Mission Yearbook: Rev. Mamie Broadhurst makes sure that worship space is seen as sacred space

The Rev. Mamie Broadhurst is now the pastor at University Presbyterian Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When she served Covenant Community Church in Louisville, the church participated in a weekly ritual it called Sacred Space, which Broadhurst demonstrated during opening worship at the Sprunt Lectures online and at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. Watch the worship service here.

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The Rev. Mamie Broadhurst

Each week at Covenant Community Church, a different adult would lead the children in worship. “They all did it their own way, but the beginning ritual was always the same,” Broadhurst said. The leader and the children would sit around a brightly colored cloth and sing a song. Then the adult would take a candle and ask the children, “Why do we light the candle?” “To remember God,” the children replied. Then it was time to pose the central question: “Is God here only when the candle is lit?” “No!” the children answered, and the leader would then say, “God is here all the time, and you can always talk to God.”

Broadhurst opened the recent worship the same way. “I invite you to remember that over the course of the next two days, because sometimes we forget,” she said. “You may find over the course of the lectures you want to stop and have a chat with God.”

Broadhurst invited those in worship to look back two weeks, “to the time of Jesus’ death and the precariousness that ushered in. … Today we find ourselves at Good Friday at the foot of the cross, straining to make sense of how things are,” which “is not too much of a stretch these days.”

Worship included a time to consider what it means to embrace hopelessness. “Among us are some who are feeling less shocked than others, and some who would argue we are not so different from who we have always been,” Broadhurst said. “Most or all of us may be shaking our heads these days, and some of us are more used to doing that than others. Some are gobsmacked at what’s happening. Some are exercising new muscles of lament.”

This year’s Sprunt lecturer, the Rev. Dr. Miguel A. De La Torre, “is going to push us, I feel confident, to consider hopelessness and what to do in the fact of that, or with that,” Broadhurst said. “It’ll be important work, and it won’t be easy work. I invite us to come to it in a posture of worship, looking to God to guide us each step of the way.”

“There are functions of hope that are not worthy of worship,” Broadhurst said. “Some uses of hope need to die, which is why we come to worship [today] casting our eyes backward to Good Friday, to the death of hope that Jesus would rule as an earthly king, to death of hope that things would basically stay the same, just get rearranged.” Broadhurst removed the letters “HOPE” from the pulpit as she named the functions of hope that need to go. “These are brittle wooden hopes that do not serve the kingdom,” she said.

Master of Divinity student Liz Corsig joined musician David LaMotte leading those gathered in silent reflection followed by a time of sharing with a neighbor. They considered questions including: Have I invited people into a posture of hope in order to make myself feel better? When have I used hope as a means of quelling righteous anger? How have I been complicit in the suffering of people who have been taught to deny feelings of hopelessness because they are unfaithful? In what ways have I benefitted from a hope that asks harmed people to wait for a better future in the sweet by and by?

Selected verses on the death of Jesus were read from Mark 15:33–47, followed by Broadhurst noting a shift in focus to Holy Saturday, “an in-between time made holy on our calendar. It is the day our lectures and gatherings take place. Our worship is not over.”

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

Let us join in prayer for:

Melaina Smith, Design Content Specialist, Presbyterian Foundation
Melody Smith, Digital & Marketing Communications Director, Interim Unified Agency   

Let us pray:

O Lord, we thank you for faithful ministry. May we be refreshed and equipped by your life-giving Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: ‘Trails of Hope and Terror’ film sparks lively discussion at Sprunt Lectures at Union Presbyterian Seminary

The Rev. Dr. Miguel A. De La Torre has written dozens of books, but it took making a film alongside his son and his wife to reach the crowds he’s yet to reach through his books.

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The Rev. Dr. Miguel A. De La Torre

De La Torre, professor of Social Ethics and Latinx Studies at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, recently delivering the 115th Sprunt Lectures at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. Before his first talk, De La Torre screened the award-winning 2017 film “Trails of Hope and Terror.” Watch the trailer here. His initial Sprunt Lecture is here.

