Mission Yearbook: 'Connection to Transformation'

The subhead for the Synod of the Northeast’s “Connection to Transformation” conference was “Creating a Partnership Culture in Faith Communities.” That’s exactly what happened throughout the two-day conference, held at First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, which began its ministry in Queens, New York, in 1662, and is the oldest continuously serving Presbyterian church in the nation.

The Rev. Dr. SanDawna Gaulman Ashley

“This work is urgent, powerful and transformative,” said the Rev. Dr. SanDawna Gaulman Ashley, the synod’s transitional executive. “We hear enough bad news. Let’s hear about what God can do” with willing vessels such as the 90 people who registered for the conference. Almost all were in attendance on both days.

The first speaker on the first day was the Rev. Dr. Samuel Cruz, Associate Professor of Religion and Society and director of the DMin program at Union Theological Seminary in New York. He also serves as senior pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Brooklyn. “I’m on sabbatical, but I felt called to answer SanDawna’s email,” he said. “I’ve decided that in the conditions we’re living under, we need to use our bodies and ourselves as public ministry.”

“We’re all doing public ministry and theology,” he said, “whether we acknowledge it or not.”

While attending middle school, Cruz used to walk right by the church he’s currently serving to get home every afternoon. “It’s an imposing building. The churches on Fourth Avenue make public statements in the community,” he said. “I don’t remember [noticing] the church. The church is looked at a little differently now. Now the building is used — a lot, because the community doesn’t have a lot of spaces.”

He contrasted his memory with churches in small communities in Latin America and the Caribbean, where a midtown plaza often contains the church and the mayor’s office. “That’s the public ministry being espoused without saying anything,” Cruz said. “Government and the church have always worked together, but on the side.”

The Rev. Dr. Samuel Cruz

“From my perspective, nothing is neutral,” he said. Cozying up to people in power is the opposite of being prophetic. “We may have a food pantry, but I want to know why we have a food pantry. That’s where ministry becomes public ministry.”

To dig into in public ministry, we must engage in what theologian Gustavo Gutiérrez said is “critical reflection on praxis.” But often what we end up with, Cruz said, is “a theology that offers forgiveness and redemption to the powerful.”

During a question-and-answer session that followed his talk, Cruz was asked how to be dedicated to public ministry without getting burned out. “Being engaged with activists, I see the burnout because people don’t know how to have fun,” he said.

And don’t hesitate to fight for what people need.

“Why should we be shy about people wanting to have a home or health care? Just say what the gospel is,” he recommended. “Public ministry is the gospel.”

We do public ministry “because it’s the moral thing to do,” he said. A member of the host church told Cruz, “We don’t stay in the pews. We are the church out there.”

The “apparatus of oppression is so sophisticated,” Cruz lamented. “We say, ‘We are standing on Lenape land.’ Do something real” to repair harm, he said, “not symbolic.”

He was asked: What are the best ways to include youth in our churches?

“It’s always been a challenge for the church,” Cruz said. “There’s been growth in my church,” because “they’re looking for spirituality and commitment. When I forget to pray for the Palestinians, they text me and I hear it — during worship!”

“Prayers are public statements that people are making, he said. The youth “constantly remind us that homelessness is a problem. Young people need to feel like we’re addressing real problems.”

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Michelle Muniz, Mission Associate, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Interim Unified Agency
• Margaret Mwale, Associate, Self-Development of People, Interim Unified Agency  

Let us pray:

Creator God, thank you for loving and caring Christian disciples who help us to know and love you. Show us how to teach and nurture others through the grace of Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Ways to build up the church and be responsive

Delegates Ada Ritchie, 19, and Betty Jones, 96, chat during an intergenerational
conversation at the Church of the Covenant in New York during the 69th session
of the Commission on the Status of Women. (Photo by Kristen Gaydos)

An event at the Church of the Covenant brought people from around the country together for an intergenerational conversation and sparked several ideas for improving the greater church.

The event, consisting largely of small group discussion, was part of the itinerary for a Presbyterian-led joint delegation in town for the 69th session of the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women.

The Presbyterian Ministry at the U.N. and Presbyterian Women recruited nearly 70 delegates, ranging from their teens to their 90s, and have been walking alongside them during CSW69, a global event focusing on gender equality and women’s rights.

“Faith, Gender, and Advocacy: An Intergenerational Conversation” was planned by young participants from the Presbyterian delegation as a CSW-adjacent event.

“We hope to show the wider church community that the church is still alive, active, involved and youthful, regardless of individual age!” Clare Balsan, advocacy associate for PMUN, said before the event.

The delegates’ voices filled the fellowship hall as they sat at tables and discussed things like how the church has evolved, what the church should be putting its energy into and what young people need most from the church.

