Mission Yearbook: Presbyterians join with Church World Service partners to fight hunger

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has endorsed a statement from Church World Service — and 16 CWS partners — calling for a renewed effort to fight hunger.

The ecumenical statement, which has more than 60 organizational signatories and more than 800 individual signatories, is a display of faith and an answer to the call in Mark 12:31 to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

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Contributed photo

“As people of faith, our vision is a world where everyone has access to enough nutritious food to thrive,” the statement reads. “We believe that, by standing shoulder to shoulder, our vision can become reality, around the corner and around the world.”

The statement refers to hunger as “an affront to justice” and notes that hunger is surging despite an abundance of food in the United States and other parts of the world.

Hunger is sometimes fueled by conflict, such as the Israel-Hamas war that has led to famine in Gaza, and systematic issues, such as racism, as well as economic policy decisions that undermine people struggling to make ends meet.

The ecumenical statement notes that hunger robs health and opportunity from millions of people, especially those without access to clean water and safe sanitation, and disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, such as people who are homeless, those who are immigrants or refugees, and those affected by disasters.

“By bringing together our skills, experience and passion to this vital shared mission,” the statement notes, “we can heed God’s call ‘to loose the bonds of injustice … to let the oppressed go free, to break every yoke and to share your bread with the hungry.’” (Isaiah 58:6-7)

The help of individuals and churches will be particularly important in the coming months as people begin feeling the effects of federal policy decisions that could make life tougher for people in need of food assistance.

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The Rev. Rebecca Barnes

In 2025, “major federal policies passed will drastically cut federal funds being provided to state food assistance programs, children’s feeding programs, and small local and family farmers,” Barnes said. “Most experts expect hunger to surge greatly as a result of these policy changes. Churches and charities cannot address the overwhelming need, regardless of the immense generosity and donations of well-meaning individuals. We need structural, systemic and policy change in our food and farm systems in order to ensure root causes of hunger are addressed in our communities.”

That makes advocacy all the more important. “We aren’t sure yet if there will be a ‘skinny’ Farm Bill (since so much of the food aid was already cut in earlier legislation) or an extension of the current Farm Bill,” Barnes said. However, “people of faith can lift up our voices to continue to demand that we reverse some of the worst impacts of cuts to USAID, SNAP, and other food and farm policies.”

Rick Santos, president and chief executive officer of Church World Service, said addressing hunger is critical not just for the people of today but also the future.

“Ultimately, hunger justice efforts cannot only aim to fix the social safety nets of today but must seek to safeguard those of tomorrow,” Santos said in a news release. “This generation needs to be the last to know the pain, suffering and indignity of watching their children fall prey to hunger in a world where food is abundant.”

To read the ecumenical statement on hunger or for more information, go here.

Darla Carter, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Nora Baez, lead reservation specialist, Stony Point Center, Interim Unified Agency
Amber Baker, Donor Advised Fund Specialist, Operations, Presbyterian Foundation

Let us pray:

Generous God, as you have given so freely to us, we give you thanks that as possible, we are able to freely give to others. May your Spirit sustain the many helping hands, and may your blessings abound for those being served. Through Christ we pray. Amen.

Presbyterians for Earth Care - Lenten Earth Care Devotional 🌅Now Available (English & Spanish)

2026 Earth Care Lenten Devotional Free Download Our 2026 Lenten Devotional was made possible by the volunteers contributing their devotions as well as Spanish language collaboration with our partner organization Red Presbiteriana para el Cuidado de la Creación. Thank you to all of the writers who contributed! CLICK HERE to download the English language translation of the Lenten Devotional. CLICK HERE to download the Lenten Devotional in Spanish. Would you like to receive each devotion on its designated date in your email Inbox?  If so, you can request devotional emails (both English and Spanish translations) through Lent by signing up with your email. CLICK HERE to Sign Up for Devotion Emails From Our Partner Organizations: You’re Invited to Host the 2026 National Faith + Climate Forum! Join Blessed Tomorrow on Saturday, April 25, 2026, as a host location for the National Faith + Climate Forum, a powerful national gathering uniting people of faith to lead on climate solutions grounded in justice, hope, and spiritual courage. Host a gathering at your congregation, campus, or community space and:  Experience the live-streamed national event together  Participate in powerful conversations  Inspire climate action rooted in faith in your community We make hosting easy with a turnkey planning guide, customizable outreach materials, faith-rooted climate resources, and direct support every step of the way. Host locations can receive up to $500 and host locations with 15+ attendees will receive preferential consideration for grants of up to $1,000 to support climate or creation care work in their communities. Register Your Location Today! Creation Justice Ministries 2026 Annual Resource CLICK HERE for Info on this Free Download How can we help you care for God’s creation?  Drop us an email and let us know at presbyearthcare@gmail.com Help us grow! Please let us know if there is anyone we should add to our list!  Just reply to this email.  Thank you! Please help us to continue to assist individuals and churches in creation care work by donating to PEC through our website by CLICKING HERE.  Thank you!

