Mission Yearbook: Presbyterian pastor writes book on reflecting and healing after Texas floods

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Less than a month after the devastating floods in the Texas Hill Country, the Rev. Elaine Murray — who lives in Kerrville and serves as co-pastor, along with her husband, the Rev. Dr. Rob Lohmeyer, of nearby Pipe Creek Presbyterian Church — wrote and self-published a theological book of essays and devotions called “Hill Country Strong: Reflections for Healing Through the Texas Flood.” All proceeds from the book are going toward supporting local rebuilding efforts.

“As a pastor, you’re not a first responder,” Murray said. “But you want to encourage people and find a way to make sense of what’s happening.”

“I thought there was a need to tell a deeper story of this incredible community and that God is at work even in this storm,” she told Presbyterian News Service. “This is the way God’s power, God’s love and God’s presence in a tragedy are being known.”

Murray introduces that theme with an essay, “Where is God When Waters Rage?”

“What this book aims to bring you close to is the reality of God’s intimacy and deep involvement in times of crisis and disaster,” she wrote. “God cannot bear to be apart from us — even in our terror. There is no depth of human emotion or experience in which God is not deeply close to and intertwined with.”

That’s “a far more powerful story to me than the idea of God with some sorcerer’s hat, conjuring up a whirlpool of rising river tide in the middle of the night,” she wrote. “This storm was not punishment. This storm was not God’s design. This storm was an intersection of lots of things, which we will parse out and research in weeks and months to come. But where was God as the waters raged? With us, heartbroken open and muddied up. God was with us in the terror, in the relief, in the sadness and in the mourning. God is with us in the suffering.”

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The Rev. Elaine Murray

Murray envisions the book as a devotional or “for particular aspects of the healing process where you or others feel stuck,” she wrote. “God’s big enough to handle your mad and sad and all the other big feelings. The writer is big enough to handle your pushback, too. This book is my gift to a community I love, as we are in pain together.”

On the morning of July 4, Murray and others checked on people who’d been camping along the Guadalupe River, who survived. One person who didn’t survive, Jane Ragsdale of First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville, was Murray’s Sunday school teacher in sixth grade.

While all the members of Pipe Creek Presbyterian Church’s Rockin’ RVers group got out in time, the restaurant where they’d eaten the night before was completely washed out, Murray noted.

“The losses have been one after another,” she said. Part of her task putting the book out as quickly as she could was that “I thought I could do spiritual cleanup” that complements all the cleanup and restoration work going on in the affected area.

“It was the shock energy” that propelled her across the finish line, she said. “I thought, ‘This is what I can do.’”

Her husband is “an uncredited partner” in her project. “As we were weeping over all this, he helped me see that Creation started with a flood. ‘That’s an essay,’” he told her. “I thought it was better to give an imperfect timely offering,” she said, “than to hold off.”

In a devotional on John 11:35 and the death of Lazarus that led to Jesus weeping, Murray writes that “sometimes the best thing we can do is wait and weep. Hold the space, get curious about what heals in times like these.” In the week that followed the floodwaters, “2,000 people showed up to sniff, wade, swim, search and retrieve the lost,” she wrote. There’s “value in weeping with and for them. In doing so, we show solidarity and gratitude. We remind these folks that they are not alone, like Jesus did with those grieving Lazarus’ death. The time would come for miracles, but it is miracle enough to be, to share in the heartache, to create and nurture safe places for rest and renewal.”

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

Let us join in prayer for:

Alicia Samuels, VP of eCommerce & Marketing, Electronic Resources & Strategic Business Development, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
Elizabeth Sanders, Customer Service & Logistics Associate, Operations,  Presbyterian Publishing Corporation

Let us pray:

Loving God, you know us better than we know ourselves. Help us find moments to identify how you are working in our lives and using our gifts as we minister as your disciples. You do call each of us. May we hear and follow that call. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Grace in the quiet places: Discovering God in everyday struggles

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Martha Hagemann 

Life is often measured by milestones -- graduations, weddings, promotions and achievemenets. Yet most of our days are not lived in the spotlight but in the quiet places: the ordinary routines, the hidden struggles, the moments when no one is watching. It is in these quiet places that God often does God's deepest work.

