Today in the Mission Yearbook - September conference seeks to encourage leaders of older adult ministries to ‘walk in new shoes’

Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries Network invites attendees to try on new adventures in service to God

August 31, 2023

The theme for the Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries 

Network’s conference is taken from Isaiah 40:31.

If the prophet Isaiah has promised that “those who wait for the Lord will … run and not get tired … walk and not become weary,” then the Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries Network plans to deliver on that promise with a healthy dose of inspiration and information.

Under a scriptural theme drawn from Isaiah 40:31, “Walking in New Shoes,” POAMN will sponsor a conference for POAMN members and friends from Sept. 14–15 in Grosse Ile, Michigan, a Detroit suburb.

Participants will have a unique opportunity to gather at Grosse Ile Presbyterian Church, host site for the 2023 conference, for a day and a half of workshops, worship, fellowship, food and an outstanding roster of speakers, including POAMN’s current president, Pat Baker, director of Older Adult and Caregivers Ministries at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Tucker, Georgia.

During the conference — which is designed for all those who are engaged in ministry with older adults — attendees will explore trying new things, including ways to continue their service to God and the local and global community.

Adrienne Knight (Contributed photo)

“If you’ve been thinking of trying something new, or you think it might be time for you to give a little time to something else,” says conference planning chair, Adrienne Knight, a ruling elder at Knox Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, “this conference will give you some fresh ideas to ‘walk in new shoes.’ Not only will there be worship time for your ‘sole,’ but you will also have a chance to ‘walk a new path’ with local and international adventures while ‘lacing up’ to serve your community and church.”

Among the conference’s many notable speakers and leaders will be Steve Benton of Grosse Ile Presbyterian Church, a volunteer for Living Waters for the World; Jon Brown and Eileen Lindner, Volunteers in Global Service; Sue Hurst, Grosse Ile Presbyterian Church, an AARP volunteer; Ray Kramer, a computer security advocate; Cindy Ray, Presbyterian Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (PAHSA); Doug Wood, Appalachia Service Project; and Patrick Bultema of KareTeam, a software startup focused on enabling aging people to live their best lives, on their terms, in their place, connected with family and friends. Worship leaders for the conference will be David Montgomery and Loren Scribner, both of Grosse Ile Presbyterian Church.

Patrick Bultema (Contributed photo)

As a network of persons engaged in ministry with older adults, POAMN’s mission includes nurturing the faith community, equipping leadership, and resourcing congregations and other organizations that minister to, for, and with older adults. POAMN seeks to encourage ministries that affirm the dignity and value of the multiple generations of aging adults with a focus on spirituality, wellness, care and social involvement. Its purpose is to educate, advocate, develop and share resources, and train leaders by raising awareness around issues facing aging adults and those who serve those aging adults, all in a covenant relationship with the Presbyterian Mission Agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

“If you are seeking a ministry for older adults and those who have a passion for older adults, why not join us as a member of POAMN,” says Knight. “We offer yearly and monthly activities, webinars, newsletters, an informative website and this amazing 2023 conference.”

All paid conference attendees will have the option of joining POAMN or renewing a membership for 2024 at 50% off the regular membership rate, which will make them eligible for the conference’s member registration rate.

POAMN is also extending a discount of $15 on the registration fee — which includes the two-day program and five meals plus snacks but not lodging — for those who register for the conference by Aug. 9. Visit the conference website for complete information or to register.

The Presbyterian Mission Agency is in mission partnership with POAMN through the Office of Christian Formation, a partnership that works together to support and celebrate ministries of older adults.

