Today in the Mission Yearbook - A new worshiping community for people who have been hurt by the church

Emerge, an NCW in Florida, restarts in-person worship

July 27,  2022

Jeremy and Charlie Russo, left to right, are co-leaders of Emerge, a new worshiping community in Port Richey, Florida. (Contributed photo)

Emerge, a new worshiping community in Port Richey, Florida, officially began right before the Covid pandemic hit in March 2020.

Co-leaders Jeremy and Charlie Russo had been musicians at a Presbyterian church at a satellite campus that was no longer sustainable. But a foundation had been laid for Emerge through relationships the Russos had formed in their larger community.

“It would take a book to share how God brought us together in so many different spaces and places,” said Jeremy. “But the thread of these relationship connection stories is spiritual trauma.”

Both Jeremy and Charlie have been deeply hurt by churches. Growing up as a fundamentalist Baptist, Jeremy finally left a church they were serving after it sent them to “counseling,” which turned out to be conversion therapy.

While growing up in a megachurch, Charlie attended numerous counseling and prayer sessions to correct their “unnatural desires” — and was then outed in the church.

Married, Jeremy and Charlie are relatively new to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). But as they’ve worked through leadership transitions at Emerge, they’ve become better connected.

One of the connections that the Rev. Nikki Collins, 1001 NWC national director, helped them make is with the Rev. Dr. David Shelor at First Presbyterian Church of Dunedin, Florida. Shelor planted a church 20 years ago in the Tampa Bay area and is now acting as presbytery liaison for Emerge.

We’re delighted they’ve found a home in the PC(USA),” Shelor said. “I’m excited to be an advocate for them.”

Wanting to know more about Emerge and the support they’re receiving from churches and local clergy, Presbyterian News Service asked the Russos to respond to a few questions (Charlie responded to the last question only).

PNS: What does it mean to you to have David Shelor as your Presbyterian liaison?

Jeremy: David willingly held space for our leadership to ask questions about how we live true to our calling. He helped us brainstorm about creative ways of being “the church” in our local community that is devastated by homophobia, xenophobia, poverty, racism and substantial economic inequality and inequity. He shares with us knowledge from previous and current ministries, telling us how he was one of the last church planters in the PC(USA) to follow the “build the church, put a sign out and they will come” model. Because that model was no longer working, he has an open mind about the flexibility, adaptability and responsiveness needed to run a ministry like Emerge.  Also, the Rev. Lissa Bradford from Church on the Bayou [in Tarpon Springs, Florida] has helped our leaders by relentlessly encouraging us and pouring life into us in times of discouragement.

How did God bring together a new worshiping community for those who have been spiritually traumatized?

Emerge was organically born and we knew from the Spirit that we needed to keep nurturing this environment so that others could come, feel loved and heal. The common thread that brings us together is that we are trauma survivors seeking to love each other more than the day before and effect tangible and lasting change in our families and communities around us. Everyone is welcomed. Each of our experiences brings a unique and valuable perspective to our beliefs in God.

How did your spiritual/faith background shape your sense of call to Emerge?

Jeremy: The God I knew growing up was authoritarian, racist, homophobic and condemning.  Months after I left the church that had sent me to “counseling” for conversion therapy, I met Charlie at an open and affirming church in South Carolina. Both of us felt called into planting communities that accepted all without discrimination for any reason.

Charlie: It was at that small church that I began to feel free and loved. I wanted to do to everything I could to help others that faced similar hurt and rejection from the church to find our place of belonging. As I became involved in a local PFLAG chapter I found myself working to repair the damage done to others in the name of God and church. This is what brought me to Emerge. My desire is to help others know God’s love and learn how to be more like Jesus.

Paul Seebeck, Communications Strategist, Mission Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Deborah Bernard, Executive Assistant to the President, Board of Pensions
Mary Jo Besspiata,  Administrative Assistant II, Executive Director’s Office, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

Gracious God, we plant and water the seeds, but you alone give the growth to our mission and outreach projects. Keep us faithful in our work in your vineyard that our labors may bear fruit and we may help others grow in the knowledge of your love and grace. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - ‘I was quickly approaching burnout’

During sabbatical, New Worshiping Community leader realizes how out of balance he had become

February 24, 2022

Nick Pickrell and partner Sarah Pickrell at a Poor People’s Campaign in Jefferson City, Missouri (Photo by Suzanne Corum-Rich)

For seven years, Nick Pickrell, organizer of The Open Table in Kansas City, Missouri, has been hustling to keep the new worshiping community afloat. There was a lot of grant writing and developing — not to mention the community’s antiracism training business. Finally, last summer, Pickrell was able to take a break, thanks to Sabbath & Sabbatical Grants from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s 1001 New Worshiping Communities movement.

Curious about his experience, Presbyterian New Service asked Pickrell these questions. His responses have been edited slightly for brevity.