“Nobody reads my books except other scholars. You’ve got to be a bit of a theological nerd,” De La Torre told those gathered in Lake Chapel at Union Presbyterian Seminary and online. “More people saw the film in the first week than the people who have read all my books put together.”

“How do we as scholars find new ways to communicate the work we’re doing? Making this film was part of that venture,” he said, urging the gathered scholars and others to “think of creative ways to get this information out to a wider audience that desperately needs it. Making complex issues accessible is the job of the true scholar.”

Filmmakers interviewed immigrants seeking to cross the border between Mexico and the United States as well as people who oppose such attempts. Among those interviewed are a pair of Presbyterian pastors: the Rev. John Fife, the emeritus pastor at Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson, Arizona, Moderator of the 204th General Assembly (1992) and a co-founder of Sanctuary movement and organizer of No More Deaths; and Fife’s successor at Southside, the Rev. Alison J. Harrington.

After the screening, De La Torre highlighted some of the scenes the film depicts, including a Border Patrol agent kicking over jugs of water placed in the desert to aid migrants. In another scene, an agent dumps the water on the ground, then challenges the filmmakers by asking them, with cameras rolling, if they’d left the water. “If we said yes, they’d arrest us for littering,” De La Torre said.

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At one point, U.S. authorities did detain De La Torre’s team. They’d found a bale of marijuana nearby and threatened team members with arrest on charges of drug trafficking. “I went to their leader and said, ‘I am a professor at a seminary and these students will be pastors one day,’” he said. “I think you may want to check with your supervisor before you charge us with drug trafficking.”

Meanwhile, it was time for a worship service, and De La Torre and his students invited the authorities to join them. Instead, they held the team for a few more hours until word came from headquarters in Washington to let them go — but not before De La Torre’s identification had been run through a law enforcement database.

Perhaps not coincidentally, De La Torre has seen his tax returns audited every year since.

“I told John Fife that, and he said, ‘Welcome to the club,’” De La Torre said.

“Sometimes I just break down” while viewing his own film, he said, “and it’s kind of embarrassing. It still breaks my heart, especially after I got to know these people.”

During a question-and-answer session following his talk, De La Torre said filmmakers have recouped most of the money invested in the film, and plan to make the film accessible to the public.

“For some people, it’s better to embrace ignorance than it is even to watch a film,” he said. “I have had people watch the film and then threaten me because it rocked their self-identity. I believe my job as a scholar is to provide the means by which to raise consciousness.”

De La Torre is teaming with the Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb to edit a book scheduled for publication in September. “Tear Down These Walls: Decolonial Approaches to Barriers and Liberation” will have a look at “walls around the world,” De La Torre said. “We want the labor — we just don’t want the bodies attached to that labor.”

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

Let us join in prayer for:

Adam Slutzky,  Director, Project Delivery, Strategic Planning & Execution, Board of Pensions
Ashley Smalley-Ray, VP, Director of Compliance, Presbyterian Foundation 

Let us pray:

Loving God, you created us for life together. Help us create life-giving patterns of community. In the name of Jesus Christ, who came that we might have life in all its fullness. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Leadership opportunities in church are a dream come true for teen

Grace Blackstock knew that she wasn’t dreaming.

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Last summer, Grace Blackstock served an internship at the Office of Public Witness in Washington, D.C. (contributed photo)

Yet when the 18-year-old Denver native was tapped to help plan the 2025 Presbyterian Youth Triennium (PYT) — themed, not coincidentally, “As If We Were Dreaming” — she practically had to pinch herself.

“The production team is really great,” she said of the cohort of volunteers who, alongside national staff members in the PC(USA)’s Office of Presbyterian Youth and Triennium, bring their passion for youth ministry to make the highly anticipated event happen.

Held every three years, Triennium is a gathering that draws more than 3,000 high-school-age youth, youth leaders and young adults from the U.S. and internationally. Sponsored by the PC(USA) in partnership with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America, the 2025 event will be held July 28–31 in Louisville.