Emily Enders Odom, Associate Director of Mission Communications, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Today’s Focus: Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries Network

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
D.J. Lee, Sr. Service Specialist, Korean Membership, Plan Operations, Board of Pensions
Laura Lee, Art Director, Presbyterian Women

Let us pray

Lord, today we give thanks for our long life and continued opportunities to serve Christ. We thank you for the faithful as they witness to you under difficult and trying conditions. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteers work to see beyond the rusted wall

‘It is in these ignored and forgotten stories that we will find Christ’s hope and good news’

August 30, 2023

The young adults engaged in the Tucson Borderlands

program. (Photo by James Martin)

When I first came to the border communities of Douglas/Agua Prieta, I specifically remember mission co-worker the Rev. Mark Adams asking our group how old we thought the border wall was.

Looking at the border wall for the first time, it seemed to me like it had been there forever; it had a rusted red color, as if it had seen significant weathering. I was very surprised then to learn that this wall was actually a recent addition to the border as a result of increased border militarization from the Obama administration. And it was that first time seeing the border wall that I began my journey of learning about the life, culture and place beyond the wall in the borderlands.

It is not unusual for many young adults like myself to see the border for the first time and see only the narrative of border militarization and “border problems.” The problem, though, is that this is the only narrative I heard about the border, or at least the one that was loudest. But the reality is that the borderlands is filled with many narratives: There are stories of family, stories of friendship, stories of growing up, stories of caring for others and stories of faith. Yet these are not the stories of the border that many people know about. In this way, the borderlands is also a story of colonization as only the dominant culture’s narrative of politics and militarization is told or addressed.

And while it is important to talk about border militarization, I believe Christ’s preference for marginalized stories calls us to first learn the stories outside our dominant U.S. culture that came before and still exist in the borderlands. They are stories of migrants, the stories of Mexico, the stories of Indigenous people, the stories of a binational community that are just as important in the kin-dom of God.

And as a church driven by Christ’s mission, we must teach and lift up these stories first before can even address border militarization. It is in these ignored and forgotten stories that we will find Christ’s hope and good news. Therefore, the mission of the Tucson Borderlands YAV program is to bring young adults from both the U.S. and Mexico to see the border beyond a U.S. rusted wall and to be witnesses to Christ’s life and hope that is lived in our binational border ministries.

James Martin is the Tucson Borderlands Young Adult Volunteers coordinator.

Today’s Focus: Tucson Borderlands YAV program

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Katherine Kupar, Communications Specialist, Presbyterian Association of Musicians
Patrick Lauture, Guest Services, Stony Point, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

Gracious God, by the love of Jesus Christ, you draw people to faith. We ask that we continually demonstrate that faith by proclaiming the good news in word and deed. We pray that you would give courage and vision to your church. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Christ makes the yoke easy for two PC(USA) churches in South Dakota

Bemis-Holland and Castlewood congregations celebrate a century of yoked ministry

August 29, 2023

Together with First Presbyterian Church of Castlewood, South 

Dakota, Bemis-Holland Presbyterian Church will celebrate 

a century of yoked ministry on Sunday. (Contributed photo)

Two South Dakota churches yoked for the past century celebrated their hundred years of ministry recently with worship, food, fun and festivities.

The Rev. Duane M. Mullen, who serves Bemis-Holland Presbyterian Church and the First Presbyterian Church of Castlewood, about 20 minutes south of Watertown in the eastern part of the state, said as far as congregational researchers can tell, the parishes have been yoked continuously longer than any other yoked houses of worship in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

While worship normally begins at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. each Sunday, the Sunday of the celebration featured one joint worship service, at 11 o’clock Central Time at the Bemis-Holland church. Worship was followed by cornhole, wagon rides and an FPC-Bemis-Holland water balloon fight.

The history of the Bemis-Holland church begins in 1881, and the Castlewood church was founded a year later. Bemis-Holland Presbyterian Church has a photo taken around the day in July 1923 when the two churches were first yoked. “That church was filled with over 100 people,” Mullen says of the photo. “It was packed.”

“An interesting thing about these communities is there are lots of people related between the churches,” Mullen said of the congregations, which are about 15 minutes apart. “There’s a lot of history at both places. Several families have been here since the beginning.”

