Mission Yearbook: How and why we trust one another

Dr. Dom Packer

Dr. Dom Packer, who teaches psychology at Lehigh University and is associate vice president for research, recently led an informative online discussion on trust and distrust and the roles they play in the nation’s current polarized state.

Packer, the co-author with Jay J. Van Bavel of “The Power of Us,” spoke during a Science for the Church workshop, “The Psychology of Polarization,” offered by the Synod of the Covenant. Watch the 85-minute presentation and discussion here.

We humans rely on three kinds of trust, Packer said: network- or relationship-based, group-based and institution-based.

The first is based on personalized trust and cooperation. Gossip is one example. “We learn who’s behaved well and who’s behaved badly,” he said. The science shows the groups we belong generally max out at 150. “Given the size of our brain, we should be able to handle this size of network,” he said. Pathologies with these groups include nepotism and formation of “the old boys club.”

But political polarization “degrades bonds between people who would not have great difficulty trusting or liking or collaborating with each other,” Packer said. Still, about 7 in 10 OKCupid users “do not think it’s a dealbreaker if their date is voting for a different political candidate,” Packer noted.

Identity- or group-based trust is depersonalized trust and cooperation. The Apostle Paul mentions this kind of trust in his letter to the church at Corinth. “The group’s interests are now your interests,” as Packer put it. Packer cited the work of Mark Levine, who did experiments with British soccer fans, as well as public goods games, which are exercises in economics designed to measure trust and cooperation.

“Our identities are malleable, and it changes how we behave,” Packer said. “There is a reason humans are so eager to signal their identity to others.” Think of the apparel industry, where millions of us affiliate with our sports team or our alma mater by wearing an article of clothing. One could also make the case this is the reason people wear religious symbols, according to Packer. “It says, ‘Hey, we’re part of the same community.’”

The pathologies with this type of trust include parochialism and discrimination. Some current researchers even say that our hatred for the other political party is stronger than the love we feel for our own party, he said.

The third category is institution-based trust, depersonalized trust grounded in rules, procedures and structures that regulate interactions, Packer said. “If I go into a restaurant, I feel good about handing over my credit card to someone I don’t know,” he said. There are procedures in place to protect us if we are ripped off by, say, a criminally minded cashier.

Pathologies here include rigid, impersonal treatment and potential discrimination.

Religious organizations incorporate all three realms of trust, Packer said. “A common thing you hear is people are attracted to a church or synagogue or mosque because of the community,” he said. Religion is a shared identity, and churches also serve as institutions complete with rules and traditions.

In a question-and-answer time following Packer’s presentation, the Rev. Drew Rick-Miller of Science for the Church asked about best practices for cultivating trust.

“When people share stories with each other, it creates empathy, which is stronger than ‘Why I’m right and why you’re wrong,’” Packer said. “Jay [co-author of ‘The Power of Us’] and I thought the pandemic would unite people, but we didn’t see that happening in the U.S.” It did occur in Canada and New Zealand, but not the U.S. “It had to do largely with the reaction of leaders,” Packer said. “When the rules aren’t fair, it makes trusting a lot harder, and some groups are clearly being treated unfairly.”

For pastors and other church leaders, “the story is the entryway,” Packer said.

 “Groups have foundational stories they tell,” Packer said. Especially in the New Testament, “all the parables are stories and they became foundational to the church. They’re told over and over again, and everyone knows them. They’re touchstones.” When one mentions “loaves and fishes, everyone knows what you’re talking about.”

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service, Interim Unified Agency (Click here to read original PNS story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Leann Gritton, Manager, Finance & Administration, Theology, Formation & Evangelism, Interim Unified Agency 
• Regina Groff, Director, Wholeness, Board of Pensions 

Let us pray:

You, who are the Word made flesh, we thank you for the many ways we have to spread your good news. May the presence of your churches reach many who are in need of ministry and the news of your living presence in our midst. Amen.