Although Blackstock has held numerous leadership roles as an active member of Wellshire Presbyterian Church in Denver Presbytery as well as in her high school’s theater program and student government, the senior honors student and aspiring church leader said that she found the PYT production team’s process to be both exciting and new.

“When we all met last year, we talked about having a dream range of 10 of our craziest ideas and throwing them all out there,” said Blackstock, who has played an important role in helping to design the Triennium worship experience as a member of the Worship Ministry Team.

“It was really nice to be able to have my voice heard, no matter what my idea was, as we started to make decisions about which ideas would be realistic and what would be best for the conference,” she added. “I’ve never experienced that type of planning before. I really enjoyed it because it’s a good way to not shut people down and give ideas room to grow without necessarily promising anything.”

Encouraging young leaders like Blackstock to share their unique gifts with the church and the world is what the Pentecost Offering, one of the PC(USA)’s four Special Offerings, is all about.

Although the Pentecost Offering may be taken anytime, most congregations receive it on Pentecost Sunday, which this year fell on June 8.

“Young leaders are a gift who are all too often seen more as ‘developing leaders,’ which is a shame because many, if not most young Presbyterians, have deeply rooted ideas about how to offer hospitality, service, spiritual practice and witness,” said Gina Yeager-Buckley, manager of the Office of Presbyterian Youth and Triennium. “Our younger Triennium production team members, like Grace, and our volunteers have the ability to shake up what has been done in order to do what is needed now; what will have the deepest impact for ‘the young soul.’”

And because Blackstock’s life-changing experience on the production team made her curious about — and hungry for — additional volunteer leadership opportunities in the PC(USA), she spent two weeks last summer as an intern, dividing her time between the national offices in Louisville and the Office of Public Witness in Washington, D.C. 

It was the latter placement that may prove instrumental in shaping her future vocational path.

“After spending time with the Office of Public Witness, seeing the magic of Capitol Hill and all the tiny little pieces that help put together a somewhat functioning government, I was initially going to apply to college as ‘undecided,’ but then opted for political science and public policy,” Blackstock said. “The work that I saw with the OPW to influence policy to align with the beliefs of the PC(USA) and seeing the way that they could advocate was really cool.”

In speaking with Blackstock following her experience in D.C., Yeager-Buckley said she was deeply moved by how the young leader described having taken part in a public demonstration.

“Because showing up is what we are called to do as followers of Jesus Christ,” said Yeager-Buckley, “Grace made me realize, once again, that leadership is formed by participation, by observation paired with physical exertion and passion. One of the most beautiful aspects of my job, our jobs, as youth ministry leaders, is being a witness to the moments when leadership development shifts to leadership decisions.”

Emily Enders Odom, Associate Director of Mission Communications, Interim Unified Agency, PC(USA) (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Nicholas Skaggs, Record Archivist II, Presbyterian Historical Society
Eva Slayton, Mission Specialist, 1001 New Worshiping Communities, Interim Unified Agency 

Let us pray:

Gracious God, we thank you that you are a miracle-working God and a multiplier of loaves and fishes. We thank you for your love and the opportunity to tell and show your love to all. We hold up to you the needs all over the world. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Rev. Dr. Topher Endress discusses ‘Accompanying Disability

The Rev. Dr. Topher Endress, author of a book recently published by Westminster John Knox Press, “Accompanying Disability: Caretaking, Family, and Faith,” made an appearance on “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast,” hosted each week by the Rev. Lee Catoe and Simon Doong. Listen to their hourlong conversation here.

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The Rev. Dr. Topher Endress

Endress said he switches his language sometimes from “person who has a disability” or “living with some ailment or chronic language” to “disabled person.” “A lot of autistic people name themselves as autistic as opposed to ‘person with autism,’” he said. “To name our identity first is to say, ‘without autism, I wouldn’t be who I am,’ or ‘without Down syndrome, I wouldn’t be who I am.’”