What was your sabbath like?
My sabbatical experience was a lifesaver for me. I don’t think I realized how much I needed this break. It was a breath of fresh air to have three months to allow for space, silence and refreshment.

What did your sabbath experience stir up in you?
Over the course of three months, I was able to see how I needed to detach from The Open Table so I could re-engage from a healthier place. I also realized how much things like playing music, hiking and exercise gave me life. Because of the demands of The Open Table, I had let all of those things go. I see now that wasn’t a healthy move for me to have made.

Did it change you in any way? If so, how?
In the months since I’ve been back, I’ve been able to allow for things at The Open Table to slip through the cracks or fail without me swooping in to save it. It has freed me from a tremendous amount of pressure I felt before the sabbatical. Also, I have been able stay in a place where attachments and expectations have been released. I have been able to articulate that I am both committed to The Open Table while also holding the community with an open hand. As The Open Table shifts in our mission, if I am not the right person to help lead the community, then I feel OK with stepping down. Likewise, if the community ever feels like it is time for The Open Table to close (we aren’t), I feel OK with letting The Open Table close. To borrow some terminology from the Catholic Worker movement, The Open Table is meant to be an organism, not an organization. When the Spirit makes it abundantly clear that our work at The Open Table is done, we want to honor that instead of existing in perpetuity.

How will that shift in you (if any) be beneficial to you and to those you serve in ministry?
I think the shift of detaching will greatly benefit both me and the community because it relieves the stress that has resided in my body the last seven years. This shift moves me to a place where I realize that “I am a worker, not a master builder,” as it says in one of my favorite prayers, “Prophets of a Future Not Our Own.”

Additionally, I got the chance to meet with leaders from around the country who have been working to decolonize their church culture, policies, and practices, and some of the things discussed have already started to take root in our community as we vision collectively and act collectively.

Why would you recommend a sabbath experience to others in ministry?
I would recommend this sabbath experience as it is so beneficial for our longevity in this work. I know in my case at seven years I had been quickly approaching burnout, and this sabbatical could not have come at a better time. I feel like I have developed some new habits, shed some old ones, and am able to re-engage in a more sustainable way. This would not have happened if it wasn’t for the sabbatical.

Increasingly, The Open Table is living into being a place of healing primarily for the Black community, but also a place of healing for everyone. Pickrell is open to the Holy Spirit’s leading, including being willing to step aside if his racial identity prevents The Open Table from fully realizing its mission of being a community of liberation and healing.

Paul Seebeck, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Laura Lee, Art Director, Presbyterian Women
Sangik Lee, Translator, Global Language Resources, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)

Let us pray

Gracious God, we hear your call to love our neighbors, and we know that you intend for us to care for both their physical and their spiritual needs. Help us to respond to this hungry, thirsty world with love that pours from the river of living water that you have placed in the hearts of those who believe. In the name of Jesus Christ, who is living water for our bodies and our souls. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Discipleship and worship in new worshiping communities

Prayer ranks highest among practices

April 23, 2021

The labyrinth at the 223rd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Michael Whitman)

Although leaders of new worshiping communities (NWCs) describe both discipleship and spiritual formation as types of personal growth, there are key distinctions in their descriptions of the two.

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Research Services recently asked what discipleship means to leaders and they describe it as following Jesus, using relational and communal terms to describe discipleship. About one-third describe discipleship as a journey of personal growth and learning, and about one-quarter describe it as a process that is primarily about our relationships with others. Other themes include the importance of action, which was named almost twice as often as the importance of obedience.

For NWC leaders, discipleship is about taking action and cultivating relationships with other people. As one leader explains, “Discipleship is a demonstration of our relationship with the Triune God, through the way we choose to spend our time, talents and treasures and the way we treat our neighbors.”

Spiritual formation, on the other hand, is described by leaders as personal faith development. It involves engaging in disciplines and practices that cultivate a personal relationship with God. Others connect spiritual formation to discipleship, describing spiritual formation as a path to discipleship.

According to another leader, “Spiritual Formation are the practices that form us into disciples. They’re the daily habits, efforts, prayers and exercises that lead us into being formed in God’s image and likeness. They’re the rhythms we chose to be released from sin, shadow, addictions, compulsions and attachments in order to be free in God’s love, light, freedom and hope.”

“It is important to note that discipleship and spiritual formation are incredibly varied,” said Nikki Collins, coordinator for 1001 New Worshiping Communities. “They comprise both outward practices, focused on action in the world, and inward practices, focused on interior spiritual life, and can be personal or communal.”

NWCs are slightly likely to focus their attention on outward, rather than inward, spiritual formation practices. Also, leaders tend to focus on communal practice rather than personal practice.

