Minute for Mission: Pentecost Sunday/Pentecost Offering

Take a minute to look back on your life. Who all have you lived with? In the earliest parts of our lives, we might live with parents or grandparents or other caring adults. Perhaps siblings. Over the years, we might live with friends and extended family, family of choice or even sometimes with strangers. And sometimes we might find ourselves living alone.

No matter whom we live with now, or whom we have lived with before, God’s vision for the world is that everyone finds a place within God’s kingdom — God’s house. What we celebrate at Pentecost is God’s pouring out of the Holy Spirit so that people of every identity and language can hear a word of welcome into God’s household. All belong in God’s household, and we get to live together, and learn together and celebrate together.

At Pentecost, we look especially to the children, youth and young adults with whom God has called us to live. The psalmist reminds us of the importance of faith being established during our earliest years, saying, “God from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.” God’s youngest family members need support to build their full potential in both faith and life, and all of us have a role to play. These young ones also show and sometimes teach all of us more about faith in Jesus Christ and how the Holy Spirit is moving in our world.

The Pentecost Offering lets us support the development of children, youth and young adults in our community and throughout the country. Forty percent of this offering stays within our community because we want to build the household of God together, in this place. The remainder is sent on to our denomination so that young adults can lay a foundation for their lives through a year of service as part of the Young Adult Volunteer program. It is also used to support ministries with youth, through experiences of worship and formation like the Presbyterian Youth Triennium, which gathers nearly 5,000 young people every three years to learn and grow. There is also a portion of this Offering that supports the education of every child in this country, through the Educate a Child, Transform the World national initiative. Even when there are no children or young people in the places where we live, there are many, many with us in the household of God.

During this Pentecost season, I want us to celebrate the fact that we are building a life of faith and building the household of God with our children, youth and young adults. Through our gifts today, we join with them and with God in building that household together. And you know what we always say … if we all do a little, it adds up to a lot.

Bryce Wiebe, Director, Special Offerings and Appeals

Let us join in prayer for: 

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Chad Dusatko, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Sandra Duverge, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray:

Holy Spirit, breathe on us. Inspire us to give and to grow your household. Thank you for the special place you offer to the youngest members of your family. May our efforts reflect the joy and delight that Jesus showed in welcoming children. Amen.

Minute for Mission:1001 New Worshiping Communities

In 2012, the General Assembly made a bold commitment — to create an environment within the denomination that would lead to the flourishing of the existing church and the birth of at least 1,001 new communities of worship and witness. The Presbyterian Mission Agency went to work creating a system of resources to support this call to equip presbyteries, help potential leaders discern God’s call, develop a system of grants, build leadership capacity, and create a network of coaches prepared to accompany a new worshiping community through all the stages of development. Establishing partnerships and collaboration with other North American denominations, the reach of these resources extends far beyond the PC(USA).

Eight years into a 10-year commitment, the PC(USA) has launched almost 650 new communities across the denomination in small towns, on college campuses and in urban hubs. The courage and witness of these young expressions of church are breathing new life into our historic communities as they call and form new disciples of Jesus Christ.

Research reveals that 1 in 10 new members of an existing congregation was previously unchurched or dechurched, but 44% of the people participating in these new worshiping communities say they were unchurched or of a non-Christian faith before becoming a part of this new community. One leader describes their mission in this way: “Our greatest focus is on the ‘unchurched’ people in our area. We seek to introduce (or re-introduce) Jesus to people in our area who either did not grow up in the church or left the church for some reason. We seek to do so in the manner that is hospitable, nonthreatening and reflecting the love of which Jesus so often spoke.”

 Hospitality is a driving value in these communities, and most are marked by flexibility and creativity in their gatherings.  In this time of social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of these young communities have quickly shifted to online worship and fellowship. For others, working closely with vulnerable populations, meeting in prisons and assisted living facilities where digital gatherings are not possible, this is an especially difficult time of isolation. As we remember those most affected by the pandemic, may we especially pray for these young expressions of church among us, often led by bi-vocational leaders, many of whom are recent immigrants serving without the full privileges of U.S. citizenship or ordination in the PC(USA). They are a part of our family because of the bold action of the General Assembly. They are among us because we prayed they would be and became intentional about inviting them. They are here because the Spirit has led them to find a home in this church. We belong to one another.