Many Christians feel pressure to present a polished faith. We share testimonies of victory but hesitate to admit weakness. Yet beneath the surface, many o fus carry burdens: loneliness, financial stress, family conflict or spiritual dryness. These struggles rarely make headlines, but they shape our lives profoundly.

Scripture reminds us that God is not distant from these realities. The psalmist declares, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" (Psalm 34:18). Our hidden struggles are not hidden from God.

Grace is not reserved for extraordinary moments. It meets us in the ordinary, When we feel unseen, God sees. When we feel unheard, God listens. When we feel unworthy, God calls us beloved.

Consider Elijah in 1 Kings 19. After his dramatic confrontation with the prophets of Baal, Elijah fled into the wilderness, exhausted and afraid. He did not need another miracle; he needed rest, food and the gentle presence of God. The Lord met him not in the wind, earthquake or fire, but in a gentle whisper. Grace often comes quietly, meeting us in ways that sustain rather than dazzle.

The church is called to embody this grace in community. Too often, congregations celebrate visible success but overlook quiet suffering. Yet Paul exhorts us to "carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2)

This means creating spaces where honesty is welcomed, where members can admit struggles without fear of judgment. It means practicing hospitality not only at church events but in everyday life--sharing meals, listening deeply and offering presence.

Profiles of grace in action include:

• A widow who quietly prays for her neighbors each morning, unseen but faithful.
• A young man who struggles with anxiety yet finds courage to lead worship, trusting God with his weakness.
• A congregation that organizes meals for families in crisis, embodying Christ's compassion in practical ways.

These are not headline stories, but they are testimonies of grace. They remind us that God's kingdom grows not only through grand gestures but also through small acts of faithfulness.

How can we cultivate awareness of God's grace in everyday struggles?

1. Silence and prayer: Begin each day with a few minutes of quiet, inviting God into the ordinary.
2. Scripture medication: Reflect on passages that affirm God's presence in weakness (e.g., 2 Corinthians 12:9).
3. Community connection: Share honestly with a trusted friend or small group
4. Acts of service: Look for small ways to embody grace--a phone call, a meal, a listening ear.

Grace is not only for the mountaintops; it is for the valleys, the kitchens, the workplaces and the hidden corners of our lives. In the quiet places, God whispers God's love, reminding us that we are never alone.

As Presbyterians, we are called to embody this grace in our communities, to be attentive to the unseen struggles and to trust that God is at work in the ordinary. When we discover grace in the quiet places, we find that everyday life itself becomes holy ground.

Martha Hagemann is a reflective writer based in Namibia, currently working on her first book, "A New Beginning." Her work explores memory, emotion and the quiet spaces between people, with a passion for inspiring women to rise from pain and walk in purpose.

Let us join in prayer for:

Carol Rusciano, Foundation Trust Officer, Operations, The Presbyterian Foundation
Yvette Russell, Vice President, Customer Engagement, The Board of Pensions

Let us pray:

God of mercy, you meet us in the quiet places of our lives, where struggles are hidden and burdens are heavy. Remind us that Your grace is near in ordinary moments, whispering hope and strength. Help us to carry one another’s burdens with compassion, and to see holiness in the everyday. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: New Jersey church celebrates 130 years

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Presbyterian Church at Hammonton

We recently celebrated the 130-year anniversary of the Presbyterian Church at Hammonton in New Jersey as well as 164 years of ministry in our community.

If these walls could talk, one can imagine what they would say. They heard the prayers and songs of hundreds of men, women and children. They heard sermons and witnessed baptisms and communions, confirmations, marriages, funerals and children’s plays. They also heard the joys and concerns of the congregants. Hundreds of people of faith have worshiped within these walls since 1895.

