Mission Yearbook: Presbyterians lift up young adults, justice at gathering

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The Rev. Dr. Cornell Edmonds, pastor of the Church of the Covenant, chats with the Rev. CeCe Armstrong. (Photos by Rich Copley)

While welcoming a plethora of guests to his church for International Women’s Day, the Rev. Dr. Cornell Edmonds noticed that some young people were shy to stand up and be recognized, so he took a little extra time to nudge them to their feet.

“Rise,” without hesitancy, said Edmonds, who leads the Church of the Covenant in New York. “Like dust, we hope for you to rise because you are our hope, our salvation.” 

Edmonds was lifting up the young adult portion of a joint delegation who represented the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Presbyterian Women (PW) at the 70th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70).

The joint delegation, which reflects a concerted effort by Presbyterians to attract young adults to serve alongside delegates over the age of 30, gathered at the church for a joyful service featuring a sermon by the Rev. CeCe Armstrong, a Moderator of the 226th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). There also was a reprise of the line dancing that she led at the General Assembly in Salt Lake City, with the Electric Slide bringing the New York congregation and guests to their feet for some brief fun at the close of service. 

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Young people rise to their feet during a service at the Church of the Covenant in New York, ahead of the 70th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

The gathering, which was attended by an in-person crowd as well as many church supporters in distant locales, was the last Presbyterian event before CSW70 started at U.N. Headquarters, with a theme that focused on ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls.

Both Edmonds’ and his wife, Barbara, have backgrounds in law and look forward to welcoming the Presbyterian delegation and various leaders of PW and the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations each year.

During brief remarks and introductions of dignitaries and other guests, Barbara Edmonds quoted Fannie Lou Hamer, who said, “When I liberate myself I liberate others.” 

Barbara Edmonds also highlighted various ills that need confronting in today’s world. 

“As we gather, we're mindful that we live in challenging — but I always say hopeful — times,” she said. “Rev. Dr. King always reminds us of the three evils that we're confronted with: militarism, racism and sexism, and all forms of injustice, and I emphasize all forms of injustice and economic exploitation. These realities continue to call people of faith, courage, compassion and action, and that's why we're here, right?”

Later, Armstrong took to the lectern to give a sermon on who needs Jesus.

The answer? “Everyone needs Jesus,” she said. “Everyone can have a piece of what Christ has to offer. You can have your heart's desires, but you must admit that you need Jesus.”

Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/embed/6OUm2qH8-7I

Jesus’ willingness to help marginalized people falls in line with the need to eliminate discriminatory policies, practices and laws in today’s world, Armstrong said. “That’s what we’re here to learn.”

She also stressed the importance of sharing your testimony in order to show people that they, too, need Jesus. “Friends, let's just be truthful. Sometimes, your life, your story, your testimony, is the only Bible people will ever read.”

In addition to giving her sermon, Armstrong expressed thanks for being able to participate in CSW.

“I am really beyond grateful to be here for CSW70, for this is my first one ever, but it won't be my last, and to further the theme of this gathering for and by women,” she said. “I’m sure that our work together, ensuring and strengthening the access to justice for all women and girls, will be beneficial to generations to come.”

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

Let us join in prayer for:

Yesenia Ayala,  Associate, Financial Aid for Service, Presbyterian Life & Witness

Let us pray:

God of grace, we pray that we might be your hands and feet and voice to people who are seeking you. Guide us by your Holy Spirit to create spaces of grace for those you have claimed as your own. Amen.

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Living into Right Relations: Orange Shirt Day and National Truth and Reconciliation 2026

Reconciliation and Indigenous Justice News from The United Church of Canada Orange Shirt Day and National Truth and Reconciliation 2026 [Image credit: ID 22674444 © Dreamstime]   Today, September 30, 2026, we remember the thousands of children taken to residential institutions over a period of 150 years. We remember their parents and the people of their communities that were left behind. This year’s United Church of Canada worship resource prepared by The Rev. Tony Snow for Orange Shirt Day includes liturgical responses to signal our commitment to taken action to support healing and reconciliation: Oath to Become a Witness to ReconciliACTION We stand as Witnesses to ReconciliACTION With humility and resolve, we pledge: 1. To Learn We will seek understanding of Indigenous histories, cultures, and perspectives. We will educate ourselves on the truths of colonization and its ongoing impacts. 2. To Listen We will center and amplify Indigenous voices, stories, and teachings. We will approach these with respect and an open heart. 3. To Act We will respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s 94 Calls to Action and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ Calls for Justice. We will advocate for systemic change and work toward decolonization. We will support Indigenous-led initiatives. 4. To Acknowledge and Reflect We will recognize our roles in these processes—past, present, and future. We will strive to be good ancestors, leaving a legacy of justice and equity. 5. To Stay Accountable We will welcome discomfort as part of growth and accountability. We will hold ourselves and others to the principles of ReconciliACTION. We make this commitment as witnesses to Truth, supporters of ReconciliACTION, and guardians of future generations. So it is, and so We will strive. Sisters in Spirit [Image credit: Canva]   On October 4, 2026, the annual Sisters in Spirit vigils will take place across the country to remember Indigenous women, girls, and members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community who are missing or known to have been murdered.  As the Native Women's Association of Canada observes, Sisters in Spirit “has grown into a nationwide movement that refuses to let silence or inaction prevail. Each vigil adds to a chorus of voices demanding truth, justice, and safety for Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people.”  Facebook Website Email Instagram YouTube

