Minute for Mission: Holocaust Remembrance Day, Standing in solidarity

April 28, 2022

On this day, communities around the world observe Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day. Together we stand in solidarity with the Jewish people and pay tribute to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust. An estimated 6 million European Jews and at least 5 million prisoners of war, Romany, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals and other victims were murdered by the Nazis in one of the most horrendous campaigns in human history. On this day, as we pay tribute to the victims of the Holocaust, we also come together knowing that this act of remembrance is a commitment to a shared responsibility for humankind to ensure such crimes never happen again.

As a young girl, I remember hearing the powerful words “never again” as our leaders and teachers taught us about this dark time in history, a history that is deeply painful to remember. Yet it was made clear that we need to remember, that we are called to remember, in order to reaffirm humankind’s obligation to stand against antisemitism, racism and other forms of intolerance that may lead to violence. In the words of U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, “we can never lower our guard,” as we have continued to see today an increase in antisemitic attacks, in xenophobia and homophobia, displaying the hatred that lives on.

As we continue to learn and listen to the survivors and honor the victims through sharing their memories, their “portraits speak to us of the dignity, humanity and interconnectedness of each unique member of our human family. Their heartbreaking stories of survival and courage inspire us to do more, in whatever way we can, to combat persecution, hatred and discrimination, wherever they are found,” Guterres said.

We are all inextricably connected to one another, and our history reminds us as we move forward about our need to live out the Matthew 25 call to be compassionate, to seek justice and advocate for others. This is our mission.

Ivy Lopedito (she/her/hers), Mission Specialist, Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Link: https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/sgsm19943.doc.htm

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Tracy Pou, Vice president of Marketing & Communications, Board of Pensions
Kim Pryor,  Vice President, Director Trust Relationship Services, Presbyterian Foundation

Let us pray

Merciful God, we come to you with heavy hearts as we honor and remember the lives lost, and those who are with us today who continue to suffer from the incomprehensible pain that it has brought. I pray that through this day of remembrance we continue to tell their stories so that it will always remind us of our promise to never let such horror happen again. Let us be agents of change and give us the courage to stand firm against the hatred in our world today. Remind us of our need to be grounded in love as we seek justice and advocate for all. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Winning hearts by filling stomachs

A Brazilian couple is growing a new worshiping community in part by hosting Saturday suppers

April 27, 2022

Fabiana Araujo

In a podcast from the New Worshiping Communities movement in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), “New Way” host the Rev. Sara Hayden explores how creative expressions of the church are taking place around the United States and the world.

In part two of her conversation with Fabiana Araujo — who spent the past 20 years with her husband ministering in their home country of Brazil — Hayden talks to Araujo about how Araujo’s background as a musician and an architect has shaped her approach to ministry.

Araujo and her husband are now in Atlanta, where she is a resident of the 1001 New Worshiping Communities movement — and in the early stages of creating Adore Brazilian Church.

In this episode, Hayden discusses the lovely surprise of welcome Fabiana received from Deer Creek Shores Presbyterian Church, and how joyful she was when the congregation opened its doors for organizing a new church.

Of the roughly 650 new churches that are part of the worshiping community network around the country, Hayden said almost 40% are led by people who have formal training in fields other than theology and ecclesiology.

“We don’t see this as a liability,” she said, “but as an important component of the ecosystem, where members in movement train and are influenced by one another.”

Araujo and her husband, Xechel, who loves to cook, have been busy on Saturdays inviting people over to their home for dinner and conversation. Their house has been full of people sharing good food and conversation as well as nurturing friendships.

When Hayden asked Araujo if she ever tired of being around people, Araujo described what happened at the most recent Saturday night dinner in their home — when folks didn’t follow the hidden rule of Brazilian hospitality.

 “If people offer you coffee, this is a sign that you should get going,” said Araujo. “This last Saturday, we made coffee and we served it to people, but they just didn’t care. They had their coffee, but they kept on talking, and my husband looked at me and said, ‘I guess I’ll have to make some more coffee then!’”

Shortly after more coffee was made, one person began to get tired and realized how late it was. Then everyone began the process of leaving, gathering up their children — which, according to Fabiana, took another 30 minutes.

Despite such moments, Araujo believes the church can’t keep God’s love with its walls.

“We’ve got to give it back to world, and share it with other people: family, friends and even people who we haven’t met yet, but are waiting for someone to share God’s love,” Araujo said.

You can listen to Hayden’s conversations with Araujo in English or Portuguese here.

Join nearly 10,000 others by subscribing to the “New Way” podcast via  Spotify, GooglePlay, Stitcher or Apple so that you don’t miss an episode.

