Today in the Mission Yearbook - Matthew 25 field trips open imagination for the Presbytery of Boise

Each presbytery meeting last year has featured a visit with a partner doing Matthew 25 work

January 21, 2024

In May, Presbytery of Boise presbyters visited an elementary 

school where many students live in poverty. (Photo by 

Rachel Yates)

The Presbytery of Boise took up the Matthew 25 challenge last year by moving outside its walls. Each of its 2023 presbytery meetings included a Matthew 25 field trip to learn about community needs and ministries that were helping to meet those needs.

In February, a United Methodist Church hosted the presbytery to share about the affordable housing crisis and how it had partnered with local agencies to build tiny houses on its excess land. The presbytery brought together a panel of community leaders to explain the housing challenge and how congregations could be involved in the solutions. The conversation garnered such interest that two local news stations ran the story, one taping and replaying the panel discussion.

The May and August meetings took the presbytery to a local elementary school with a large student population living under the federal poverty standards and to a community action warehouse to learn more about how food insecurity was being addressed.  Each organization encouraged congregations to join in the eradication of systemic poverty.

“We’ve learned that we don’t need to tackle poverty on our own,” explained Randy Marshall, presbytery moderator. “Many of our partners are already doing good work and are inviting us to join them. It empowers congregations of all sizes to get involved.”

“Matthew 25 continues to take us outside our walls,” 

says Randy Marshall, moderator of the Presbytery of 

Boise. (Photo by Rachel Yates)

The presbytery capped off the year by meeting in the church of another ecumenical partner, the Episcopal Diocese of Idaho, which started a medical clinic in its building. Now 20 years later, the free clinic has been spun off but remains a vital ministry of the church, the diocese and the community. After grabbing a cup of coffee at registration, commissioners and visitors to the November presbytery meeting were encouraged to take a tour of the clinic.

During the presbytery meeting, the clinic’s interim executive director and the church rector spoke about opportunities for volunteers, joking that the Presbyterians could be put to work setting everything decently and in order.

“Later during the meeting, we spent time in conversation about how the presbytery could be a catalyst for connections,” said Rachel Yates, transitional presbyter for the Presbytery of Boise. “Over and over, we heard people excited about collaborative mission with each other and ecumenically.”

This year, the presbytery will kick off its meetings with a visit to the College of Idaho, a historically Presbyterian college, to embrace the active campus ministries there.

“Matthew 25 continues to take us outside our walls,” Marshall said, “and we are seeing the Holy Spirit at work throughout our presbytery and particularly among ‘the least of these.’”

Rachel Yates, Transitional Presbyter and Stated Clerk, Boise Presbytery

Today’s Focus: Presbytery of Boise doing Matthew 25 field trips

 Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Ahmad Abri, Lead Web Developer, Communications Ministry, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Angielee Acevedo, Lead Housekeeper, Stony Point Center, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

Gracious God, each day we encounter your gifts and the joys of engaging with your world. Orient our service to meet the needs of your Creation. Outfit us with your love and give us eyes to see that in serving we are most like Jesus, our brother and Savior, in whose name we offer this and every prayer. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - A mission-minded scavenger hunt

During some spirited scavenging, churches in the Presbytery of Boise learn more about mission and each other

December 14, 2022

A recent scavenger hunt held by the Presbytery of Boise included the Rev. Katey Schwind Williams of Boone Memorial Presbyterian Church in Caldwell, Idaho, and the Rev. TJ Remaley of Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise. (Photo courtesy of Rachel Yates)

At its recent meeting, the Presbytery of Boise invited congregations and denominational partners to display their mission activities in a presbytery-wide mission fair. To add some fun and competition, meeting participants were given a scavenger hunt list to track down answers that could be found only on the tables or by asking the mission fair participants. The first person to return a correct answer sheet won $100 to donate to one of the mission activities being displayed.

Energy was high in the room as people tried to find “which congregation was thanked with licks, purrs, tweets and clucks” for its mission support, or asked about the origins of the Presbyterian Women’s Birthday Offering. “We also tried to lift up core values in faithful and effective mission, such as partnership, dignity and empowerment,” said Rachel Yates, the presbytery’s transitional presbyter and stated clerk, “by asking questions that pointed to mutuality in relationships between the congregations and their mission partner. The scavenger hunt gave us the chance to celebrate the many ways we are engaging in God’s mission in our communities and around the world.”

Participation in the denominational Special Offerings was often highlighted, and one question led people to track down which congregation has been a 4 for 4 congregation (participating in all four of our Special Offerings) for 25 years. King Hill Community United Presbyterian Church, with 10 members, received this distinction, though other churches are also 4 for 4 congregations. Mission Engagement Advisor René Myers of the Presbyterian Mission Agency spoke later in the business meeting to thank the entire presbytery for its mission support and Matthew 25 engagement.

Mission Engagement Advisor René Myers shares about opportunities for connection at the Presbyterian Mission Agency. (Photo courtesy of Rachel Yates)

Laughter erupted as three people raced to turn in their answers, with maneuvers to physically block out other competitors or toss their answer sheets into the air. Even with a time penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, the Rev. TJ Remaley of Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise was the first to turn in a correct answer sheet and donated the $100 gift to Boone Memorial Presbyterian Church in Caldwell, Idaho, for its domestic violence work.

“The most important questions we asked,” said Rev. JoAnn Thiry, presbytery moderator, “required meeting participants to go beyond what is happening now, to what might happen with collaboration.” The scavenger hunt list asked which congregation or ministry would be a good mission partner and how opportunities for collaboration might be explored. “That is how this fun exercise will bear the most fruit.”

Among the scavenger hunt questions:

Q: How did the Birthday Offering get its name?
A: This offering taken by Presbyterian Women began in 1922 when Hallie Paxson Winsborough, the superintendent of women’s work in the Presbyterian Church (US), visited Miss Dowd’s School for Girls in Kochi, Japan. Seeing its needs, she challenged women to give one penny for each year of their lives (or a dollar if they didn’t want to reveal their age!) as a birthday gift to the school.

Q: Which church is thanked for its mission with licks, purrs, tweets and clucks?
A: Boone Memorial Presbyterian Church in Caldwell, Idaho, supports the West Valley Humane Society.

Q: How many mission co-workers are serving the PC(USA) and its mission partners?
A: World Mission has 78 mission co-workers deployed in 80 countries around the world.  If you’d like to learn more about them, check out the Mission Opportunities guide.

Q: Which congregation turns scraps and remnants into a patchwork of comfort for those suffering trauma or abuse?
A: First Presbyterian Church in Boise has a Quilting from the Heart ministry.

Q: What is the monthly cost for a child sponsorship with Compassion International?
A:  $38.  This is a special mission of members of First United Presbyterian Church in Nampa, Idaho.

Rachel Yates is  transitional presbyter and stated clerk for the Presbytery of Boise.

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff

Steve Maier, Network Support Engineer, Information Technology, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
Victor and Sara Makari, Mission co-workers serving in Israel & Palestine, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

Loving God, thank you that through you we are able to bear fruit. Help us serve others with the love and understanding of Jesus. Help us grow in your knowledge so we can bear fruit worthy of you. Amen.