Copyright (C) 2026 Presbyterians for Earth Care. All rights reserved.

Mission Yearbook: Congregations get help thriving from Presbytery of the Inland Northwest

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The Rev. Dr. Alyssa Bell (left), Pastor of Emmanuel Presbyterian Church in Spokane, Washington leads with Mark Elsdon of Rooted Good. The meeting of the Presbytery of the Inland Northwest at Emmanuel Presbyterian Church in Spokane, Washington on May 1, 2025 included a presentation by Rooted Good. Photo by Rich Copley.

As mid councils and congregations across the country are confronted with insurmountable expenses related to building and property management, one presbytery has reached out to its neighbors for help.

In November 2023, the Presbytery of the Inland Northwest was awarded a Lilly Endowment: Thriving Congregations Initiative to help fund the Ezra 3 Project. The project, designed to help congregations thrive in a post-pandemic environment, explores how congregations can steward land and buildings for community impact in a way that also aligns with their mission.

Congregations who choose to participate in the project are placed into cohorts where they work through Rooted Good’s “Good Futures Accelerator,” a self-guided course to help church leaders explore how creative use of property can further mission and build financial resilience.

“There are projections that a hundred thousand churches or properties related to churches could close or change use in the next decade. Even if it's just half or even a quarter of that, it's a huge number in the tens of thousands,” said Rooted Good co-founder the Rev. Mark Elsdon earlier this year at an event introducing his book, “Gone for Good?” “Therefore, there are far more church buildings today than will be viable or needed in the future. That’s just the way it is. The bottom line is that there are fewer and fewer people identifying as Christians and attending traditional church activities in church buildings.”

In addition to the Good Futures Accelerator, churches will receive a site visit from Partners for Sacred Places, who will help identify community stakeholders and explore how congregations can serve them.

Through thoughtful work and discernment, each participating congregation will create a design plan for its project and have the opportunity to apply for a $10,000 seed grant to implement its design. Upon receiving the grant, each church is provided a coach who will guide the church through project implementation.

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Katie Stark, Missional Expeditor of the Presbytery of the Inland Northwest and Ezra 3 Project Director on May 1, 2025. Photo by Rich Copley.

“Many of our churches come to this conversation because they’re looking for a way to survive,” said the Rev. Katie Stark, missional expeditor at the Presbytery of the Inland Northwest and Ezra 3 Project director, “and through the Ezra 3 Project, we help them to reframe that and ask the question of how they can thrive.”

Congregations have embraced the spirit of creativity and community through the Ezra 3 Project. Spirit Lake Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake, Idaho, has partnered with a local performing arts organization who helped the congregation host a series of concerts in the sanctuary.

While design plans will look different from one congregation to another, there are shared hopes best expressed by the Rev. Dr. Alyssa Bell of Emmanuel Presbyterian Church in Spokane, Washington. “I would hope that we would feel stronger in who we are in Christ. That we are a body that are called to be Christ’s light in the world,” Bell said. “I would hope that we have more friends than we did before in the community. I would hope that our space is being utilized in two ways … ways that both gain revenue, because that’s a practical need … but also ways in which that we are making some sacrifices to serve people in the community.”

The Good Futures Accelerator is available to PC(USA) mid councils and congregations at a 50% discount and can be ordered here.

Kristen Gaydos, Multimedia Producer, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Gohar Aznauryan, Administrative Assistant, Jinishian Memorial Program, Interim Unified Agency
Katherine Babicz, AVP Financial & Investment Planning Professional, Trust Services, Presbyterian Foundation 

Let us pray:

God of wholeness, may the world you intend be the one we seek. May the way you love be the way we love, so that even broken hearts pulse with your grace. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Service urges good care of Creation

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Photo by Emilia Morariu via Unsplash

The title and lyrics of the gentle hymn “Touch the Earth Lightly” (Glory to God #713) served as a call to action for attendees of a recent prayer service for those serving on the staff of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

The hymn, which urges listeners to treat the Earth with care, helped to close a service that stressed the need to be good stewards of Creation and to care for all living creatures.

The Rev. Rebecca Barnes and Jessica Maudlin, who are both with the Presbyterian Hunger Program, and the Rev. Dr. David Gambrell, Associate for Worship in the Office of Theology & Worship, led the online gathering, which commemorated the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.

The service opened with a Call to Worship, inspired by Psalm 148, calling for all to praise the Creator’s name.

Later, Barnes and Maudlin alternated reading a Litany of Confession, adapted from Rev. Keatan King’s “Litany of the Garden,” which referenced some of the ways in which humankind has contributed to harming the environment.

“God of air, breathe new life into our dust every day as you did in the beginning,” Barnes said. “Unite all people in one rhythm in our inhaling and exhaling. We exhale hazardous substances, without regard for who will have to inhale our contamination. Teach us to extend the privilege of inhaling deeply to all neighbors. We pray for the day when air is always fresh.”

The litany also spoke of the need for people to be generous to one another and the planet by mimicking the Earth itself.

“God of Creation, we pray that we will learn to show the Earth the same love and grace which it extends to us,” Maudlin said. “Teach us the intrinsic value of every creature. Teach us to give freely and spontaneously among one another the way that the Earth gives of itself freely to us. Holy One, we have nothing that was not first given to us by your generous heart and your open hand.”

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Later, Gambrell read Luke 8:22–25 followed by a reflection from a colleague who's part of an ecumenical group called the Consultation on Common Texts, responsible for the Revised Common Lectionary. The passage from Luke describes how the disciples became alarmed when a boat they were on with Jesus was enveloped by a fierce storm while he was sleeping.

When the disciples came to him, Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and waves, causing the storm to subside. He also asked the disciples, “Where is your faith?”

In today’s world, "people also cry out in fear as the world is ravaged by hurricanes and other natural disasters as well as war and other calamities, Gambrell noted. But "this gospel passage calls us to faith anew. ... The love of God flows through this story and through all of Scripture like a river, steady and sure."

During the benediction, Maudlin prayed that God would “inspire us to work for the end of conflict, and for the full restoration of broken relationships — with you, with the ecumenical community, with the human family, and with all Creation.”

She continued, “Prince of Peace, through your wounds, teach us to stand in solidarity with the woundedness of others, of Creation, and of the world. Through your resurrection, make us people of hope — with a vision of swords turned into ploughshares and tears transformed into joy. May we come together as one family, to labor for your peace — a shalom where all your people may dwell in safety, and rest in quiet places.”

Darla Carter, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Molly Atkinson, Senior Administrative Assistant, Financial Aid Service, Interim Unified Agency
Yesenia Ayala,  Associate, Financial Aid for Service, Interim Unified Agency

Let us pray:

Dear Lord, sustain us as we seek to sustain each other; in the beauty of your kingdom, with the beauty of your earth, amid the needs of your cities, and through the fellowship of neighbors working together. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Webinar discussing young parents’ views on church draws a large crowd

The title of the recent webinar, “Holy Shift: Young Parents Are Rethinking Everything. So Should We,” was the first clue that the more than 500 people who signed up for the first of three installments were in for a time of learning and sharing ideas.

They weren’t disappointed.

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Dr. Josh Packard

Dr. Josh Packard, a sociologist and research director at TryTank Research Institute, an initiative of Virginia Theological Seminary, took the large crowd through key findings from the Young Adult Parents Research Project, “What Happens to Faith When ‘Nones’ Have Kids.” The research investigated the evolving role of religion and spirituality among parents in the United States aged 25–39, a group marked by increasing disaffiliation from organized religion.

It noted that the number of adult “nones” has more than doubled since 2005 and now makes up 1/3 of the adult population. At the same time, the number of self-identified Christians has fallen dramatically.

Packard discussed the study’s six key findings:

The faith stops here (or nones are parenting very differently). One respondent told researchers, “I want to pass on the ability to make their own choices. If they are going to have a relationship with religion and faith, I want that to be something that they pick for themselves.”

Parents are worried about a lot of things, but religion is the least of their concerns. Imparting religious faith to their children was at the bottom of a list that included being responsible, working hard, being well-mannered and helping others.