This house of God has seen its share of hardship: wars, deprivations, mortgages that were difficult to pay, the rise and fall of member numbers, and the constant need of repair. But through it all, the ministry has always focused on helping others, as taught by Christ. In the early years, Italian immigrants were welcomed and were helped to start their own church. In the 1950s, through the federal program for the resettlement of displaced people after World War II, this congregation sponsored German immigrants, providing them with housing, food and employment. The Spanish ministry flourished for many years, a food pantry fed many people, and the “Goods for the Neighborhood” ministry continues to serve hundreds of people with nonperishable food, clothing and household items. This has always been a mission church with countless volunteers in service to our mission.

When the cornerstone was laid in October of 1895, the founding members of faith had no idea how many physical changes would take place over more than a century. The latest event happened in 2010, providing the congregation with an ADA-compliant sanctuary to serve all. No matter the changes, however, the one constant is the warmth and welcoming spirit that continues to thrive within these walls.

For 164 years, generations of families have committed to worship and to serve the church’s mission right up to today, along with new members beginning their own faith journey here. With our new pastor, the faith and dedication of this church family will keep this church going for generations to come.

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them” — Matthew 18:20.

Johanna Johnson, Church Leadership, Presbyterian Church at Hammonton

Let us join in prayer for:

Lauren Rogers, Associate Director, Stewardship & Major Gift Officer, Administrative Services Group
Jashalund Royston, Research Associate, Research Services, Administrative Services Group

Let us pray:

God, thank you for the ripple effect of lives when we engage Scripture. Continue to encourage us “to take hold of life that really is life.” As we learn to share our faith and serve our communities, teach us how to be the church — “rich in good works, generous, and ready to share.” Amen.

Introducing Presbyterian Outlook's 2026 Lenten devotional

Dear friends, As we prepare to enter Lent, many of us are carrying uncertainty, exhaustion, or concern for a world that feels increasingly fractured. This year, the Presbyterian Outlook is offering a new Lenten devotional — Discipleship in a Divided Age.  Written by Outlook Publisher/Editor Teri McDowell Ott, this daily devotional helps to anchor us in Scripture and guide our spiritual practices during this sacred season. Discipleship in a Divided Age follows the Gospel of Matthew and speaks directly into our moment. Through daily reflections, thoughtful questions and weekly visio divina practices, this resource invites us to live faithfully amid division and uncertainty. Whether you read it on your own, bring it to your session or small group, or share it with your entire congregation, this devotional offers: Six daily readings each week grounded in Scripture Reflection questions to help integrate faith into everyday life Closing prayers shaped for personal or communal use Weekly visio divina A pastoral voice that meets readers with honesty, clarity and hope Begin your Lenten journey with us What do you get with your order? A digital, daily devotional that you can insert into your bulletin, email out to your congregation, or read like a book at home while drinking your morning coffee Adaptable files that can be printed on a half page or full page Basic printing instructions All files sent to your inbox on January 8, 2026 Intrigued? View a sample of week one. Pre-order today! Want a different option? Consider Grieving Change and Loss. Created last year and available now, this devotional is undated so you can use it any year. Maundy Thursday liturgy: A Service of communion and reflection by Carol Holbrook Prickett Ash Wednesday Service: A season of unmasking by Anne Apple Presbyterian Outlook Lenten devotions from previous years  Ash Wednesday reflections Lenten hymns Ash Wednesday Service: A call to repentance and renewal by Barbara Chaapel

Copyright © 2026 Presbyterian Outlook, All rights reserved.

Medical Benevolence Foundation - A Christmas Miracle for Joy and Angel 🎄

Christmas has a way of meeting us in our most tender moments, when hope feels fragile, and the weight of responsibility feels unbearable. For Joy, a mother in Kenya, that weight came all at once. She was already caring for a child with cerebral palsy when her younger daughter, Angel, became critically ill. With no one else to turn to, Joy ran to Chogoria Hospital carrying fear, faith, and love in equal measure. Angel was rushed to intensive care. Joy prayed through long nights, unsure if her child would survive. When Angel finally began to heal, relief quickly gave way to another shock -- a hospital bill equaled what many families earn in an entire year. The kind of number that makes your heart sink. The overwhelm we all recognize. That is where compassion met Joy. Through MBF’s partners at Chogoria Hospital, and  because of donors like you, the impossible became possible. Angel received the care she needed, and Joy and she carried her daughter home, no longer bound by fear but held by gratitude. This Christmas, Joy celebrates more than a healed child. She celebrates kindness that crossed oceans, lifted an impossible burden, and reminded her she was not alone. We simply want to say thank you for your Spirit-led generosity, for your faithful prayers, and for walking alongside MBF as we share physical healing and the Gospel of Jesus with the world. With grateful hearts, - The MBF Team

Copyright © 2025 Medical Benevolence Foundation, All rights reserved.