A Lenten Reflection

A Lenten Reflection: Seeking Living Water A Lenten Reflection: Seeking Living Water   As we enter the sacred season of Lent, we are invited once again to embark on a journey of reflection, repentance, and renewal.  This forty-day period mirrors Christ’s time in the wilderness—a season characterized by fasting, prayer, and profound reliance on God. Lent encourages us to examine our hearts, turn away from distractions, and seek God, the source of life.    Lent is a time for us to empty ourselves of pride, self-reliance, and anything that keeps us from experiencing God's presence. It is also a season to be filled anew with the Living Water that refreshes and restores our spirits. As American Baptists, we are a people dedicated to mission and ministry, called to share God’s love. May this Lenten journey prepare our hearts to be vessels of that love, pouring out grace, kindness, joy, mercy, and peace in our communities. In this Lenten season, let us seek to broaden our understanding of our neighbors.    This year, as we approach our Biennial Mission Summit under the theme "Come Seek Living Water," we are reminded of Jesus’ transformative encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:39-41). In this powerful story, Jesus extends an invitation to her and transforms her life; and she shares the Good News of meeting the Messiah.    39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.    Together, let us walk in prayer, share acts of compassion, and may our testimonies inspire others to know our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!    Grace and peace to you on the journey,   Rev. Dr. Gina C. Jacobs-Strain General Secretary American Baptist Churches USA FOLLOW US

American Baptist Churches USA | P.O. Box 851 | Valley Forge, PA 19482 US

Mission Yearbook: Former General Assembly Moderator leads Lost & Found Church worship for Presbyterian Peace Fellowship

The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow (contributed photo)

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship’s Lost & Found Church used an introspective approach on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration, with the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow leading online attendees in a Lectio Divina encounter with Romans 12:9–21. “Bless Your Enemies: The Challenge to See Humanity in Inhumane Times” was the theme of the gathering.

Reyes-Chow, Moderator of the 218th General Assembly (2008), is a speaker, coach and the author of six books, most recently “Everything Good About God Is True: Choosing Faith.” Using the Common English Bible, Reyes-Chow read the Romans passage through three times, asking worshipers each time to select a word or phrase to ponder for two minutes. 

“I’m so glad you’re here considering the turmoil of the times,” Reyes-Chow said. “Everyone needs to find ways not only to resist, but — in  body, mind and spirit — find joy and meaning together.”

“For me, there is a natural inclination to repay evil acts with evil acts. There is often an urge to escalate,” Reyes-Chow said. “But today we are going to hear in Romans not to escalate conflict, but to bless our enemies. God’s still asking us to bless them, and I think that’s a prophetic word for all of us.”

Angela Steiner, music director and conductor at Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida, provided piano and vocal music during worship, including Ingrid Michaelson’s “Keep Breathing” and the Beatles’ “Let It Be.” 

When Reyes-Chow asked for words or phrases from the Romans passage that stirred people in worship, attendees lifted up these:

• One noted “be happy with those who are happy.” “I spend a lot of time talking to very serious people who are very anxious right now," this worshiper said. “I find it hard to be happy with people who are happy right now — people who are aware of what’s going on in the world and are fine and even happy.”
• Another selected “defeat evil with good.” “Is that even possible?” this person wondered. “I can’t have vengeance, but is it OK to pray for God’s vengeance? I don’t know.”
• Yet another focused on “leave room for God’s wrath.” This pastor juxtaposed that phrase with leading worship that morning, focusing on the letter white clergy wrote to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that led King to write “Letter From a Birmingham Jail.” “It was extremely uncomfortable to think about what promoted that letter [from the white clergy]” this pastor said, a letter signed by the Moderator of the Synod of the Alabama Presbyterian Church in the United States, a forebear of the PC(USA). “‘Leave room for God’s wrath’ — what is it we are still holding and dealing with as a nation and as a church? There’s this discomfort about what we’re going to face for the sin of racism and all the violence that took place because of it.”
• A seminary student focused on “don’t think that you’re so smart” and “don’t hesitate to be enthusiastic.” “Sometimes we get caught up in our own brains,” this student said, calling King’s statement that “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that” a “paraphrase of Scripture.”

Reyes-Chow asked those in worship to voice their prayer concerns, which included praying for people who are tending to the spirits of other people.

“For the community that’s been built across the technology that can be frustrating but has brought us together in amazing and unimaginable ways, we give you thanks,” he prayed. “Move with us as we struggle with so much, and as we find moments of joy with others, in Creation and in the surprising moments of each day.”

“We’ve got each other, friends,” said the Rev. Dr. Laurie Lyter Bright, PPF’s executive director.

