Today in the Mission Yearbook - Living with the mind of Christ

What if we followed Paul’s advice?

May 31, 2022

“If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 2:1–5

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It’s funny how things that you experienced as a young person — that didn’t seem so important at the time — pop up in your later years and remind you of the kind of person you are called to be. So it is that this passage from Paul’s advice to the Philippian Christians has come flooding back to me as I was reflecting on the terrible conflict that continues to poison our society, both in our country and around the world. This conflict is being fueled by many things, among them the debates within many state legislatures on whether “critical race theory” should be in classrooms. Critical race theory basically looks at how racism has shaped public policy. The reality is that there is no adequate term to remind us that racism has been a fact of life for every human community that has existed. The people of Paul’s day — Jew, Gentile, Greek, Roman — were haunted by the reality of ethnic, racial and social differences, and every conflict over those differences was rooted in bald-faced racism. The history of our own nation is tarnished by the impact of social and ethnic differences. Many of our own forebears have been complicit in justifying the enslavement of people of color, and others have invoked the “Doctrine of Discovery,” which suggests that the confiscation of land occupied by Native peoples in the name of progress had the blessing of God.

How far, then, have we come, as followers of Jesus Christ, in repenting of the sins of our forebears and seeking ways to repair the damage of those actions? How will some help to heal the breaches among us? It’s a tall order. It always has been, because those who hold power in every society find it hard to share that power or, in some cases, give up control altogether.

What if we tried to move forward with the advice Paul has given us: In humility, regard others as better than yourselves, looking not to our own interests, but to the interests of others. What could happen in our schools, in our churches, in our neighborhoods and in our communities? Critical race theory would not even be on the agenda if we could live out the calling of our Lord.

Vernon S. Broyles III, Volunteer for Public Witness in the PC(USA)’s Office of the General Assembly

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Alex Spoelker, Director, Relationship & Development Operations, Mission Engagement & Support, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Champaka Srinivasan, Associate, Finance, Young Adult & National Volunteers, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

For those you have called to lead your church, O God, we give you thanks. Be with those who teach, preach and care for the least of these. And to all of your children, give the peace of Christ and the community of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Memorial Day is a day to remember and a day to mourn

The cost of war is seen in Ukraine

May 30, 2022

Chaplain Kozachyn (provided)

From Psalm 29 (The Message):

 God’s thunder spits fire.
God thunders, the wilderness quakes;
He makes the desert of Kadesh shake.

 God’s thunder sets the oak trees dancing
A wild dance, whirling; the pelting rain strips their branches.
We fall to our knees—we call out, “Glory!”

 Above the floodwaters is God’s throne
    from which his power flows,
    from which he rules the world.

 God makes his people strong.
God gives his people peace.

War is neither necessary nor romantic. The deaths that come from war are needless and tragic. Those who give their lives in war may be remembered and honored for their selfless sacrifice, but the wars which brought their deaths are not glorious adventures. Our entry into war may at times be unavoidable but must never be sought. We mourn those killed in war on Memorial Day as we grieve the pain of loss and deprivation.

War in our world is a contradiction — we celebrate and rejoice in the redemption God has made available to all, the peace given through the love and grace of our Lord, and the strength we each can embody as we are filled by the precious Spirit. And yet, war remains even as we know sin and hatred are pervasive despite the very presence of God’s kingdom.

On this Memorial Day, we are reminded of the tragedy of war — we remember and give thanks for those who have given their lives in service to our nation. We have often advanced the cause of freedom and justice through taking up arms to defend and protect the oppressed.

But we are also reminded of the cost of war and the evil that produces it. We see in glaring detail the tragedy heaped on the people of Ukraine.

One loss in Ukraine not often mentioned is Maksym Anatolyovych Kozachyn, a military chaplain of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Ordained in 2000, Chaplain Kozachyn was leaving the Kyiv region when shot and killed by advancing Russian soldiers. The soldiers did not permit locals to remove his body from the car in which he was murdered.