 The New Way podcast is produced by Atlanta-based artist and pastor the Rev. Marthame Sanders, who also hosts the weekly podcast Aijcast, which is part of the 1001 New Worshiping Communities movement.

In 2012, the 220th General Assembly of the PC(USA) declared a commitment to this churchwide movement that would result in the creation of 1001 worshiping communities over 10 years.

Paul Seebeck, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Irv Porter, Associate, Native American Intercultural Congregational Support, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Doug Portz, Senior Church Consultant, Pittsburgh, Board of Pensions

Let us pray

Dear Lord, please be with those who seek to bring your message of hope and redemption to those in need. Please be with the many who are in dire circumstances. May they realize that you have not forsaken them. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Minneapolis church expands its artistic palette during pandemic

Westminster Presbyterian Church shows innovative approaches to the arts in worship during Giving Tuesday

April 26, 2022

Dancer Eve Schulte and spoken word artist Joe Davis presented a piece during the Giving Tuesday worship service from Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis. (Screenshot)

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the worship and arts staff at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis thought that probably meant shutting down much of their work as live worship was suspended.

“Then the more we thought about it, the more we realized we were asking the wrong questions,” said Dr. Amanda Weber, Westminster’s Director of Worship and the Arts. “Instead of ‘how do we translate what are we doing online?’ we said, ‘How does this new online platform present opportunities to us that we didn’t have before?’”

The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are known for their venerable arts institutions, including the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Guthrie Theatre, the Walker Art Center and Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Minnesota Public Radio. So, when the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Giving Tuesday broadcast stopped at Westminster, it seemed like an appropriate place to focus on the role of the arts in worship.

Viewers got a taste of that in the worship service that opened the fourth hour of the eight-hour event, which included music by Weber, cellist Joseph Trucano, and pianist Kenneth Vigne, and a spoken word piece by Joe Davis with interpretive dance by Eve Schulte and music by Vigne.

Associate Pastor for Justice and Mission the Rev. Alanna Simone Tyler introduced the piece invoking the words of Nigerian artist Ehime Ora, saying, “She advised us not to think of our bodies as coffins for pain to be buried in. She suggested wisely instead, ‘let it live in art. Let it live in writing. Let it live in music, let it be devoured by building brighter connections.’ And I would add, ‘let it be responded to with God’s hope, God’s faithfulness, God’s love.’”

“What time is it? It’s time to raise up,” Davis repeated while Schulte danced behind him, both silhouetted against the backdrop of a city street in Keith Kopatz’s video production. He elaborated in verses, “We have nothing but our shackles and chains to lose and change the news story to a new story for people who’ve flown to new glory. The more we plant more seeds, the more we teach, so much more than what the world sees. What the world needs is world peace.”

Weber said Davis and Schulte, artists-in-residence at the church, were keys to the church thinking about new ways to worship, communicate and use space in the church, with Kopatz’s video showing moments all around the campus, including unsuspecting spots such as what appeared to be a boiler room.

“During the pandemic, we were faced with this empty church,” Vigne said. “We always worshiped in the sanctuary, or in the chapel, or even Westminster Hall. But what are other parts of the church that we can worship in? How can we worship in the whole church’s body, so to speak? We were specifically looking for places that people didn’t go in the church to find what parts of Westminster space spoke to us and what stories they had to tell.”

Rodney Alan Schwartz, director of the Westminster Gallery and Archive, talked about new ways he found to share the church’s art holdings during the pandemic shutdown, including a video series, “Our Friend Rodney,” which introduced viewers to art on display, used in worship, and in the church’s collection. Schwartz also organized displays of the church’s art in a 35-foot-long street-facing window, so passersby could safely enjoy the art.

“The art collection at Westminster is both unique and interesting, in that it is a collection of Christian and religious art as well as social justice-themed art,” Schwartz said. “We tell stories from the viewpoint of multicultural and multi-ethnic artists. It’s oftentimes interesting to tell a story seen by a variety of different people and different cultures.”

The church is looking to incorporating the lessons of the virtual presentations to enrich live and virtual experiences going forward.

“I think the virtual platform in some ways has kind of leveled the playing field of what it means to be a part of this congregation,” Weber said. “These are new creative ways of being that we have continued to bring into our life together as we remember what it’s like to be with one another.”