After the small-group chats, participants came back together to report on what they had heard. Some of the suggestions for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) included:

• Be more vocal about its stances on social justice, including being loving and accepting.
• Put more resources into education and travel experiences for young people to participate in the worldwide church.
• Encourage young people to take leadership roles and to express their opinions.
• Update the image of Presbyterian Women to attract younger people and show that the organization’s scope includes advocacy.
• Address budgets and more resources for young people and women specifically.
• Be more open to people from different parts of society; don’t critique what people are wearing.
• Make sure there is diversity in the leadership ranks; see that marginalized people and people from other countries can be empowered to lead the church in a different direction.

Margaret Ruthven, 24, speaks during the intergenerational conversation.
(Photo by Kristen Gaydos)

Participants also discussed realities, such as fewer families attending church together, and areas where the church is doing well, such as being more environmentally conscious and embracing the LGBTQIA+ community.

Although much of the report-outs focused on the church, participants reflecting on the event talked more about the interactions with each other.

“It was a wonderful discussion,” the oldest delegate, Betty Jones, 96, said after chatting with 19-year-old delegate Ada Ritchie.

Over the years, Jones has strived to be a mentor and supporter to less experienced delegates. After meeting Ritchie at an earlier event, “I made a point to make sure that she's involved, that she has her place at the table,” Jones said.

Delegate Kennedy Perry, a recent graduate of Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina, said the intergenerational conversation caused her think about cherished relatives from her own family and the challenges they’ve experienced in society and how she’s been able to excel in education.

Kennedy Perry, 22, reports on her group’s discussion at the intergenerational
conversation. Photo by Kristen Gaydos)

“I think about generationally as a whole, for myself, the importance of having those conversations,” she said.

In a post-event interview, Perry also spoke of the importance of being an influence, noting that the church is the people, and mentioned that faith and the church have been involved in many social issues and movements.

Delegate Margaret Ruthven, a student at Princeton Theological Seminary, said she found the overall conversation to be “extremely valuable,” noting that “we had a wealth of knowledge at our table from multiple generations.”

The conversation also reminded her of this lesson: “Something that I've noticed in my church and that I felt was appreciated here in this conversation was that honoring and appreciating the wisdom of those who come before us while also including … younger adults and hearing both sides … it’s really important.”

During the interaction, Ruthven, who’s under the care of the Presbytery of Tampa Bay, heard about some young adult programs that she’d love to see brought back.

“I was like, ‘Wow, I didn't even know those existed,’” she said. This event was a great opportunity to learn “that I don't have to reinvent the wheel. I can just add to it or make it a little bit better.”

Darla Carter, Communications Strategist, Interim Unified Agency (Click here to read original PNS Story)

 Let us join in prayer for:

• Jacquelyn Muir, Manager, Client & Admin Services, Presbyterian Foundation  
• Julie Mullins, Acquisitions Editor, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation  

Let us pray:

Lord of illumination, use us to reflect your light, so that your radiant grace may be shared with the world, and all people may be blessed with your life-giving love, through Jesus Christ, the Light of the world. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: 'Blessed are those who make excuses.'

While some preachers may be uncomfortable preaching about wealth, Dr. Raj Nadella offered up tools and encouragement during a recent webinar offered by the Synod of the Covenant.

Nadella, the Samuel A. Cartledge Associate Professor of New Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary, delivered an 86-minute webinar he called “Preaching in the Face of Scandalous Wealth.” The Rev. Dr. Chip Hardwick, the synod’s executive, introduced Nadella. Watch the webinar here.

Photo by Tim Wildsmith via Unsplash

Nadella, who’s working on a book on the Bible and wealth, chose Luke’s gospel for its insights in economic justice. “Spoiler alert,” he cautioned. “It’s a complex picture.”

Luke is famous for its motif of reversals, starting with Mary’s Magnificat, Nadella said. Luke’s version of the Beatitudes announces similar motifs of reversal. How, he wondered, do these motifs play out in the rest of the gospel?

Nadella looked at four accounts in Luke’s gospel: The Feeding Story, The Great Banquet, The Story of Zacchaeus and Lazarus and the Rich Man.

The Feeding Story “occurs in the context of extreme economic disparities,” Nadella said. While the disciples’ attitude is “get these people out of here,” Jesus’ response is, “You give them something to eat,” and the verb in Greek is related to “donate.” The disciples highlight personal responsibility, while Jesus’ answer is “an ethic of compassion.” It’s “a mindset of scarcity vs. a vision of abundance,” he said.

Dr. Raj Nadella

Nadella asked: What is the miracle in this story? Look at the verbs in verse 16, he said: taking, looked, blessed, broke, gave. “I don’t hear the word ‘multiplied’ here,” he said. “Jesus apparently didn’t multiply the food. How did he feed people?” One participant suggested that as people began to share with others, “they were moved by generosity.”

“God’s abundance means sufficiency for all,” another said. “But so many of us live in the scarcity mindset. It seems to me the miracle is recognizing just what is enough.”

“You read my mind,” Nadella said. At the time, most people’s inclination was to hold onto whatever food they had, “because you never knew where your next meal was coming from.” Here, “someone shared what they had, and others were likely similarly inspired to share what they had.”

If Jesus were to grant Nadella one miracle, he’d ask “to convince the super-rich that it’s OK for them to part with some of the wealth that they actually have. It would be the biggest miracle we would witness in the 21st century.”

