Today in the Mission Yearbook - Synod School turns 70, and robust worship and birthday cake help celebrate the milestone

The annual offering by the Synod of Lakes and Prairies drew more than 500 attendees, including 80 first-timers

September 24, 2024

Ruling Elder Elona Street-Stewart is executive of the

Synod of Lakes and Prairies and was Co-Moderator of

the 224th General Assembly (2020). (Contributed

photo)

Synod School, put on each year by the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, turned 70 this year, and so who else would leaders ask to preach during opening worship than Elona Street-Stewart, a septuagenarian who’s the synod’s executive and Co-Moderator of the 224th General Assembly (2020).

Street-Stewart, 72, is a descendant of the Delaware Nanticoke tribe and was the first Native American to be installed in the denomination’s highest elected office. She served alongside the Rev. Gregory Bentley.

“Here at Synod School,” Street-Stewart told a joyful and revved-up crowd of about 540 people, “we experience the gifts of community and the joy of belonging.”

In a follow-up to a time for children about the Parable of the Mustard Seed, Street-Stewart said the purpose of the Synod School community — the last in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) — is to sow seeds. “Let’s think about small seeds and big dreams,” she told those gathered in Schaller Chapel on the campus of Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa.

Synod School “has grown with God’s generous spirit to be both a cooperative and individual experience,” she said. “Its impact has more significance than anyone could have imagined 70 years ago.”

Street-Stewart said she’s long loved morning glories. “I used to pick off the seed pods and save them in a jar,” she said. When they’re ready to be plucked, “it’s the plant that tells you. They make noise. They actually shout it out,” she said. “They dry out, and the pods start to ping and zing in the air.”

“I used to try to store them before that happened, and then one year, I thought, why am I doing that? They fling their seeds around for a reason.”

“Seeds can provide great wisdom and examples when we start to pay attention,” she said. “It’s their ability and stability to go on spreading and sprouting.”

It’s a parental aphorism to say, “Always be ready so you don’t spend time getting ready. That’s also true of morning glories,” Street-Stewart said. “They know where they come from. It’s time for us to recognize how we are rooted in place with a purpose.”

The Rev. Burns Stanfield offers a trumpet solo during “This 

Little Light of Mine.” (Photo by Mike Ferguson)

This week, Synod School leaders plan to trace the genealogy of the beloved gathering. “It all goes back to the seed that took root and grew,” Street-Stewart said. “The seed said, ‘Here I am. Plant me.’”

“Our life together over 70 years has grown more meaningful by the things we said yes to, to become something we were not before, and to discover how much our choices have generated new beginnings,” she said. “We could not have imagined how much the church could be transformed by relationships.”

Indeed, many Synod School goers — this year’s edition includes 80 newcomers — say it’s the relationships they form during their week here that keeps them coming back, year after year.

“My morning glories are now more than 30 years old. They’re still self-seeding, twisting and climbing based on what they touch, entwine and encounter,” Street-Stewart said. “This anniversary is a testimony to small seeds and big dreams, the story of years of small growth and years of surprising expansion.”

Deb DeMeester, the synod’s director of Leadership Development, took attendees through a brief history of the seven decades Synod School has been held at different colleges around Iowa. Members of the Synod School Committee — including Annie Wattles, Erica MacCreaigh, Phil Anthony, Jeff Dickinson, Sarah Hegar, Lisa Tarbell and Meredith Sauer — came dressed according to their decade — in poodle skirts, go-go boots, disco regalia, workout gear and toting a selfie stick.

As they have for many years, musicians shepherded by the Rev. Burns Stanfield supercharged worship with both their considerable skills and their enthusiasm. For “This Little Light of Mine,” Stanfield promised he’d play his trumpet for a verse “if you sing really robustly.”

Generally, the pianist said, he reaches for his trumpet “only on Easter and for Synod School.” He wisely had worshipers clap on the second and fourth beat.

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service

Today’s Focus: Synod of Lakes and Prairies Synod School turns 70

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Jeanie Shaw, Ministry Engagement Advisor, Ministry, Engagement & Support, Administrative Services Group (A Corp) 
Anish Sharma, Software Developer, Information Technology, Administrative Services Group (A Corp) 

Let us pray

Sovereign Lord, we thank you profoundly that you do not send away anyone who comes to you. Grant us no rest in our ministries until we reach out to all peoples with the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Gathering new communities of faith from the online to the wild

Festival attracts leaders from TikTok’s ‘Progressive Clergy Squad’ and hybrid houses of worship

September 23, 2024

Pastor Patty (left) and Jon Mathieu discuss the differences 

between online church and TikTok ministry at the Wild Goose 

Festival. (Contributed photo)

1001 New Worshiping Communities hosted a conversation for online and hybrid church leaders at the Wild Goose Festival in mid-July. Started in 2011, the four-day spirit, justice, music and arts festival took place at VanHoy Farms Family Campground in Union Grove, North Carolina.

Professional musical acts and bestselling authors anchored the mainstage programming, while other acts, artists and speakers presented a diverse range of topics in 20 smaller tents. These co-creators accepted free admission in exchange for their knowledge and facilitation on topics that spanned the universe of religion, theology and spirituality.

Wild Goose co-creator Jon Mathieu of Harbor Online, a fully online church community supported by the PC(USA), hosted an hourlong session on digital new worshiping communities in an event venue called the Tent of Make Believe. The tent, inspired by the inclusive and imaginative ministry of the late PC(USA) minister and children’s public television producer and host “Mister” Fred Rogers, was sponsored by 1001 New Worshiping Communities and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

Mathieu opened his session by inviting people to voice their contexts and questions about online or hybrid churches before sharing pastoral wisdom and best practices that Mathieu and his co-pastors have gained during the six years of growing Harbor Online into a full community of faith, with weekly interactive worship and several monthly small groups on Zoom as well as community-building forums through a platform called Circle.

Central to building community online at Harbor is creating safe spaces to be seen and heard. This is reflected in the gathering greetings and the facilitated breakout groups during weekly worship as well as a separate discussion group that gets together weekly using a resource called “Going Deeper” by the Christian Century, where Mathieu serves as community engagement editor.

Festival attendees who report not wishing to attend a “traditional 

church” due to past church trauma or because they are religiously

 unaffiliated are attracted to programming in the PC(USA)’s 1001 

New Worshiping Communities tent. (Contributed photo)

As people shared their contexts, the many approaches, platforms and resources available for online and hybrid churches surfaced. The Rev. Mike Holohan, co-pastor of a new worshiping community in The Pittsburgh Presbytery called the Commonwealth of Oakland, shared the way this “progressive, Jesus-centered community of faith” approaches what is considered worship, balancing between the communal and the contemplative, the online and the outside. The community rotates forms of worship — observing Sabbath once a month, then dividing the other three Sundays among hosting a community dinner, engaging with reflection stations and Scripture, and creating a “contemplative nature experience” in city parks. Commonwealth’s nature experience is a form of worship inspired by the book “Forest Church” and echoed other worship communities present at the Wild Goose Festival, particularly those within the Wild Church Network.

Beloved Everybody is a new worshiping community based in Los Angeles, dedicated to making spaces “where people with and without intellectual disabilities can be celebrated and form mutual, authentic friendships.”

The Rev. Andrew C. Patty, known on TikTok as Pastor Patty, talked about their dual calling to ministry in the social media space and within a “brick-and-mortar” congregational setting. Patty also serves as the pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in the West Village of New York City. They remarked on how the mutual ambivalence of each context toward the other makes it hard to build bridges between those who seek spiritual content online and those who congregate in churches.

Patty participates in the “Progressive Clergy Squad,” which started at the height of the Covid lockdown with 13 progressive Christian TikTokers, including PC(USA) ministers the Rev. Bethany Peerbolte and the Rev. Kari A. Olson, who organize content together and promote each other. The Progressive Clergy Squad, which meets regularly on Zoom and has even hosted an in-person gathering in San Francisco, has grown to include 200 squad members and multiple faiths with imams, rabbis and leaders in various Pagan traditions. Patty joined other squad members on the development board of a fully online church and suggested that some of the new platforms created to build the multifaceted communities that online churches need are open to customization.

“Wild Goose has been a great place of collaboration and connection for 1001 NWC,” said the Rev. Jeff Eddings, an associate for the PC(USA)’s 1001 New Worshiping Communities, which has hosted a speaker tent at Wild Goose for three years.

Beth Waltemath, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Today’s Focus: Wild Goose Festival attracts TikTok’s ‘Progressive Clergy Squad’

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Jonathan and Emily Seitz, Mission Co-workers serving in Taiwan, World Mission, Presbyterian Mission Agency 
Robyn Davis Sekula, VP, Marketing Communications, Presbyterian Foundation 

Let us pray

Holy Lord, thank you for the renewing, sustaining power of your Spirit. Bless your church with vision and courage that we might serve you faithfully even when the odds seem to be against us. Amen.

Minute for Mission: Gifts of New Immigrants

September 22, 2024

Rola Al Ashkar

Rola Al Ashkar is a Presbyterian Christian from Lebanon. She grew up in a nonreligious family, in a culture drenched in religion. Her parents took her and her brothers to church and Sunday school on occasions. When she had her confirmation class, she received her first Bible, and even as a teenager, she read the Bible with critical eyes, questioning parts of it and searching for answers. Her curiosity led her to regularly attend Sunday services, youth meetings and church summer camps, and through those experiences her faith grew, and she found a community in the Presbyterian Synod of Syria and Lebanon.

Rola continued to search for more depth and to struggle with her commitment to her reformed faith, as she experienced religious discrimination in a culture where Presbyterians were a minority in a minority. At age 17, she decided to study theology and serve the church, though being a female minister wasn’t heard of at the time. Due to family opposition and cultural restraints, she could not join seminary until seven years later.

In 2011, she finally joined the Near East School of Theology in Beirut and was a part-time student for four years. Afterward, she transferred to Princeton Theological Seminary, where she graduated in 2016.

Even after her graduation, there were still no precedents to women ordinations in the Middle East, and Rola almost gave up her dream to become a pastor. This is when she decided to travel to the U.S., where she started serving Parkview Presbyterian Church in 2018, an intercultural PC(USA) church in Sacramento, California. Rola found a loving and supporting community in the Presbytery of Sacramento, where she was ordained in April 2021.

Now, Rola serves Westminster Presbyterian Church in Sacramento as ministry assistant for Outreach and Christian Education and is the organizer of the Iama Yoga New Worshiping Community.

Rev. Magdy B. Girgis, D. Min., Middle Eastern Ministries, PC(USA)

Today’s Focus: Gifts of New Immigrants

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Eileen Schuhmann, Associate, Global Engagement & Resources, Presbyterian Hunger Program, Presbyterian Mission Agency 
Michelle Schulz, Administrative Manager, Information Technology, Administrative Services Group (A Corp) 

Let us pray

Lord Jesus, today you call us to welcome the members of God’s family who come to our land to escape oppression, poverty, persecution, violence and war. Like your disciples, we too are filled with fear and doubt and even suspicion. We build barriers in our hearts and in our minds.

Help us by your grace,

To banish fear from our hearts, that we may embrace each of your children as our own brother and sister;

To welcome migrants and refugees with joy and generosity, while responding to their many needs;

To realize that you call all people to your holy mountain to learn the ways of peace and justice;

To share of our abundance as you spread a banquet before us;

To give witness to your love for all people, as we celebrate the many gifts they bring. We praise you and give you thanks for the family you have called together from so many people. We see in this human family a reflection of the divine unity of the one most Holy Trinity in whom we make our prayer.

Minute for Mission: International Day of Peace

September 21, 2024

The International Day of Peace is a day set aside originally by the United Nations. They hoped that by focusing our attention on peace on this day, we would have a yearly opportunity to stop and educate ourselves on issues of contemporary concern, to mobilize ourselves to address these domestic and global conflicts, and to memorialize and celebrate hard-won peaceable achievements. This is a timely reminder for us Presbyterians, one we would do well to take a minute to reflect on today.

When we think about the conflicts that occupy our headlines, we have the opportunity to educate ourselves about the reasons why peace is crushingly absent in places like Ukraine and Palestine today. The long history of Russian expansionism and Israeli settler-colonialism require serious attention. The Peacemaking Program regularly offers webinars and resources on topics like these.

But the International Day of Peace also provides opportunities for us to think deeply about peace itself and about how peace should be pursued in places where violence reigns. The U.N.’s reminder that peace involves mobilization suggests that peace-work does not entail our withdrawal from or avoidance of politics. Rather, peace is political. If it is going to be more than empty talk, peace must have political partisans. It is a political project we pursue together as partisans of a world where all are enabled to flourish. It is a project that invites us to concrete participation. Our Congress has not responded to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza as partisans of peace. They seem to be weighing their options as between providing unbridled military aid to Ukraine and Israel or no support at all.

As partisans of peace, we Presbyterians have the opportunity to sow peace by rejecting this false binary. We can loudly and proactively champion nonviolent diplomacy, support humanitarian relief work, and push for negotiations that promise to ease conflicts and end cycles of violence. And as we do this work, it will help to remember those who have gone before us and found success. Seeking peace where there is no peace is difficult, complex and often dispiriting work. We will need the help and the wisdom of those who have won peace in the past in the face of steep odds. There are many Presbyterian saints we can turn to for inspiration. Remembering that peace is possible because it has been possible can sustain us in the journey.

 Dr. Andrew J. Peterson, Associate for Peacemaking, Presbyterian Peacemaking Program

Today’s Focus: International Day of Peace

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Jeanie Schmuckie, Legal Assistant, Presbyterian Foundation 
Rose Schoene, Client Service Specialist, Presbyterian Foundation 

Let us pray

God of grace and Lord of peace, we turn again and again to our arms for security. In them, we find instead violence and deepening division and alienation from one another. Turns us instead toward you, toward the peace you promise and already are making ready for us here. Give us your grace so that we may see one another as your fellow children regardless of our differences. Send us your wisdom that we may risk the uncertainty of peace. And give us the strength to pray for our enemies as our friends, to wish them well, to hope to share with them in your beloved community, to do whatever we must to make this so. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Joshua fit the battle of Jericho, offering up lessons for effective mission partnerships

The Rev. Dr. Robert Ngugi preaches online to the PC(USA) national staff

September 20, 2024

Photo by Valdemaras D via Unsplash

More than 30 members of the PC(USA)’s national staff were recently privileged to hear a sermon during their online Chapel Service by the Rev. Dr. Robert Ngugi, Secretary General of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, as well as musical offerings from Kenyan choirs.

“Sit back, relax and enjoy the worship service,” suggested the Rev. Paula Cooper, Presbyterian World Mission’s regional liaison for East Central Africa. “God bless you all.”

For his preaching text, Ngugi turned to Joshua 6:1–21, the biblical account of how the Israelites took Jericho not by the sword but by employing the Ark of the Covenant, trumpets and their own voices. Much of their success, Ngugi noted, came from the Israelites’ ability to follow instructions.

“We should have the heart of Joshua in doing mission,” Ngugi said. If we do, “we can handle the hurdles that prevent us from moving on.”

The Rev. Dr. Robert Ngugi

Ngugi outlined the environment Joshua created that contributed to the successful siege of Jericho, comparing some the characteristics  to the mission partnerships that have been forged between the PC(USA) and the Presbyterian Church of East Africa:

• To do an effective mission, we must have determined leadership. “The heart of Joshua was quite determined,” Ngugi said. “Let us not look back and lose faith just because there are walls and enemies opposed to mission.”
• We must create a community of followers. “If you don’t do what I say, you will abort the mission,” Joshua was telling the Israelites, according to Ngugi. Strict obedience “is what Joshua counted on, and people did exactly what he told them to do. The walls of Jericho collapsed because of their obedience.”
• We must be collaborators. “Joshua collaborated because he realized, ‘I need these people,’” Ngugi said. “Without collaborators, we cannot have effective mission.”
• We must have confidence, something Joshua’s heart was full of, according to Ngugi. The Israelites might have concluded, “These people are armed. How do we bring down the wall?” But Joshua was confident the mission was from God, “irrespective of the walls,” Ngugi said.
• We must have endurance, because without it, “we can’t accomplish the mission God has called us to do,” Ngugi said, adding, “we may have a thousand reasons to abandon the mission, but we decide to stay with it because the mission is God’s. God says, ‘Look for the one reason to endure, to continue on this difficult mission.’”
• Although it’s not included in Joshua’s account, we must allow for Christ’s leadership. For Joshua, it was the Ark of the Covenant that went before the people. “When the Word of God says we do, we do. When it says we don’t, we don’t do it,” Ngugi said. “Let us allow Christ and the Word of God to lead us.”
• Focus on the promise. God promised to give Canaan to the Israelites, “no matter the calamities,” Ngugi said. “How many said, ‘It is undoable.’”

“What is the promise of God as we do mission together?” Ngugi asked. “The PC(USA) and the Presbyterian Church of East Africa — where are we supposed to focus? We focus on Jesus, who said, ‘I will give you everlasting life.’ We focus on what God has told us, and after the mission is accomplished, we shall rejoice.”

“We should not be pushed away from mission because of walls and traditions,” Ngugi said. “Let us focus on what God has for us. We shall overcome, and fight until the end.”

The Rev. Bob Rice, a mission co-worker based in neighboring South Sudan, said he’d traveled to Kenya several times for “rest and spiritual refreshment” and to receive training at places including Africa International University in Nairobi.

“Kenya has offered us many extraordinary gifts,” Rice said. “We are grateful.”

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service

Today’s Focus: Rev. Dr. Robert Ngugi preaches online to the PC(USA) national staff

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Hayley Scheir, Mission Specialist I, Advocacy Support, Executive Directors Office, Presbyterian Mission Agency 
Corey Schlosser-Hall, Deputy Executive Director of Visioning, Rebuilding and Innovation, Presbyterian Mission Agency 

Let us pray

We praise you, God, for the way you send your people into ministry. May you strengthen us for service and quicken our eyes to see and ears to hear how you would send us now. Be with all those with whom you would draw us into relationship, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christian Counseling Associates - Violence and Vulnerability

OFFICE HOURS All calls are confidential. Clinical coordinators are available. Monday – Friday 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM (724) 396-1510 In light of recent events that include school shootings in Georgia, threats of violence in Ridgeway, Pennsylvania, and the assassination attempts of our former president in Butler, Pennsylvania, and most recently in West Palm Beach, Florida, Christian Counseling Associates denounces all forms of violence that have recently been perpetrated in our local communities. We call for prayer and reflection during the current political season.    When confronted with aggressive rhetoric and tension in our community, our natural response is to strike back. We are often vulnerable to the tendency to fight or to run away. These responses so often add to the chaos and confusion. It is always easier to tear down than to build each other up. Our higher angels call us to engage the situation. Our communities are in a fractured state due to festering disagreements and resentments that are long-standing. At the same time, we are reminded of our call to be self-governed and follow a higher calling. Trust in Jesus We were recently reminded of the spirit of 9/11. In those days, the shout of true humanity over violence rang true. For a season and a righteous cause, we came together as friends and countrymen. In times of challenge, it is not our legacy to devolve into violence and destruction. It has always been our responsibility to respond with self-control and dignity. Grounded in purpose, we look for opportunities to unite, work together, rebuild, and rise to the occasion.  Let us call upon our leaders, media outlets, community, and families once again to stand strong together in the face of violence.  Let us remember that in our vulnerability, there is an opportunity. Let us rise again to our calling as a country and a free people. May we engage this season with true strength, knowing that our might is not found in retaliation or the chaos of conflict but in the quiet strength of compassion, patience, and self-governance. Schedule an Appointment What Sets Us Apart? CCA can provide a full range of clinical counseling services: Christian Counseling Associates are experts in the fields of mental health and addictions. With their comprehensive knowledge and experience, CCA provides effective treatment and support for individuals struggling with various mental health disorders and addictions. Our expertise allows us to offer holistic care that addresses both the emotional and spiritual aspects of recovery. Overwhelmed or struggling with the challenges of the current season? You are not alone. CCA is available to help. We provide excellent, accessible, and comprehensive counseling services. Please visit our website at www.ccawpa.com or call us at 724-396-1510 to learn more about a location near you. You can also access our safe, secure online services from anywhere. God Bless, Richard Hoffman, Ph.D.   Clinical Director Christian Counseling Associates SERVICES....WHY CCA....NEW CLIENTS....LOCATIONS....ABOUT Christian Counseling Associates Available in Pennsylvania, Arkansas, New York, Ohio, West Virginia  and in Liberia, West Africa Stay Social With Us:

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