Rich Copley, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Katherine Pierce, Business Administrator, Church Engagement, Board of Pensions
Cristina Pitts, Mission Specialist, Latin American & the Caribbean office, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

Lord, be with those you have called to take leadership in reaching people who have not heard of your love for them. Give them wisdom and courage as they seek to make your kingdom manifest in our world today. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Mission work in Romania inspires ongoing support

100-year-old Jack Ferlino has journeyed to Romania more than a dozen times since his retirement

April 25, 2022

Jack Ferlino, in front, is pictured with family members. (Contributed photo)

Sometimes an invitation to visit a new place is life-changing. That’s certainly what happened to Jack Ferlino.

Nearly 30 years ago, he was invited to go to Romania, and what he witnessed then and in more than a dozen trips since inspired him to make a permanent gift through the World Communion of Reformed Churches, for the Hungarian Reformed Church in Romania. The relationship was fostered through Lehigh Presbytery‘s Worldwide Ministries mission efforts.

Ferlino, now 100 years old, says there were many experiences there that inspired his gift. He summarizes it this way: “I finally came across a group of churches that really practice the Six Great Ends of the Church,” Ferlino said. “It was a wonderful relationship to have, so we entered into partnership.”

The Rev. Ellie Johns-Kelley has worked with Ferlino to set up the fund. She is a Ministry Relations Officer for the Presbyterian Foundation. “Jack’s love for both God and the church are deep,” Johns-Kelley said. “His relationships in partnering in ministry around the world will be enduring as well as invitational as others may make additions and thereby join in supporting the Hungarian Reformed Church in Romania.”

Hungarians are an ethnic minority in Romania. A series of treaties, battles and political moves in Romania during World War I ceded Transylvania to Romania, taking it from its Hungarian origins.

Romania was under communist rule until 1989. During that time Christians were harassed, making Christian worship difficult. Christianity is strong in Romania today, and the Hungarian Reformed Church in Romania has a special ministry to the Hungarians that no one else is fulfilling.

These churches are so much more than places of worship; they are centers of life and care for the people that they serve, Ferlino says. “The church there is the focal point of their life,” Ferlino said. “Everything is around the church, including social activities. Diaconia is the organization that attends to the shut-ins and the sick, and the orphanages as well.”

Ferlino recalls another moving story from a visit to Romania. He was asked to visit a farm owned by a mother and son. They enjoyed the visit, but around noon, they found the mother of the family crying in the kitchen. Ferlino asked if they had done something inadvertently to upset her. “They told me she is crying because you have come this far to visit us, and she can’t set the table the way she wants to,” Ferlino said. “I was in tears then, as I am now. I hope this gift will help her, and the others as well.”

Ferlino was particularly moved by meeting pastors. “We have one pastor who serves seven churches,” Ferlino said. That pastor visits one church each day of the week. “All of the churches are rural. They are all very old. Some of them go back 500 years.”

Ferlino is a lifelong Presbyterian whose roots go back to 1894, when his ancestors immigrated to the U.S. from Italy and were instrumental in establishing the Italian Presbyterian Church in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. It eventually closed and merged with First Presbyterian Church in Hazleton. He’s now a member of Faith Presbyterian Church in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

His pastor, the Rev. Rebecca Mallozzi, says Ferlino is a man of incredible faith. “Jack has a heart and passion for all mission, and he definitely has a passion for the Hungarian Reformed Church of Romania,” Mallozzi said. “He genuinely cares for them. Jack embodies what we mean when we say, ‘The table shall be wide.’”

In an article published by Lehigh Presbytery in January 2021, the Rev. Tibor Kiss, counselor in the Department of International Relations of the Transylvanian District of the Reformed Church in Romania, praised Ferlino for his role as a bridge builder. He said Ferlino helped church members in the United States and Transylvania together meet the “challenges of human life in a secular, unjust, discriminatory social environment.”

Mallozzi says Ferlino has never tired of the work. “Jack’s heart and passion for mission always reminds me that as the body of Christ, we never retire from finding ways to love and serve God by loving and serving our neighbors,” she said.

 Robyn Davis Sekula, Vice President of Communications and Marketing, Presbyterian Foundation

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Jason Peterson, Director, Loan Operations, Presbyterian Investment & Loan Program
Jim Phares, Web Systems Developer, IT Application Development, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)

Let us pray

Gracious God, thank you for our mission co-workers who have the challenge and great privilege to be the hands and feet of Jesus in responding alongside brothers and sisters to the great needs around them. Help us to faithfully support them. Amen.

Minute for Mission: Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day

April 24, 2022

As part of JMP’s Community Development Program, youth who struggle in school are provided with tutoring by local college students for academic and spiritual uplift.

The men were taken first, and then the women and children were brutalized. Witnesses saw the Euphrates run with blood, and women plunged into the river to escape the terrors of the desert march.