Dr. Raj NadellaNadella suggested reading The Great Banquet story “in the narrative context.” Just before the parable, Jesus offers instructions on how to host a banquet and whom to invite. In the parable that follows, the host “is forced to open the banquet to those at the margins. What I take from this parable is, in context of Luke’s gospel, banquets are often metaphors for social and economic structures. … What I take from this parable is if I am a person with some privilege and I am invited to an exclusive banquet, I should by all means make excuses and not attend that banquet.”

“Those of us with some privilege are invited to leverage our privilege to ensure some of the exclusive economic structures we witness in our context are disrupted, opened up, so others at the margins can participate.”

Nadella preached on the parable recently and called his sermon, “Blessed are those who make excuses.”

The Zacchaeus story features “one of many tax collectors in Luke that Jesus associates with, but this is an encounter unlike the rest,” Nadella said. The crowd holds Zacchaeus accountable, and he responds by promising to give away half his wealth and pay back fourfold what he’s taken fraudulently. There’s a Christological aspect — Zaccheus can’t be in right relationship with Jesus until he is also in right relationship with the people — and a soteriological theme in that people are saved not when Jesus dies on the cross, but “when they repent and treat their neighbors justly,” Nadella said. “Salvation is about how people relate to other people. This is very important in Luke’s gospel, the idea that people experience salvation when they relate to their neighbors justly.”

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Gad Mpoyo, Associate, Southeast Region, 1001 New Worshiping Communities, Interim Unified Agency 
• Ronnika Muhammad, Payroll Specialist, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)  

Let us pray:

God of grace and hope, we thank you for life, love and good memories. With you, there is fullness of joy. Give us the courage and faith to accept life as it comes, confident that the future is yours. Remind us that we are your children now and forever. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Presbyterian Hunger Program Hosts Centering Partners’ Voices

“When we talk about energy transition, it is more something for northern countries, for the United States and for Europe. How can we talk about any energy transition in countries where you don't even have power?” With his sharp critique and probing question, Jean Claude Mputu of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) framed the Centering Partners’ Voices online conversation hosted by the Global Solidarity Collective of the Presbyterian Hunger Program. 

The impacts of lithium mining on rural and Indigenous populations was the
subject of a webinar put on by the Presbyterian Hunger Program's Global
Solidarity Collective. (Contributed photo)

Bringing together partners from across the global south and Presbyterians from throughout the United States, the Global Solidarity Collective creates space for hearing perspectives and testimonies of global partners in order to help generate understanding and solidarity among all participants.

The theme of the Centering Partners’ Voices held in late January focused on the impacts to rural and Indigenous communities from the rapidly growing demand for lithium and cobalt needed for the so-called energy transition. The energy transition refers to the phasing out of fossil fuels in exchange for renewable energies like solar and wind and replacing technologies like combustible engines with electric vehicles in order to abate the climate crisis. Necessary for such technologies are critical and rare earth minerals such as lithium and cobalt.

Invited to share their testimonies about the impacts of the growing wave of mining projects that seek to exploit this increased demand were Jean Claude Mputu and Dirk Shaka, representing the “Congo is Not For Sale” coalition that works to fight corruption in the government and extractive industry in the DRC, and Francisca Beatriz Perea, leader of the “Fiambala Despierta” popular assembly that rose up in 2016 in defense of water and land against threats from lithium mining in her native Catamarca region of Argentina.

Together, Mputu and Shaka gave an overview of mining across the DRC, noting that the DRC is the world leader in the production of cobalt. While much mining in the eastern part of the country is artisanal in nature, large foreign mining companies from China, Europe and the United States dominate the industry at large. Extreme poverty and an absence of state accountability shape a social context that continues to suffer the legacies of colonialism. The massive open pit mining projects leave environmental catastrophes that destroy ecosystems and leave populations poisoned. As Shaka indicated, the Congolese have been deemed to be the collateral damage in a geopolitical struggle for resource extraction, largely being fought between China and the United States.

Similar impacts were reported in both Argentina and the Democratic
Republic of Congo. (Contributed photo)

From across the globe in Argentina, Perea offered parallel questions and testimony as she spoke about the lithium mining in her community of Catamarca, Argentina. “We ask ourselves, is the energy transition just and sustainable? No, not for our people who lack so many services and whose water is consumed by the mining project.” 

The lithium mining project that Perea references is the Tres Quebradas project that began in 2016 without notification nor adequate information for the community. Initially the project was operated by the Canadian company Neolitium. Perea said, “They told us that the project would bring progress to our region and plenty of employment, and so initially the project was welcomed by the people. But when the project began we noticed that the exploitation and extraction began in the high wetlands that are of great importance to our ecosystems.” 

The region of Catamarca is considered semi-desert, and hard rock lithium excavation consumes millions of liters of water. As Perea continued to describe the impacts on the ecosystems she also noted that the promised work never came. In fact, opportunities for employment became even less over time when the operations were transferred to a Chinese company. To this day, despite the continued operations of the mining project, there is still a lack of basic services such as health, education and electricity for the larger population.

