Today in the Mission Yearbook - Grandparents take their seat ‘Around the Table'

For their sixth episode, podcast hosts reach out to a sage and seasoned pair of Presbyterian pastors

July 1, 2024

Photo by Benarelexander via Pixabay

The hosts of the “Around the Table” podcast, the Rev. Michelle Thomas-Bush and the Rev. Cliff Haddox, recently turned to a pair of grandparents to share their wisdom on holding meaningful and helpful conversations with young people. Listen to their 46-minute conversation with the Rev. Robert Hay Sr. and the Rev. Dr. Sarah Reyes Gibbs here.

For Hay, the best part of grandparenting “is watching them grow up, and being in their lives so much, watching them turn into incredible people.”

“I am more of a storyteller than an academic intellectual,” said Reyes Gibbs, who counts among her children the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, moderator of the 218th General Assembly (2008). For her, a conversation starter might be, “What’s your gut reaction to the disciples being knuckleheads — and how do we fit with them?” she said.

At her home congregation, Trinity Presbyterian Church in Stockton, California, “meals focused on family, and we had amazing potlucks. Children were running around, and everyone was welcome at the table. Sharing stories is the best,” she said, “and I love to hear the kids tell their stories.”

Hay said his extended family normally has lunch together after church services. When he told some of his grandchildren he’d be participating in the podcast the following day and asked for examples of how he’d shared his faith with them, one immediately chimed in with, “You took us to camp!”

Hay, who served the Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley for two decades, recalled his family involvement in securing the naming right for the road that goes through the presbytery’s youth and children’s camp. “We call it Hay Way,” he said.

Reyes Gibbs waited until the age of 50 to enter ministry. “They have seen me live a life with challenges and obstacles,” she said of her grandchildren. “I have been encouraged by their faith in me.”

But at one point, a grandchild told her, “I don’t believe in God anymore.”

“You know what?” she told her grandchild. “I’m going to believe in God so much for you that you don’t have to worry about that.”

“All my children have a soft spot for the marginalized,” she said. “God is continuing to work without my help.”

At the suggestion of her son, Reyes Gibbs greets her grandchildren after school with “Were you kind today?” or “Was someone kind to you?” rather than merely asking them how their day was.

Thomas-Bush said grandparents “can have some hard conversations, from drinking to life issues, that the parents don’t have and can’t have sometimes. You’re invested in who they are,” she told Hay and Reyes Gibbs, “but you’re not so concerned with every step along the way the way that parents are.”

“The first thing that comes to my mind is … this generation is going to be OK,” Hay said. “They are the pandemic generation, and it’ll be studied forever, I’m sure.” He said he experienced families growing “incredibly tight, particularly church families” during the pandemic. “They had nobody else to be with. Because they were hunkered down, they weren’t exposed to a lot of the bad stuff.”

Many years ago, Hay’s mother taught him this mealtime prayer: “Come Lord Jesus be our guest, May this food by thee be blessed/Bless our family everywhere/And keep them in thy loving care.”

“All the grandchildren and great-grandchildren have learned it and say it,” he said. “Young people intentionally look for God in their everyday life.”

“I try to model what it means to do what Christianity calls us to do and encourage the kids to be grateful. We don’t do much God talk,” Reyes Gibbs said. “I think our familial tradition is more of a cultural approach to the Divine, a way of understanding who we are and what we’re about.”

“My intention,” she said, “is not to act like a jerk and call myself a Christian.”

“They can read when you’re trying to get at something,” Thomas-Bush said. “You can’t organize those teachable moments.

“Around the Table” is an initiative of the Office of Christian Formation. Listen to previous editions of the podcast here.

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service

Today’s Focus: “Around the Table” podcast

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Clare Lewis, President & CEO, Presbyterian Investment & Loan Program  
Shelly Lewis, Administrative Manager, Controller’s Office, Administrative Services Group (A Corp) 

Let us pray

Many and great, O God, are they things, maker of earth and sky. Grant unto us communion with thee. Come unto us and dwell with us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Christian religious LGBT advocacy in Ghana

In many communities of faith in Africa, people who advocate for LGBT rights are not welcome

June 30, 2024

The Ghana Mission Network is working as friends and colleagues 

in the midst of cultural and societal differences. (Contributed photo)

According to the population and housing census of 2021, more than 71% of the people in Ghana identify as Christians in various church denominations.

