Passing the Peace of Christ to All 34 Gifts to the Peace & Global Witness Offering Are Helping Presbyterians Create a Just and Peaceful World at Home and Abroad

October 2018

Rural Realities New series dispels ministry myths

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Partners in Funding Mission presbyterianfoundation.org Volume Issue CONTENTS October PDS 17116-18-005 28 30 25

18 27 Features

Rural realities: white, straight no more Live your best life 18 Presbyterians Today begins a three-part 26 Discover how senior living communities series disproving myths about rural are offering amenities and activities to t ministry. In this issue, PT explores how all lifestyles. growing diversity is reshaping mission and Sue Washburn ministry. Donna Frischknecht Jackson Building a mission village 30 A dwindling church revives with a vision of Including the blind in worship creating a mission village, offering every- 24 A pastor shares how a blind couple opened thing from affordable housing to medical his eyes to what being inclusive looks like. care and schools. Randall Otto Sherry Blackman

Passing the peace of Christ to all 34 Gifts to the Peace & Global Witness Offering are helping Presbyterians create a just and peaceful world at home and abroad. Pat Cole

On the cover: A rural church nds a creative way to let its light shine. Story on page 4. Photo by Donna Frischknecht Jackson PLUG IN Find us. Follow us. Like us. @presbytoday pcusa.org/today

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also inside Publisher Subscription Services Jeffrey C. Lawrence P.O. Box 52, Congers, NY 10920 Editorial 800-558-1669 4 God Moments Donna Frischknecht Jackson, Editor Advertising Sales Karen Bosc, Senior Copy Editor Fox Associates Letting your light shine | Snapshot Jennifer Cash, Copy Editor 800-440-0231 | [email protected] Design/Production Fox-Chicago | 312-644-3888 6 Exploring Our Dierences Kate Kotla Mark Thomson, Art Director Fox-New York | 800-826-3032 Jackie Carter, Production Specialist Fox-Los Angeles | 805-522-0501 Fox-Detroit | 248-626-0511 Building maintenance can be a mission Circulation Classieds | 800-728-7228, ext. 5772 Dana Dages 800-728-7228, ext. 5627 [email protected] 7 What Presbyterians Believe Gradye Parsons

What’s connecting the connectional church? Acceptance of advertising does not imply Biblical quotations, unless otherwise endorsement by Presbyterians Today or the noted, are from the New Revised 8 Encountering God in the Silenced Magdalena I. García Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Standard Version. Editorial Ofces Subscription Rates: One year, $19.95; two God’s watchful eye is on us all 100 Witherspoon Street years, $35.95; three years, $49.95. Add $10/ Louisville, KY 40202-1396 year outside the U.S. Single copy – $6.95. 800-728-7228 or 502-569-5627 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 9 Thinking Small Sue Washburn Fax 502-569-8632 | [email protected] Presbyterians Today, P.O. Box 52, Congers, Generational ideas of church Presbyterian Mission Agency NY 10920. Diane Moffett, President and Your privacy is important to us. We Executive Director never give anyone your information. 10 Just Living Joe Morrow, Board Chair However, we occasionally trade subscriber Kathy Francis, Sr. Director of lists with select Presbyterian entities. If you Remembering the Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon Communications would prefer not to receive these mailings, Presbyterians Today (ISSN 1083-2181) is call 800-558-1669 and ask to be placed on 12 Moved by the Spirit published bi-monthly by the Presbyterian our “Do not trade” list. Church (U.S.A.). Printed in the USA. Baltimore kids’ mission | Birthday singer’s ministry Periodicals postage paid at Louisville, KY, and additional mailing ofces. All contents ( ) 38 Church Matters Jerry Van Marter copyright © 2018. All rights reserved. Presbyterian Church U.S.A. Member, Associated Church Press, Religion Presbyterian Mission Ministers: all the church members Communicators Council.

39 Bible Explorations Chip Hardwick Troubling texts reveal God’s joy Our commitment 40 Justice for God’s World Vernon S. Broyles III Earth-friendly publishing PRINTED ON A nation of immigrants We are committed to caring for God’s creation. RECYCLED PAPER Please help by recycling this magazine.