You can watch the recording of the full conversation here 

Rev. Jed Koball, Global Ecumenical Liaison, Global Ecumenical Partnerships, Interim Unified Agency (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Joseph Moore, Ministry Relations Officer, Presbyterian Foundation
• Roberto Morales, Research Analyst, Research Services, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)  

Let us pray:

Holy God, strengthen us through all adversity to be the light of Christ for the world. Nourish us that we may nourish others with your Word. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Afro-Peruvian justice wins national award

On March 6, Narda Mendoza was recognized by the government of Peru for her anti-racism and gender equality work. Mendoza works with Centro de Desarrollo de la Mujer Negra Peruana (the Center for the Development of Black Peruvian Women or CEDEMUNEP), a member organization of the Peru Joining Hands Network and a partner organization of the Presbyterian Hunger Program and several churches of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Dina Boluarte (right), the president of Peru, poses with Narda Mendoza at the
ceremony for Peru’s Order of Merit for Women. (Contributed photo)

Mendoza said that receiving the 2025 Order of Merit for Women filled her with pride and gratitude. “As an Afro-Peruvian woman, this recognition is a testament to the tireless work we have been doing for years, promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women, but particularly of Afro-Peruvian women,” said Mendoza. “This award not only makes my work visible but also motivates me to continue working tirelessly to make a positive difference in the lives of Afro-Peruvian women, girls and adolescents.”

“This decoration of the Order of Merit for Women is the highest recognition that the Peruvian state grants to women who stand out for defending and promoting equal opportunities in the country,” Mendoza told the Rev. Jed Koball, a Peru-based mission co-worker of the Interim Unified Agency of the PC(USA). “I feel honored to be part of this community of women who work tirelessly for a more equal and fair future.”

In its 22nd year, the Order of Merit for Women was given to 13 recipients this year. Mendoza was the only one working on behalf of Afro-Peruvian women. Mendoza’s work at the intersection of race and gender and the work of her organization in the understanding of the history and status of Afro-Peruvians have also made her an important partner for the Center for the Repair of Historic Harms in the Interim Unified Agency of the PC(USA).

The Rev. Jermaine Ross-Allam, second from right, sits with other presenters at
the Regional Dialogue of Afro-descendant Women to Promote Our Empowerment
and Achieve Ethnic-Social Justice in August 2024 to talk and forge partnerships
with Afro-Peruvians engaged in work for reparations. (Contributed photo)

In August 2024, the Rev. Jermaine Ross-Allam, director of the Center for the Repair of Historic Harms, traveled to Peru and presented at the Regional Dialogue of Afro-descendant Women to Promote Our Empowerment and Achieve Ethnic-Social Justice to speak about the history of reparations for the historical harm of slavery in the United States and his proposal for an international solidarity network of the pan-African diaspora, known as AIRRE or the Alliance for International Repair and Reparations Ecumenical.

Ross-Allam met with Mendoza; her colleague, Cecilia Ramírez, director of CEDEMUNEP; and Oswaldo Bilbao Lobaton, director of the Centro de Desarrollo Étnico, to learn how best to support the education and reparations efforts of Afro-Peruvians in naming the historic harms particular to their context and the best process for repair. One outcome of this meeting was the sponsorship of the forthcoming book “Reparaciones y Pueblo Afroperuano — Desarrallando Linea de Base para La Accíon” (“Reparations and Afro-Peruvian People — Developing a Baseline for Action”), for which Ross-Allam wrote the introduction.

“One of the original sociopolitical and ecclesial crimes that Peru shares with the United States,” Ross-Allam writes in the book’s introduction, is that of “conceiving and corrupting a nation born of the union of anti-Blackness and racial capitalism.”

“Reparaciones y Pueblo Afroperuano, therefore, returns to the scene of the original crime and exposes the lines of thought and paths of action that consistently produce unnecessary death, disease, poverty, obstruction, marginalization, and disillusionment for Afro-Peruvian women, men, and children,” Ross-Allam writes.

As director of CEDEMUNEP, Ramírez appreciates the partnership her organization has with the Presbyterian Hunger Program and the Center for the Repair of Historic Harms for the ways that strategic and collaborative alliances allow her and Mendoza to position “our voices, our demands and our contributions as Peruvian people” and as “Afro-Peruvian women empowering ourselves.”

“Our current situations have deep roots and are consequences of colonization and enslavement,” said Ramírez. “These very cruel and painful historical processes have left a very deep mark that continues to this day, and that is evident in the perpetuation of structural and systemic racism and ethnic and racial discrimination.”

“Working in partnership allows us to have the opportunity to unlearn and learn together here we can advance in giving answers not only with respect to the importance of historical reparations but also why, for what, for whom, with whom and how,” Ramírez said.

Beth Waltemath, Communications Strategist, Interim Unified Agency (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Sandra Moon, Ministry Relations Officer, Presbyterian Foundation
• Phillip Morgan, Associate, Music, Theology, Formation & Evangelism, Interim Unified Agency 

Let us pray:

Loving God, multiply your gifts within us so that we may share of the bounty of your grace with everyone we encounter today. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: "Appreciate These Things" helps readers reorient their minds toward goodness

In a world tense with anger and division, how can we preserve our sense of well-being and inject a little more kindness into our daily interactions?

Pastor Jill J. Duffield finds an answer in the apostle Paul’s guidance in Philippians 4:8: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Thinking about, looking for, appreciating these eight things can reorient our hearts and minds in ways that nurture compassion for ourselves, those in need, and those with whom we are inclined to disagree. Duffield leads the way with stories and insights that will transform your outlook on the world — and maybe even the world itself.

With eight chapters of five reflections each, “Appreciate These Things” can serve as a daily devotional, an eight-week group study, or an accessible, inspirational individual read.

Access free digital resources, which include a sermon series guide, group study videos and a Spotify playlist from the author, and images that enrich worship or group study, here.

“Appreciate These Things” is available from Westminster John Knox Press here.

Westminster John Knox Press, Special to Presbyterian News Service (Click here to read original PNS Story)

 Let us join in prayer for:

• Lee Mitchum, Operations Administrator, Presbyterian Foundation
• Hazel Montalvo, Housekeeper, Stony Point Center, Interim Unified Agency  

Let us pray:

Gracious God, in these times of shrinking resources and overwhelming need, grant us faith to see not only the need but your abundance, to see the faces of your people and not just statistics. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Ministry Matters - Ancient prayers & modern leadership: Timeless keys to church renewal

Three essential entrepreneurial skills for church leaders In an era where traditional approaches to ministry are yielding diminishing returns, effective church leaders are embracing entrepreneurial thinking like never before. This eye-opening article reveals the three game-changing skills that separate thriving ministries from struggling ones in today's rapidly shifting landscape. Whether you're leading a century-old congregation or a fresh expression of church, these transferable competencies from the business world might be the missing ingredients your ministry needs. Discover how reframing your leadership approach could unlock new pathways for growth and impact—without compromising your spiritual foundations. READ NOW England's prayer revolution and its modern legacy A powerful prayer movement that transformed English churches centuries ago is finding surprising new relevance in today's ministry landscape. This compelling article explores how these ancient spiritual disciplines are being reimagined by contemporary communities across denominational lines. Discover what forgotten prayer practices might hold the key to authentic renewal in our digitally-saturated, spiritually-hungry world. READ NOW Could a forgotten prayer practice be the key to your church's spiritual renewal? We're excited to launch our new weekly resource, "Preaching the Four Pages," designed specifically for busy pastors seeking practical, theologically-rich sermon preparation guidance. Based on Paul Scott Wilson's influential Four Pages of the Sermon methodology, each installment provides a complete framework for developing gospel-centered sermons that move intentionally from trouble to grace. Rather than overwhelming you with exhaustive exegesis, these concise guides identify the essential elements you need: a clear theme sentence with God as subject, four guiding sentences that structure your sermon's movement, and practical suggestions for images, doctrinal connections, and proclamation. Whether you're new to the Four Pages approach or a seasoned practitioner, these resources will help you craft sermons that consistently proclaim what God is doing rather than merely what humans should do. Four Pages for the Sixth Sunday of Easter Get the help you need to craft a strong, vibrant sermon that brings good news this week! READ NOW What you need for preaching this week The pieces you need for worship this week How to help kids worship this Sunday Creativity and innovation in your ministry begin with asking the right questions. BUY NOW Incisive responses to society’s most pressing biblical questions. BUY NOW Unlock Wesleyan insights today BUY NOW

Mission Yearbook: Cornerstones of God’s kin-dom

Continuing the theme of “reconciliation” on “Leading Theologically,” the show’s host, the Rev. Bill Davis of the Presbyterian Foundation, invited the Rev. Dr. Laurie Lyter Bright, the executive director of Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, to talk about the multifaceted work of the 80-year-old organization. Their 29-minute conversation is here.

The Rev. Dr. Laurie Lyter Bright

“What does PPF do? There are hundreds of answers to that because expressions of peacemaking have been different throughout the decades,” Lyter Bright told Davis. “The throughline is this commitment to nonviolence.”

The bulk of the work is around gun violence prevention, prison abolition, Israel-Palestine, accompaniment and the Peace Church, which she said is a “group that helps congregations reflect deeply about what it means to be nonviolent.”

Of late, Lyter Bright said she’s become “obsessed with understanding conscientious objectors.” She started by hanging out with conscientious objectors from recent wars, “asking questions and being a nerd about it, which is what I do when I’m curious.”

“I now have a much deeper appreciation for what conscientious objection is. It’s an act of resistance much like nonviolence is. It’s about living with this deep personal alignment: ‘This is what I say I believe, and this is how I’m enacting it.’”

There’s “a growing movement of folks who want to create the necessary paper trail to declare themselves conscientious objectors if and when a draft should return to this country,” she said.

“There’s all kinds of research on the moral injury that occurs for folks who enact violence, even when it’s violence they’ve been told, ‘This must happen. This is the only way to stop evil in the world, the only way to resist damaging forces that are harming lots of people.’”

She called conscientious objection “that moment of self-reconciliation with, ‘I believe in a nonviolent Jesus who told me very clearly to love my neighbors and in a God who very clearly commanded not to kill.’”

“How could I possibly ask someone else to go do that for me?”

The Rev. Bill Davis

Nonviolence is a resistance strategy, she said, comparing what’s required to the organizing work of the civil rights movement, which she called “creative and hard, with the amount of time those leaders spent on training people to find inner calm when violence is being threatened and enacted on their bodies.”

“This was not a fight for justice” that’s out there somewhere, Lyter Bright said. “This was right in the heart, and I take that lesson with profound humility. Most of the peace and justice work that I’m involved in doesn’t come quite so close to my own life, at least not yet.”

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “articulated over and over again that this is a reconciliation — the world as it is, and the world as God intends it to be.”

“Do I see our fates as intertwined, or am I here to help [people] out, which is lovely — go help people, that’s great,” she said. “But if you truly believe your liberation is tied and we belong to each other in those ways … then it changes how you move through the world.”

PPF does accompaniment work alongside the Presbyterian Church of Colombia when it’s asked to. The relationship is more than 20 years old. Some people “go back year after year on their own dime and embed in the communities there” to help secure the safety of the peacemakers they’re with. “I think it is both an opportunity for PPF to go and support and hopefully offer some measure of protection for peacemakers there,” she said, “and it’s a huge opportunity to learn how much better this can be done than it frequently is.”

The Rev. Bill Davis is senior director of Theological Education Funds Development. Learn more about the Presbyterian Foundation’s Theological Education Fund here.

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Rosa Miranda, Associate, Hispanic/Latino-a Intercultural Congregational Support, Interim Unified Agency
• Carrie Mitchell, Church Consultant, Princeton, NJ, Board of Pensions  

Let us pray:

Father God, may our lives always reflect you, and may we also see that reflection in others. Help us see past self-imposed barriers to what you have for us in the friendships of those around us. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Concert to support musicians impacted by the Eaton fire

One month and one day after the Eaton fire, Tyler Chester, a Grammy-nominated producer and musician who runs Bell Choir Studios out of Glendale Presbyterian Church, determined that more than 20 musicians he knew could offer up a benefit performance to support their fellow musicians impacted by the Eaton Fire.

Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham performed at Glendale Presbyterian Church
for the I Love LA Eaton Fire Relief Concert. (Photo by Lindsey Best) 

The Rev. Steve Wiebe, the pastor of Glendale Presbyterian Church, and the Rev. Dr. Juan Sarmiento, executive presbyter of the Presbytery of San Fernando, loved the idea, but wondered how many of the 900 tickets available — which would completely fill the church’s sanctuary — could be sold at $100 each.

As it turned out, the tickets were gone in less than 24 hours.

“This guy is a star,” Wiebe said of Chester. “He has worked with so many people [musicians who played for the “I Love LA Eaton Fire Relief” included Andrew Bird and Bright Eyes]. Part of our vision was to raise money and continue to create the idea that church is more than just Sunday.”

“It was a holy night,” Wiebe said. “It was packed, and the music was awesome.” Best of all, the concert — aided by up to 50 church volunteers and a grant from the presbytery — raised $92,000. With help from the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, grants up to $3,500 are going to musicians whose home or studio space was either destroyed by the fire or is currently inhabitable.

“It was something unusual for a presbytery to do. I have enjoyed connecting with people I don’t know,” said Sarmiento, who works out of the presbytery office in Glendale Presbyterian Church.

People were “a little shocked” that a church would host such a concert, Chester said, “but not so shocked they didn’t attend.” Among other, Chester credited Sid the Cat, the production company behind the successful benefit.

Tyler Chester (center, gesturing) has developed Bell Choir Studios in the basement
of Glendale Presbyterian Church with the encouragement of Rev. Steve Wiebe
(right), pastor of Glendale Presbyterian Church. (Photo by Rich Copley)

Chester joined Wiebe and Sarmiento to show a Presbyterian Disaster Assistance solidarity visit delegation around Bell Choir Studios and adjacent space used by the church’s music ministry. Ashley Myers, worship director and young adult director at the church, had the vision and the talent to redecorate space. In all, the church disposed of 10 Dumpsters of unwanted material it had been storing to create the space, Wiebe said. “It was dead church space,” he said.

Under some of the old materials were century-old stained-glass windows, which were hung to help decorate the space. “Sometimes you have to clean out your stuff to find new ways,” Wiebe said. “It’s fun when artists come in and take pictures of your space. If you want to do that, you’re not too angry at the church.”

The first half of the gathering was given to discussing ways to construct affordable housing in the area. Sarmiento noted the presbytery is set to celebrate its 170th year of ministry in Los Angeles, which was in 1854 was home to about 5,000 residents, a mix of Mexican Californios, Anglo-American settlers, Indigenous people and Chinese immigrants.

“Today, our legacy is embodied in vibrant congregations that reflect the city’s multicultural nature, as well as theological institutions that have equipped generations of church leaders,” Sarmiento said. “As we celebrate 170 years of Presbyterian presence in Los Angeles, we honor the faithful witness of those who came before us and the ongoing commitment to sharing Christ’s message in word and deed.”

Sarmiento invited Dr. Jill Shook, executive director of Making Housing and Community Happen and the author of “Making Housing Happen: Faith-Based Affordable Housing Models,” and the Rev. John Oh, project manager for Faith and Housing at LA Voice, to meet with the delegation.

“My intent,” Sarmiento said, “is to begin conversations about possible long-term response to the fire through a reality that’s very pressing in this area, and that’s the affordability of housing. Are there ways we can address that new reality?”

Oh explained that Senate Bill 9, also known as the California H.O.M.E. Act, allows homeowners to split their lots and build up two homes on each parcel. Oh said that a homeowner can place a prefabricated home on one lot and an investor can build a home on the second lot with the hope of recouping the original investment.

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Martha Miller, Manager, Ministry Education & Support, Interim Unified Agency  
• Victor Min, Senior Translator, Global Language Resources, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)  

Let us pray:

Gracious Lord, thank you for your persistent calling in our lives. Tune our ears to hear your voice, as you beckon us out of the comfortable spaces and into the wilderness. Bless us always with partners for the journey. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: 'We’re still in the wilderness'

The Rev. Matt Hardin and the Rev. Dr. Grace Park, who serve Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church, the only PC(USA) church destroyed by the January wildfires, recently led members of the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance solidarity visit during a sacred time to mourn their beautiful church, a complete loss in the Palisades fire.

Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church was the only PC(USA) church
lost in the Jan. 7 fires. (Photo by Rich Copley)

“We’re still in the wilderness,” Hardin said, standing alongside the charred remains. “Every time I come here, I realize how long it’s going to take.”

“It’s like visiting a gravesite,” Park said. “It’s painful and healing at the same time.”

Fifty-five church families lost their homes in the blaze. Church leaders are undecided as of now whether to rebuild after adding a  new roof and carpeting and, most recently, custom sliding doors just before the fire. The fire also claimed the church’s preschool, which ministered to 65 children. The preschool “was a big part of who we are,” Hardin said. It’s been shuttered.

Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church pastor the Rev. Matthew Hardin talks
to the Rev. Dr. Laurie Kraus, the Rev. Edwin González-Castillo and the Rev.
Dr. Kathy Riley at the site of the church building. (Photo by Rich Copley)

The church currently conducts worship services each Sunday afternoon at Culver City Presbyterian Church. At the recent visit, PDA’s director, the Rev. Edwin González-Castillo, offered a sermon during worship based on Luke 4:1–13. The setting — Jesus and the devil in the wilderness — is “all the more relevant to those of us who have experienced the struggles of a disaster — to be able to find similarities between what the wilderness represents and the experience of living through, or surviving, a traumatic event,” González-Castillo said.

The Rev. Edwin González-Castillo preaches during worship services held by
Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church meeting at Culver City Presbyterian
Church. (Photo by Rich Copley)

He recounted the biblical accounts of others who experienced the wilderness, including Abraham, Moses and Elijah. González-Castillo called the wilderness “a place of isolation, vulnerability and struggle, but it can be a place to find spiritual depth, renewal and transformation.”

While driving visitors to the church site, Hardin pointed out other nearby losses. A popular site, Will Rogers State Park, had been overseen by a church member. The church’s former manse, adjacent to the church building, is still standing but is being remediated to make it once again habitable. It had been rented out, and the church is experiencing that revenue loss as well as no longer receiving tuition from the preschool. But Presbyterians and others have been generous with their gifts, Hardin pointed out.

Park showed visitors around what remains of the church, which isn’t much. Pots of geraniums survived the blaze, but the pipe organ did not, along with the decades of music with which the choir has blessed worship. Among the surviving church finery is a charred cross that Park and others pulled from the site.  Each Sunday, church members display the cross during worship at Culver City Presbyterian Church.

On Jan. 7, the day of the fire, Hardin first helped preschoolers to unite with their parents, then was later able to join his own family. His last acts at the church included sending a note to session members and then locking the door.

“He called me and said, ‘Grace, the flames are so close,’” Park said. “I could hear the shock in his voice.”

As people were evacuating the Palisades through only two routes in and out, a church member was directing traffic near the church. That member moved Hardin’s car a couple of blocks, which saved it from the fire’s destructive path.

“I was calling folks saying, ‘You really need to leave!’” Park said. Married just last September, Park’s daughter was a participant in the last to take place in the church’s sanctuary.

The two pastors talked with the PDA delegation for a time at the church site, and then everyone circled up while González-Castillo said a word of prayer.

The steeple at Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church (Photo by Rich Copley)

“Dear God, we’re standing on sacred ground — not only because of events, but because we believe you’re still in this place,” González-Castillo told the Almighty. “In the midst of pain, sorrow and anger, we pray for your Spirit to move around the community, those near and far. We ask for your Spirit to embrace them with hope, with the expectation you’re still in control.”

“Provide them with spaces of security,” he prayed, “that they may feel the embrace of a church that’s visible and invisible.”

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Janelle Miles, Mission Specialist, Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries, Interim Unified Agency

Debbie Miller, Associate for Client Services, Presbyterian Investment & Loan Program  

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus, give us strength to follow your call to provide for the needs of people. Help us to remember that man does not live on bread alone, but on the Word of God. Take us to unfamiliar places and to the people whom you know and love. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: ‘God calls us to use our gifts”

As Presbyterian women from around the country recently gathered at the Church of the Covenant in New York, the Rev. Dr. Mary Newbern-Williams reminded them of their individual power and that God can use them to do wonderful things.

The Rev. Dr. Mary Newbern-Williams speaks at Church of the Covenant in
New York City. (Photo by Kristen Gaydos)

“God works miracles through us — miracles of love, of commitment, of faithfulness, of caring and of being God's people in this world,” said Newbern-Williams, transitional presbyter for the Presbytery of New York City. “We are ministers called by God to love others, to care for others, and to know that from now until eternity, God will guide us (and) will be with us.”

Newbern-Williams was addressing a Presbyterian-led joint delegation of women being oriented ahead of the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, which took place in March at the U.N. headquarters.

Nearly 70 women, recruited by the Presbyterian Ministry at the U.N. (PMUN) and Presbyterian Women (PW), gathered at the church to prepare for CSW69 and learn more about the work of the church and its ministries.

Sue Rheem and Clare Balsan of the Presbyterian Ministry at the United
Nations have a confab during orientation. (Photo by Kristen Gaydos)

“I am just so thrilled that you are here,” said Sue Rheem, who manages PMUN and was joined by fellow staffer Clare Balsan and Young Adult Volunteer Bella Ramos. “We have been working really hard as an office to greet you and host you.”

CSW69 is the U.N.’s largest annual gathering on gender equality and women’s empowerment and includes many related side and parallel events. During orientation, Presbyterians received an overview, heard testimonials and participated in small-group discussions.

Delegate Adriana Soto Acevedo enjoying Presbyterian orientation for CSW69 while
standing in front of a mural at Church of the Covenant. (Photo by Kristen Gaydos)

“I’m open to hearing and learning from everyone here in this room,” said Adriana Soto Acevedo, a delegate affiliated with La Iglesia Presbiteriana en Arecibo in Puerto Rico, the Presbytery of Philadelphia and Princeton Theological Seminary. The 25-year-old is passionate about advocacy as a way to bring hope to hurting people in a world full of “hopelessness, lies and contradictions.”

The inspirational message by Newbern-Williams came during the worship portion of Presbyterian orientation.

One of her main texts was about Peter, a disciple of Jesus, raising Tabitha from the dead in Acts 9:36–42.

“God had enabled him to do what Jesus taught him because he was a faithful disciple, a human being, imperfect as all of us are, but called by God to do great things,” said Newbern-Williams, who also spoke of Mary Magdalene and how she encountered the risen Christ, who told her to deliver the news to the disciples.

Today, “there are miracles upon miracles in the lives of us women and the ministry that God has called us to do,” Newbern-Williams said. “I want you to think of every time you encouraged a child to just go on and move forward, go to school and study.”

Also, “how many times have we spoken with someone who was a friend or a church member or a colleague or someone who was just going through whatever situation in life was facing them?” she continued. “You have encouraged them. You have prayed with them. You have let them know that God was with them and would see them through whatever it was.”

Newbern-Williams went on to discuss the special challenges experienced by women, who are not always valued.

“Women experience some specific forms of, I would say, rejection (from people) sometimes not really wanting to acknowledge that we are every bit as qualified and capable as anyone, and sometimes, just sometimes, we might doubt ourselves,” she said. “But in Jesus Christ, there is no room for doubt, because we are called to work, to care, to be faithful and to know that the gifts God gives to us are meant to be used for God's glory.”

Pushing further with her words of encouragement, Newbern-Williams said, “My friends, today and every time we gather as the women of God, we are talented, intelligent, gifted, caring, and God calls us with all the different gifts we have to use them, not only for the glory of God but to make life well for others.”

Darla Carter, Communications Strategist, Interim Unified Agency (Click here to read original PNS Story)

 Let us join in prayer for:

• John Merten, Data Entry Representative, Relationship & Development Operations, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
• Terri Milburn, Accounts Payable Manager, Administrative Services Group (A Corp) 

Let us pray:

Gracious God, we hear the call to be involved in the lives of others. We are thankful for the example that comes to us in your Word that when we forget about ourselves and focus on the needs of others, you bless our actions, and the result is far greater than we ever thought possible. Continue to challenge us by your Spirit and to bless our response. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.