“This outward, communal orientation fits in with the tendency for new worshiping communities to discuss social justice, hospitality and serving others as important aspects of their discipleship,” said Dr. Angie Andriot, research analyst with Research Services. “Sixty-three percent of NWCs report having either a missional, outreach or justice ministry focus.”

The top three practices NWCs engage in are prayer, hospitality and study. The least common are honoring the Sabbath, fasting and solitude.

“NWC leaders, like many other pastors, struggle to prioritize Sabbath keeping,” said Collins. “For this reason, 1001 provides an annual Sabbath retreat for leaders and over the next year will be offering quarterly virtual retreats for NWC leaders. Our hope is these events will encourage leaders to build Sabbath practices into their weekly rhythms.”

The Rev. Jeff Eddings, coaching and spiritual formation associate for 1001 New Worshiping Communities, has been leading the virtual retreats with prayer and guided meditation for Presbyterians to engage. This work on discipleship and spiritual formation informed and prompted this study.

A closer examination of how communities engage in discipleship and spiritual formation practices shows that there is a pattern in the practices. Certain practices tend to group together. By analyzing the data, Research Services was able to find that there are five groupings of discipleship and spiritual formation practices: traditional, contemplative, outward-focused, inward-focused and narrative.

NWCs that engage in more traditional and outward-focused spirituality tend to be more communal in practice, whereas contemplative and inward-focused NWCs tend to incorporate more personal spiritual practices into their tradition.

You can read the entire report here: presbyterianmission.org/resource/discipleship-and- worship-in-nwcs.

 Melody Smith, Associate for Organizational Communications, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for: 

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Destini Hodges, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Steve Hoehn, Administrative Services Group

Let us pray:

Loving God, help us to remember that we can grow to know and love you in the small congregation as well as the big congregation. Grant that all of us may find the joy of your Spirit as we drop what we have in service to others. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Colliding with Jesus

New worshiping community helps women find healing in their brokenness

April 3, 2020

At Collide, Willow Weston, left, sees Jesus meeting people in their brokenness, using and giving that brokenness to help other people in their pain. (Photo courtesy of Collide)

Willow Weston, the founder and director of a 1001 new worshiping community in Bellingham, Washington, remembers the day Collide began.

Someone who had wounded her when she was a young girl was knocking on her door. Immediately, she ran upstairs with her baby — and hid in the closet.

“I felt like the Lord was opening the door of that closet, and sitting in there with me and saying, ‘You have more healing that needs to be done in your life,’” she said.

When Weston stepped out of the closet, she made an appointment with a counselor and began to deal with years and years of pain — pain that she had yet to deal with.

The next week, Weston, who at the time was serving in campus ministry for Western Washington University students, through First Presbyterian Church in Bellingham, got a call to mentor a young woman.

Eventually that turned into a Bible study with some 20 college-aged women.

As they began to look at the life of Jesus in the New Testament colliding with wounded people, Weston said, their lives were being radically transformed — because Jesus was colliding with them and their brokenness, too.

Sensing God was calling them to experiment with a new ministry for women, Weston and those in the Bible study began to invite women of all ages, stages, experiences and faith backgrounds — imperfect and broken — to come to a conference, collide with Jesus and be transformed.

Fifty women came to the first one, then 80 — and then 100.

At that point, Weston went to the session at First Presbyterian Church.

According to the executive presbyter of the Northwest Coast Presbytery, Dr. Corey Schlosser-Hall, Weston told them God had given her a vision for a new ministry, but she wasn’t sure what to do with it.

Then she asked them a question: “Do you want it in the church, or should I just take this and go do this someplace else?”

“It was a remarkable moment,” said Schlosser-Hall. “Because Willow remembers the session saying, ‘We think this vision is anointed by God. We also think it’s bigger than us. So, you can have anything we have in order to make this happen.’”

From that moment, Collide began to grow into what it is now — a partner ministry of the Northwest Coast Presbytery and all three PC(USA) congregations in Bellingham.

As many as 1,000 women come to Collide conferences now. The ministry also offers counseling and mentoring program and also has published curriculum of their Bible studies — along with a blog and podcast.

“What’s happening, Jesus is showing up in the midst of our pain and he’s using our pain and giving it purpose to help other people in theirs,” Weston said.

After experiencing healing through Jesus at Collide, Kristen Mattila discovered God could use her pain to help others. (Photo by Gregg Brekke)

People like Kristen Mattila, who works in business development and marketing for Collide.

Because she had Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and anxiety, she thought she couldn’t be in ministry. But after finding healing through Jesus, she discovered that she could still be utilized by God.

This compels her, she said, to bring more women into Collide, because so many constantly disqualify themselves.

“If I wouldn’t have collided with Jesus and my pain and my brokenness in that way, I don’t where I would be,” Mattila said.

Weston believes that as Collide continues to live out the value that Jesus meets people in their brokenness and uses them there, people will become more of who they were made to be.