Presbyterians Today OCTOBER GOD MOMENTS | Donna Frischknecht Jackson

Letting your Christ light shine We all have a passion to share

usk descended onto the little village, but the that I carried into adulthood, and even when I couldn’t D sleepy stillness that usually followed was nowhere persuade friends — or spouse — to join me in the fun, to be found. It was Halloween in Salem — upstate I’d do it by myself. I pulled the car over to admire the New York, that is, not the one in Massachusetts known “pumpkinpalooza” in front of me. I realized then that this for its late 17th century witch trials. As a new pastor, I’d road didn’t get much trafc, so this person wasn’t doing been informed by my congregation that this night was this for others. He or she did this out of the simple joy not to be missed. it gave them. And still, the carved pumpkins touched “Wait till you see the crowds of children that come into someone. Me. the village,” said an excited elderly woman, who offered That’s when the idea came. I didn’t need to carve my to sit with me outside the church to hand out Halloween one, lonely pumpkin anymore. I could share my passion candy to the children who walked by. with others in my congregation. And rather than carving Successful business people know that location is faces on the pumpkins, we could carve out an inspira- everything, and the location of the church’s candy table tional message. And rather than keep the message for was not ideal. The table was by the chapel door, which ourselves, we could place the pumpkins on the front was some distance from the main thoroughfare, the lawn of the church so that on Halloween night, when sidewalk. For a pastor, nothing is more humbling than to hundreds of children came trick-or-treating, they would be waving desperately, shouting, “Come to us! We have see God’s word lit up. candy!” Halloween came. The pumpkins were carved and Some children would take the long walk over to us. lined up in front of the church. As the sky grew darker, Others would wave as they continued walking on the the message grew brighter: Let God’s light shine. sidewalk. I couldn’t blame them. The path they were on Ninjas, Darth Vaders and princesses didn’t walk by. led to the Methodist church, which had been offering They stopped and stared. Parents stopped, too, and apple cider and hot dogs on Halloween night for many took their children’s picture in front of the pumpkins. years. They had excelled at Evangelism to Kids 101 — Little children who couldn’t read would ask what the meet the children where they were and give them what pumpkins said. I would tell them and then hand them they needed. In this case, it was food for their bellies. When I realized what was happening, I coaxed the woman sitting with me to move the candy table closer CALL TO ACTION to the sidewalk. It took some doing. There was a nip in the air, and she wanted to be closer to the kitchen An easy way to get an inspirational message carved out to refresh her mug of hot tea. Even with the move to of pumpkins for your church is to invite the congrega- a better location, though, the children kept passing by tion church school or youth group to come up with a on their way to the cider and hot dogs. It was a beloved message After deciding on a message put each letter of community tradition, and no amount of candy from the the message on a piece of construction paper and hang it Presbyterians — who never had a presence in the village up where all can see it A few Sundays before Halloween on Halloween night — would change that. Until the fol- invite people to take a “letter” to carve into a medium to lowing year. large pumpkin Invite carvers to drop o the pumpkins at Days before Halloween, on one of the many rural a designated time A word of advice Don’t use candles backroads I drove, I spotted a weathered farmhouse to light the pumpkins Even though the ﬂickering light is whose sagging front porch overowed with carved jack- dramatic wind can blow candles out If you have access o’-lanterns. There must have been more than 30 designs, to an outdoor outlet it’s best to string white Christmas ranging from the traditional triangle eyes and one- lights through the row of pumpkins Or use battery-oper- tooth grin to artistic renderings of animals. I’ve always ated luminary candles loved carving pumpkins. It was a childhood tradition

OCTOBER Presbyterians Today DONNA FRISCHKNECHT JACKSON Inspirational messages carved in pumpkins every Halloween, pictured here and on the cover, have become a tradition at First United Presbyterian Church.

a piece of candy, because after all, Halloween just isn’t together. One year, the children and youth carved the Halloween without candy. A church family who didn’t pumpkins; another year, adults did when there were no agree with Christians acknowledging Halloween even children or youth. One year, a local farm heard about stopped by to see the good word presented in a new way. the “pumpkinfest for God,” as it became known, and They, too, took pictures. invited the church to glean their pumpkin elds. And yet Over the years, the Presbyterian pumpkins have another year, the church’s mission team allotted money become a beloved tradition along with the Methodist to support a little boy’s pumpkin business. His mom later cider and hot dogs. There have been many different told me how surprised her son was when he came home messages and many ways in which the project came from school to see a crisp $100 bill and a thank-you note from the church in his rusty tin lockbox. No matter how the pumpkins were secured or who PC(USA) Snapshot carved them, though, one thing has been clear to me. God can take our passions and turn them into minis- When did members tries. I mean, really, I never thought my love for carving pumpkins would be used to reach out to a community. become Presbyterian? But it did. So what gives you joy? What are your inter- ests? Don’t push them aside. Rather, see how your passions can connect with God’s purposes — and start 47% 53% letting your light shine.

Donna Frischknecht Jackson is editor of Presbyterians Today and a rural pastor in Washington County New York In addition to pumpkin carving she loves all things pumpkin-ﬂavored from coee to potato chips (yes she discovered them in a general store in Vermont) Raised in Joined later the PC(USA) in life Do you have news to share as to how God is at work in your community? Send stories – words Source: PC(USA) Research Services, Presbyterian Panel Report, – to editor@pcusaorg . Graphic by Jerey Lawrence

Presbyterians Today OCTOBER EXPLORING OUR DIFFERENCES | Kate Kotla

Mission versus property maintenance Stop battling over where the money goes

ona, an island off the coast of Scotland, was home to and others in Jesus’ name) and vision (to be a center of Ia medieval monastic community. By the early 1900s, hospitality and service in Washington County). We talked the community was long gone, and the buildings were about who might come in through our open doors and who in ruins. George MacLeod, a pastor in a working-class can’t get in now. Albany Presbytery supported us with dockside congregation, was frustrated by the men being seed money as we invested in each of the four entrance sent to him for internships from the seminary. They had doors. As we worked on “opening” our doors, we also head smarts but were unable to connect with the men on welcomed new ministries onto our campus and into our the docks and the families in his community. So he devised awareness. A food pantry moved into the lower part of the a plan. During the crushing years of the Depression, building. The village’s summer children’s program took MacLeod brought together unemployed tradesmen and over the upper building. young seminarians and sent them to rebuild the monastic I preached that open doors invite people in but also quarters and the abbey chapel. Working, praying and send us out, and so we focused on going out into the com- sharing in everyday life, they rebuilt not only a historical munity to serve in practical ways. landmark but also a spiritual community that continues to While transformational journeys involve two steps have global inuence today. forward and one step back, we are now growing into a Iona is an example of how we need to stop pitting community that loves God and others by being a center mission and maintenance against each other. Advice to of hospitality in Southern Washington County. We are stop spending so much on buildings and, instead, to spend being reshaped by mission by offering ourselves and our it on new worshiping communities leads more to frustra- facilities to all of Cambridge. And, as we continue to hold tion than transformation for those of us who have inher- mission and maintenance together, we are discovering ited the massive buildings of a bygone era. ways to make our buildings support themselves. Hosting The problem with pitting maintenance and mission other organizations that make regular donations makes it against each other also sets us up into camps. We see the possible to keep our spaces up to date. others as “traditionalists” or “trendy.” We work against We realized, too, that we didn’t have to add yet more the very transformation through which established events to the church’s life to be relevant. Instead of churches must be led. focusing on the details of a dinner or a craft fair, we invite There is a better way. It is in the tension between other organizations to use our space. Our goal is each opposites that energy is released. What if maintenance is time an organization is on the premises, we have greeters the means, not an obstacle, in building missional con- ready to help with their logistics. This isn’t about renting gregations? What if “problem” buildings become centers church space for money. This is about partnering with of hospitality and service through a strategic process of people who are working to make a difference in our com- brick-and-mortar restoration? munity. And, as a church, we are now developing practi- Seven years ago, about 35 people gathered regularly cal, generous relationships with the people who would not on Sundays in Cambridge United Presbyterian Church normally set foot in our sanctuary. in Cambridge, New York — a building that could comfort- ably seat 450. Not one of its doors opened completely. A Kate Kotﬁla is the pastor of Cambridge United Presbyterian Church shifting foundation, rotting beams and duct tape repairs in Cambridge New York and vice moderator of Albany Presbytery resulted in every door failing to do the one thing it was made to do. LEARN MORE Though there were more urgent problems, that’s where we focused our attention. We spent more than a For more information on how to update or refurbish your year working with the metaphor of opening our doors. I church’s property go to PC(USA)’s Investment & Loan preached about it and kept a doorknob on my desk. Our Program at pilppcusaorg session developed a new mission statement (to love God

OCTOBER Presbyterians Today Gradye Parsons | WHAT PRESBYTERIANS BELIEVE

What’s connecting the connectional church? Grace, gratitude — and risk-taking service

he last 22 years of my ministry I spent in governing connects them. They are drinking from the same aquifer Tbody work — six years as a presbytery executive, — one that encourages communal decision-making and which included synod leadership, and 16 years in risk-taking. General Assembly work. I have a pretty good knowledge I have heard this in conversation after conversation of the working plumbing (polity) that holds our denomi- across the PC(USA), which brings me to the revelation nation together. that the connectional life of our church is not wholly So, when after my retirement as Stated Clerk in 2016, based on our polity. (I hope people who know me were the Board of Pensions asked me to write a book about sitting down when they read that sentence.) the connectional life of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Our connectivity is based in our relationship to each I agreed. I sought to discover how well our connectional other as we live out our communal worship — a worship life was holding up. This led to a six-month journey of that has us confess together before we all, with educated interviews with teaching elders, mid council leaders brains, engage the Word; a communal worship where we and seminary teachers, where I discovered that the come to the table together and meet the Christ who has “plumbing” was working at different levels of well-being died for us all; a communal worship where we all pledge depending on where you are. This is not news. to raise our child together. What I did nd, though, was that the real connective The PC(USA) is a church made up of a variety of tissue living in our Presbyterian ethos was one of grace people and places. We are urban and rural. We are and gratitude, which was growing as congregations small and large. We have fancy worship and simple engaged more in the community. worship. For example, I heard how the small but mighty Spring But my six months on the road researching this book, City Presbyterian Church went out its church doors to and 39 years of ministry, have shown me there is an minister to youth in Spring City, Tennessee, while First ethos (beyond polity) that serves to nurture us in a very Presbyterian Church of Atlanta partnered with another strong way that, in turn, connects us at a whole differ- congregation to tutor children in a nearby school. ent level. I also discovered a Presbyterian ethos of asking ques- And, for the three-fths of the church, like me, who tions and risk-taking operating like a giant underground were not born into a Presbyterian cradle, we are falling aquifer. There are different ministers drawing from this in love with the church that is being shaped by that same aquifer for a variety of reasons, resulting in differ- ethos — a church where grace rules and gratitude ows ent ministries. into service. Take, for example, the Revs. Liza Lopez, Shawna Bowman and Shannon Kershner. These women are all teaching elders in Chicago, yet their congregations could Gradye Parsons is a retired Presbyterian minister living on a farm not be more different. in Kodak Tennessee with his wife Kathy Parsons served two Lopez is at small Christ Presbyterian Church, where congregations as pastor and later served as the executive presby- there is a good example of a congregation that has ter in Holston Presbytery He worked in the Oce of the General learned to be multicultural. Bowman is at Friendship, Assembly and served as Stated Clerk of the General Assembly from a congregation that only wants to rent — not own — to property, with a mission to try things and see what works. Kershner is at mighty Fourth Church, with its impressive building and historic witness in Chicago. READ MORE These three ministers came from different places, Gradye Parsons’ book Our Connectional Church The went to different seminaries and came to their calls by Hopeful Future of the PC(USA) can be purchased at different paths. pcusastorecom When you talk to them, though, you hear what

Presbyterians Today OCTOBER ENCOUNTERING GOD IN THE SILENCED | Magdalena I. García