To hear more voices from our growing family, particularly as they minister in the midst of pandemic, download our most recent podcast season and listen to some of our new worshiping community leaders describe their journey and the joy brimming over in their communities. Listen at newchurchnewway.org/season-2-1.

And to see some of our newest communities in action, visit our library of video stories, go to  presbyterianmission.org/ministries/1001-2/about-1001/videos.

Nikki Collins; Coordinator of 1001 New Worshiping Communities; Theology, Formation & Evangelism; Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for:   

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff

Angela Duffy, Presbyterian Foundation
Amy Dusatko, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray:

For the leaders of new worshiping communities across the PC(USA)
For presbyteries nurturing new worshiping communities within their bounds
For the staff of the 1001 movement
For the Spirit to continue moving across the church calling new leaders and removing barriers for the birth of new communities among us.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Foundation Board experiences life along the El Paso-Mexico border

One member is touched by the wind

May 29, 2020

Members of the Board of Trustees and staff of the Presbyterian Foundation spent a day in Juarez, Mexico, learning about the plight of immigrants hoping to come to America. They toured this crowded church facility. The Foundation’s board meeting was held in El Paso, Texas, just across the border from Juarez. (Photo by Erin Dunigan)

On a cold and windy day in February, members of the Presbyterian Foundation Board of Trustees crossed from El Paso, Texas, into Juarez, Mexico, to learn about the situation at the border.

The Rev. Dr. John M. Nelsen, co-pastor of University Presbyterian Church in El Paso and a member of the Foundation’s Board, encouraged the Board to host a meeting in El Paso in order to provide a cross-border opportunity.

“It is one thing to read about the border situation,” Nelsen said. “It is another thing to experience it.”

University Presbyterian Church has been ministering along the border for decades. “I am so pleased that this group of folks came from the Foundation a day early in order to hear about what is going on directly from the Mexican government, and from those who are working with the migrants,” Nelsen said.

The day began with an introduction by Sami DiPasqule, head of Abara, an organization that facilitates encounters on the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso and Ciudad Juarez as well as resources migrant shelters on both sides of the border.

“In 2016, we were actually at a 40-year low of border apprehensions, from 1.5 million in 2000 to less than 20 percent of that in 2016,” DiPasqule explained to the group.

Those numbers were primarily single male Mexican nationals who were trying to cross the border in order to find employment. “In many ways, the whole apparatus was around this demographic, and these single men were easier to detain and deport,” he said.

But in the past five years, that demographic has changed. “Now, the majority coming are families from Central America seeking asylum,” DiPasqule said.

“This is not an economic or national security threat as much as it is a humanitarian crisis,” DiPasqule told the group as it began to make its way to one of El Paso’s five bridge border crossings.

Once across to the Mexican side of what has historically been a single metropolitan area, the group heard a presentation from Mexican officials working with Consejo Estatal de Poblacion (COESPO). COESPO is tasked with general population services and development, communications and education of the public, family planning and sexual health, and migrant services.

The remainder of the day was spent visiting two migrant shelters, Pasos de Fe (a part of the Presbyterian Border Ministry) and Pan de Vida, a converted community center that now houses more than 100 people.

The Rev. Wonjae Choi, pastor of Gwynedd Square Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania, serves on the Foundation’s Board and went with the group to Juarez. “I was shocked as we began our day that these Mexican government officials spoke to us with such passion for their work in helping the migrants, as if they were doing ministry,” Choi said. For Choi, the joy that she saw in these government officials — whose job could be seen as more administrative than generative — was eye-opening.

“From there, we went to visit with a pastor who converted his church into a shelter because he heard a prophetic word to help these migrant people,” Choi said. “He was just a regular pastor — I saw myself in him.”

But for Choi, what was perhaps most impactful from the day was the wind.

“I was struck by the wind and I remember thinking, it wasn’t a violent wind, but it was blowing, and you don’t know where it is coming from or going to,” Choi said. “I stood there along the border, with the wind blowing at me, knowing that I have a legion of people who hold me up in the wind,” she said. Her family, her church family, her privileged life — all of these things hold her up against the wind.