“I think we’re at a point in a lot of our denominations where we’re doing a much better job of believing people’s stories,” said Endress, the associate minister at First Christian Church in Columbia, Missouri. “I’m going to trust that you know yourself best and what you’re sharing with me is what I should reflect back.”

“But I don’t know that we always do a great job of letting that [perspective] reshape and reform ourselves in a deep and meaningful way,” he said. “I think if we don’t have that, I’m not sure that we’re nurturing a relationship as much as we are welcoming people and still keeping them at arm’s length.”

To “truly love” those with a disability is “to let them disrupt our lives,” he said.

“I have family members who were or are disabled. I have lots of friends who have identified as disabled or a person with a disability,” Endress said. “I know I would not be who I am today if they were not in my life.”

In churches and in other spaces, Endress sees “a helpful understanding of the innate diversity we all carry. It’s becoming more positive and welcoming,” he said. As that understanding and welcoming grows, “we become more in tune to being reshaped by our friends with disabilities” and “being more willing to be called out and named: ‘Your behaviors are problematic in these ways. Can you adjust and say, yeah, I will acknowledge that and repent of that?’” We can respond with, “that was an oversight” or “that was a failing,” and “I’ve got to do better or be different,” he said. “Being shaped and reformed by those relationships is such a key aspect, especially for those of us on the ally side.”

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“I think when we do that, that’s what love is,” he said. “We love each other by giving ourselves away, letting ourselves just be made anew, just as we might hope they might do for us,” Endress said.

There are practical things we can do, including:

• Being willing to adjust our communication strategies. Many of Endress’ friends with disabilities are active on social media “during a time I don’t want to be on social media,” and yet “it’s a safe place for them to organize” without worrying about being exposed to Covid and other dangerous viruses.
• Allies and friends can adjust the pace of their life. “A lot of my friends with disabilities are incredibly accomplished and fantastic and witty,” he said. Others have to live their lives at a pace “the world is unaccustomed to.” The desire “is ingrained in the American culture to rush around everywhere. You just need to die to that and accept rest and slowness as part of the natural ebb and flow of life.” There’s “something moving and powerful about walking slower than you want to and going at the other person’s pace. It builds trust” and says, “this person knows me. I can let my guard down and tell this person when I’m in pain.”
• We all can learn more about disability history. “In the first century of the church, disability was an opportunity for charity and for giving,” he said. “The church organized itself around caring for the outcasts of society in these really powerful ways that modeled their dying to the empire and dying to this desire to horde all their wealth. They gave it away to people who could not respond in kind.”

New episodes of “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast” drop every Thursday. Listen to previous editions here.

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

Let us join in prayer for:

T. Clark Simmons, Senior Church Consultant, Atlanta GA, Board of Pensions
Alex Simon, Multimedia Specialist, Communications Ministry, Interim Unified Agency   

Let us pray:

Almighty God, open our eyes and hearts that we may know you in our daily bread — both as we receive it from your hand and as we pass it on. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Memory care chaplain’s webinar offers spiritual care to people who have dementia

As a spiritual care provider for 25 years — the last 16 as a memory care chaplain — the Rev. Kathy Fogg Berry was a great choice to recently present a webinar on “When Words Fail: Spiritual Care and Dementia.” The Schlegel-University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging at Conrad Grebel University College offered the webinar, which can be viewed here.

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Photo by National Cancer Institute via Unsplash

Berry’s 2018 book is “When Words Fail: Practical Ministry to People with Dementia and Their Caregivers.”

When communication is compromised, it can cause frustration, anger, fear and confusion to people experiencing dementia. That can also be true for those who have had a stroke, suffered head trauma or have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

It’s “a double-edged thing,” she said, since people visiting or building a relationship with someone experiencing dementia “can feel awkward not knowing what to say.”

“We need to learn to practice more than words,” Berry said. “We need to be creative sometimes.”