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Three Stories of Reconciliation in the World

Stories of Reconciliation Supported by the World Communion Offering The World Communion Offering supports reconciliation work locally and around the globe. Micah 6:8 tells us to love kindness. See how the World Communion Offering is putting that into action. Philile Dlamini is a young adult determined to change the world. Walter Mack is someone trying to make his home community a better place. The Rev. Justin Meyers is forging new relationships through ecumenical partnerships. All three of these people have incredible stories of reconciling work in the world. Read Their Stories Thank you for generously supporting the World Communion Offering.   If you have any questions, reply to this email or call us at (800) 728-7228, Ext. 5047.

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Mission Yearbook: Michigan artist encourages ‘eyes of wonder’ to see faith in new ways

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Joel Schoon-Tanis was artist-in-residence at this past summer’s Worship & Music Conference. (Photo courtesy of Joel Schoon-Tanis)

Joel Schoon-Tanis is the artist-in-residence at his church in Holland, Michigan, and this past summer, established a mobile studio Montreat Conference Center for a two-week stint as the artist-in-residence for the Presbyterian Association of Musicians’ Worship & Music Conference.

Schoon-Tanis recently joined hosts Sarah Abushakra and Jeremy Roberts for their “Sounding Board” podcast. Follow their 73-minute conversation here. Schoon-Tanis is introduced at the 7:50 mark.

“I have always loved church and felt home in church, and I am super thankful to have two daughters who feel the same,” he told the hosts. His younger daughter arrives at church early every Sunday “to make sure everything is OK, and then she rings the bell,” he said. “She appointed herself bell-ringer,” which she does every Sunday 10 minutes ahead of the start of worship.

The son of a professor at Hope College in Holland, Schoon-Tanis attended the Christian liberal arts institution tuition-free. Halfway through his studies, he realized that “all I’ve ever wanted to do was paint and make stuff.” During his senior year, he met a woman in a painting class who was preparing to open an art gallery. “We became friends, and the next thing you know, I was her sole employee,” he said. She allowed him to show his work there. “It was the last time I held a real job,” he said, “but at the same time, people started buying my work.”

He said he’s always enjoyed the juxtaposition of painting childlike images “and the realistic.” He told the hosts he’s convinced “there are colors in God’s Creation we don’t know about yet.”

“I have this ache sometimes to find a color I expect to have on my palette but it’s not there,” he said. “To me, the new creation should be better than the old creation. That’s my hot take, and I’m sticking to that.”

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Jeremy Roberts

Asked by Roberts about the intersection of his work and his faith, Schoon-Tanis summed it up in one word: wonder.

Take a child on a hike and they’ll notice the tiniest things, including bugs, he said. They often describe what they’ve found “through a different angle, so a zebra is a horse with a striped suit. They’re piecing it together, which ends up being delightful and whimsical.”

When Schoon-Tanis prepares to paint something he’s done a thousand times, such as a tree, he’ll try to do it “in a whimsical, fun way so we notice it differently” and “so it doesn’t become just a bland thing that we’ve seen before.”

Similarly, when we study Scripture, “we can get locked into how we think a biblical passage should go or what it should mean,” he told the hosts. “If you hear a sermon on a specific passage enough times, you say, ‘Oh, I’ve got this.’ I know I can sometimes not listen as well then. I’m always thankful when pastors can prove me wrong and guide me in a different way.”

“What eyes of wonder or this whimsical approach can do is it can take on a passage from a different angle,” he said, “and help us look at the same story we might think we know deeply with fresh eyes and a slight change in perspective.”

That reminded Abushakra of Mary Oliver’s “Instructions for Living a Life”: “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”

Children are especially good with the “telling” part, Roberts said. While working with a children’s choir one day, the term “merciful” came up in a hymn the children were singing. He asked them: what does “merciful” mean? A first grader raised her hand and said, “My mom loves me all the time. Even when she gets mad, she still loves me, no matter what.”