Given these figures, it is reasonable to assume that God’s love will penetrate every sphere of society in this West African nation. However, the situation is the opposite, with church leaders and followers inciting hatred and prejudice against the LGBT community. This makes LGBT advocacy more and more hazardous, deadly and potentially catastrophic.

This pervasive animosity toward the LGBT community hangs from the cultural and Indigenous religious belief systems of Africans that homosexuality is taboo. Likewise, LGBT advocacy is disregarded by many of the faiths represented in the nation. Because of this, people who advocate for LGBT rights are not normally welcomed into the fellowship of their respective worship communities. They are often frowned upon, discriminated against or abused. This costs them unimaginable emotional, spiritual and psychological distress. Additionally, if parliament makes the anti-gay laws operational in Ghana, LGBT advocacy and activism will be criminalized and outlawed, with activists facing jail time.

I must say that the way the church regards and handles LGBT activists further exacerbates the situation. They are viewed as reprobates, spiritually depraved and patronizing. In this sense, the public’s attitude toward LGBT advocacy — including that of church leaders and members — remains antagonistic, denunciatory and confrontational.

The complacent attitude of the church toward LGBT people is terribly injurious to their safety and wellbeing. Just like Isaiah’s call for the repentance of the oppressors of his day, the return of justice in the church will bring a complete transformation to the LGBT community so that people will be known for who they really are and have their dignity in society. This affirms Isaiah 32:17 and emphasizes the fact that if the church takes action to promote justice, it will bring peace and genuine respect for LGBT people because peace and justice are inextricably linked.

This is why welcoming LGBT people in churches and including them as church members is crucial for the church’s mission and discipleship. They are our friends and family, yet we deny that they exist. They do exist, and they are part of us. God is calling us to accept and welcome them into our fellowships. This is why I feel God is calling me to this ministry of advocacy and pastoral care. It aligns with the dream and vision of the Center for Religion and Public Life, which is to create a climate of pastoral ministry for LGBT people to flourish in their spiritual lives and live meaningfully.

Rev. Canon Dr. Confidence Bansah, CEO and founder of the Center for Religion and Public Life in Accra, Ghana

Today’s Focus: LGBT advocacy in Ghana

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Amy Lewis, Mission Specialist I, Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, Presbyterian Mission Agency  
Bridgette Lewis, Mission Specialist, Young Adult & National Volunteers, World Mission, Presbyterian Mission Agency  

Let us pray

Gracious God, you call us to be Christ incarnate. We are to be the compassionate heart and hands of Christ. We are the loaves and the fishes that will give hope and life during these challenging times. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Preschoolers at Leesburg Presbyterian Church learn the ABCs of composting

Environmental team teaches intergenerational lessons to Virginia church members

June 29, 2024

A student at the Leesburg (Virginia) Presbyterian Church preschool 

uses a compost bucket in class. (Contributed photo)

Some of the youngest members of an Earth Care Congregation in Leesburg, Virginia, are getting an early lesson in Creation Care.

“Preschoolers at Leesburg Presbyterian Church take an active role in the church’s composting program, which began last fall,” said Laura Renauld, who leads the church’s Earth Care Team. Composting involves collecting food scraps and other compostable materials so they can be transformed, with the help of an area company, into a mixture that can then benefit lawns and gardens.

Leesburg latched onto composting as “an accessible way for the members of the congregation to be more active in environmental stewardship right from their own home because our congregation could then be the drop spot for that,” Renauld said. “I don’t think at this time we have more than a handful of people doing that. But seeing it in fellowship every Sunday is a way to educate (members), and we wanted to reduce the amount of trash we were putting in the dumpster, and this has significantly cut down on that by using compostable plates and cups since that was the bulk of our trash.”

The Environmental Protection Agency has called composting “one of the most powerful actions we can take to reduce trash in landfills, address climate change and build healthy soil.”

Students in Leesburg Presbyterian Church’s preschool 

are actively involved in the church’s composting program.