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service, Interim Unified Agency (Click here to read original PNS story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Paul Grier,  Vice President, Project Regeneration, Presbyterian Foundation
• Laurie Griffith, Associate Director, Constitutional Interpretation, Interim Unified Agency

Let us pray:

Open our eyes, O God, to see your way. And if our eyes aren’t ready to see, open our hearts to the movement of the Holy Spirit. Keep pointing us in the right direction. We want to answer your call, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Pastor's Life - Healing

Our call is to enact healing in the world by Rev. Jessica Tate I heard an expert in biomimicry talk about the healing that happens in nature. As she described it, when there is trauma to land — for instance, through a landslide or when land is clear cut — the first wave of species that comes in are "weed species." These are plants whose job it is to quickly come in and cover the land. Their roots don't go deep, they simply cover the ground to soften the soil and put nutrients into the ground. These species easily give way to the heartier shrubs and berries that follow them. These second phase plants stay a while. They "facilitate" healing by shading tender seedlings and buttressing them against the wind. They add their own nutrients to the soil. Then the next phase of plants comes in, providing yet more shelter and sharing of nutrients, until the land and plant life thrives once again. It's a progression of making way, providing protection, and creating more fertility in the soil for the next phase of plants to come.

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Rev. Jessica Tate serves as a consultant to the Presbyterian Foundation and serves as Associate Pastor to The Georgetown Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. Jessica was the founding Director of NEXT Church where she helped shape the energy of NEXT Church into a relational community of Presbyterian leaders who are discerning how to be the faithful church in the 21st century. Prior to serving NEXT Church, Jessica was Associate Pastor of Fairfax Presbyterian Church in Northern Virginia. Upon graduation from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Jessica served as a Young Adult Intern for the PC(USA) at the denomination’s Washington Office. From there she went on to seminary at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, where she received a Masters of Divinity and a Masters of Arts in Christian Education.

Featured Resources

Joyful Generosity First Presbyterian Church in Garland, Texas, found themselves in the midst of a challenge: they had a big financial need, and weren’t sure what to do. The church staff and members worked together and raised the money they needed – and changed their culture around money – with help from the Presbyterian Foundation. Stewardship Navigator The Stewardship Navigator offers resources and assistance for planning a stewardship campaign, free-of-charge. Access a stewardship calendar full of ideas, a narrative budget template and a legacy giving module. Get started today at the link below.

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Mission Yearbook: Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary invites people to ‘Exhale’

The Rev. Dr. Deb Mullen

On Jan. 20, a day that doubled as Inauguration Day and the day honoring the transformative work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary (JCSTS) gave those gathered via Zoom for an event called “Exhale” an opportunity to voice their hopes and their fears and to be reminded they’re not alone.

“What we know and believe at JCSTS is tonight is an opportunity for connection,” said Cheryl Scales, the seminary’s strategist and marketing coordinator. “For me, the word for today is ‘persevere,’ because I must.”

The 30 or so attendees broke into small groups to discuss:

• What is your armor in this season?
• What tools are you using?
• What tools are you missing? What tools are needed for such a time as this?

One participant said she’s using joy and faith as armor, and the tool she’s seeking is hope. “The first time around, I showed up at every protest there was with my full self,” this participant said. “I don’t know if I have it in me again.”

“I’m leaning on God’s peace. Even though we may not see it, God is working,” said another. “It gives me hope to know I am not by myself.” For this participant, the most important question is, “What is God trying to show us through this? You cannot overcome love. When I communicate in love, the devil doesn’t know what to do.”

A third says she puts on “the armor of curiosity” and “tries to take off judgment.”

“I think I need to grow more courage,” this participant said. “Those of us who are not necessarily activists but are active need to not assume someone else is doing it.”

The Rev. Dr. Deb Mullen, principal program associate at JCSTS, said we can indeed “do two things at the same time.” A pause such as the one offered by the Exhale gathering “is opening space to be able to take in the fullness of what the Spirit is calling for, then figure out the way the Spirit is leading,” Mullen said.

The Rev. Paul Roberts

“I’m scared of not knowing what to do, and I’m scared of being scared,” one participant said, adding she’s seeking to build trust this year, “that I really am held in the hands of God and who I am is already enough,” she said. We can present an offering “just by showing up and influencing those I am closest to.”

Mullen thanked her for naming her fear in the face of political upheaval. “It is not wise not to pay attention to that,” Mullen said. “We have been so conditioned in our privileged society that we believe all we need is ourselves, our thoughts and our resources.”

When the entire group reformed, JCSTS’s president, the Rev. Paul Roberts, said he’s grateful for “your energy, your vulnerability, your deep passion in the pursuit of justice and your understanding of the intersectionality of faith and justice.”

He read aloud Jeremiah 29:1–4, the prophet’s challenging letter to the exiles in Babylon. “It’s an amazing, troubling passage,” Roberts said. “Somewhere in there I hear an implication to go with the flow, to get on board, and I find that really disturbing. At the same time, I resonate with what it must have felt like for those Israelites to be in exile. I have felt like an exile in the country of my own residence, and many of you do, too.”