Mission Yearbook: New Year's Day

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The nature of our secular calendar imbues Jan. 1 with a profound sense of newness and change. Our culture has shaped that newness and change into rituals around goal setting and “New Year’s resolutions.” In my own life, a little over a decade ago, I began a personal tradition of choosing a guiding word for the upcoming year based on where I felt a need to grow or a desire to focus attention.

Meanwhile, in our liturgical calendar, the birth of Christ has just occurred, and the world has been changed forever. In our gospel Scripture for today (Luke 2:15–21), the shepherds who have been told about Jesus by a host of angels make their way to the place where he was born in order to see him for themselves. They come away astonished and transformed, unable to keep the experience to themselves.

I know that people often have strong feelings about New Year’s, and it focuses on change. Some folks get very invested, while others eschew it with an eye roll. My relationship with change is complex. I crave novelty and get excited about making plans and embarking on new adventures. On the other hand, I struggle with unexpected upheaval or transitions I have no say in or control over. 

Right now, my family is in a difficult season. We sit at the precipice of significant changes and transitions on multiple fronts — most of them not of our choosing. And I am realizing that I struggle most with that in-between time, when we know things will unfold, but we don’t know how or when. I am not a fan of waiting on the unknown.

As a Christian, January follows a season of intentional waiting during Advent. Christ has come, the world is being made new, and we can move forward in faith. As a Christian contending with life in this messy, complicated world, it sometimes feels like the waiting and not-knowing never end. In this current liminal time for my family, I feel the pull to try and make big changes, and I recognize that it’s an attempt to seize some control in the face of so many situations where I have very little control.

There is nothing wrong with us figuring out where we have power and doing what we can to make the most out of our situations. But I wonder, sometimes, what we overlook when we intentionally divert our attention to whatever new project gives us a sense of agency. What do we miss when we rush from the precipice and turn from what is beyond us?

The shepherds did, ultimately, make a choice to go see Jesus. They had agency. But they also chose to confront a future that would change them in ways they could never have predicted, let alone control. On some level, they must have trusted that God was at work, and seeing how that holy work would unfold was worth the discomfort of uncertainty.

We know, indeed, that God was at work then in an incredible way, and we know that God is at work in the world even now in ways we sometimes glimpse but can often only guess at. How might this year open differently for us if we resolve to receive the movement of God rather than rushing to make our own moves? What if we orient our agency around a desire to follow faithfully where the Spirit pulls us, instead of clinging to a path of our own carefully curated vision? Perhaps we will find Christ there. Perhaps it will change everything.

Rev. Layton Williams Berkes, Communications Strategist

Let us join in prayer for:

Monique Robinson, Manager, Treasury Office and Central Receiving Office, Administrative Services Group
Keenan Rodgers, Church Consultant, Engagement & Church Relations, The Board of Pensions  

Let us pray:

God of all time and place, thank you for being with us wherever we find ourselves. Thank you for being at work in Christ and in and around us. Give us patience to trust in your unfolding grace. Give us courage to receive and be transformed by it. Give us wisdom to share it with the world in whatever ways the path ahead allows. Amen. 

Mission Yearbook: In landmark act, presbytery returns ancestral land to tribe

The Presbytery of San Gabriel and the Gabrieleno-Tongva Band of Mission Indians recently gathered to celebrate a groundbreaking act of reparative justice.

The Presbytery of San Gabriel officially returned land previously used as the presbytery’s La Casa de San Gabriel Community Center to the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians, led by the Gabrieleno Tongva Tribal Council under Chief Anthony Morales. This marks the first-ever land-back transfer by a church in California to an established tribal government, and the first of its kind in California and Los Angeles County.