Throughout the Ottoman territories of 1915, Armenian villages were emptied out in a systematic campaign to demean and destroy innocent victims. Although authorities in modern-day Turkey deny this genocide, historians have gathered indisputable evidence of at least a million Armenians killed and a million more dispersed from their ancient homeland, the world’s first Christian nation.

Today’s Armenia is the size of Maryland, locked among Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The fledgling republic fell under communist rule for most of the 20th century, followed by harsh and hungry years of early independence in the 1990s.

For a people who have endured genocide and communism, their faith and their future might seem tenuous. Indeed, many of today’s young adults have been demoralized, unemployed and ready to flee. Yet voices of hope and change began to rise. In April 2018, peaceful protests dismantled the corrupt dictatorship and led to fair elections of new leadership.

In the fall of 2020, Armenia was faced with yet another humanitarian crisis. Azerbaijan launched surprise missile attacks on Armenia’s enclave — the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) — forcing their defense army into war to protect its people and homeland. During the 45 days of war, Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, conducted horrible war crimes. Consequently, over 2,500 men perished fighting for their homeland, and dozens of civilians, including the elderly and children, were either wounded or killed. On Nov. 10, Armenia was forced to sign a painful ceasefire agreement with Azerbaijan and Russia, giving up a big part of its sacred land to stop the massacre of its people — shaking, once again, their spirit of hope. The war brought more than 100,000 displaced people from Artsakh, mainly women and children, who were forced to find refuge throughout Armenia.

The Jinishian Memorial Foundation in Armenia, under Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) administration, developed a nationwide strategy to empower young leaders. Hundreds of young entrepreneurs in rural areas are using affordable loans to start their businesses and are provided with a coach and technical support. Since 2005, thousands of university students have learned about human rights, the economy, and the environment and have used small grants to tackle local problems. For example, Jinishian support helped one young man channel his expertise in radio electronics into a STEM program for dozens of youths, including many from a local orphanage.

Jinishian’s Indigenous, ecumenical teams empower Armenians living in poverty throughout the Caucasus and Middle East. In Armenia, 90% of the projects are designed to promote long-term, sustainable change so people can earn a decent living, grow healthy families and help their communities thrive. The program offers dignity and hope through relief, development and spiritual uplift.

In response to the war in the fall of 2020, Jinishian swiftly expanded its programs to include medication and rehabilitation for wounded soldiers and humanitarian relief for displaced families.

To promote understanding of Armenian culture and history, the Jinishian Memorial Program is hosting a “Discover Armenia Mission Trip” this fall from Oct. 1–10. The tour focuses on culture, outreach and faith. Join us to connect with Armenia’s people and see faith in action.

 Cara Taylor and Gina Guida, Jinishian Memorial Program

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Maria Perry, Manager, Synod of Boriquen (PR), Plan Operations, Board of Pensions
Lisa Pesavento, Human Resources Coordinator, Presbyterian Foundation

Let us pray

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13) In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Facing the ‘unpretty things’ about our country’s history

Predominantly Black and white churches move closer to reconciliation through ‘Bending the Moral Arc’ conversations

April 23, 2022

As members of Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church and Nassau Presbyterian Church worked together on projects like building a Habitat for Humanity house, relationships and friendships were formed which brought the congregations closer together. (Photo courtesy of Jock McFarlane)

Less than a mile apart in Princeton, New Jersey, Nassau Presbyterian Church and Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church have a long history as PC(USA) congregations in this historic community.

In Nassau’s beginning in 1776 as First Presbyterian Church of Princeton, enslaved and free Black Americans worshiped in segregated seating. In 1840 they formed their own church on Witherspoon Street.

“Our churches are joined together by a really long and frequently troubling history,” said Nassau member Pam Wakefield, “but churches are working actively to find solutions to problems together as Christians.”

At various times pastors of the two churches — and lay leaders as well — kept the congregations working toward reconciliation. A yearlong celebration of the 250th anniversary of Presbyterianism in Princeton in 2005 attracted participation from both congregations. As the congregations worked together on projects, including building a Habitat for Humanity house, Wakefield said a partnership between the churches was formalized.

“A group of us began to meet regularly,” she said. “The day we really shifted gears was right after George Floyd died.”

Pamela Johnson, a member of the Witherspoon Street church, remembers that emotions were running high following Floyd’s murder. Conversations that had been relatively easy to have suddenly became more difficult.

“I didn’t have words,” she said. “The race difference became the elephant in the room.”

Barbara Flythe of Witherspoon Street said she couldn’t deal with her feelings of pain and anger. But she recognized everyone in the room felt the same way.