 (Contributed photo)

“By turning our food scraps and yard trim into compost, we transform our waste streams into a beneficial, value-added soil amendment and use it to protect the environment and create resilient communities,” according to the EPA.

“Preschoolers love to compost!” the Earth Care Team noted in a report to the Presbyterian Hunger Program. When Leesburg Presbyterian Church contracted with a local composting service last year, “the church preschool embraced the opportunity to teach environmental stewardship to its 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds.”

Coffee filters are used as plates for the kids, and “instead of cleaning up with a trash can, each classroom sports a 5-gallon bucket to collect the waste,” the report said. “The coffee filter, food scraps and paper towels can all be composted.” Also, “there is even a new classroom job for the children to look forward to,” a compost helper who gets to wear an apron emblazoned with a worm.

The kids also are involved in sorting. “There’s a bin for their wrappers and then there’s a different container for the banana peels and the coffee filters and they seem to understand at least the sorting of it,” preschool director Angela Helge said.

The purpose of the program is reinforced in various ways to help the children learn.

Three-dimensional posters help to educate members of Leesburg 

Presbyterian about composting. (Contributed photo)

“We talk about how they’re feeding the Earth and they’re feeding the worms,” Helge said. Also, “we’ve been able to kind of show them how things have broken down and we’ve got a couple different picture books.”

To help further instill good habits, the preschool has “cut down on single-use snacks and single-use containers and the kids use reusable water bottles,” she said.

Helge and Renauld are hopeful that the lessons and practices will carry over to adulthood.

“The health of our Earth is for our children really more than for ourselves,” Renauld said. “If they’re learning early on to have those habits and to be good stewards, then they will be thinking about that as they grow and just incorporating that will just be a normal everyday thing that they incorporate into their lives.”

Leesburg Presbyterian is a certified Earth Care Congregation, a designation from PHP for Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations that shows their commitment to environmental stewardship through worship and discipleship, educational efforts, facilities management and outreach.

Along with composting, Leesburg started an Earth Care Fair.

“We had our first one last October, and that was kind of when we were also starting to compost, so it was a big educational opportunity for us,” Renauld said. “We had a sustainable table. Everything that was being used was compostable — the food, the plates, the cups — everything — and we had posters and signage” plus statistics to promote composting.

Get started on the path to becoming an Earth Care Congregation by going here for more information. Find re-certification materials by downloading “Earth Care Congregations: A Guide to Greening Presbyterian Churches.”

Darla Carter, Communications Strategist

Today’s Focus: Preschoolers at Leesburg Presbyterian Church getting early lesson in Creation Care

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Kristen Leucht, Senior Church Consultant, Los Angeles, CA, Board of Pensions 
Brad Levy, Production Clerk, Presbyterian Distribution Center, Administrative Services Group (A Corp) 

Let us pray

Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of the cosmos, may we draw ever closer to your vision for this world and our proper role in it. Help us to value, enjoy, rest and delight in your Creation even as we confess and work to repair the harm caused. In Christ who showed us the way. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Connection Shelter welcomes homeless people in Minnesota

Ministry also connects dozens of congregations

June 21, 2024

Connections Shelter (provided)

The Connection Shelter at historic First Presbyterian Church in downtown Mankato, Minnesota, has welcomed homeless people to spend the night from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. in their second-floor adapted facility from October through April since the fall of 2020. Homeless guests must sign up in advance. Dinner is provided by volunteers from sponsoring churches and from the community at large. When the guests depart from First Presbyterian at 8 a.m., they walk a few blocks to Centenary United Methodist Church for breakfast served by Holy Grounds staff and volunteers and then proceed to the nearby Salvation Army for shelter during the day if needed.

This Connection Ministry program was established in October 2017 in a combined effort begun in 2016 by the Centenary United Methodist, Bethlehem Lutheran ELCA, St. John’s Episcopal and PACT ministries under the leadership of the Rev. Erica Koser from Centenary Methodist and the Rev. Collette Broady Grund from Bethlehem Lutheran.