“I thought, yes, that’s what merciful means,” Roberts said. “The way kids can break things open is so wonderful.”

Fatherhood “has absolutely reinforced my philosophy of wonder,” Schoon-Tanis said. He used to watch the way his daughters drew things and would sometimes steal their techniques. “Not anymore,” he said, “because they’ve both gotten pretty accomplished.”

Find the work of Schoon-Tanis on Instagram or through his website.

“Sounding Board” is available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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

Let us join in prayer for:

Rachel Anderson, Global Ecumenical Liaison-US, Global Ecumenical Partnerships, Presbyterian Life & Witness
Molly Atkinson, Senior Administrative Assistant, Financial Aid Service, Presbyterian Life & Witness

Let us pray:

Gracious God, we praise you and also wonder at the great need we see around us. Forgive us for our failure to love our neighbors as ourselves. Strengthen us to work for a world where all are fed. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Author discusses ‘Sacred Curiosity’

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Britney Winn Lee (photo courtesy of Britney Winn Lee)

Author Britney Winn Lee literally wrote the book on sacred curiosity, and she had plenty to tell Simon Doong and the Rev. Lee Catoe, the hosts of “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast.” Listen to their 54-minute conversation here.

Broadleaf Books published Lee’s most recent book, “Sacred Curiosity: Wondering Our Way Toward Wholeness.”

“One of the things I discovered during my deep dive into curiosity was how incredibly accessible it is,” she told the hosts. “It doesn’t require adding a ton more to an already maxed-out schedule or nervous system.”

Instead, “the way it has been part of my journey is it has manifested as a breadcrumb trail that leads to the next question, the next healing, the next conversation, the next connection.” The book came from “how I was in a dark place, a deep well of grief.”

“As I say in the book, I hated and feared less at the end of this journey,” she said. “I would not have said that was possible before my counselor said, ‘I think maybe you might find some life and color again if you just follow a little bit of curiosity and awe and wonder.”

She said she thinks of curiosity as “a tiny change in posture, asking one more question or keeping one more conversation going.”

She’s also clear what curiosity is not, and in response to a question by Doong, she said it’s not scrolling endlessly through one’s social media feed.

“When I’m scrolling, I could call it curiosity. But a lot of times it’s really a hunt for certainty,” she said. “I have started wondering, what if none of that is actually curiosity? What if curiosity is an openness?”

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Catoe asked about the connection between curiosity and empathy. “If we are really curious, we are released from that hate and that fear,” he said.

That got Lee to remembering an immigration immersion experience she and others took some years ago along the U.S.-Mexico border. A guide took them to a place in the desert where vigilantes had shot up water stations designed to keep immigrants alive.

“I could feel the anger and hate welling up in me,” she said. Then the guide saw some border patrol agents she knew and started up a conversation. “She does this work day in and day out,” Lee said. “She came back to the vehicle and said, ‘The minute we stop being curious, everybody loses.’”

Maybe curiosity isn’t a luxury, Lee thought. “Maybe it’s strategy. Maybe it’s human,” she told the hosts. “Maybe it’s how we get to the other side together without destroying each other. Some of it feels pie in the sky, but to see it in action” made Lee think at the time, “this is how I want to live my life — not just locking into the certainty of the sides, but going, OK, what is a different story that could be possible here?”

Lee has a friend who once told her, “I just feel like God can’t only be found in being correct.”

“I think that’s an understatement,” Lee said. Theologically, we have “adopted infrastructures and systems that have bought into the idea that if I’m right, then I’m good, and if I’m good, then I’m safe.”

Catoe asked Lee to identify some ways “we can develop these curiosity muscles.”

She suggested “using curiosity to tune into yourself.” One practice Lee uses is asking herself “the five whys,” which is a way to keep one’s internal conversation going.

In the book, she talks about “coming to a point where I thought, God has to be bigger than whatever this curated box of answers I have concocted or adopted or perpetuated,” she said, adding her favorite scripture is in John’s epistle, “God is love.”

“Curiosity in our faith helps in our posture toward God. God is so big and so limitless, in our neighbor and in our enemy,” she said. “One more question keeps the conversation going and gives hope a heartbeat.”

“If hope has a heartbeat, then resurrection is possible,” she said. “We thought [death] was the end, but it wasn’t. There’s a real resurrective quality to that idea.”

New episodes of “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast” drop every Thursday. Listen to previous editions here.

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

Let us join in prayer for:

Ken Tolley, General Assembly Support, Assembly Operations, Presbyterian Life & Witness
Kate Trigger Duffert, General Assembly Support, Assembly Operations, Presbyterian Life & Witness

Let us pray:

Loving God, in you the whole structure is joined together and grows. Bless those who come hungry for education but also find community — and meet you — in the process. Amen.