The ”word from the Lord all those years ago was to plant gardens, build houses, and grow and eat the food that you grow,” Roberts said. “‘Seek the welfare of the city’ suggests to me that it’s really important, even in these complex times, to engage, to be in community, to live as abundantly as we can, because when we seek human flourishing, we all flourish.”

“That is not to say we should not resist,” Roberts said. “It is to say that in seeking the flourishing of the city, the search, the passion, the commitment to flourishing is, in its own way, an act of resistance.”

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service, Interim Unified Agency (Click here to read original PNS story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Hannah Green, Assistant Trust Officer, Presbyterian Foundation 
• Ken Green, Church Consultant, Chicago, IL, Board of Pensions  

Let us pray:

God of all, it is our greatest joy to give you thanks and praise. Open our hearts to the movement of your Spirit through all the landscapes of our lives. Guide us to be your hands and feet as we faithfully serve in a world of need. Amen.

Lenten Earth Care Devotional and Upcoming Webinars

2025 Earth Care Lenten Devotional   Our 2025 Lenten Devotional was made possible by the volunteers contributing their devotions as well as Spanish language collaboration with our partner organization Red Presbiteriana para el Cuidado de la Creación. CLICK HERE to download the English language version of the Lenten Devotional CLICK HERE to download the Lenten Devotional in Spanish Would you like to receive each devotion on its designated date in your email Inbox?  If so, you can request devotional emails through Lent by signing up with your email CLICK HERE. NEW WEBINAR Neonicotinoids: The Pesticides Threatening Bees, Birds, & Our Health Join us for our next webinar and learn more about the effects of pesticides on pollinators! Webinar Date: Tuesday, March 25, 2025 Time: 7:30 pm EDT (6:30 CDT, 5:30 MDT, 4:30 PDT) Presenter: Daniel Raichel, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) Our presenter will explain the science behind the threats posed by neonicotinoid pesticides, aka “neonics,” to pollinators, biodiversity, and our own health as well as neonics’ surprising prevalence in our environment.  The popular pesticides contaminate soil, water, and plant life on a nearly unprecedented scale, driving mass losses of birds and bees, and raising alarm bells for a whole host of wildlife, clean water, and human health.  The presentation will conclude with a discussion of what we can all do to protect and promote pollinators in our environment. Speaker Bio: Daniel Raichel, Director, Pollinators & Pesticides, Nature Program, focuses on protecting our nation’s bee populations from the ever-growing threats to their health and existence—in particular, the use of bee-toxic pesticides. Before joining the Nature Program, Raichel was co-director of NRDC’s Community Fracking Defense Project and an advocate for the cleanup of industrial pollution in the New York region. Raichel holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Cornell University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER Online Bible Study What do you see Moses and Jesus saying about generosity toward the poor, and how are we generous to the poor today? Do you know people or corporations/businesses that have been affected or displaced because of climate change disasters such as rising sea levels, fires, floods? What climate actions can you and your congregation take, and do you see yourself advocating on behalf of creation care to your legislators? We will explore these questions and more in our upcoming study of a lesson on Economic Climate Justice. You are invited to join Presbyterians for Earth Care on Sunday, March 23rd for an online study of: Let Justice Roll Down: God’s Call to Care for Neighbors and All Creation by Patricia K. Tull Suggestions for Leaders by Rebecca Barnes Please join PEC for this unique monthly opportunity for community and meaningful study.   Time: 7:00 pm Eastern/ 6:00 pm Central/ 5:00 pm Mountain/ 4:00 pm Pacific. The study will run for 75 minutes. Study Leaders: Rev. M. Courtenay Willcox and Rev. Lucy Youngblood The study guide is helpful, but not necessary to participate. Each lesson is stand alone - join us online for any or all of our study sessions! We hope to see you there! CLICK HERE FOR INFO & ZOOM LINK Webinar Recording Now Available Climate Change, Water Wars, and Other Scary Stuff: A Webinar on Militarism and Climate Change CLICK HERE for Recording & Resources Save the Date! Registration opens in May Presbyterians for Earth Care Biennial Earth Care Conference “Sacred Creation: Justice Flows Down Like Water” October 8-11, 2025 Ferncliff Camp & Conference Center How can we help you care for God’s creation?  Drop us an email and let us know at presbyearthcare@gmail.com Help us grow! Please let us know if there is anyone we should add to our list!  Just reply to this email.  Thank you! Please help us to continue to assist individuals and churches in creation care work by donating to PEC through our website by CLICKING HERE.  Thank you!

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