“But it is the same wind that blows on this side of the border as on that side — and I began to be weepy about the folks on the other side, the migrants, the displaced,” she said. “But then I was also heartened by the thought that the church is helping them, and the passionate government employees, that even in the midst there are those who are there to gird up against the wind so that it doesn’t become so bitter cold.”

Erin Dunigan, an ordained evangelist and teaching elder in the PC(USA) and graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, serves as a photographer, writer and communications consultant and lives near the border in Baja California, Mexico

Let us join in prayer for: 

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Elle Drumheller, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
Kate Duffert, Office of the General Assembly

Let us pray:

Dear Lord, thank you for the blessings brought to the many who have been called to serve your mission. We pray that you would bless them as they serve others in Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Presbyterian Giving Catalog - Restore a farm, and a life, this World Hunger Day

Cultivating crops and hope Motí is a farmer in Palestine, where, today, he cultivates thriving plots of vegetables. But just a few years ago, Motí’s farm — and his livelihood — was in ruins, destroyed during conflict in the area. Motí and his family were hungry. Motí was heartbroken over the state of his barren land. A Presbyterian-supported program helped dozens of farmers, including Motí, revive their land and begin growing vital crops again. New irrigation systems, training and healthy seedlings have helped restore life to the land, and vitality to communities and individuals like Motí, who marvels at the green fields that now surround him. Read Motí's Story

Farming Tools $10 Growing and harvesting a fruitful crop is possible only with the proper tools, such as shovels and machetes. This necessary equipment can help bring a fruitful yield from the land. View Item

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Today in the Mission Yearbook - Church exhibit reveals America’s racist past and present

Proves to be an effective conversation starter

May 28, 2020

Lake Burien Presbyterian Church has become known as the church in the Burien, Wash., community that is not afraid to tackle — and talk about — racism. Last fall, the church held an exhibit, “In Our Shoes,” which traced slavery and racism in America. The exhibit attracted local organizations and schools. Courtesy of Lake Burien Presbyterian Church

Jackie Muchiri and her son Jordan, members of Lake Burien Presbyterian Church in Burien, Washington, were facing an uncertain future after receiving an eviction notice due to the sale of her apartment building. For the church’s leadership, Muchiri’s situation was one more reminder that the congregation needed to be at the forefront for a change in policies in its community.

The epiphany has resulted in Lake Burien Presbyterian becoming known as a place where conversations surrounding injustices like rental housing abuses can happen. It is also becoming known as the church in the greater Seattle area where tackling larger issues, such as unfair practices, injustices and racism, is encouraged.

The Rev. Tali Hairston, one of the worshiping pastors at Lake Burien, credits senior pastor the Rev. Lina Thompson for the direction the church has taken.

“We’ve had real hard conversations. We’ve developed a Justice League group, which is a group of folks who are white, black, Asian, Pacific Islander and Hispanic who just want to understand how God sees the world outside of racism and white supremacy,” Hairston said. “It’s a big step for many in the congregation, but we are continuing to learn how to live the gospel faithfully.”

Part of that education included 35 people from the congregation and Lake Burien community participating last year in anti-racism training led by “Pivot” — the church’s young adult ministry.

The training, held over the course of six months, built awareness about historic racism. It culminated in a trip last summer that included stops in Montgomery, Alabama; Memphis, Tennessee; and Ferguson, Missouri — and focused on the civil rights movement and the voices of African American women.

Hairston said that there were “messy, hard, ugly, beautiful, anointed and holy” moments for everyone on the trip.

Upon returning to Lake Burien, the group knew it needed to unpack what it had experienced. It did so by creating an exhibit called “In Our Shoes.”

Located in the entryway of the church, the exhibit ran from September to October and traced the history of African American life in America from the middle passage and enslavement till today. It is estimated that more than 800 people, including people from the neighborhood, community organizations and schools, have experienced “In Our Shoes.”

“We did it as a part of our own journey to continue our own healing as a congregation, both individually and corporately, and to bring those from our community into the conversation,” Hairston said, adding that Seattle and its neighboring communities are a lot like other regions in the United States in that the condition of African American communities, graduation rates, housing and wealth disparity are everyday problems that many times go unnoticed.

These injustices have not gone unnoticed by the Seattle Presbytery, Hairston says, and the presbytery is taking steps to address these situations.

A study is underway that focuses on the communities that surround churches and the health of those churches. The data is being compared to that of other Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations as well as other denominations.

“Some of the things we’re finding is that both the shifts in demographics and shifts in culture are particularly acute for Presbyterian congregations,” Hairston, who doubles as the presbytery’s director of community organizing, advocacy and development, said of the preliminary findings. “And we need to find out why that is. A place like Seattle is technologically innovative but yet the church itself is struggling to innovate with changes in demographics and culture.”

Seattle Presbytery is also doing an assessment of its congregations so a strategy can be put in place to combat issues of equity and inclusion that are affecting the churches.

As for Lake Burien Presbyterian, Hairston said the congregation will continue being a place where tough conversations can take place.

“The door is open for us to continue to be the kind of congregation that just doesn’t meet on Sunday,” he said. “We’ve seen people who didn’t want to talk about issues of race, who didn’t know how to talk about issues of race, become involved deeply in conversations, in relationships, in small groups and prayer circles with people they know they would never be in conversations with anyplace else around these issues.”

 Mike Givler, Communications Coordinator for the Synod of the Trinity in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania

Let us join in prayer for: 

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Jeff Dorris, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
Amy Driscoll, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we give you thanks today for opportunities you give us to build better relationships, do justice and be witnesses of the reconciling love we have known through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Presbyterian group explores the experiences of migration in Central American journey

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Presbyterian group explores the experiences of migration in Central American journey: Peacemaking Program travel study seminar spends 10 days in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala May 27, 2020 A memorial on Guatemala ...

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Presbyterian group explores the experiences of migration in Central American journey

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Presbyterian group explores the experiences of migration in Central American journey: Peacemaking Program travel study seminar spends 10 days in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala May 27, 2020 A memorial on Guatemala ...

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Presbyterian group explores the experiences of migration in Central American journey

Peacemaking Program travel study seminar spends 10 days in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala

May 27, 2020

A memorial on Guatemala City’s Constitutional Plaza honors the 41 girls who were burned to death on March 8, 2017 in a “safe home” outside of Guatemala City. Photo by Carl Horton.

The journey from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador to the Mexico-United States border is a brutal, dangerous undertaking even once.

The Rev. Terri Thomas of Indianapolis was surprised to learn that many people in the trio of countries known as the Northern Triangle endure that journey over and over in what is regarded as a “cycle of migration,” trying to make new lives for themselves in the United States.

“If you undertake that journey and get sent back, to go try it again says something,” she said. “And we found that almost everyone knows someone who has tried multiple times to migrate to the United States.”

Thomas was part of a group of 24 Presbyterians and guests who traveled to Central America in the past two weeks with the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program to learn more about the conditions in Latin American countries that make people choose to travel, usually on foot, to the United States border for the faint hope of a better life in the U.S. They also heard from migrants who had been returned to their home countries and the perils they faced after they returned.

Ten group members continued on to Los Angeles and joined others for a weekend-long travel study seminar to see what life is like for refugees just below the U.S. southern border in Tijuana, Mexico, and how the Presbytery of the Pacific is working to help people who have crossed into the United States.

For Larry Hjalmarson, a member of the United Methodist Church from Salt Lake City, the journey was a chance to see his daughter Dori Hjalmarson, a mission co-worker in Honduras for Presbyterian World Mission. But, even having worked before in Central America, he was surprised by many of the things he heard, particularly about the journey many people take.

“I will remember how these very vulnerable people are preyed on every step of the way,” Larry Hjalmarson said. “The extortion by the gangs, the government working against them, and then if they make it to the border, they suffer even more abuse.”

The trip’s participants also noted that they saw barriers to economic advancement, from government and business forces. Larry Hjalmarson said that in coffee production, farmers do the bulk of the work but see the smallest slice of the profits after distributors and governments take their shares.

Several trip participants said they were sad to learn some of the ways in which the U.S. government and businesses have contributed to the citizens’ plight, from propping up oppressive regimes to companies coming in to take advantage of cheap resources.

While the group did find that dire economic conditions led most people to immigrate, violence and gangs were also a major factor for a lot of people.

Thomas said they learned there were two ways to get out of a gang: die or go to church.

“A gang will let you go if you go to church and you are an active Christian,” she said. “Somewhere in there seems to be the message that there are answers in faith.”

