told what it really is about.” Other women nodded in agreement, recognizing the ways women are socialized to keep saying “yes,” and how the lack of transparency in the church makes it hard to keep healthy boundaries on women’s labor.

“What stands out for me is all the beads and how they represent we are all different,” said a Christian educator who drew attention to the need for community and mentorship. A young person responded, “having the church community be able to help you is such an important thing.”

“Liberation comes from welcome and inclusion,” Law said as she asked the group to consider what a liberating church looks like and described the unique witness of Presbyterian Women. “What we do in leadership is mission and advocacy work,” said Law, describing the spaces of advocacy on eco-justice, reproductive and women’s rights where PW offers their voices, particularly their participation in the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women.

Law encouraged participants to go to the Presbyterian Women’s website to find opportunities to join a PW circle in their presbytery or remotely over Zoom and to connect with national programs like PW’s justice and peace national book club.

“The intent of this space was to listen to the voices of women, particularly young women, to hear the stories of women, what keeps them engaged, what will engage them in the future and to take that back to the national church,” said PW’s program director, Cheri Harper, who described how sometimes it can be hard to move beyond the superficial experiences of whether or not we like church and to look at our experiences in the church on all levels through a gender lens. What struck Harper about this newer generations of women compared to her own generations were all the stories that the young women told was the visibility of female pastors in their churches.

“We didn’t have female pastors that we were watching, but these girls did,” said Harper. “I just thought that was so powerful.”

Harper considered this a strength of the PC(USA) that needs more public celebration: “For the vast majority of PC(USA) churches, it’s very welcoming and inclusive, particularly for women in leadership,” she said.

Beth Waltemath, Communications Strategist(Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Lori Neff LaRue, Vice President, Education, Engagement & Church Relations, The Board of Pensions
Mai Nhu, Director, Core Business Applications, Information Technology, The Board of Pensions

Let us pray:

God of love, we give thanks for the vision of small groups of people all over the world who dream big dreams and work hard to realize them. Inspire us with their witness, that we too may join hands to make your world a safe and healthy place for all. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Advent Greetings — "Let's make room in our hearts for Christ"

Dear sisters and brothers, as we enter the sacred season of Advent, we are reminded that God steps into this world not in moments of perfection, but in times of deep longing, disruption and need. Advent calls us to look for Christ's coming light precisely in the places where darkness feels strongest. Today, our world is marked by conflict, displacement and deep polarization. Many are displaced from their homes. Women and children in war zones face unthinkable trauma, family scary grief that words cannot express. And yet, Advent proclaims a truth that cannot be shaken.   God has not forgotten His people. He has not withdrawn. He has not left us.   Christ comes to us as Immanuel, God with us, bringing His presence into every place of suffering and every story of heartbreak. As the Women's Commission, we hear this call very deeply. Advent compels us to make room in our hearts and in our actions for those who are hurting. Incarnation is not only a miracle to celebrate, it is a model to imitate. This season, may we show practical and courageous love. May we stand with the displaced and offer welcome. May you have a joyous Christmas and happy New Year. God bless you all. In Christ, Dr. Seble Daniel, Director, WEA Women’s Commission 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 161 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 2025 World Evangelical Alliance

Mission Yearbook: Dreaming through the darkness is the message for Triennium attendees

“I was born a dreamer,” said the Rev. Dr. Peggy Jean (“PJ”) Craig, who preached on the third night at the Presbyterian Youth Triennium worship service.

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The Rev. Dr. PJ Craig preaches during worship at Presbyterian Youth Triennium. (Photo by Rich Copley)

Craig shared a photo of her high school superlative title, “Biggest Dreamer,” with the crowd of young people gathered at the Louisville International Convention Center in the midst of LED-lit nightscapes.

“When I heard about this year’s theme for Triennium, ‘As If We Were Dreaming,’ I got super excited,” said Craig, because, she explained, “I actually have some skills and expertise in this area.”

However, when she learned her particular night’s theme was “facing the nightmares,” she recoiled. “I don’t want to talk about nightmares. This is my nightmare, talking about nightmares.”

But “it’s in the midst of nightmares in real life that God is present,” said Craig. Craig invoked the God who gave dreams, visions and hope to Joseph in the Book of Genesis and wondered if Joseph would have been voted “biggest dreamer” by his peers. Maybe that was why his brothers were jealous of him — because he dared to dream. When he told them about his dreams, the brothers were threatened, because they were the kind of dreams that could come true. Joseph’s brothers set out to punish him.

Craig, who grew up in a multiracial family in rural Alabama, currently pastors Covenant Presbyterian Church in Germantown, Tennessee, serving immigrant and Latinx neighbors. As a community builder and passionate advocate for justice, Craig said she has “always been drawn to the margins,” where she’s helped many people face the nightmares of systemic injustice and seek their own wholeness.

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Under the direction of Phillip Morgan, the Triennium Choir sing during worship. (Photo by Rich Copley)

“The dreams that get you killed, kicked or locked out and dismissed are the ones that are possible,” said Craig: “You can kill a person, but a dream, especially if it’s from God, you cannot annihilate.”

She compared this kind of dream to Communion. “Broken into all those little pieces, where it spreads and grows, passed around and practiced when it can no longer stay in one body or one mouth, the dream becomes a dream for many bodies and many mouths, which is terrifying to people who for their whole lives have benefited by keeping things controlled and status quo.”

In Memphis, where Craig lives, she can walk to the Lorraine Hotel, where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. She described the plaque underneath the balcony where King was shot that quotes the King James Version of Genesis: “They said to one another, ‘Behold, here cometh the dreamer. Let us slay him, and we shall see what becomes of his dreams.’”

Craig described how Joseph’s and King’s dreams were deeply threatening, because they meant “that we have to change the way we live.” It was not just Joseph’s dream that set out to change how his brothers in Egypt lived, but his actions towards them.

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Youth participate in Communion at Presbyterian Youth Triennium. (Photo by Rich Copley)

Craig warned not to oversimplify the ending of the famous verse, “what you intended for evil, God intended for good.” She explained how Joseph does not gloss over the trauma or explain it as a means to a necessary end. Instead, Joseph names the trauma that his brothers caused, refuses to transmit more pain and suffering, and brings restoration to his family. Craig draws a connection to the restoration that Joseph is able to bring to his family to the restoration possible at the Communion table.

“I don’t know what kind of nightmares you are facing right now,” she said before adding, “I don’t know if you’ve been betrayed, hurt or abandoned or if you’ve done that to others.”

“I don’t know if you’ve been dismissed, degraded or made to feel less than by family, friends or the church, and if so, I am so, so sorry on behalf of the church,” said Craig, pointing behind her to the Communion table. “This is not the church’s table. This is God’s table, and it is God’s dream to restore, to reconcile, to remember us in a way that we thought not possible.”

“Keep dreaming, dreamers! Dream on and then trust God to do what God always does: remember us into something we could not have dreamed up on our own.”

Beth Waltemath, Communications Strategist (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Julie Mullins, Acquisitions Editor, Publishing & Editorial, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
David Myers,  Director, IT Finance & Administration, Information Technology, The Board of Pensions

Let us pray:

Protect us, O God, and give us compassion to help one another when life becomes overwhelming Inspire us to always look to you for grace, hope, and love, and may we always share these gifts with those around us. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

Advent Unwrapped: Everybody Is a Star🌟💫

Everybody Is a Star

I am certain that I have shared this with you before, because “Everybody Is a Star” is one of my favorite songs. It was originally released as the B-side track for the single “Thank You (Falenttinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” another song that I adore. Together, the two tracks embody acceptance, love, and grace on one magical vinyl disc. A sacred reminder that a better world is possible. Imagine if every single person, each life, was celebrated like a brilliant star? Imagine if every single person knew what it felt like to be truly loved, cherished, and delighted in? Imagine if we were all golden (to quote HUNTR/X)? Imagine if every single person shone so bright that it made the sun (which is also a star) radiate? Frankly I get misty eyed thinking about it because it is so far from our current reality. I think about all of those sappy commercials and movies that hit me in the feels this time of year, and I realise that part of the reason they are so special is because acts of kindness and generosity are not always expected. These sentimental movies deepen my longing for the world of God’s dreams where generosity, kindness, and love are common place. It also deepens my gratitude for Jesus. A child made of starlight, who became our morning star. Even before he could talk or hold up his head, he healed and preformed miracles. Even millennia after his birth this bright star reminds us that a better world is possible. For this I say, Merry Christmas and Thanks be to God. Remember in God’s story, we each have a part! For Everyone Looking to celebrate Christmas at Home? Here are some suggestions from Susan Lukey. Got questions about Christmas? Check out our compilation of blog posts from Rev. Stephen Milton, which includes questions like, Why do we wrap Christmas presents? Don’t forget to care for your mental health and the mental wellness of others during this season.  Still working through your Christmas list? Our Buy Less Christmas Shopping Guide might help.  Looking for background conversation while wrapping presents? Tune into our 2025 Advent Unwrapped YouTube play list.  And don’t forget about our Music for Advent playlist! Looking for somethings to do with the young and the young at heart during Christmas vacation? Check out some of our past resources: Craft videos and our activity sheets  Games to play during advent  Advent Unwrapped Colouring Story Book  Household Scavenger Hunt  From the entire Advent Unwrapped team, thank you for being a part of this Advent journey. As we move into this Christmas season, May the Holy One, Give us the courage to welcome Christ into every part of our lives, so that, like Mary, we will hope for a better world, like Elizabeth, the Shepherds, and the Holy Family, we will be brave and bold in our living, like the Innkeeper and animals, we will be welcoming of others, and like the Magi, we will present our best selves. May we always be ready to welcome, Emmanuel, Christ with us. Amen. Yours in Christ, Alydia   Facebook Website Email Instagram YouTube LinkedIn Your generosity enables the United Church to love, serve, and minister in the world. Make an online donation or learn more about your options to support the work of the church.

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