The Ukrainian military has embraced chaplains and has made efforts to ensure all faiths are represented. Many chaplains of the United States and other nations have helped Ukraine develop a sense of chaplaincy. These servants play a critical role in ministering to the members of the besieged and outnumbered Ukrainian forces and have brought a palpable sense of the presence of God into the midst of great suffering and chaos. Chaplain Kozachyn gave his life seeking to be with his people.

Father Andriy Zelinskyy, SJ, the chief military chaplain of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said in a recent interview, “We find ourselves at a time when the greatest gift we have is in danger, that is, our humanity. “ 

On this Memorial Day, may we remember and mourn those whose lives have been lost in the tragedy of war. May we also remember God makes us strong and gives us peace through the precious humanity and sacrificial obedience of the beloved child — our Savior and Redeemer. May we seek to redeem all our humanity.

A Litany for Ukraine (written by Father Tim Cole, a retired British Army chaplain who is currently the rector of Christ Church [Episcopal], Georgetown, District of Columbia) 

The Litanist says
God of justice and peace, in the face of unthinkable violence in Ukraine:
We pray for the Ukrainian people in their struggle to retain liberty.

Litanist  Lord, in your mercy,
People    hear our prayer.
We pray that they may be spared from trauma, violence and death.

Litanist  Lord, in your mercy,
People    hear our prayer.
We pray that global leaders will stand firm, doing all in their power to protect innocent human life.

Litanist  Lord, in your mercy,
People    hear our prayer.
We pray for the peoples of Europe and of this nation, that we may be united in our defense of liberty, justice and peace.

Litanist  Lord, in your mercy,
People    hear our prayer.
We pray for Russian soldiers, that they may act with restraint and compassion.

Litanist  Lord, in your mercy,
People    hear our prayer.
We pray for the Russian people, that they may reject aggression, violence and war.

Litanist  Lord, in your mercy,
People    hear our prayer.
We pray for the safety of non-combatants.

Litanist  Lord, in your mercy,
People    hear our prayer.
We pray for justice.

Litanist   Lord, in your mercy,
People    hear our prayer.
We pray for peace.

Litanist  Lord, in your mercy,
People    hear our prayer.

A period of silence is kept.

Presbyterian Federal Chaplaincies supports more than 150 PC(USA) chaplains who minister in federal prisons, veteran administration hospitals, and as noncombatants in the military “that all may practice in peace.” Please visit our website at presfedchap.org or call (202) 630-6225 for more information.

Lyman Smith, Executive Director, Presbyterian Federal Chaplaincies

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Roger Spalding, Prospect Research Analyst, Relationship & Development Operations, Mission Engagement & Support, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Frank Spencer, President, Board of Pensions

Today in the Mission Yearbook - ‘If it matters to Jesus, it should matter to us’

Even gifted preachers ought to seek feedback from the folks in the pews, in places both physical and virtual

May 28, 2022

The Rev. Dr. Chip Hardwick is interim executive at the Synod of the Covenant. (Contributed photo)

Wanting to impress on the preachers in his Zoom audience the importance of garnering helpful listener feedback following their sermons, the Rev. Dr. Chip Hardwick recently offered up the words of a very popular preacher from back in the day: Jesus himself.

In John 16:17–18, the disciples ask one another what Jesus’ words mean following a talk they found baffling. “We do not know what he is talking about,” they tell one another. Verse 19 is Jesus’ reply: “Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, ‘Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me”?’”

“He was and is the Word of God, and even Jesus needed listener feedback,” Hardwick said. “If it matters to Jesus, it should matter to us.”

Hardwick is the interim executive of the Synod of the Covenant, which is offering the monthly “Equipping Preachers” webinar to preachers both inside and outside the bounds of the synod. Watch Hardwick’s webinar here.

Many preachers are delivering their sermons online, or, at best, to masked hearers seated a safe distance away in the sanctuary. “We can’t tell if they’re smiling or frowning,” Hardwick said. “It’s hard to get feedback, but it’s more important now than ever.”