After a year of helping to lead the yoked churches, Mullen said one of his biggest joys is serving two communities with “really different personalities.” Castlewood, which has nearly 700 people, is not far from Watertown, South Dakota’s fifth-largest city. Many Castlewood members live in that town and work in Watertown.

First Presbyterian Church of Castlewood, South Dakota, traces its 

history to 1882 and its yoked relationship with Bemis-Holland 

Presbyterian Church to 1923. (Contributed photo)

When he begins writing sermons for the two faith communities each week, Mullen asks God, “What is your story and what’s your message for this church, and also for that church?” The sermons rarely come out the same way “because the communities are different,” Mullen said. If the service goes long at Castlewood, “I’m just late” for the 11 o’clock service at Bemis-Holland. “The country church just says, ‘If you’re late, that’s fine,’” Mullen said. “When it comes to preaching, I don’t look at the clock. If the sermon is long, I hope it’s because the Lord is speaking.”

Mullen’s first year of yoked ministry — his first calling in ministry — hasn’t been without challenges, of course. After being called to his current position on May 1, 2022, a tornado struck Castlewood on May 12. It passed between the Lutheran and Presbyterian churches, but several houses were damaged, and half the school was destroyed.

“My first day on the job was June 22, and we knew the school would not be repaired before the new [school] year,” Mullen said. “So, we opened our church up to second, third and fourth grade and special education.” Physical education classes were held outside the church, and the Lutheran church opened its doors to kindergarten and first-grade classes.

“The school was in our building from August through November, and we served school lunches in our fellowship hall,” Mullen recounted. “You might say I hit the ground running.”

“I have come to congregations that have been around for a very long time,” Mullen said. “They are surprisingly alike and surprisingly different.”

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service

Today’s Focus: Bemis-Holland and Castlewood congregations yoked together in ministry

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Susan Krehbiel, Associate, Migration and Accompaniment Ministries, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Rebecca Kueber, Desktop Publisher & Formatter, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation

Let us pray

Lord, teach us to break bread with our newest neighbors. Teach us to share with and receive from our neighbors. Teach us to be open to differences, to tolerate new behaviors and to meet you in the people you give to us. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Churches can respond to extreme heat and climate change

Creation Justice Ministries webinar offers tips, ideas and precautions as communities swelter

August 28, 2023

People of color and community members with low incomes are 

more likely than other groups to live in historically redlined 

neighborhoods that are today’s “intra-urban heat islands,” which 

are neighborhood-level hotspots, according to the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency. (Photo by Frank McKenna 

via Unsplash)

With climate change and other factors contributing to scorching conditions in various parts of the world, Creation Justice Ministries recently hosted a webinar to help churches spring into action, from becoming cooling centers to advocating for environmentally friendly legislation. Watch the recording of the webinar here.

One example came from the Rev. Sylvia Harris of Wesley United Methodist Church in Phoenix. The church converted a dormant preschool into a cooling and respite center in the city’s south mountain area, where many people struggle with the effects of systemic oppression, homelessness and poverty. With the help of seed grants, community partnerships and some donated labor and goods, the center has given people — and their pets — a cool, comfortable place to stay while also providing food, showers, a laundry facility and referrals for other services, such as housing.

“What we have found is the more that we reach out and make known what we’re doing, the more God shows up to provide in the spaces and places that we would not have been able to do this otherwise,” Harris said. “We served over 700 people over the course of four months last summer through this work” and received heartfelt testimony, such as, “I really thought I was going to die this summer and then found you guys, and now, I was able to live one more summer.”

Creation Justice Ministries hosted the webinar “Extreme Heat: 

How Can Churches Respond?” (Screenshot)

People also have talked about the love, acceptance and peace they’ve experienced at the center. That’s because “they were seen as people,” Harris said. “They weren’t seen as a problem, and they were welcomed fully, as they were.”