A consistent message they heard, Thomas said, “is that God and faith keep them going.”

For her part, Dori Hjalmarson said that she appreciates Presbyterians taking the time and effort to travel to see the situation where she works.

“It can be frustrating telling people that this is a problem here and seeing people shut down, that they’re not listening,” Dori Hjalmarson said.

Larry Hjalmarson said he would go home ready to call out myths about immigration when he hears them.

And even with the rough days, participants said the travel study seminar was well worthwhile.

Thomas said, “I would absolutely recommend it. I don’t think there’s anything like hearing a person’s story face to face and crying with them.

“It opens your mind and your heart.”

 Rich Copley, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for: 

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
David Dobson, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
Simon Doong, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray:

For those who open to us the words of Scripture, we give you thanks, great God. As Scripture is opened, as hearts are transformed, may the church of Jesus Christ thrive and bloom for this and all generations. Amen.

News from Presbyterian World Mission – May 2020

Mission Matters Douglas Dicks, facilitator for justice and peace education, Presbyterian World Mission, writes this month’s Mission Matters column, "May oppressor and oppressed create a new society in God’s Holy Land." (Photo by Doug Dicks) Read mission matters →

Prayers and determination bring Peru YAVs home safely The phrase "it takes a village" has new meaning for the Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs) serving in Peru. Here’s the story of their return to the U.S. (Photo by Jed Koball) Read more → Answering God’s call to work with refugees in Greece Mission co-worker Nadia Ayoub believes her call to serve refugees is rooted in her own experience of being a stranger in the many places she has called home. Immigrating from Egypt to New Jersey necessitated learning a new land and culture, as did the many years she spent in Central Asia and Ukraine. (Photo by Kathy Melvin) Read more →

Support mission co-workers "Should we stay or should we go?" was the question that many of our international mission co-workers and Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs) had to answer. The Emergency Response Team of the Presbyterian Mission Agency met daily to evaluate the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic across the globe and decided to close the international YAV sites for the remainder of the current YAV year (through July 2020). World Mission brought all the YAVs home and gave our mission personnel the option to either shelter in place or come back to the United States. Some stayed. Others returned, particularly those who were at high risk. Thank you for your support in bringing our international mission personnel home. We appreciate your ongoing support through contributions to our General Missionary Support fund. Thank you for your continued prayers, partnership and support, especially during this perilous and unpresented time. Give Online →

Grassroots home churches thrive in Rwanda "At 6 p.m. every day, all family members stand up in their houses and say the prayer of our Lord and recite the Apostles’ Creed together with the whole church in the world," said Rev. Dr. Pascal Bataringaya, the president and legal representative of the Presbyterian Church in Rwanda. He explained that during the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the grassroots home churches are meeting electronically, mainly through WhatsApp groups. (Contributed photo) Read more → Connecting Korea’s past and present for the future of mission The idea to produce a historic compilation of mission workers in Korea had been on the mind and heart of the Rev. Choon Lim, World Mission’s regional liaison for East Asia, since he and his wife, Yen Hee Lim, began their third mission appointment in 2012, serving in Seoul, South Korea. (Contributed photo) Learn more →

Malawi Mission Network partners help create 100,000 protective masks Prevention is key to preventing the spread of COVID-19 in southeast Africa. (Contributed photo) Read more → Subscribe to mission workers’ letters Would you like to receive all PC(USA) letter updates from mission workers? Now you can sign up to receive all the letters (or as many as you’d like to receive). (Photo by Mark Crowner) Subscribe now →

Global partners provide COVID-19 resources Presbyterian World Mission has compiled a live document that contains many messages related to COVID-19 and resources from our global partners. They wanted to share words of encouragement and compassion with U.S. partners during this difficult time. This document is updated regularly. (Getty Images) View the resources →

Become a Matthew 25 Church Matthew 25:31–46 calls all of us to actively engage in the world around us, so our faith comes alive and we wake up to new possibilities. Matthew 25 is a bold new vision and invitation from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) with over 460 congregations and mid councils that have already pledged to become a Matthew 25 church by working to build congregational vitality, dismantle structural racism and eradicate systemic poverty. We invite you to join us on this journey! Find out how →

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Coronavirus/COVID-19 — Latest church resources for congregations and members

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