“I’m a white guy honored to be in a church that’s predominantly Black,” said Cam Stout of Witherspoon Street. “That experience has opened my eyes to some issues. It’s so important for us to learn about one another.”

In their conversations, Flythe expressed how years earlier, in 2013, she was driving in her car when the news came on that George Zimmerman was found not guilty in the killing of Trayvon Martin.

“I pulled over and it was like I had a stake in my heart,” she said. “For the first time in 50 years, I no longer trusted the American justice system.”

At times over the past year, Witherspoon Street’s Audi Peal — who emigrated from Libya to the U.S. — has started to wonder whether people really value him.  “Do white people (here) have a problem with Black people?” he asked.

 For Stout, the notion of a predominantly Black church and a predominantly white church getting together — and seeing them learn from one another — has been transformational. He believes “Bending the Moral Arc” is producing a ripple effect that will inspire other people of faith to begin or continue on with this kind of conversation.

For Leslie, it’s equally important for individuals in small, rural white churches to reach out to people that are part of Black communities in urban centers.

“Why?” she asked. “So that we can learn from each other.”

Leslie has seen how the more time that people spend together working on projects — which is what Witherspoon Street and Nassau have been doing over their long history — the more love, trust and faith is exchanged.

“That’s what Matthew 25 is all about,” she said. “It’s a discussion group but it’s also one with the intention of doing something and being active, to kick a hole in the infrastructure and actually do the work that bends the moral arc toward justice,” Leslie said.

 For resources addressing structural racism, visit pcusa.org/Matthew25.

Watch video

 Paul Seebeck, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Charlene Peacock, Reference Archivist, Presbyterian Historical Society
Derrick Perkins, Shipping Clerk, Mail & Print Services, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)

Let us pray

Great God, you have given us abundance in our lives, our work and our world. Help us to multiply your gifts so that your great goodness shines through you, and so that all might live in your abundance now and in the world to come. Amen.

Minute for Mission: Earth Day 2022

April 22, 2022

Bike blessing hands (provided)

It’s been more than 50 years since the first Earth Day (1970). Spurred by concerns from that time period about oil spills, polluting factories, and dangerous chemicals being used regularly (described in Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring”), thousands of college students and concerned citizens came together in mass rallies, across political lines. Later that year, the United States Environmental Protection Agency was formed, and federal environmental laws soon followed: the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act. By 1990, Earth Day began to be celebrated globally. The first United Nations Earth Summit was held in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro.

Presbyterians have long been engaged in caring for God’s Creation. National church policy as early as the 1950s showed concern for wasteful use of natural resources. In the 1980s, there was demonstrated coalescing around environmental concerns culminating in the 1990 Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justice policy passed at the General Assembly. There has been a continuous Presbyterian uplifting up of earth care concerns ever since. (To see some of these policies, go to presbyterianmission.org/ministries/compassion-peace-justice/acswp/topics).

Alongside policies, Presbyterians formed a grassroots network in 1995 called Presbyterians for Restoring Creation (now Presbyterians for Earth Care), created volunteer Restoring Creation Enablers in presbyteries, and started a national office for Environmental Justice. Presbyterian staff have participated at the global United Nations talks on climate since the original 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

In 2022, there are nearly 300 PC(USA) congregations who are certified as Earth Care Congregations through the Presbyterian Hunger Program and multiple environmental networks working to educate and advocate around issues of climate change and earth care. Throughout the year, at local and national levels, you will see numerous resources, events and opportunities for action to care for God’s Creation — including Earth Day Sunday (April) and Call to Prayer for the Care of all Creation (September). Many local congregations are visible in their community with Earth Day fairs, solar panels, stream clean-ups, community gardens, reusable shopping bags with the church logo and so much more.

For more Earth Day history, see earthday.org/history.

Rev. Rebecca Barnes (she, her, hers), Coordinator, Presbyterian Hunger Program

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Sean Payne, Research Analyst II, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
Tabatha Peach, Trust Administrative Assistant, Presbyterian Foundation

Let us pray

Dear God, we give you thanks for the beauty, bounty and mystery of your Creation. We know we are but a small part of it. And we know we have often failed at your instruction to us to care for it. Many parts of Creation and communities of people suffer as natural resources continue to be unjustly extracted, as we fuel our desires for consumption, and as we fail to listen to the wisdom of those who know that land, water, plants, animals and natural systems are a gift to be cherished, honored and nurtured. Continue to embolden us so that we can educate ourselves and others, act for the protection and preservation of this earth, and stand with impacted communities who suffer the worst impacts of climate change and environmental degradation. Bless us, O God, that we may be transformed into a blessing for your Creation. Amen.