Harris was among a handful of speakers featured during the webinar, which included consultant Christian Brooks, formerly of the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness. Brooks announced that CJM has released a heat and health resource and toolkit, which can be downloaded here. Some of the content will include a research paper covering topics such as extreme heat, water justice and heat islands, to help with advocacy efforts. There also will be information about how to recognize heat-related illness, how to become a cooling station, how to protect vulnerable populations, and sermon starters on the impact of climate change and the responsibility of Christians to care for Creation.

Fellow speaker Ella Mendonsa, a health equity program manager for the Natural Resources Defense Council, pointed out that churches have some advantages when pushing for policies or raising awareness. Those advantages include trust and community connections. “I think you guys are at a really powerful place to be doing this work,” she said.

Actions by humans have contributed to the climate crisis, experts 

say. (Photo by Markus Spiske via Unsplash)

If your church isn’t strong on a particular topic of thing, “partner up,” Brooks said. “Pool your resources so that you can have an amplified voice.”

Legislation that can prove helpful, according to Mendonsa, includes the Green New Deal for Health and proposals related to air quality, which tends to be worse during heat waves.

Earlier, Mendonsa had outlined some of the ways that humans are contributing to the Earth’s climate crisis.

“Why are we experiencing this growing heat?” she said. “Well, we’ve known for decades that human activities have been the main driver of our warming planet, so as we dig coal, oil and pipe gas out of the Earth and burn it for fuel and energy, this leads to emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, that make up greenhouse gas emissions. Those get trapped and then they warm the planet, and so this fossil fuel … really accounts for about 75% of global GHGs or greenhouse (gas) emissions.”

Also, “there are other choices that we make that lead to a hotter planet like cutting down forests that absorb carbon dioxide; car and freight transportation; food production; and just general overconsumption,” she said.

Mendonsa suggested several action steps, from urging cities to begin switching to electric vehicles and pushing for the planting of trees to supporting community cooling centers and using environmentally friendly transportation such as biking and walking.

For more information about topics related to heat, go to Heat.gov.

Interested in Creation Care? Learn about Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Earth Care Congregations and read the Eco-Justice Journey blog of the Presbyterian Hunger Program.

Darla Carter, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Today’s Focus: Creation Justice Ministries webinar

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Luciano Kovacs, Coordinator, Middle East, Europe & Central Asia Office, World Mission, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Laurie Kraus, Associate Director (Humanitarian and Global Ecumenical Engagement) Compassion, Peace & Justice, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

O Lord, grant to all your servants the joy of being in your community and the courage to work faithfully for your kingdom. May willing spirits be drawn ever closer into your covenant. By your Holy Spirit, equip your servants for the glorious calling to be your people. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - PC(USA)’s Matthew 25 webinar helps congregations and mid councils measure their anti-poverty effectiveness

Workshop features local examples from New York City to Niger

August 25, 2023

Photo by Joshua Lanzarini via Unsplash

Measuring congregational and mid council work to end systemic poverty was the topic of the second in a series of Matthew 25 online workshops offered to help local communities create empowerment, health and wholeness. About 70 people attended.

The speakers were Andrew Kang Bartlett, national associate for the Presbyterian Hunger Program; Margaret Mwale, the Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People’s associate for community development and constituent relationships; and Jim McGill, a mission-co-worker serving in Niger.

Kang Bartlett explained a holistic model for assessment developed by the Center for Whole Communities. Measuring the success of local poverty reduction work can be done with help from a spreadsheet. Kang Bartlett created a sample that can be seen at bit.ly/wholemp.

Andrew Kang Bartlett

An evaluation can include five fields of practices for measuring effectiveness: justice and fairness, strong communities, healthy people, sustainable ecosystems and thriving local economies.

“It’s a rich, participatory evaluation,” Kang Bartlett said.

Among the examples Mwale cited for measuring holistic impact was the New York State Youth Leadership Council, a group that works on issues related to being undocumented that’s led by undocumented youth.

Among the organization’s services is its Undocu Academy, a one-year program for undocumented high school seniors in New York City that provides mentoring, one-on-one guidance with college and financial aid applications, workshops and scholarship opportunities.

Margaret Mwale

Mwale touched on ways the council is helping to build the five fields of practices Kang Bartlett talked about, and efforts to measure their impacts. One example: Only 10% or less of undocumented students attend college. But for those supported by the Undocu Academy, 70% enrolled in college. “It’s helped to move the needle helping young people move out of poverty,” Mwale said.

McGill shared some of the Wash, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) development work being done in Malawi, South Sudan and Niger. “We work directly under churches. Their mission statements include holistic ministry to the people,” McGill explained, adding that development, agriculture, health and education “are as important to the church as the spiritual well-being of people.”

Jim McGill

“The biggest issue we work with in holistic ministry is breaking the cycle of poverty,” McGill said. “It’s a big job for the church to do. The question is, how do we measure that progress?”

One way is to announce development targets, such as the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. That can ease the fundraising burden for nongovernmental organizations, McGill said, which can say, “If you give me x-amount of dollars, I’ll put in a well for you.”

While a friend sent McGill an email recently touting results of a three-year project on access to safe drinking water, saying the report on the project demonstrates that getting statistics together is worth the effort, McGill pointed out it’s only a snapshot and doesn’t measure impact over time.

“We need to measure as best we can how the program has impacted people,” McGill said. “People must be able to step up the ladder and out of poverty.”

During a question-and-answer session, Kang Bartlett said that dismantling the worst aspects of the economic system is the way to make the biggest impact, but “that’s a huge endeavor. In the U.S., my read is changing federal policies is difficult. But real change can happen at the local level.”

The next Matthew 25 webinar on eradicating systemic poverty is set for 11 a.m. Eastern Time on Aug. 28. It’ll be on community organizing, policy advocacy and movement building.

 Scheduled presenters are Denzell Mitchell, an associate organizer for the congregation-based community organization Richmonders Involved to Strengthen Our Communities in Richmond, Virginia; the Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, director of the Kairos Center at Union Theological Seminary and co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign; and the Rev. Jimmie R. Hawkins, who directs advocacy efforts for the PC(USA) in Washington, D.C., and New York City. Register here.

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service

Today’s Focus: Matthew 25 webinar on eradicating systemic poverty

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Yveshia Klingman, HR Coordinator, Presbyterian Foundation
Mark Koenig, Communications Associate, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)

Let us pray

Gracious God, whose love is so encompassing that it can heal a world in pain, please mark the path as we walk together to grow Christ’s church. Lead us to hearts that need to know your love and help us to demonstrate in our lives the hope you offer us all. Guide our hands as we reach out to those who are suffering so we can ease their pain as you have eased ours. Amen.

Ministry Matters - What's your congregation's personality type? | Preaching as an outsider

What can psychologists and researchers of human personality teach us about congregational renewal? What's your congregation's personality type? by Michael Adam Beck   Every congregation has a unique personality in the same way a human does. Just like no person is exactly the same, so neither are any two congregations. Yet, just as psychologists can condense hundreds of unique personality traits into the big five categories, so too can congregations be understood through five congregational personality types.  Read here

What role do social location, gender, and religious practice play in our preaching? Preaching as an outsider by Lisa Thompson   Social location and religious practices often relegate black women to an outsider-within position, not only in life at-large but also in their communities of faith. The experiences of present-day black women in North America are connected to a history that differentiates their experiences of racism from those of black men and their experiences of sexism from those of other women. Read here

What must I do to garner support for my church and grow our generosity? What to do if giving is down by J. Cliff Christopher   One day a pastor called me and was a bit distressed. Giving to church operations was down from the previous year. He asked if he could send me a letter to review that he was considering sending to the congregation about the shortfall. Read here

Binding us together in love through our worship this Sunday Leading kids into the waters of worship this Sunday