The Connection Shelter first opened on Oct. 29, 2017, as a rotating seasonal overnight shelter housed alternating weeks at five Mankato churches: Bethlehem, Centenary, Grace Lutheran, St. John’s Episcopal and Crossview Covenant. Intake was at Centenary Methodist every evening, then guests were walked or transported to that week’s host site. The official capacity was 25.

By the fall of 2018, nine churches had agreed to host, with some paired. The rotation model involved moving beds and supplies weekly to the next site, so Covenant Family Church’s agreement to rent their space for a full season starting in the fall of 2019 was very welcome.

Connections Shelter (provided)

In March 2020, as the Covid pandemic hit, all guests were moved out of Covenant Family Church and into the Hilton Garden Inn, where services and case management were provided throughout that summer.

First Presbyterian Church offered to rent second-floor space for the shelter in the fall of 2020. Adequate restrooms and a theater room allowing for television or movie viewing were already in place for the guests. Grant funding allowed the needed addition of a kitchen and expansion of capacity to 30 beds (with Covid spacing). Since then, the services have expanded. Two rooms are now dedicated to dining, and eight rooms house 40 beds. Expansion to 40 beds was afforded when a Blue Earth County government funding grant paid for office space in an off-site building and funded an outreach specialist.

The current director as of May 2024 is Jennifer Echevarria, whose advanced schooling and past experience with homeless people in San Antonio before moving to Mankato made her the ideal candidate. The Rev. Erica Koser had guided the program as a full-time Connections Ministry director from 2020 until her resignation due to family medical issues in 2024 and had played a leadership role since its inception.

The Connection Ministry now has over 30 supporting congregations, 25 business partners, and more than 500 supporters donating time and money. Three full-time year-round employees and 8–10 seasonal employees staff the shelter. In the 2022–23 shelter season, 117 guests were served. Since the outreach office opened in September 2022, more than 200 unique family units have been served.

Sally Coomes, First Presbyterian Church Member; Rev. Erica Koser, Connections Ministry Director 2020–24

Today’s Focus: Connection Shelter at historic First Presbyterian Church in downtown Mankato, Minnesota

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Maha Kolko, Project Manager, Community Outreach and Volunteerism, Human Resources, Administrative Services Group (A Corp) 
Karla Ann Koll, Mission co-worker serving in Costa Rica, World Mission, Presbyterian Mission Agency 

Let us pray

Heavenly Father, thank you for your love, which is a wellspring of life for us all. You are a shelter and a strong tower for those who need refuge. We thank you for your enduring grace that covers those who cannot take care of themselves.

CCA Podcast - Summertime Blues - Is There a Cure?

OFFICE HOURS All calls are confidential. Clinical coordinators are available. Monday – Friday 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM (724) 396-1510 Check Out CCA's Podcast: Ask Christian Counseling Associates With CCA Podcasts, you will receive sound clinical advice, inspiration, timeless wisdom to face daily challenges, and information to help others along the way. For our listeners: please click the buttons below to watch or listen to the CCA podcast. Then subscribe to our podcast on YouTube, and give us a thumbs up. This will make a big difference! On this episode of Ask Christian Counseling Associates: Who is Dr. Joe Maola, and why does he have the Summer Time Blues? Answer: Dr. Joe is a counselor at CCA who thought he could "chill" online but missed the podcast scheduled onsite. That’s what happens when we have a case of mixing up virtual rays with real-life delays. But seriously, are you having symptoms of restlessness, dissatisfaction, or frustration during the summer months? You might be struggling with the summertime blues! Join us with special guests Kiley Henehan and Josh Ricketts of CCA, as we share the cure for how to beat these blues this summer. Click Here to Listen to Our Podcast! Click Here to View Our Podcast on You Tube! Don't Face the Struggle Alone, Reach Out to CCA Today! We hope you like our summer podcast episode. Whatever you face this week, we hope and pray for God's blessing to follow you! If we can be of service, please reach out to us today. God Bless! Richard Hoffman, Ph.D.   Clinical Director Christian Counseling Associates SERVICES....WHY CCA....LOCATIONS....ABOUT Christian Counseling Associates   Serving Pennsylvania, Arkansas New York, Ohio, West Virginia, and Internationally in Liberia, West Africa Stay Social With Us: