pcusa.org/missioncrossroads

Spring 2020

Confronting Climate Change Together

Climate crisis in Madagascar: p5 | Protecting God’s creation in Lebanon: p8 | Trees of life: p16 Mission Crossroads is a Presbyterian Mission Agency Sara Pottschmidt Lisherness AT THE CROSSROADS Director, Compassion, Peace & Justice Ministry, publication about God�s and Interim Director, Presbyterian World Mission mission around the world through the PC(USA) and our church partners. ‘The Fierce INTERIM DIRECTOR OF WORLD MISSION Sara Lisherness Urgency of Now’ EDITOR Kathy Melvin Confronting climate change together CONTENT MANAGER A s stewards of God’s creation, we are challenged to care for planet Earth and all Mienda Uriarte its inhabitants. This is an awesome responsibility, but also an incredible opportunity. PROJECT MANAGER There are many concerns facing our planet, with climate change and its impact on Tammy Warren the most vulnerable at the top of the list. Related concerns include privatization of the ART DIRECTOR earth’s precious resources, threats to the safety of our world’s water supply and the Anne Walker effects of toxic emissions. COPY EDITOR In 2020, most Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations will commemorate Earth Jennifer Cash Day the Sunday before or after April 22. This 50th anniversary of Earth Day will focus on the theme “The Fierce Urgency of Now,” a phrase used by many people in many STAY CONNECTED contexts to emphasize the dwindling time remaining for change. As we reflect on the To subscribe or to change many global environmental issues that face us, we will be working together in the most your mailing address, contact diverse and passionate global movement since Earth Day was established in 1970: [email protected] pcusa.org/ministries/environment/earth-day-sunday/ or call 800-728-7228. To request Every country is facing a myriad of environmental concerns. There is also a growing additional free copies of Mission Crossroads, email movement churchwide to strengthen our witness and efforts to care for God’s creation [email protected] or call holistically. This ministry is being done collaboratively by all Presbyterian Mission 800-728-7228, ext. 5611. Agency ministry areas and global partners, including Presbyterian World Mission and Compassion, Peace & Justice. SUPPORT WORLD MISSION One of the primary goals of Presbyterian Mission Agency offices addressing Give online: environmental ministries is to equip congregations and mid councils as they engage pcusa.org/supportwm in healing and restoration of God’s creation. Phone: 800-728-7228 Mail checks, payable to: Presbyterian World Mission P.O. Box 643700 Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700

On the cover: For inspiration, read the article on page 16 by the Rev. Jed Koball, who serves with Yenny Delgado and the Presbyterian Hunger Program’s partner Red Uniendo Manos Peru (Peru Joining Eva Esther Morales hug a toborochi tree, meaning Hands Network). Jed’s work supports a partnership with Joining Hands that is greatly “tree of refuge.” Native to enhanced by 84-year-old Victoria Trujillo, better known as Mama Toya. In the past countries in South America, two decades, Mama Toya has worked with the Conservation Committee of her beloved it can grow up to 55 feet tall Villa El Sol community and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance to plant more than 30,000 and 50 feet wide. Read Yenny's story on page 14. trees on the community’s contaminated lands. If you wonder what kind of impact one person can have on climate change, consider Mama Toya and give thanks for her inspiring witness. On a visit to Villa El Sol, Jed asked for Mama Toya. Her daughter told him, “She has been out working in the hills since sunrise. That’s where she is every day, all day.”

Juan Castillo “It was there that we found her,” Jed said. “Lifting rocks, moving soil, watering trees, never stopping. ‘These hills give me life,’ she said. ‘I thought I was going to die, and these lands healed me. God healed me. And you walking with me gives me the strength to keep going.’” MISSION TOOLKIT Ellen Sherby, Coordinator, Equipping for Mission Involvement

Ideas to help What footprints planet Earth Mission co-worker Jed Koball are we leaving? has proposed a few ideas to Mission trips and carbon emissions Peruvian partners to attempt to offset carbon emissions of groups visiting Peru: “Our congregation wants to go on a short-term mission trip outside the U.S. Are there PC(USA) global partners that can host us?” • Charge an additional $10 to $20 per person, per mission “I am planning a trip next summer for families in my church. Does the team, to help fund an ongoing PC(USA) have a devotional guide for intergenerational trips?” reforestation project of our partners. T hese are questions I respond to regularly. • Engage mission teams in Congregational mission trip leaders often more environmental activities reach out to seek guidance for where (as opposed to construction).

to go and resource materials to help Zavala Elmer • Continue to address climate them lead short-term mission trips. change as the most urgent I recently exchanged emails with issue of the world today. Jed Koball, a PC(USA) mission co-worker • Eat out less. serving with the Joining Hands Network • Eliminate red meat from in Peru. Jed accompanies groups of mission team diets (and slowly Presbyterians from the U.S. who come move toward a culturally to Peru to learn about causes and effects appropriate vegetarian diet). of poverty. They go back to the U.S. Take note: These are Jed’s ideas prepared to advocate for Peruvian brothers for the context of partners in Peru. and sisters and to learn more about (and If you are planning a trip, please act on) root causes of poverty at home. work with the host partners to ask Ellen Sherby walks with one of her sons them about their ideas for offsetting A recent email from Jed started while visiting family in Honduras. Sherby met a conversation about the impact of her husband of more than two decades, the your group’s carbon footprint. mission trips on our carbon footprint. Rev. Elmer Zavala, while serving in a short- Follow their guidance to determine term mission program in Honduras in 1995. what kinds of activities are most Jed commented, “As I was reviewing the appropriate in their context. resources, evaluating the mission experiences we facilitate here in Peru, and obsessively while also caring for the planet: fretting over the demise of the planet as the • Participate in mission in ways that Amazon burns and the Andes icecaps melt, cause as little harm as possible, including • Unpack the Short-Term it occurred to me that we Presbyterians potential environmental impacts Mission Trip Toolkit: should take more responsibility for our your group may have as it travels to presbyterianmission.org/ carbon emissions … not only in support and lives in a host community. short-term-mission. of our global partner initiatives (both • Offset your carbon footprint • Learn about Joining Hands: advocacy and project-based) but also as you travel to, serve and live in presbyterianmission.org/ in relation to our personal activity.” communities away from home. joininghands. God calls us to do what we can to leave • Commit to deeper engagement in your • Take the Presbyterian Hunger all kinds of good “footprints” in mission, own community upon your return home. Program’s Climate Care both for creation as well as for the well- One way is to engage your congregation Challenge: pcusa.org/ccc. being of all of God’s people around the in conversations about climate change. world. As you prepare to participate in Visit presbyterianmission.org/ mission or service near or far, consider blessed-tomorrow to download “Let’s the following ways to engage in mission Talk Faith & Climate” and “15 Steps.”

Mission Crossroads | 1 Kathy Melvin A rising tide of urgency Churches help islanders respond to environmental challenges

W hen discussing the issue of people to be accompanied in that forced migration, we see images in journey, where they are actually the U.S. of violence and economic for the first time having to uproot inequality in Central America, South themselves from generations of America and parts of the Middle embedment in the land and the sea East, but in Asia and the Pacific, and come to somewhere else.” the Rev. James Bhagwan, general More than 2,000 languages secretary of the Pacific Conference of are spoken in the Pacific and on Churches, said some areas are facing an atlas, the islands look like tiny the extinction of entire cultures by dots spread across the page. That rising sea levels, increasing ocean presents its own challenges. temperatures and extreme weather. “We understand the ocean does

not separate us,” Bhagwan said. “It’s Churches of Conference the Pacific of Courtesy what connects us. So, we recognize that the ocean is our home and part of who we are, part of our identity.” Pacific island nations are located in the Pacific Ocean, east of both Australia and the Philippines, as far west as Papua New Guinea, and as far east as Easter Island. The region is also Children at the village of Narikoso, Fiji, where the ocean has forced the village referred to as Oceania — which also to relocate. includes the Australian continent. Courtesy of The Global Church Project The Global Church of Courtesy These people being forced from their homes are often referred to extra heat in the atmosphere, but the as climate refugees, environmental effects are far beyond just rising waters. refugees or climate change migrants. Pacific islanders are watching many Natural disasters like droughts and types of marine life struggle and often cyclones have become increasingly die trying to adapt to the warmer water. The Rev. James Bhagwan, general secretary common in the Pacific island This struggle has devastated coral of the Pacific Conference of Churches nations and many other countries reefs and fishing, resources that many as well. According to a report by the depend on for their livelihood. The The Pacific Conference of Churches, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate warmer waters are also causing storms a PC(USA) global partner, follows Change (IPCC) released at the U.N. around the world to be more intense. the mandate to speak truth to power Climate Change Conference in At an international climate on issues of justice. One of the most Paris, if the sea continues to rise at conference, former Kiribati President impactful is caring for God’s creation. its current rate, some islands will be Anote Tong said his nation, with a “The sense of justice, the sense completely under water by 2050. population of about 105,000 people in of providing sacred space, safe Because of excessive carbon emissions, the central Pacific, could be completely space, hospitality and helping the world’s oceans are absorbing the submerged in the next 50 years. Kiribati

2 | Spring 2020 is a sovereign state in Micronesia Tonga, Samoa, American Samoa, The statement calls on all church made up of more than 30 islands. New Caledonia, Papua New members and all Christians in the However, the current president, Taneti Guinea and the Cook Islands. Pacific to eliminate single-use plastic Maamau, believes that while climate A statement issued from the bags, plastic straws and Styrofoam change is real it is not man-made, so conference said in part: containers, both in their personal lives his administration has put aside the “As we seek to reweave the economic, and in church activities. They are also pessimistic image of a sinking nation ecological and ecumenical strands asking for member churches to advocate and is focusing on building luxury of the mat on which we all sit in with their government to ban single-use resorts and attracting investors. the context of climate change, the plastic bags and Styrofoam containers. In Fiji, a haven for tourists for its Pacific Churches urge innovative Although the crisis is critical, the natural beauty, coastal homes are and ecological frameworks for truly Pacific Conference of Churches hopes flooding at high tide and the island’s sustainable, decarbonized development it can have a realistic impact. “If we sugar cane is being destroyed by the sea that draw on the nature-affirming cannot be brothers and sisters to the water. The Marshall Islands declared spiritualities of the Pacific and the fish, the land and the air, at least let’s a state of emergency in 2013, after a rest of the world and incorporate be good neighbors,” Bhagwan said. crippling drought that caused water traditional knowledge with wisdom The Pacific island nations are not shortages and crop damage. A year later, of Pacific and indigenous peoples. alone. The Internal Displacement the islands were hit by a massive high The Pacific Churches will continue Monitoring Center, headquartered tide that caused hundreds to evacuate. to accompany and advocate for in Geneva, reports that in 2018, In May 2019, the Pacific Conference communities facing climate- 17.2 million people in 144 countries of Churches hosted its third Climate induced relocation, for relocation and territories were displaced by Action Pacific Partnership Conference with dignity — particularly around disasters within their own country. in Fiji. The consultation involved non-economic loss and damage, From 2008–18, their numbers show 45–50 people, most of whom were spiritually-based trauma counseling that 265.3 million were displaced from Pacific island countries, including and a framework for hospitality worldwide. South and East Asia and Kiribati, Nauru, French Polynesia, in the context of climate-induced the Pacific were the most affected. Niue, Marshall Islands, Solomon relocation for receive communities Islands, Fiji, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, who themselves are impacted.” Kathy Melvin is director of mission communications for the Presbyterian Mission Agency.

Getty Images Getty TRANSFORM COMMUNITIES Further the work of World Mission among our partners in Asia and the Pacific: pcusa.org/donate/E864200

The beaches of Fiji attract visitors from around the world.

Mission Crossroads | 3 Dan Turk “That is the greatest injustice of climate change — that those who bear the least responsibility for climate change are the ones who will suffer the most.”

Mary Robinson, adjunct professor of climate justice, Trinity Climate crisis College Dublin; former U.N. high commissioner for human rights; in Madagascar former president of Ireland (Global Hunger Index 2019) Exacerbating hunger and loss of biodiversity

The Fiangonan’i Jesoa Kristy eto Environmental emergency Madagasikara (FJKM), PC(USA)’s Hundreds of Madagascar’s plants partner denomination in Madagascar, and animals are threatened with believes strongly in spreading the Melvin Kathy extinction. For example, six of gospel and helping people improve the world’s 25 most endangered their lives. The FJKM also believes primates are lemurs from Madagascar that Christians have a responsibility to (according to the report Primates in help preserve creation. Church leaders Peril 2016–18). A distinguished group often quote Genesis 2:15, “The Lord of scientists recently declared that God took the man and put him in A Simpona lemur watches from his perch in the the world is facing the “last chance Andasibe region of Madagascar. the Garden of Eden to work it and for Madagascar’s biodiversity.” The take care of it” (NIV). Helping people Association for Tropical Biology and improve their lives while helping Unique biodiversity Conservation concluded in 2019 that to preserve Madagascar’s unique The vast majority of Madagascar’s “without urgent action, it will soon be biodiversity is especially challenging plants and animals are endemic to too late to save some of Madagascar’s given the extent of hunger and poverty the island nation, meaning that most iconic habitats and species.” in Madagascar and the environmental they are found naturally only in Deforestation is the major driver of degradation threatening many species Madagascar. Lemurs, tenrecs, the biodiversity loss. Selective removal of with extinction. The climate crisis fosa, the Tahina palm and six species endangered species, such as rosewood is intensifying these challenges. of baobabs are some of Madagascar’s trees for making high-priced furniture endemic animals and plants. Should and the angonoka tortoise for the Alarming poverty and hunger they go extinct in Madagascar, international pet trade, also plays According to the World Bank, many would go extinct entirely. a role. Deforestation is often done “Madagascar is among the poorest countries in the world with 75% of the population living on less than $1.90 per day.” The majority of Elizabeth Turk Elizabeth people are subsistence farmers who produce most of their own food, with hopefully enough extra to sell to purchase necessities such as clothes and medicines, and to pay school fees. The Global Hunger Index 2019 found hunger in Madagascar to be in the alarming category, the fourth worst of the 117 countries for which sufficient data was available. Chronic malnutrition is so prevalent that nearly 55% of children under 5 years of age are stunted.

The FJKM Fruit Center in the northwestern region of Mahatsinjo provides mangos and other fruit.

4 | Spring 2020 and “increased incidence or intensity part of their training, seminary of extreme weather events, including students do field trips to natural Dan Turk droughts, cyclones and floods” forests where they see lemurs in the (USAID Climate Change Risk Profile, wild and learn about the threats that Madagascar). Extreme weather events jeopardize their continued survival. exacerbate hunger. In their search The FJKM’s Fruits, Vegetables, and for means of survival, people often Environmental Education (FVEE) adopt environmentally destructive program provides native trees for practices, such as cutting native forests planting at FJKM schools and to make charcoal or doing slash-and- churches to help people learn about burn agriculture to grow corn as a the value of Madagascar’s amazing cash crop. These secondary effects trees. The FVEE has set up a fruit on Madagascar’s biodiversity are center in northwestern Madagascar probably much greater than the direct to harness the potential of mangos consequences of higher temperatures. and other fruit trees to reduce poverty and hunger. Mangos grow well on What can be done soils of low fertility in areas that have Recommendations for alleviating a long dry season. With assistance hunger, loss of biodiversity and from the Presbyterian Hunger Children hold fruit trees for planting at their FJKM school. the effects of the climate crisis are Program, over 100 low-income similar and interrelated. Common farmers have recently been trained to to obtain agricultural fields (known recommendations for Madagascar plant, grow and graft mango trees. as slash-and-burn agriculture), to include diversifying crops, By growing selected mango varieties get firewood and to make charcoal increasing funding for national and grafting their own trees, these for cooking meals in urban areas. parks, planting fast-growing trees, farmers will have opportunities Cutting trees to build houses and reducing corruption, enforcing to greatly improve their lives. to make boards for construction environmental laws and improving In Madagascar, the challenges also contributes to deforestation. educational opportunities. of hunger and loss of biodiversity Climate justice means that countries are made worse by the climate Population explosion largely responsible for creating the crisis; nevertheless, the FJKM, in Madagascar’s population, currently climate crisis should help countries partnership with the PC(USA), estimated at about 27 million, is like Madagascar that have very low is helping to make a difference. expected to grow to more than carbon emissions but suffer the 55 million by 2050. Population consequences of climate change. Dan Turk and his wife, Elizabeth, growth alone will put extreme are mission co-workers serving in pressure on agricultural production The church’s involvement partnership with the Church of Jesus and remaining natural forests. The FJKM, the largest Protestant Christ in Madagascar (FJKM). Dan has church in Madagascar, is fighting a Ph.D. in forestry and a master's in Climate crisis hunger and loss of biodiversity in agronomy and soil science, with over In 2019, Time magazine, using many ways. It has integrated training 25 years’ experience in Madagascar. analysis from Verisk Maplecroft, in growing fruits, vegetables and declared Madagascar to be one of fast-growing trees into the program of the “10 countries most vulnerable to study for student pastors. This helps GET INVOLVED climate change.” The changing climate the new pastors feed their families Support Dan and Elizabeth’s is expected to cause an “increase in and provide technical assistance for work to improve the lives of temperature of 2.5 degrees Celsius others in their communities to help Malagasy people: to 3 degrees Celsius, increased reduce hunger and promote resilience pcusa.org/donate/E200418 unpredictability of seasonal rains,” in the face of climate change. As

Mission Crossroads | 5 Burkhard Paetzold Are we really all on the same boat? Or are some in Noah’s Ark and others on the Titanic?

A nother hot and dry summer caused many heat-related issues and stresses for farmers in Central Europe. Plants had to be watered around the clock, just to keep them alive. Thirty years ago, I remember we had to clean smashed insects from our car windshield practically every other day. Now we hardly have to do it at all because our insects are fewer in variety and number, and even our bees are in danger. People everywhere are talking about climate change and a silent war against nature. It’s a necessity to talk about trees and bees, since they disappear as a signal of our complex wrongdoings as citizens of planet Earth: • The vicious cycle of excessive Burkhard Paetzold (center), World Mission’s regional liaison for Central and Western Europe, meat production and consumption is flanked by Presbyterians for Earth Care members, Gary Payton (left) and Paul Henschen results in deforestation and harmful (right) at the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s 222nd General Assembly (2016). production of methane from cattle. • Ever-increasing burning of fossil fuel has stripped us, in just a few leave their homeland and limits our “Cutting your lawn short should be years, from resources accumulated fairness to future generations. embarrassing,” and that people should over thousands of years. Looking at 16-year-old Greta plant flowers instead of maintaining • Climate change has led to Thunberg, who started the movement carefully manicured lawns. Their environmental degradation. of students in Sweden, I think slogan is “Wir sind hier, wir sind laut, • Increasingly, migration is caused these are fragile shoulders to carry weil ihr uns die Zukunft klaut,” which by the effects of climate change. the whole world. It’s like when we translates to “We are here, we are More and more people understand delegated pacifism to 18-year-old loud, because you steal our future.” that the justice, peace and integrity of conscientious objectors, while others This makes me sad. God’s Creation form a triad. Justice hid. But this movement is growing. In June, I attended Kirchentag, a needs peace and peace needs justice. Youth in Europe have learned that large Protestant-German lay assembly A fair and humble use of natural their future is at stake. Students in Dortmund in northern Germany. resources is an important element of participate in “Fridays for Future,” Together with tens of thousands of justice and thus a precondition for a campaign against fossil fuel. other attendees, I sang about God’s peace. A destruction or poisoning of Communities are protecting their beautiful Creation, discussed our or robbery of nature causes people to bees by spreading the word that ecological sins and, most importantly,

6 | Spring 2020 “God placed humankind in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and guard it” (Gen. 2:15). encouraged others. I was also and I were shocked to see them change from our country’s leaders. encouraged in the ongoing work of doubling their share of the vote in I believe that right now Christians caring for Creation. the recent elections (to now 23%). In on both sides of the Atlantic need Europe is divided over the issue my very secular state of Brandenburg, each other very much. of migration and doesn’t have a this party, which is led by a former strategy. At the Kirchentag, we had neo-Nazi, sees my denomination Burkhard Paetzold, regional liaison opportunities to hear the voices of (the Protestant Church in Germany) for Central and Western Europe, refugees and others who witness as part of a left-wing and ecological connects Presbyterians in the U.S. to the suffering of refugees. We conspiracy. For the members of advocacy work for the Roma people commemorated the thousands who this neo-nationalist party, climate and refugees through churches, have died in the Mediterranean and justice and support for refugees are organizations and programs associated protested against criminalizing their misleading ideologies. with the Conference of European helpers. (The former Italian interior They say the church has lost God Churches and Churches Commission minister didn’t even allow rescue and only follows the current societal for Migrants in Europe. boats to enter Italian harbors.) mainstream. However, in truth, I was part of a group carrying long they themselves are actually seeking banners made by participants in the to replace God with the idol of Kirchentag, listing the names of nationalism. That’s something that’s thousands of people who drowned. been tried before in German history, TAKE ACTION We hung the banners from one of the with terrible results. tallest church steeples in Dortmund. There is a diversity in the streets Support Burkhard’s ministry The populist neo-nationalist that inspires me; from high schoolers among the Roma people in political party Alternative for to doctors; scientists to faith leaders; Europe: Germany sees all this very differently. union members and everyone pcusa.org/donate/E200392 Many of my fellow church members else demanding action on climate Alexander Preub Alexander

Fridays for Future demonstrators in Munich.

Mission Crossroads | 7 Rima Nasrallah van Saane Protecting God’s creation in Lebanon Near East School of Theology puts faith into action, one tree at a time

The Near East School of Theology between Lebanon’s two mountain A Rocha started several small projects (NEST), a PC(USA) global partner, ranges, known since ancient times with local municipalities to create joined the Christian conservation as the “bread basket of Lebanon.” green spaces where families can organization A Rocha for a day of It is a checkerboard of fields, dotted enjoy nature in its full biodiversity. projects aimed at protecting God’s with small villages, and is a visual A project with a prayer maze was many beautiful creations in Lebanon. testament of the region’s agricultural already planted in Qab Elias a The project provided an opportunity heritage. The Bekaa Valley is a couple of years ago. It proved to be for NEST students to put their transit point between Damascus, very helpful for families and schools faith into action regarding creation Syria’s capital city, and Beirut. as well as for church groups. care, as well as social impact. More recently A Rocha has begun NEST students and faculty worked They enjoyed working the soil and looking into the social dimension on a park project in Mekse. The plot of planting. Staff and faculty joined in. of conservation as well. The West land they planted was one of the very A Rocha Lebanon was founded in Bekaa has become overpopulated, last unbuilt plots. They planted 125 1996, with an initial focus to save the particularly with refugees. So, trees in one day, then a few hundred Aammiq marshes from destruction. The Aammiq Wetland is Lebanon’s most significant remaining natural freshwater site, one of all too few in the Middle East. This major stopover site for migrating birds was under severe threat. The work was a success. Due to the work of A Rocha, the reduction of its habitats has been

reversed and the wetland is now Saane van Rima Nasrallah a designated Ramsar site. Beyond Aammiq, A Rocha has gained valuable experience in working throughout the country, on behalf of government departments, nature preserves and international conservation bodies. This includes scientific research, practical conservation and environmental education. A Rocha has worked in the Bekaa Valley for more than 20 years to protect and restore nature as part of its witness to God, the Creator, Savior and Sustainer. The Bekaa is a vast, open valley nestled in the east Students and staff of the Near East School of Theology (NEST) plant trees to care for creation in Lebanon. NEST students and staff planted 125 trees in a single day.

8 | Spring 2020 – NEST –

The Near East School of Theology (NEST), formed Photo provided by Martin Bernard by provided Photo in 1932 by the merger of the School for Religious Workers in Beirut and the School of Religion in Athens, is built upon a history of Protestant theological education in the Near East, which goes back to 1835. In that year, the Rev. William Thompson, author Interest in environmental stewardship is growing in Lebanon. of “The Land and the Book,” founded the first Protestant seminary in Beirut. In 1843, more trees were added later and a small bushes have been planted by a group the seminary moved to Abey, pond was installed. The idea was not of refugees and volunteers from in the mountains not far only to create a green space but also a wide range of backgrounds. south of Beirut, under the to involve locals in its creation and leadership of Dr. Cornelius develop awareness of its importance The Rev. Dr. Rima Nasrallah van Saane Van Dyck, translator of and the many different types of is an assistant professor in practical the Bible into Arabic. It trees, bushes, flowers and, since theology at the Near East School of offered classes in theology there is water, insects and animals. Theology (NEST) and an ordained and general education. The community park will become pastor in the National Evangelical a clean and safe environment for Church of Beirut, Lebanon. Out of the Abey Seminary local families to enjoy. And, with a grew, in 1866, the Syrian school nearby, it will offer an outdoor Protestant College, now classroom for students to take part in the American University of practical lessons about nature, native Beirut. With the founding plants and pond life. Over the next MAKE A of the college, it was decided three years, A Rocha Lebanon will that the seminary pursue only coordinate additional landscaping DIFFERENCE work, including laying paths, further theological studies, while the planting and removal of a significant Support the work of Scott college would be responsible amount of rubbish and building waste. and Elmarie Parker in the for general studies. The Middle East: A Rocha Lebanon’s local seminary had several locations pcusa.org/donate/E200504 initiatives offer a fascinating model in the subsequent years and, in for biodiversity conservation and Make a gift to support the 1905, moved back to Beirut. environmental education. In a little work of the Near East School more than six months, the site at of Theology (NEST): pcusa.org/donate/E862612 Mekse has been fenced, irrigation pools have been dug, and trees and

Mission Crossroads | 9 Dennis Smith

Who owns the Amazon rainforest? Intricately balanced ecosystems provide the breath of life for many

I n recent months, the world’s attention has communities and slash and burn the rainforest focused on the Amazon rainforest, widely to make way for the cultivation of export crops. considered to be one of the most important More than 70,000 fires were documented in lungs of planet Earth. Covering parts of nine Brazil in 2019, the highest number on record. countries in South America, this vast and Bencke notes that the Amazon region is incredibly diverse region both traps carbon currently under threat “because both the dioxide that leads to global warming and minister of agriculture and the president creates the oxygen vital to many forms of life. deny climate change and have backed a For decades these nine countries have debated major social media campaign claiming that with the world community how to balance the fires were started by environmental environmental concerns with their desire to organizations, which is terribly false.” exploit abundant natural resources, ranging Bencke continues: “The current government from medicinal plants, tropical hardwoods and is proposing the industrialization of the water to petroleum and precious minerals. Amazon to grow the GNP and insists that The debate is whether the Amazon indigenous peoples are expendable and getting rainforest belongs to nine nation states or to in the way of Brazil’s right to progress.” all of humanity. Can exploitation for profit The Amazon region is home to many be allowed to supersede the common good? indigenous peoples. Some have had little or One alternative has been an international no contact with the outside world. Over the agreement where Brazil, the country that hosts the years, their ancestral knowledge of this complex largest portion of the Amazon rainforest, receives web of intricately balanced ecosystems has payment from other nations, including Norway played a vital role in conservation efforts. and Germany, to prohibit deforestation. Studies The Indigenous Missionary Council of the suggest that under this program the Roman Catholic Church reports that several rate of deforestation fell significantly. indigenous groups in northern Brazil face the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a far- threat of genocide. News reports describe how right nationalist, insists that Brazil has the miners and loggers invade indigenous lands, right to exploit the Amazon for economic displacing whole communities, while farmers gain. Both Norway and Germany have ceased and ranchers set fire to the forest. Reported payments to Brazil as deforestation under the assassinations of indigenous leaders have also Bolsonaro government has increased sharply. increased sharply under the current government. According to the Rev. Romi Bencke, a Brazilian A pastoral letter circulated last October Lutheran minister who serves as general secretary by several dozen ministers of the United of the National Council of Christian Churches Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPU), a mission in Brazil, under Bolsonaro large landowners — partner of the PC(USA), stated that: especially soybean farmers and cattle ranchers — “Reports of criminal activity resulting in forest have been given free rein to displace traditional fires in the Amazon — confirmed by serious

10 | Spring 2020 scientific studies — are ignored, distorted or attributed to the innocent practice of burning off crops. The enforcement apparatus to control these practices has been dismantled; with the cancellation of fines and of programs to maintain equipment used to combat deforestation.” Later in their pastoral letter, the IPU notes that environmental depredation is closely related to the plight of indigenous peoples and of the landless in Brazil: “In addition to threatening the lives of ‘the least of these,’ discourse that values money Churches of Council Kupcis/World Ivars and the economy above all else jeopardizes our ability to see in the poor a key for discerning the nature and means of divine revelation.” Finally, the letter laments the increasing Rev. Romi Bencke, general secretary of the National Council of Christian Churches in Brazil, speaks during polarization of Brazilian society and notes that an ecumenical roundtable meeting on Brazil, convened religion, too, has become deeply divisive: in Geneva, Switzerland, last August by the World “Disguised under a godly mantle, false Council of Churches. prophets have promoted death and division in our country and in our churches. … Faced with this situation, we, as ministers of Word and Sacrament of the United Presbyterian Church of Brazil, come together to denounce publicly any religious discourse that camouflages hatred and prejudice against skin color, gender, ideology or any other characteristic used to define a person’s position in the world and in society.”

Dennis Smith is World Mission’s regional liaison for South America. Based in Buenos Aires, he works with 16 mission partners from Colombia to Argentina. Ivars Kupcis/World Council of Churches of Council Kupcis/World Ivars

STRENGTHEN MISSION

PARTNERSHIPS Dennis Smith, left, World Mission’s regional liaison for South America, attended the roundtable gathering, along Support the work of Dennis and with leaders of the World Council of Churches, the World Maribel Smith in South America: Communion of Reformed Churches, the Lutheran World pcusa.org/donate/E200481 Federation and ACT Alliance. Speaking here is Rev. Agnaldo Pereira Gomes, president of the Alliance of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches of Latin America.

Mission Crossroads | 11 Ndayizeye Munyansanga Olivier Presbyterian Church of Kabuga transforms schools

and animals alike, and are home to numerous birds, insects and animals. Trees help us overcome fear, calm our bodies, and release our frustrations and anger. If you are dealing with issues from your past, use “green” to help bring harmony into any situation. Trees may Ndayizeye Munyansanga Olivier Munyansanga Ndayizeye even help to recompose unity among divided people, which is a challenge and vital mission in our society. Green helps dissolve aggression in relationships or mend a broken heart. It helps release negative patterns and beliefs, and can assist in centering yourself in stressful or shocking situations. Green replenishes your energy and helps you relax, meditate and heal. Green helps revitalize the nervous system, heart, thymus, lungs and liver. It also stimulates growth and helps heal broken bones, build muscles and repair tissues. Green has the ability to purify the blood and Newly registered students have their own trees to plant. restore health. It contains antibacterial qualities. On the shadow side, green T he Presbyterian Church of Kabuga, early as nursery school, learn how a small has been linked to envy, jealousy and Rwanda, has two primary schools action, like planting a tree, can be of superstition. It is a color of fertility, — Kabuga (with 310 students) and great importance to our environment. truth, youthfulness and innocence. Muyumba (with 192 students). Parents, This way of education contributes In requesting students to plant students and teachers are celebrating to the protection of biodiversity. trees, we are helping them to be the fourth consecutive school year We plant trees to create a space aware of climate change and the rapid that students in Primary 6 in both for creative thinking and a source of destruction of our planet. Trees absorb schools have achieved a perfect score inspiration for our students. Trees are harmful carbon from the atmosphere on Rwanda’s national examination. an effective sound barrier and can limit and are key ingredients in 25% of Each school was built to show noise pollution. Recent research shows all medicines. Trees provide jobs how small actions can be of great that trees also help reduce the stress of to more than 1.6 billion people. importance. They have become the modern life. To many people, a tree is In looking after trees, through high-quality schools they are today the ultimate symbol of prosperity. Frank watering, removal of weeds around by building one classroom a year. Lloyd Wright, an American architect, trees, and in protecting the trees, It is a blessing to have high-quality writer and educator, once said, “The best students developed the spirit of education among schools in our friend on Earth of man is the tree.” follow-up, the spirit of responsibility educational system. Our students, as Trees provide restful shade to humans and the spirit of creativity. They are

12 | Spring 2020 able to generate creative ideas. We are always illustrating the power of planting by a Talmudic story:

An old man was planting a tree. A young person passed by, and asked, “What are you planting?” Ndayizeye Munyansanga Olivier Munyansanga Ndayizeye “A carob tree,” the old man replied. “Silly fool,” said the youth. “Don't you know that it takes 70 years for a carob tree to bear fruit?” “That's OK,” said the old man. “Just as others planted for me, I plant for future generations.”

You are requested to love trees wherever you are. In the Presbyterian Church of Kabuga, students enjoy the shelter of trees between the school You are invited to keep planting and the church. trees wherever you are. You are encouraged to plant at As Christians, we should be the You are obliged to protect trees least one tree at the house you live in, best environmentalists on the planet, in any kind of situation. and to check on it every morning, because we uniquely understand what to feed it and to let it grow. the environment is, what has gone wrong with it, what is being done to fix it and what our role is in relation to it.

The Rev. Dr. Ndayizeye Munyansanga Olivier is dean of the faculty of theology and religious studies of the Protestant Institute of Arts and Social Sciences in Butare, Rwanda. Ndayizeye Munyansanga Olivier Munyansanga Ndayizeye

LET'S WORK TOGETHER Designate a gift to support “environmental protection” through the Presbyterian Church of Rwanda: pcusa.org/donate/E864102

Nursery school students wait to plant their own trees.

Mission Crossroads | 13 Yenny Delgado Addressing

Courtesy of Juan Castillo of Courtesy climate change requires reconciliation with indigenous

Yenny Delgado, center, is with Juan Castillo, communities left, and Eva Esther Morales.

O ver the past few months, the world’s This is the story of one affected What should we do? We must attention has turned to the burning of community and how we can remember first the church’s call: the Amazon rainforest with a primary show solidarity to our brothers We are challenged by the cries of focus on Brazil, which is home to and sisters around the world. the people who suffer and by the over 60% of the primordial forest that The road was narrow in my journey woundedness of creation itself. We serves as the thermostat and lungs for to the Chiquitanos community in see a dramatic convergence between the planet. However, the burning and Bolivia, also known as the Monkóx the suffering of the people and the loss of forest lands in Brazil have also community. The smell of ashen wood damage done to the rest of creation. taken place in neighboring countries, served as our guide and engulfed the We have heard that creation continues including Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay. fibers of our clothes, skin and hair. The to groan, in bondage, waiting for Why is the forest burning? The once blue sky was transformed into a its liberation (Romans 8:22). burning is not due to global warming gray post-apocalyptic vision of what After the destruction, the time for or power lines tipped over in drought destruction can bring. The Monkóx healing and reconstruction is upon us conditions (e.g., Paradise, California). survived the invasion of the Europeans, all. Community members we talked The forest is burning because it was who sought to exploit their labor and with told us that when the fire goes set on fire to provide more land for destroy their land. Today the Monkóx out, the next job is going to be just as farming and mining with a tacit are now suffering as a result of the hard. They said we have to reforest, find blessing from the current government. recent fires. They are struggling to find water and keep the trees. Perhaps there However, because of changing out who committed this crime, not only is a need to dig wells for new water weather patterns the fires have been against nature but also against them. sources and make canals to ensure that more intense than in years past. The impact of these fires continues to have a devastating effect, not only on the environment but also

the many indigenous communities Delgado Yenny that live in the affected areas. Last September, in collaboration with local religious leaders, I had the opportunity to visit a community struggling to recover. Though the narrative and media gaze have turned from those suffering to international power politics and unrest throughout America, those on the ground are still trying to regrow what was. Deforestation of the single largest remaining tropical rainforest is a threat to all humanity.

14 | Spring 2020 a continental scale and have been relegated to natural environmental

Yenny Delgado Yenny reservations. Now, even Native American reservations are being overrun for business interests (gas pipelines) in both the Amazon and Dakotas. Undoubtedly, the Monkóx are a brave community. They were survivors of European colonization, and they are in this moment of pain and loss. The attitude adopted by the community is reminiscent of that shown by indigenous leader Mura, from Brazil, who said, “If necessary, I will use the last drop of my blood for this forest.” Showing the world, as well as politicians, that a true leader gives life not only for their people but for the world, “What really is life in the world without the Amazon?” To address climate change and the destruction of the environment, we must recognize the struggle and the efforts of indigenous people to be the guardian of the land. We must assume responsibility to seek reconciliation and repair relationships. Our faith requires us to seek repentance, change In Bolivia, earth blackened by ashes showed traces of the flames that destroyed it. policies, move to a more sustainable community and, above all else, to the forest can grow. In addition to the The suffering of the natives is stand in solidarity with those who physical damage, there is also acute not new. For many indigenous have suffered, before time runs out. awareness of the trauma caused by the people around the world, the arrival fires, as well as the need to learn from of colonizing and Christianizing is a psychologist, this tragedy. There was a sadness for Europeans has led to massive socio- Yenny Delgado theologian and social activist. She the loss, a deep agony for nature. They cultural and environmental changes. is co-founder of Umbrella Initiatives said, “We have laws, ancestral rules of Centuries have passed and the Foundation and has more than a decade respect, and protect the nature, but constant invasions of supposedly of experience working with religious as a community we cannot control protected lands continue; and many leaders, local governments and social what outsiders do to our land.” indigenous people struggle to have organizations. She serves as a ruling the right to exist in their homeland. elder at Bethesda Presbyterian Church Reconciliation with Mother Not only does the destruction of the in Maryland. Earth requires recognition Amazon for government and corporate Policies that seek unlimited growth interest continue, but the desire that and the current crisis are directly indigenous populations disappear MEET NEEDS related to the development of neoliberal so others can take possession of the economic globalization, based only land has led governments to commit Support God’s mission in on the growth of wealth, without massacres of leaders who have risen Latin America and the Caribbean: concern for the planet or its people. up as prophets. Native Americans pcusa.org/donate/E864600 The price is very high and the resulting want dignity and to remain present destruction to the planet will take on the continent. Indigenous people hundreds of years to recover, if ever. have suffered a home invasion on

Mission Crossroads | 15 Jed Hawkes Koball

Trees of life Koball Jed Hawkes What can one person do to combat climate change? Ask Mama Toya. L ast year, I took more than two In the grand scheme of things, air dozen flights. In many cases I could travel contributes to a relatively marginal have taken a bus, but for little extra 2% of all greenhouse gases. While not cost, I opted to save time. A flight the most contributing factor to global from Lima (on the Pacific coast) to warming, it is notable nonetheless. Tarapoto (in the Amazon) takes a And, looking at my personal lifestyle, little over an hour. The bus takes more it is quite remarkable: The carbon than 25 hours. So, for about $25 more dioxide emissions attributed to my air per flight, it seems worth it to travel travel account for about 75% of my by air. I know my knees are grateful. family’s carbon footprint. Despite all Mama Toya stands on the hillside above her But, like so many things in life, there of our recycling, reusing, repurposing, community of Villa El Sol in the central Andes, are usually more costs than those that limiting red meat consumption, where the 84-year-old has planted 30,000 trees over the past two decades. simply make a dent in our wallets. not owning a car and not using air There are environmental costs, too. conditioning, our carbon footprint is gas emissions generated by short-term Here in Peru those costs are adding still twice that of the average Peruvian mission trip participants’ air travel. up. Two years ago, unprecedented rains family. I came here to help, not hurt. What if this offset idea became on the desert coast led to floods that Of the more than 24 flights I took our Presbyterian practice? What if displaced a quarter of a million people. in 2019, all except two were for my we Presbyterians put money into a This year, forest fires are decimating work. Some of those flights were to Presbyterian Tree Fund for every single large swaths of the Amazon and help our global partners prepare for flight taken for Presbyterian-related threatening the lives of indigenous Presbyterian short-term mission trips. work? What if global partners around populations. Every year, farmers in We Presbyterians travel a lot! Those the world were supported in their the Andes are seeing their natural of us engaged in World Mission really reforestation efforts with these funds? water supplies decrease. The water travel a lot! And, let’s be honest: that’s Yes, there are many such funds one can temperatures off the Pacific Coast not going to end anytime soon. And contribute to. But how often can you are rising. The mountaintop glaciers it will be decades before air travel can see exactly where that money goes, while are melting. The biodiversity of the be supported by renewable energies. also igniting passion for the care of the rainforest is dying. This plus gross So, how can we hold ourselves very Earth that sustains the people we inequality and poor infrastructure responsible? How can we live into have come to love through partnership make Peru one of the most vulnerable hope and not out of guilt or fear? in mission? In the face of a climate crisis countries in the world to climate change. Just east of Lima, in the heart of the that impacts us all, may such love show Andes mountains, 84-year-old Mama us how to live justly in the world today. Toya — a friend to many Presbyterians — gets up at sunrise to tend to the trees and on the hills outside her home. She has The Rev. Jed Hawkes Koball his wife, Jenny, serve as mission co- planted more than 30,000 trees over

Jed Hawkes Koball Koball Jed Hawkes workers in Peru. Jed accompanies the the past 20 years to help restore fertility work of Joining Hands, a Presbyterian to her community’s lands that have Hunger Program partner, in identifying been contaminated by emissions from and interpreting root causes of a nearby metals smelter as well as to poverty, and Jenny coordinates the adapt to advancing climate change. Young Adult Volunteers program. Next year, our global partner, Red Uniendo Manos Peru, will donate $20 to its own newly established tree fund on MAKE AN IMPACT Youth from Covenant Presbyterian Church behalf of each Presbyterian short-term Support the work of Jed and of Madison, Wisconsin, join with local youth environmentalists organized by global mission trip participant it receives. Every Jenny in Peru: partner Red Uniendo Manos Peru to support penny of these funds will support Mama pcusa.org/donate/E200447 the work of Mama Toya. Toya’s work to help offset greenhouse

16 | Spring 2020 Noah Westfall Real climate change is possible – and The Krista Foundation urgently needed

I spent the last year as a It was humbling to be surrounded may be easy to become overwhelmed Presbyterian Young Adult Volunteer by thousands of passionate people all by current reports, to be dismissive or (YAV) in Austin, Texas. working tirelessly to reach the goals of to fall into despair. Perhaps it is more In my role as a YAV, I served with the Paris Agreement and limit global convenient to ignore the current state Texas Impact, an interfaith advocacy warming to well below 2º Celsius. of affairs as something that the next organization representing the It was eye-opening to see how generation has to deal with. However, mainstream faith traditions of Texas. my privilege has allowed me to the overall theme of the conference I worked on a research project related think of climate change as was not focused on discouragement to Hurricane Harvey recovery and something that did not directly but urgent hope. I am also inspired by began to draw connections between impact me. I could engage with people like Greta Thunberg, a teenager climate change and this local disaster. climate change more as a topic from Sweden and climate justice activist, After a few months into the project, for intellectual stimulation rather and so many other young people who I had the opportunity to attend the than seeing it as a tangible crisis. have chosen to call out inaction. United Nations Climate Change I had a change in perspective After the conference, I thought about Conference in Katowice, Poland. after I attended a panel event led my own values. Similar to the paradox Before attending the conference, by faith leaders from around the of faith is the paradox of activism. It is I knew about climate change, but it world. It was challenging to grounded in the conviction that despite was never something that kept me up come to the realization that climate incredible challenges, insurmountable at night. It was not until I physically change affects all of us. People barriers and apparent impossibility stepped into the conference space are suffering. It has become a of producing any real change, there and could viscerally feel the urgency human struggle that we must is the radical belief that we always around me that I realized I was inevitably overcome together. We must have a choice to act, so that the status working on such an important issue. ask ourselves not only about the kind of quo never has the final word. world we want to leave our children Noah Westfall served as a Young and grandchildren, Adult Volunteer in Austin, Texas but also about the (2018–19). He is currently completing world we want to a master’s degree in public health leave our neighbors’ at George Washington University’s children and Milken Institute School of Public grandchildren. Health in Washington, D.C. The current research presented at the conference EQUIP A YAV paints a very stark Support the YAV program: picture of the pcusa.org/donate/E049075 While serving as a PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteer, Noah Westfall, current trends and second from right, attended COP24, the 24th Conference of the Parties potential future to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. of our planet. It

Mission Crossroads | 17 STEWARDSHIP MATTERS Jon Reinink

Climate change at Lent

A s Christians, our response to deeds and community land trusts climate change and its impact to protect their communities. on our world is multifaceted. Although our planet is As you’ve read in this issue, experiencing devastating change, the PC(USA) is committed to our calling to serve it remains the working diligently and creatively same. Amid disasters and dramatic to support people experiencing the environmental changes, the words impacts of climate change around of Isaiah 58 continue to call us to the corner and around the world, respond: “You shall be called the both today and in the future. repairer of the breach.” The stories that arise from the Join us in praying and giving work of the Presbyterian Mission during the OGHS season. Agency are heart-wrenching, yet As hundreds of thousands of uplifting; deeply disturbing, yet Presbyterians join together to give inspiring. The efforts referenced in gratitude and obedience to in this issue of Mission Crossroads God through this Offering, your represent a few of the many participation is one way we can lives touched and transformed work toward justice for our world. because you have participated traditional food sources. And when Learn more about One Great in Presbyterian Mission through climate change is the primary Hour of Sharing (Feb. 26–April your prayers and giving. problem, advocacy, education 12), the programs it supports and In a few weeks, we will enter the and sustainable development are some of the resources developed season of Lent, and with it, One the primary solutions. Therefore, to help pastors, leaders, educators Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS). the work of PHP is intimately and children understand this Much of the work done by the entwined with climate justice. season: pcusa.org/oghs. programs supported by this offering As we consider how the PC(USA) — Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has ministered in Puerto Rico since The Rev. Dr. Jon Reinink is associate (PDA), Presbyterian Hunger Program 2017, when Hurricane Maria laid for church support for Special Offerings (PHP) and Self-Development of People waste to vast parts of the region, of the PC(USA), a ministry of Mission (SDOP) — serves people in disasters we see another model of how these Engagement & Support for the influenced by climate change. From responses coalesce. Your gifts to OGHS Presbyterian Mission Agency. disaster relief and hunger alleviation for enabled homes and infrastructure to those who are suffering, to advocacy be rebuilt using methods that will SUPPORT and support for those addressing the enable them to better withstand future ONE GREAT HOUR causes, the impact of OGHS is seen in storms. As infrastructure was rebuilt, all areas of the PC(USA)’s response. neighborhoods once unattractive for OF SHARING The mission of PHP, for example, landowners became safer and more Each gift helps improve the is “to alleviate hunger and eliminate desirable for homes and businesses. lives of people in challenging its causes.” Where hunger is rampant, OGHS also enabled our partners situations. Join the single climate change is often a culprit, to resist displacement and advocate largest way Presbyterians changing ecosystems and upending for their rights, eventually acquiring come together to show God’s love with our neighbors in need: pcusa.org/OGHS

18 | Spring 2020 Climate change at Lent er wn ro World Roundup C rk a M

God’s Mission in AFRICA

Addressing root Office of Public Witness, to plea with legislators and the State Department for support for free and transparent causes of poverty elections in Congo. and violence through Christi is a facilitator for women’s and children’s interests empowerment and and works with partners across Africa. From faith-based advocacy trauma-healing ministries in Congo to a trafficking prevention campaign in Madagascar, she comes alongside J eff and Christi Boyd are mission co-workers based in partners and their communities to tackle systemic issues the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As a regional that perpetuate hardship for women and children. liaison for Central Africa, Jeff facilitates support for “Through the words of Jesus and the prophets, God relationships and programs of PC(USA) partners in Congo, consistently defends the causes of the poor, vulnerable Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. He also mentors mission and oppressed,” Christi said. “The Scriptures call us to personnel and helps connect Presbyterian congregations follow in their footsteps.” in the U.S. with partners in his region. When Congolese The Boyds arrived in Africa in 1990 and remain partners expressed concern about the former president of committed to engaging with Presbyterians in the U.S. Congo extending constitutional term limits on his tenure, who wish to join efforts led by global partners in Africa. Jeff helped organize a day of advocacy for Congo Mission Support the work of Jeff and Christi in the DRC: Network participants, with support of the PC(USA) pcusa.org/donate/E200314

in in elv elv M M y y th th a a K K God’s Mission in ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Strengthening Hery views them as opportunities for the church and the larger community to work together to “identify, partnerships for reinforce and multiply projects that promote mutual mutual mission understanding.” He has faith that “through the light of partnership and mission, the church will continue to B ased in the Fiji Islands, Hery Ramambasoa’s ministry fulfill its prophetic role for justice and reconciliation as regional liaison for Southeast Asia and the Pacific among people and the whole of creation.” includes the PC(USA) global church partnerships The seeds of Hery’s call to mission were sewn with Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, during his adolescence. Engaging with the ecumenical Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. Student Christian Movement during high school and Hery facilitates and seeks to strengthen healthy university prepared him for work with vulnerable relationships among entities of the PC(USA) and populations such as orphans, people experiencing those of partner denominations and organizations homelessness and victims of natural disasters. As a in the region. He also supports mission personnel student he followed the Anti-Apartheid Movement serving in Southeast Asia and the Pacific through and embraced the power of prophetic nonviolence communications, information sharing, guidance, advocated by its Christian leaders. “They taught us,” encouragement and missiological reflection. he said, “that a journey always starts with one step.” Though the challenges of economic disparities, Support Hery’s work in Southeast Asia and the rampant poverty and climate change are daunting, Pacific: pcusa.org/donate/E200493

20 | Spring 2020 Tammy Warren

en arr W y m m a T God’s Mission in THE CARIBBEAN

Training pastors, Josey is serving at the invitation of the Dominican Evangelical Church (Iglesia Evangélica Dominicana). lay leaders, children She is a resource for Christian education for the and youth denomination, working as part of a team in developing and adapting curricula — particularly curricula for children A fter serving four years as the first Presbyterian mission and youth — based on the priorities of mission partners. co-workers to live and work in Cuba since the 1959 She will help to develop Christian education materials to revolution, the Rev. Dr. David Cortes-Fuentes and strengthen the church’s libraries and theological instruction. Josefina Saez-Acevedo have accepted a new call to serve As they transition to new ministries, David and Josey are in the Dominican Republic and Caribbean region, thankful they will continue their partnership relationship effective Oct. 1. with the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cuba, as David is serving as regional theological educator and well as other theological institutions and the church in the curriculum consultant, alongside partners throughout the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean. Caribbean. In this role, he facilitates connections among David is a member of the Presbytery of San Gabriel, in Caribbean and PC(USA) seminaries and other potential Southern California, and Josey is a member of Claremont partners. As time permits, he also teaches short courses in Presbyterian Church, in California. his areas of expertise, such as New Testament and Greek. Support David and Josey in the Dominican Republic: pcusa.org/donate/E200519

in elv M y th a K God’s Mission in THE MIDDLE EAST

Strengthening develop emotional and spiritual resilience. Scott’s work centers on communicating current realities on the ground. hope in the midst The National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon of heartache and the Assembly of National Evangelical (Presbyterian) Churches in Iraq, along with other PC(USA) partners The Revs. Elmarie and Scott Parker have served in the in the region, are working to aid thousands of displaced Middle East since 2013. Elmarie works as regional liaison families of all religious creeds. Their work includes for Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, and Scott serves as associate providing basic necessities such as food, water, clothing, for ecumenical partnerships and as a writer in residence fuel, rent and medications; helping families rebuild their with the Middle East Council of Churches. homes and start their lives again; providing education for As regional liaison, Elmarie helps strengthen the relational students whose schools have been destroyed; and striving ties between the church in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, and to develop a civil society built around the principles of Presbyterians in the United States. She is convinced that the international law, human rights and democracy. witness of indigenous Christian churches in the region is Support Elmarie and Scott’s work in the essential for a peaceful future. Middle East: pcusa.org/donate/E200504 Scott leads the “Strong Kids, Strong Emotions” play- based program that helps Iraqi and Syrian refugee children

Mission Crossroads | 21 100 Witherspoon St. Louisville, KY 40202-1396

A year of service for a lifetime of change The YAV experience is a year of faith in action, intentional living and transformation. Share your enthusiasm for service with young adults you know (ages 19–30) and encourage them to apply. We invite you to invest in the future of our church by making a gift to the YAV program. You may mail your check, payable to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), using the donation envelope included in this magazine. Please write E049075 in the memo line of your check, or donate online at pcusa.org/supportyav. Follow @yavprogram on social media. Important dates: March 1 — Most sites available (final date to apply for international sites) June 1 — National sites only (limited spots available) Visit youngadultvolunteers.org to learn more.