Hardwick’s doctoral dissertation is on collecting sermon feedback that’s helpful, but he’s also received some feedback that wasn’t. A woman once told him she felt she was “held hostage” by Hardwick’s sermon. Someone else told him, “I’ve needed to hear that sermon for 70 years.”

Owing to something called the Theory of Double Agency, those who hear the sermon have a larger role in finding meaning therein than they might realize. “What is God doing and what are we [preachers] doing?” Hardwick asked those attending the webinar. “There are two agents at work, and we’re not doing the same thing.”

The Second Helvetic Confession reminds us that the preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God. Making it God’s work is the work of the Almighty and not the preacher. “You can’t preach a bad enough or a good enough sermon to make it God’s Word. God is the one who does that,” according to Hardwick.

God and the preacher “are doing distinct tasks during the preaching event. We don’t go into a trance. We figure out what the text says and how it connects to listeners. The Holy Spirit is doing things in you and through you to inspire you,” Hardwick told the gathered preachers. “You can’t say God is doing the exegesis for you.”

In the end, God and the preacher are doing distinct tasks during the preaching event — at the same time.

Also at the same time, similar work is going on within the listener.

“If the listener is to really hear God’s Word, it’s God’s work, not the listener’s,” Hardwick said. Even a listener who uses the sermon time to jot down a shopping list “cannot keep God from speaking.”

Both God and the listener “are doing distinct tasks during the preaching event at the same time,” Hardwick said. “The moral is that God is at work in both the preacher and the listener — and our work matters.”

Hardwick touched on two models for how the process works — the Sovereign Model and the Roundtable Model — before arriving at his preferred model, the Servant Model. God is at the head in this model, with the listener and preacher “in fellow service to the Word as they participate in their respective roles in the preaching moment. God is at work in both,” Hardwick said. “We think of preaching as being up to the preacher, but the listener can do an important job, too.”

God wants preachers to use their rhetoric to connect with listeners, but it’s the listeners who determine if that rhetoric connects with them. The seniors in the congregation “get to decide if I’m preaching too quickly,” Hardwick said.

Preachers are wise to being open to feedback, “since God is at work in listeners, too,” Hardwick reminded.

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Katie Snyder, Curriculum Specialist & POINT Coordinator, Curriculum Resources & Geneva Press, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
Samuel Son, Manager, Diversity & Reconciliation Associate, Advocacy, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

Christ, we thank you for being the Word made flesh. As you ministered to those around you through touch, sight and sound, teach us to make use of our whole selves — body, mind and spirit — to do your work. Give us the courage to take action and the grace to welcome all with a loving spirit. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - $50 and a challenge

A reverse offering is given to bless others

May 27, 2022

Worshipers at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Lincoln,Neb., were treated to a reverse offering and challenged to use the money to reach out to others. Courtesy of Westminster Presbyterian Church

Since the coronavirus pandemic hit in the spring of 2020, many churches’ weekly offering figures are still not matching what they were two years ago. This shortfall has caused congregations to scale back many of their programs and, even worse, forced them to lay off staff. Westminster Presbyterian Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, though, is not one of those congregations. It has been experiencing sustained giving since the pandemic hit, so much so that it has been able to give back to its worshipers so that they can in turn also give back to the people and organizations in their community that need financial assistance.

During its fall kickoff this past September, Westminster Presbyterian held a “reverse offering” on consecutive Sundays in which it gave every household represented in worship an envelope with $50 in it to share with their neighbors. A few envelopes were also delivered to church members who were worshiping online so they could participate in the outreach as well. An estimated 100 total envelopes were distributed on those two Sundays, enabling $5,000 to go directly back into the Lincoln community and support other worthy causes. “For me, the hope was to give a sense of agency to people to give back as a way of saying not only thank you for your sustained giving and generosity, but also here’s what we want to be about,” said the Rev. Chris Peters. “We want to be a church that reaches out to people and a church that cares for people.”

The targets of the giving have stretched from an agency that assists individuals with car repairs to providing gloves and mittens for students at a nearby elementary school, to scholarship assistance at a presbytery camp to support Women Are Sacred, which provides mental health services to Native American women. One person donated their $50 to the Presbyterian Giving Catalog, and that idea expanded to others when they heard about this opportunity that they had not been aware of before. Peters, who has only been serving the church a little over a year, said that the goal of the reverse offering was to empower and encourage people to give in a way that spoke to what their own interests were.

“God’s grace has been working through this moment in the life of our congregation, and we hope to be stewards of that goodness that has been in our midst so that we can help others,” said Peters.

Peters didn’t rule out the possibility that someone in the congregation kept it for themselves. “If somebody had a need and kept it, that would be very reasonable,” he said. “We do have members who have had such needs, and that certainly would have been fine.”

The fact that Westminster has a surplus in funding certainly puts this congregation in the minority across the United States. But that’s a credit to the worshipers and their dedication to continue to support their church and its missions.

“The reason we were able to have a surplus primarily was due to lower costs overall throughout the year in 2020,” Peters said. “We just weren’t spending in program areas the way we would have otherwise. We continue to find ways to give to mission- and outreach-oriented things, but generally our members sustained the giving that they pledged to do.”

Peters and the session at Westminster Presbyterian had teased the reverse offering during the weeks prior to the envelopes being handed out, simply saying there was a surprise scheduled for worship on the second Sunday in September.

“We’ve received nothing but enthusiasm and gratitude from the congregation,” Peters said. “Since we started worshiping again in person, we’ve been emphasizing the concept of gratitude within our faith. Every week we have a moment of gratitude in our worship service where we name something that we are thankful for in the life of the church. In the response to the reverse offering, there has been a bit of gratitude. People are thankful for the opportunity.”

Mike Givler, Communications Coordinator, Synod of the Trinity in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Shelvis and Nancy Smith-Mather, Mission co-workers serving in South Sudan, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Becca Snipp, Administrative Project Manager, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

Lord, we lift up those in our communities who are struggling and dealing with terrible stress, abuse, depression or even thoughts of suicide. We pray for those ministering to them and that the vital ministry would continue. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - ‘It made me want to dance’

After 15 years, a new worshiping community becomes an official PC(USA) congregation

May 26, 2022

The Rev. Ebenezer Boateng is installed as the pastor during the chartering service for Presbyterian Church of the Redeemer in Houston. (Photo by Daniel Ahenkora)

Since arriving in Houston from Ghana, pastor Ebenezer Boateng has persevered through many ups and downs.

But finally, the new worshiping community he founded, the Presbyterian Church of the Redeemer, officially became a chartered congregation in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

During its March 2020 meeting, the Presbytery of New Covenant agreed to charter Redeemer. But because of COVID-19, Redeemer would have to wait for the right time to hold a chartering service.

Finally, that right time occurred on Dec. 5, 2021, right before the omicron variant began sweeping across the country.

Presbytery of New Covenant’s general presbyter, the Rev. Lynn Hargrove, called the ordination service “a glorious celebration.”

“It made me want to dance,” Hargrove said.

Boateng’s dream to create a PC(USA) congregation began in his Houston apartment in 2008. Coming to the city from Ghana, he’d spent two years getting to know others in Houston’s Ghanaian Presbyterian community. Then he began to gather people in his apartment for prayer and worship.

At first, Boateng worked with the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, where he was an ordained minister, to create this new worshiping community. But when things didn’t work out, he visited the Presbytery of New Covenant.

“I told the presbytery my story,” he said. “They welcomed and supported me with fellowship.”

This included a place to nest at St. John’s Presbyterian Church.

During this time, another Ghanaian community merged with Redeemer, which led to a leadership struggle.  By 2014, only a small remnant of people committed to growing a PC(USA) church remained.

Then, in the fall of 2019, the building the Ghanaians were worshiping in flooded. Unable to return to St. John’s — the building was in the process of being condemned — they had nowhere to go.

 So, by March 2020, when the pandemic hit churches across the country, Redeemer had already started Zoom worship.

“Suddenly we were all over the world, spreading our wings,” Boateng said. “People from Africa joined us online.”

By fall 2021, Redeemer had moved to a new home at  ChristChurch Presbyterian in the Houston suburb of Bellaire.

The church’s pastor, the Rev. Kristy Vits, is in a Bible study with Boateng. After finding out that he was still trying to find space for Redeemer to worship, she told him the congregation could nest at no cost at ChristChurch.

“Why not? We have lots of land and a giant building on a huge campus,” she said.

When Boateng found out Redeemer could worship in the ChristChurch sanctuary — and that he could even have office space — he was overjoyed.

“It’s an answer to our prayers, like a dream come true,” he said. “It’s something we haven’t experienced together, until now.”

ChristChurch is selling a big piece of its land and using the proceeds to build a new multipurpose building to house all its ministries, including a daycare.

“If they like nesting with us, they can use our new building after we sell the land,” Vits said.

Before Redeemer officially nested with ChristChurch, Vits set up a meeting with Boateng and the Bellaire police chief.

“I didn’t want to insult the police, but they need to work on racial profiling,” she said. “I let them know what we were doing, that people who’d come from a different country, who don’t look the same as we do, are coming to our church — and that I didn’t want them making any trouble.”

Hargrove, the general presbyter, believes Jesus is rejoicing that Redeemer and ChristChurch have gotten together. When churches work on a nesting situation, she said, it’s critically important for it not to feel like a landlord situation — but more like a partnership.

“Redeemer doesn’t feel like they’re ‘less than’ now,” she said.

Vits acknowledges that ChristChurch is a small congregation that could have easily been closed. But after nine years of serving the church, she said it’s wonderful to get affirmation of the decision to hang in there.

Calling it an “unexpected and delightful surprise” to have another congregation with them, Vits said, “It’s the most fun I’ve had in 22 years of being ordained.”

Video URL: https://vimeo.com/671972554

Paul Seebeck, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Natalie Smith, Marketing Manager, Electronic Resources & Strategic Business Development, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
Stephen Smith, Security Trading & Assistant Portfolio Manager, Trust Services, Presbyterian Foundation

Let us pray

We thank you, Lord, for calling us to enter into the work that you are already doing. We thank you for the resources you have provided before we even knew we needed them. May we continue to glorify you as we together discern our call to specific ministries. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Discovering a pandemic silver lining

Mission co-worker gets a performance of a lifetime

May 24, 2022

Zoey Moe, left, shows off her poster autographed by Leslie Odom Jr., while her father, Eric, top left, plays on stage. Betsey Moe

While Guatemala was struggling with the global pandemic, mission co-workers Eric and Betsey Moe were working remotely from Spokane, Washington.

“It’s feels like we have been standing at the top of a high dive with one foot extended, waiting to jump,” Eric said. However, infection numbers in Guatemala are improving, and the couple finally moved to Guatemala at the beginning of 2022.

As a longtime professional musician, performer and teacher of trumpet, staying in Washington state did give Eric the opportunity to keep practicing with the Spokane Symphony. It also gave the mission co-worker the chance to appear on stage last October with Leslie Odom Jr., the actor, author, musician and vocalist best known for his Tony award-winning performance as Aaron Burr in “Hamilton.”

Eric admits that the pandemic was in a way “a perfect storm” that allowed him the “amazing chance to solo with a great musician,” adding that Odom’s “whole group was just phenomenal.”

As for Eric’s part, “it was an easy little solo, 16 bars of a jazz standard, not too tricky, but at that level it’s really exciting.”

Odom’s performance was sponsored by Whitworth University in Spokane, an institution with historic ties to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Both Eric and Betsey are Whitworth graduates. A few select alums were asked to participate in the program.

“When I finished, I felt good about my performance, but the crowd just went wild,” Eric said. “I haven’t had a reaction like that maybe ever. People loving Whitworth, loving the Symphony and loving Leslie Odom. That’s my crowd.”

Also in the crowd were the Moes’ 11-year-old daughter, Zoey, and their 19-year-old son, Henry, who came home from college to see his father perform. Eric said Zoey is a huge Odom and “Hamilton” fan. At the reception afterward, she got her “Hamilton” poster signed by Odom, the only one who got an autograph. Henry’s special moment came during the third encore.

According to Eric, Odom “came out with just his guitar player and played ‘You’ve Got a Friend,’” a song written by Carole King and recorded by King, her friend James Taylor and others.

“That was the first song Henry learned to play on the guitar. There’s a spot in the opening where Taylor has changed the note from an ‘A’ to a ‘C.’ He never leaves his songs untouched,” Eric said. “Henry was listening intently to this phenomenal guitar player, and he heard the ‘C,’ so he knew this guy really knows the song. He’s away at his first year of college, so the lyrics were special as well. All those little details, the song, that moment and Leslie Odom just being such an amazing musician — it was memorable.”

In preparation for this once-in-a-lifetime performance opportunity, Eric did a deep dive into Odom’s music.

“He did a song he wrote called ‘Foggy,’ about lying in bed wanting to have a lazy morning with his family when work is still calling. It’s a beautiful ballad. That one really touched me. He has an amazing voice,” said Eric.

The Moes will continue their work with the PC(USA)’s longtime global partner, the Protestant Center for Pastoral Studies in Central America (CEDEPCA). CEDEPCA provides North American church groups, theological seminarians and college and university students the opportunity to discover the beauty and diversity of Guatemala and to experience the everyday life of Guatemalans through immersion programs. Betsey is part of the team that receives visiting groups, plans and facilitates their educational program and itinerary, and leads reflection discussions.

Betsey tells the story about the semester she spent in Central America with 25 other students from Whitworth. On that trip, she heard stories that would change the way she understood herself as a Christian, and she saw that the actions of her own government had a significant impact on the people in Central America.

Having served churches in the U.S. for 16 years and leading people on short-term learning and service trips, Betsey feels ready to do similar work alongside Guatemalans to help people grow through intercultural encounters. Eric hopes to find ways to use his music to connect with the people of Guatemala.

Kathy Melvin, Director of Mission Communications, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Ashley Smalley-Ray, Assistant VP/Trust Officer, Trust Services, Presbyterian Foundation
Kim Smith, Operations Administrator, Presbyterian Foundation

Let us pray

Gracious God, by your Spirit, you inspire our efforts to feed the hungry, preach the good news and share your love. Your people, all your children, are hungry for food, for friends, for peace and for the good news. As you have fed us, bless our efforts to feed each other, for we serve in your name. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Mission co-workers reinvent what mission interpretation looks like during the pandemic

Virtual interpretation assignment comes with its own set of challenges and rewards

May 23, 2022

The Revs. Scott and Elmarie Parker have served in the Middle East since 2013. (Contributed photo)

To accompany congregations on their missional journey, mission co-workers periodically return to the U.S. to travel around the country for interpretation assignment.

Like nearly everything else, that changed with the pandemic. This year, two mission co-worker couples will forge a virtual path to meet with their supporting churches.

For the Revs. Scott and Elmarie Parker, serving in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, among their many challenges is that at their home in Beirut they have electricity and an internet connection only for a few hours each day, making it nearly impossible to commit to an interpretation schedule.

So, they came to the U.S. to shelter-in-place and travel time zones from their family homes in Oregon and Nebraska. They met with mission committees and preached virtually, but the way they approached the process went far beyond their travel schedule.

They invited congregations into a collaborative process, finding out what would be the most meaningful way to connect with their congregation or presbytery.

“It’s been great to communicate that way,” Elmarie Parker said by phone. “Just to let them know we are aware that they are exhausted, and we know things are all over the place. We’re not trying to ask them to fit into our modalities. We offer them a list of possibilities. Does this connect? Does it spark another idea?”

Most of their Sundays are already booked with multiple churches in multiple time zones. They have plans to meet with teenagers during Sunday school and dialogue with members of the Syria Lebanon Partnership Network. Scott Parker will also be doing some sessions about the trauma/resiliency work he does with Strong Kids program in Lebanon.

“On one hand, Zoom gives us the chance to connect with some people we might not be able to connect with in person,” said Scott. “At the same time, you don’t get to have dinner with the mission team and spend the night with a church member in their home. You don’t have the mutuality. You also don’t get to see the great stuff they are doing and celebrate with them.”

Elmarie agrees.

“Interpretation is much more than sharing the work of World Mission,” she said. “It’s about mutual encouragement, mutual learning and mutual collaboration.”

She said the congregations they are getting the most creative responses from are the ones they have visited in person in the past. Some of their congregations have supported them for nearly nine years. She said some of the people who have visited the region are often very concerned about the people and the partners in the region whom they have met and want to know how they are faring in the current context.

“It’s such a gift to be in worship with these people,” said Elmarie. “The gift of being in this body together is worship. It nourishes our spirits and rejuvenates us.”

The Parkers have served in Lebanon since 2013 — Elmarie as regional liaison for Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, and Scott as an associate for Ecumenical Partnerships.

The Rev. Ryan White and Alethia White, serving in Berlin, are also on interpretation assignment. They are part of World Mission’s Europe and the Middle East team and have been working with the Parkers to share knowledge and events that impact both of their regions.

“Virtual IA has given us the opportunity to stretch our usual capacity,” said Alethia. “We will be able to reach more time zones and avoid the environmental impact caused by extensive travel.” She said there are a number of new supporting presbyteries and churches they are looking forward to connecting with.

To support the ministry of Scott and Elmarie Parker or Ryan and Alethia White, a gift can be made in her honor. Click here to give to Mission Personnel Support. Mission co-workers are notified when a gift is made in their honor.

Kathy Melvin, Director of Mission Communications, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Eva Slayton, Mission Specialist, 1001 New Worshiping Communities, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Adam Slutzky, Directory, Project Delivery, Strategic Planning & Execution, Board of Pensions

Let us pray

Most gracious God, we seek your presence whenever and wherever we gather in Christ’s name. We know you watch over us and lead us. Continue to bless us as we look for ways to share our ministry with brothers and sisters near and far. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Minute for Mission: Heritage Sunday

May 22, 2022

Rev. Dr. Fahed Abu-Akel

Twenty years ago, the Rev. Dr. Fahed Abu-Akel was elected as Moderator of the 214th General Assembly, making him the first Arab American to lead a major U.S. denomination.

Abu-Akel was elected moderator in 2002, after gleaning 269 votes from his peers. Upon taking the podium, he outlined three priorities for the denomination: spiritual renewal, a focus on local and global missions, and a commitment to cultivate unity in diversity. Abu-Akel shared stories of his childhood, his parents’ faith, his witnessing of the 1948 war in Palestine, and how these things affected his relationship with Christ.

Born to Christian parents in Kuffer-Yassif, Palestine, Abu-Akel was 4 years old when his family was forced from their village during the 1948 Palestine war. Several months after the initial exodus that saw over 700,000 Palestinian Arabs displaced from their homes, Abu-Akel and his family returned to Kuffer-Yassif to find that their home had been saved. However, five neighboring villages had been decimated. The following year, over 500 villages were destroyed by Israeli forces, creating nearly a million Palestinian refugees.

Abu-Akel arrived in the U.S. in 1966 to begin his schooling. In 1978, he became an ordained Presbyterian minister. That same year, he founded the Atlanta Ministry with International Students and became a U.S. citizen.

On the stage in Columbus, Ohio, Abu-Akel continued his speech. “You may be afraid,” he began, as he transitioned to the topic of faith, saying that Presbyterians face many challenges. “It’s OK to be afraid,” he went on. “I remember that 4-year-old boy who discovered, and is still discovering, that Jesus Christ is the only hope for a broken world.”

Heritage Sunday is a day of celebration set aside by the General Assembly of the PC(USA). To celebrate and learn more about the history of Presbyterianism in America, visit history.pcusa.org/hs.

McKenna Britton, Communications Associate, Presbyterian Historical Society

Let us join in prayer for:Today’s Focus: Heritage Sunday

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Manuel Silva-Esterrich, Manager, Call Process Support, Ordered Ministry & Certification, Office of the General Assembly
T. Clark Simmons, Senior Church Consultant, Atlanta GA, Church Engagement, Board of Pensions

Let us pray

Gracious God, we thank you for lifting up a multitude of voices testifying to the power of your presence in our strife-filled world. Guide us as we listen and as we act. Help us to embrace fully your hope for this broken world. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - No more unread emails

Communicating more effectively

May 21, 2022

Brett Jordan/Unsplash

Communicating with the congregation is one of the most important things we do. Doing it effectively increases awareness and engagement. For most organizations, email remains a primary vehicle for communicating en masse. It is gradually being supplanted by text messaging, but judging by the number of emails I receive, it remains the medium of choice. The problem, though, is that most emails are ignored without ever being opened. I will discuss a couple of the most important factors that will determine whether a recipient decides to open your email.

Subject line — Research has indicated that short, descriptive subject lines work best. Short subject lines work because people are often checking email on their phones, where only the first few words of the subject line might be visible. Also, conveying value — “Learn more about …” — is better than something pushy like “Come to church this Sunday.”

We know from experience that the subject line matters. With my congregation, the normal “open rate” is typically about 40% to 45%. But if the subject line reads “In Memoriam,” notifying members of a death within the faith family, the open rate soars to 70%.

Time of day — While some people check their personal email all day, many people do not check their personal email while at work. So, you will want your email to be near the top of their inbox when they check their email. This means sending it just before they check their email. When do people check their personal email? We have found that in our community, this is often before they leave for work and after dinner. We send our emails at either 7 a.m. or 7 p.m. The exact time(s) that work best for you are worth experimenting with.

Finding the optimal time to send email has been studied extensively. Research has even found a very targeted time for sending email to a specific audience. If you want to reach parents of school-age children, send your email at about 2 p.m. Parents are often waiting for their child between 2 and 3 p.m., and what do they do while waiting? They read emails on their phones.

Many providers now have the function to “schedule” your emails, so don’t just send the email when it’s written. Be deliberate about the most effective time to send it.

Tracking open rates — How do we know how many people are opening our emails? Email services can track this. Our church uses MailChimp. Other popular email services include Constant Contact and Vertical Response. All of these services allow for beautifully designed emails that can have the open rate tracked. Of the three, MailChimp currently offers a free level. However, the free level does not allow you to schedule emails for a later time. Paid levels vary in features, but you can expect to pay $10 to $20 per month.

In addition to seeing our open rates, and knowing exactly who opened the emails, MailChimp allows us to do one more very important thing: We can resend an email only to those who did not open the original email. We find that on our initial send we get an open rate of between 30% to 35%. We get an extra 10% by resending the next day to the 65% to 70% who didn’t open the original email.

Remember, though, don’t resend to people who opened your email; if they open a duplicate email, they will feel put upon and the chances of them unsubscribing from your list increases.

By paying attention to your subject line, the time of day you send the email, and resending to people who don’t open your original email, you may increase the number of people who read your email by anywhere from 10% to 20% of your email list. Communication leads to engagement, and engagement is our goal.

The Rev. Richard Hong is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Englewood, New Jersey. Email him with questions or requests for future columns at rich@englewoodpres.org.

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Victoria Shircliffe, Social Media Specialist, Communications, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Rheannon Sicely, Director, Implementation & Continuous Improvement, Board of Pensions

Let us pray

Heavenly Father, thank you for all you have provided for us. Allow our lives to reflect the service and love you call us to share. In Christ’s name. Amen.