“That’s why we offer so many different programs,” she said. “We’re so excited to be a part of changing lives and we couldn’t have done it without the Presbyterian Mission Agency.”

Along with the Northwest Coast Presbytery, the Presbyterian Mission Agency has provided financial support to Collide, with  Mission Program Grants. Available through the Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, the grants support the transforming work of new worshiping communities and mid councils.

In 2012, the 220th General Assembly of the PC(USA) declared a commitment to a churchwide movement resulting in the creation of 1001 worshiping communities over the next 10 years. At a grassroots level, some 500 diverse “1001” communities have formed across the nation.

Video: https://vimeo.com/380272338

Paul Seebeck, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for: 

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Rebecca Barnes, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Susan Barnett, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)

Let us pray:

Gracious God, help us to continually look for you in all of Creation and help us always to be a blessing in your sight. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Finding Jesus in prison

New worshiping community in Olympia Presbytery creates a sanctuary for God’s beloved exiles

March 3, 2020

This image was adopted for Hagar’s Community Church, a new worshiping community inside the Washington Corrections Center for Women. (Designed by Lauren Wright Pittman, Lewp Studio)

In prison, the Rev. Lane Brubaker has never once felt scared or nervous.  In fact, she’s experienced more joy and laughter there than she could have ever imagined.

On Dec. 12, 2018, she entered the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW). Located in Gig Harbor, it is the largest prison for women in the state — and the only one that houses maximum- and minimum-security inmates.

Brubaker was there, called by Olympia Presbytery, to join them in planting a new worshiping community. Just over one year later, Hagar’s Community Church has 150 women attending weekly worship services. Fifty women attend a weekly bible study. Another group of women meets bi-weekly to help plan worship and make decisions of their life together as a congregation.

“It’s completely blown away our goal — which was to have 25 women worshiping by the end of one year,” Brubaker said.

Brubaker said she thinks the women have responded positively because they finally feel safe in a worship service. For whatever reason, she said, church ministries that are present in prisons tend to have a more conservative theological point of view. So, a progressive church’s message of inclusiveness for all sexual orientation and gender identities — that was new for most of the women.

They hadn’t heard very much about one of the most important tenants of Reformed theology — that one doesn’t have to earn God’s approval, redemption or love.

“The message that God loves them and that they are more than their worst mistake has been transformative for them,” Brubaker said.

Before the worshipers take communion together, Brubaker typically says: “On the night Jesus was betrayed by a friend, he was beaten by police. Then he was arrested and tried. Judged guilty, he was incarcerated and executed by the state.”

This approach, she said, helps the women see that so much of Jesus’ experience is similar to their own.

“At the heart of our faith is the story around incarceration and being in prison,” she said.

To find Jesus, says the Rev. Lane Brubaker, one has to visit prisons. (Photo courtesy of the Washington State Department of Corrections)

Now that Brubaker has been leading worship in prison for over a year, she understands in new ways what Jesus was getting at when he said in Matthew 25:36: “I was in prison and you visited me.”

“It’s clear to me now that Jesus is saying, ‘To find me, you have to visit prisons,’” she said. “We are to find Jesus in prison.”

At Hagar’s Community Church, Brubaker has discovered a vulnerability and joyfulness that she hasn’t encountered in other worshiping communities. The women she has gotten to know have had the worst thing happen to them. They have been removed from all that they love and care about. Once you have been taken to that place, Brubaker said, the things that hold you back from getting to know other people and being real and authentic aren’t there anymore.

A supervisor once told Brubaker that people who begin work as a hospital chaplain start to realize they’re going to die, which forces them to contemplate truth that they might otherwise avoid. Something similar has happened to her, she said, as the leader of a worshiping community in prison. As she began to get to know the women who are incarcerated, she began to realize how fragile her own freedom is — how easy it could be to lose and how similar she is to those behind bars.

“There are very small things keeping someone from being incarcerated,” she said. “You begin to bump up against things including how you participate in the social inequity of who goes to prison.”

Acknowledging that she had economic and educational opportunities, she said, “I could have easily been incarcerated.”

Hagar’s Community Church is a member of Prison Congregations of America. When the Presbytery of Olympia was approached by PCA about starting a congregation at the Washington Corrections Center for Women, the presbytery felt called by God to be the church in the world, according to Brubaker.

“Their attitude,” Brubaker said, “was let’s plant a church in prison and see what happens.”

Brubaker sees how listening to the Holy Spirit and stepping out in faith has impacted the women she serves. 

Paul Seebeck, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for: 

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Mel Tubb, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Teresa Turek, Board of Pensions

Let us pray:

God of love and hope, we thank you for Jesus Christ and the hope that is in him. Give us your Spirit that we may know Christ and make him known, giving thanks to you in all things. Amen.