Life is hard, and the church is not seen as a resource. Seven in 10 respondents agreed with the statement “life is generally harder than I expected it to be at this point.” Churches and congregations “have a vital role to play [in the lives of these families], but only if they adopt relational approaches that acknowledge the full range of life events shaping people’s experiences,” the study stated. “I think you are exactly who people in their 20s and 30s need,” Packard told attendees, “but they aren’t turning to you in ways they used to because they don’t see institutions and leaders as trustworthy.”

Jesus is popular, but church isn’t. On a 10-point ranking scale, Jesus scored a 9 among Christians and 7 among people of other faiths. Even nones gave him a score of 6.

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Parents are overwhelmingly confident in their ability to teach their kids to lead meaningful lives. More than 80% were “extremely” or “very” confident in their ability to teach their children the skills they need “to lead a life filled with meaning and purpose,” Packard noted.

Parents think virtues are essential for their kids, but that the church doesn’t teach them. For example, about 70% of respondents said that self-control is an important virtue they want their children to have, but 48% said the church emphasizes that virtue.

“Nones are more interested in faith than we thought,” Packard said. “Jesus and spirituality are still important to them, and there is a lot we can do in the church around those things.”

But many church models came about at a time when people trusted clergy and churches more than they do now, Packard said. “We try to get people through the doors and be the authoritative voice on an issue instead of recognizing we are operating in a low-trust environment.”

The importance of the relational component is growing. Packard called that “reaching people where they’re at so they see the church as a real resource in times of need.”

Respondents were asked if they’ll continue to go to church once their children finish high school and leave home. “Our data shows parents are intending to leave once their kids graduate, and that is kind of alarming,” Packard said. Churches may fall into the trap of “once we get parents to come back, we stop paying much attention to their needs.”

“Our ways to reach people have traditionally been through the family,” Packard said. “We might need to think about opening pathways to make sure our churches are still relevant to people without children.”

Watch Packard’s presentation here.

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

Let us join in prayer for:

Monty Anderson, Vice President/COO & Corporate Treasurer, Operations, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
Rachel Anderson, Global Ecumenical Liaison, Global Ecumenical Liaison Office, Interim Unified Agency              

Let us pray:

Good and gracious God, help us to be faithful with the good news that you have entrusted us to proclaim. Guide and inspire us to real and practical service to the least of Christ’s brothers and sisters, that we might minister to all according to their genuine needs. In Christ’s name. Amen.

Minute for Mission: Camp and Conference Emphasis Sunday

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Girl and Horse Heartland Crop

As I look ahead to warm days and summer camp, I think of all the lives impacted each summer. I think of my elementary aged camper, Reggie, from Newark, New Jersey, who stared in wonder with me late one night at a luna moth perched on the bath house. It was a beauty of God’s creation we never would have seen had we not been sharing camp together. Or the young woman in my counselor in training group who was having a terrible teenage angst crisis. We constantly had to pull to the side of the group so she had the space to work through her emotions. Three years later I received a letter thanking me, her counselor, for taking that time with her and sharing how camp had given her the confidence to get into college and the difference that had made in her life. Camp is amazing.

But our camps are so much more than camps! Church groups join us for retreats to work on growth or social justice challenge plans, nonprofits join us to learn and grow together, and at times we are blessed to serve those in need directly. I think of Camp Fellowship in South Carolina, which was blessed to be the unintended home for months of a Ugandan touring children’s choir when they were unable to return to their country for a time.

With intentional summer programs, facilitating growth in congregations and nonprofits, and the opportunities to serve directly, I hope you will join me in celebrating all our camps as Centers of Mission and Ministry, doing the work of the church in so many ways.

Please join us today to celebrate Camp and Conference Sunday with us at your congregation. For more information, seeCamp and Retreat Sunday Resources.

Brian Frick, Co-Director of Stony Point Center in New York and Director of Camp and Retreat Ministries and Director of Camp and Retreat Ministries, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff:

Ahmad Ali, Vice President and Managing Director, Investments, The Board of Pensions
Denise Anderson, Director of Compassion, Peace & Justice, Interim Unified Agency

Let us pray:

Creator God, we give you thanks for sacred spaces for us to grow in our understanding of you, and to deepen our connection to one another. We ask your blessing on those who will encounter Christ at camp this summer, on those young adult mentors who will share their understanding of you with campers, and for all groups who gather at these spaces to deepen their witness. We love you, Lord. Amen.