Common spiritual needs for those experiencing dementia are unconditional love, reassurance, support, encouragement, trust, acceptance, inclusion and hope, Berry said. She suggested doing a spiritual assessment with the person or their caregivers or both, although not all at once.

Ask questions like these:

• What gives you comfort, peace, strength, purpose or hope?
• What helps you feel closest to God or most complete?
• What spiritual or religious rituals, symbols and practices are important to you?

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The Rev. Kathy Fogg Berry

“We all have things that nurture our spirit,” Berry said. “We need to … find out what that is for each person. By doing that, we can offer person-centered care.”

Berry laid out communication challenges and ideas on providing spiritual care during each of three stages of dementia: early, which can last from 1–3 years; middle, from 2–10 years; and late, from 1–3 years.

In the early stage, the person can understand most conversations and has strong social skills that appear to be normal during brief interactions, according to Berry. The person “appears to know what she’s saying, but may be unable to complete the thought,” and has difficulty following some complex or long conversations. Spiritual care in this stage focuses on offering person-centered care and building a relationship by providing “frequent presence and conversations.”

“The most important thing we can do is listen,” she said. “Listen with empathy and compassion and listen confidentially so they know they can trust us with what they have shared with us.”

For those in the middle stage, Berry suggests being fully present with the person and not rushing them. Keep the conversation positive, and don’t argue, because that can heighten anxiety and frustration. Be aware of your own nonverbal communication, such as crossed arms or foot-tapping, she advised. Be with the person in their reality, and correct or redirect them only if safety is a concern. “It’s up to us to change how we communicate to meet their needs,” she said.

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Spiritual care for those in middle stage dementia can include offering person-centered familiar spiritual or religious activities, because rituals and symbols can “provide comfort and tap into memory,” she said. Spiritual care for that middle stage can include facilitating activities that appeal to the five senses, “encouraging memories and prompting participation,” Berry said. Offer friendly narratives and not a dialogue. “We don’t need to be grilling them,” she said. “Talk about what you see in a picture: ‘Oh, your family looks so happy. It looks like you went to the beach.’”

In the last stage of dementia, the person may not recognize family members or even themselves. They have little to no speech and are less responsive or even non-responsive. But “that doesn’t mean they’re not there and they’re not still participating,” Berry said.

Spiritual care requires “a quiet, listening presence.” Offer the person a gentle touch, if it’s comforting. Provide quiet, familiar music, and try aroma therapy and other sensory stimulation. Read Scripture and say prayers, if those are applicable.

One last piece of advice: “When words fail, simply love,” Berry said. “That’s the most important thing we need to do.”

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

Let us join in prayer for:

Rheannon Sicely, Director, Implementation & Continuous Improvement, Board of Pensions
Manuel Silva-Esterrich, Manager, Call Process Support, Ordered Ministry & Certification, Interim Unified Agency 

Let us pray:

God of mercy, we are grateful that new life can arise from loss. We give thanks for those who give of themselves so that others might have hope. Amen.

Why support the Peace & Global Witness Offering?

“Pursue what makes for peace.” – Romans 14:19 The Peace & Global Witness Offering allows us the opportunity to share the peace of Christ by:   Building a Better Community  Twenty-five percent of the Offering stays with your congregation to support peace and justice opportunities in your community. Whether it’s supporting families in need, funding local organizations or creating safe spaces, we all play a vital part.   Uplifting Mid Councils It takes a village … or region! Twenty-five percent of the Offering stays with mid councils to unite congregations in meeting the needs of those in your area. Supporting Global Impact The remaining portion of the Offering will support our partners who work for peace and justice worldwide. Presbyterians have a long-standing commitment of providing support and uplifting our global ecumenical partners in their efforts to fight against poverty, hunger and injustice. If you’d like to learn more about the impact of Peace & Global Witness, download the Leader’s Guide below.  Download the Leader’s Guide Thank you for your generous support of Special Offerings. If you have any questions, reply to this email or call 800-728-7228, Ext. 5047.