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Elder Mona Morales Recalde talks about the land transfer from the Presbytery of San Gabriel to the Gabrieleno-Tongva Band of Mission Indians. (Photo by Kristen Gaydos)

The land, located within a mile of the historic San Gabriel Mission, the fourth mission built in California, is part of the ancestral village of Siban'gna, a sacred site for the Tongva people. For decades, the historic tribe of Los Angeles, led by the Gabrieleno Tongva Tribal Council, has operated its tribal office on this land in partnership with La Casa, maintaining cultural continuity and stewardship despite centuries of displacement. La Casa de San Gabriel, founded by Presbyterian pastor the Rev. César Lizárraga and his wife, Angelita, provided varied services for the community, especially the Latino community, for almost 80 years as a mission of the presbytery.

Referring to the return of the site, Chief Morales said, “This is more than a gift; it’s a recognition of truth, history and healing. To receive land back on our ancestral village, near the very mission that symbolizes our people’s colonization, is a powerful act of justice.”

The events included a Presbyterian worship service followed by a Gabrieleno-Tongva celebration.

During the worship service, the Rev. Jermaine Ross-Allam, director of the Center for the Repair of Historic Harms, led the Prayer of Confession adapted from the Rev. Canon Deborah J. Royals of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. The Rev. Jihyun Oh, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly and Executive Director of the Interim Unified Agency, offered a sermon where she reflected on the day’s historic event.

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The Rev. N’Yisrela Watts-Afriyie, moderator of the La Casa de San Gabriel Administrative Commission, receives a blanket from Samantha Morales Johnson Yang, Cultural Preservation Officer with the Gabrieleno-Tongva Band of Mission Indians. (Photo by Kristen Gaydos)

The service concluded with an exchange of symbolic gifts between the presbytery’s administrative commission that implemented the transfer of the land and members of the Gabrieleno-Tongva Tribal Council, led by Chief Anthony Redblood Morales. The moderator of the administrative commission is the Rev. Dr. N’Yisrela Watts-Afriyie, and the commission includes Elder Mona Morales Recalde, a ruling elder of La Verne Heights Presbyterian Church, an elected commissioner with the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission, and an enrolled member of the Gabrieleno-Tongva Band of Mission Indians.

Following the worship service, Chief Morales led a Tongva celebration that included a prayer in Four Directions, remarks from local dignitaries, and celebratory dances from the Gabrieleno Tongva Tribal Dancers, a group that was organized to honor and preserve the tribe’s traditions.

The presbytery’s decision to transfer the land comes at a time when Los Angeles is seeking hope and reconciliation amid severe challenges, including the Eaton Fire in January in nearby Altadena and the illegal ICE raids against immigrants. This land back initiative is a direct action of reparation for past harms inflicted during the missionization and colonization of Native peoples in California. It reflects a growing movement among faith communities to confront their historical roles and make material steps toward restoration.

“The Earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it,” said the Rev. Wendy Tajima, executive presbyter of the Presbytery of San Gabriel. “We are honored to return this land to its original stewards and to stand in solidarity with the Tongva people in their journey of healing and sovereignty.”

The site will continue to serve as a hub for tribal governance, cultural education and community and ceremonial gatherings. Its proximity to the San Gabriel Mission underscores the historical significance of this return, offering a tangible step toward reconciliation between Indigenous communities and religious institutions.

This historic transfer sets a precedent for churches and organizations across California and beyond to engage in land back efforts and reparative justice, acknowledging the enduring presence and rights of Native peoples.

Kristen Gaydos, Multimedia Producer (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Kelly Riley, Executive Vice President, Plan Operations, Plan Operations, The Board of Pensions
Leslie Rizzo, Production Clerk, Hubbard Press, Administrative Services Group

Let us pray:

Gracious God, we thank you for the faithfulness of your servants who seek opportunities to serve one another. We ask you to bless their generosity and multiply their impact. In Jesus’ name. Amen.