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Mission Yearbook: Rev. Dr. Becca Ehrlich explores Christian minimalism as sacred simplicity

In a recent episode of the “New Way” podcast, host the Rev. Sara Hayden explores the topic of Christian minimalism with Lutheran minister and spiritual director the Rev. Dr. Becca Ehrlich. Hayden explains how “taking stock of what is truly important and eliminating that which is not important” is a great place to start when exploring practices that ground people as human beings.

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The Rev. Dr. Becca Ehrlich

Grounding spiritual practices like sabbath, contemplation and pilgrimage have been the focus of Hayden’s conversations with this season’s guests, and future conversations center on practices of intentional, beloved communities. In her conversation with Ehrlich, who wrote the book “Christian Minimalism: Simple Steps for Abundant Living,” Hayden delves deeper into how the action of subtracting uncovers the fear of emptiness, revealing a spaciousness in which spiritual lives may flourish.

Ehrlich, who lives with chronic illness, started her minimalism journey in 2017 after watching the Netflix documentary “Minimalism” and felt God calling her to a minimalist lifestyle. When her husband, Will, watched it later that evening, he also felt the call. She began blogging about it when she didn’t find deep theological reflection or support for Christian minimalist lifestyles online.

According to Ehrlich, minimalism is “a focus on the aspects of life that matter most and intentionally removing everything else.” In six months, Becca and Will cut down their material possessions by 60%. Ehrlich is clear that decluttering is only a part of minimalism. She also pared down her online habits, curbed a shopping habit, unsubscribed from email lists and social media groups and simplified her schedule. Ehrlich describes how she and her husband simplified their possessions and lifestyles in phases so that the process of letting go of stuff didn’t overwhelm them. She also tells Hayden about the emotional parts, including letting go of baby items bought for a child that they lost at birth. Ehrlich leaned on her Christian faith when managing the difficult emotions that came with letting go of the things she had collected in her life and understanding the motivations behind where she gave her time and attention.

“It's going to be an emotional journey,” said Ehrlich, who advised being gentle with oneself when a surprising emotion rises up. “Feeling those emotions and working through those emotions is really important as opposed to doing what consumer culture wants us to do, which is stuff it down and go buy more,” she said.

Ehrlich teaches about Christian minimalism in churches and for seminaries and works with individuals through spiritual direction in shifting their worldview away from the consumerist culture that surrounds and distracts people. She says the greatest benefit to embracing minimalism is the spaciousness she and others have received to live more presently and intentionally, making space for God and for the people they love.

“I don't think we fully think through what the upkeep part is of things that we bring into our lives,” said Ehrlich, who pointed out how this applies to stuff but also to time commitments. [Listen to an audio clip.]

She also debunked some myths about minimalism. It can be cozy, comforting and colorful. She owns blankets, wall art and red shoes!

"It’s not a failure on our part. It’s more that we’ve internalized all these consumerism messages over the years,” said Ehrlich, who described how minimalism as a practice leaves space for more meaning in people’s lives. Christianity already articulates the meaning waiting for people as they clear away their reliance on possessions and productivity to define them and allow themselves to be embraced by the beloved image in which the Creator made them. Before starting her minimalist journey, Ehrlich admitted to having an online shopping habit, having thoughts like, “Oh, I need this thing to be more accepted by people or to belong or feel loved or feel beautiful.”

“When in reality, we're human beings,” said Ehrlich, “and we can have all those things without all the trappings.”

Listen to the 45-minute conversation between the Rev. Sara Hayden and the Rev. Dr. Becca Ehrlich here.

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

Let us join in prayer for:

Natalie Shilstut, Director, Programs & Services, Presbyterian Historical Society
Victoria Shircliffe, Social Media Specialist, Communications Ministry, Interim Unified Agency   

Let us pray:

God of Grace and Giver of Life, today may we be ever mindful of all the ways in which you bring deliverance to us, and may we learn to live in ways that honor the dignity of all your people. Amen.