A watchful sister — and a watchful God God’s eye is on us all Una hermana vigilante — y un Dios vigilante El ojo de Dios está sobre todos nosotros y nosotras

he talked from the moment she opened the door, lla hablaba desde el momento en que abría la S and hardly let you get a word in. But Francine was E puerta, y apenas me permitía decir una palabra. a loving, dedicated sister, someone who despite her Pero Francine era una hermana amorosa y dedicada, advanced age, spent her retirement years juggling the alguien que, a pesar de su edad avanzada, pasaba su care of multiple family members. And every day, rain or jubilación haciendo malabares con el cuidado de varios sunshine, she made it to her brother Derek’s apartment familiares. Y cada día, con lluvia o con sol, visitaba el to check on his status. apartamento de su hermano Derek para comprobar su Derek wasn’t thrilled to have someone who talked like estado de salud. a parrot in the house day after day, but he was aware of A Derek no le fascinaba tener en casa día tras día a his own decline. He refused the hospital bed that hospice alguien que hablaba como una cotorra, pero estaba consci- offered him, but he needed help climbing in and out of his ente de su propio declive. Rechazó la cama de hospital que extra-high, king-size bed. He was reluctant to part with el hospicio le ofreció, pero necesitaba ayuda para subirse the dozens of fancy shoes lining the closet, even though he a su cama súper elevada y de tamaño king. Se mostraba now wore only house slippers. The morning chirping was a renuente a deshacerse de las docenas de zapatos elegantes small price to pay for the assistance he needed. que recubrían el closet, a pesar de que ahora solo usaba Thanks to Francine, I learned lots of details about pantuas. El chirrido mañanero era un precio bajo que Derek’s life: He was the youngest of more than a dozen pagar a cambio de la asistencia que necesitaba. children; he was a lover of jazz and art; and he was a Gracias a Francine, conocí muchos detalles de la vida quiet man who, despite his strong faith, was afraid to de Derek: él era el más joven de una familia de más meet death alone. Francine had assured him that she de doce hijos; amaba el jazz y el arte; y era un hombre would be at his side until the end. She was doing her best callado quien, a pesar de su rme fe, tenía miedo de to keep that promise. morirse a solas. Francine le había asegurado que estaría Despite his wish to remain at home, Derek had to be a su lado hasta el nal. Y ella estaba esforzándose por transferred to the hospice inpatient unit due to complica- honrar su promesa. tions. His sister ew to his bedside, and lovingly contin- A pesar de su deseo de permanecer en casa, Derek tuvo ued her daily twittering until his last breath. que ser transferido a la unidad hospitalaria del hospicio After Derek’s death, I called Francine to offer condo- debido a unas complicaciones. Su hermana voló a su lado, lences and to assess the need for grief support. She lled y cariñosamente continuó con su diario gorjeo hasta que él me in on all the details of her brother’s transition: the tomó su último aliento. shortness of breath, the moments of agitation and the lack Después de la muerte de Derek, llamé a Francine of response. And through it all she had held his hand and para ofrecerle condolencias y evaluar la necesidad de softly whispered, “I see you … I’m still here.” apoyo para el duelo. Ella me contó todos los detalles de la Francine was still Francine, speaking in long, convo- transición de su hermano: la falta de aire, los momentos luted sentences. But she was peaceful, giving thanks to de agitación y la ausencia de respuesta. Pero en medio de God for the opportunity she had to remind her brother todo ella le había sostenido la mano y suavemente le había that God, whose eye is on the sparrow, was indeed susurrado: «Yo te veo … todavía estoy aquí». watching over him. May we all live — and die — in such a Francine seguía siendo Francine, y hablaba con ora- way, knowing that God is watching over us. ciones largas y enredadas. Pero ella estaba en paz, dando gracias a Dios por la oportunidad que tuvo de recordarle Magdalena I García is a hospice chaplain for Vitas Healthcare in a su hermano que Dios, quien vigila incluso al gorrión, Chicago estaba en verdad vigilando su vida. Ojalá que podamos vivir — y morir — de forma tal, sabiendo que Dios nos vigila.

Magdalena I García es capellana de hospicio para Vitas Healthcare en Chicago OCTOBER Presbyterians Today Sue Washburn | THINKING SMALL

What’s your idea of church? Generational dierences abound

3-year-old I’d baptized as an infant was coming set of images. The buildings that house congregations A back to visit after his family had moved to a differ- are no longer distinctive and set apart. They are store- ent state. There, unconstrained by family tradition, fronts and coffee shops and warehouse-style buildings his grandmother and mother found a church with a good with mall-sized parking lots. The steeple has been kids’ program and a band. They occasionally come back replaced with branding graphics that point up to heaven “home” and join us for worship. on the Twitter page. “Where are we?” the little boy asked when they pulled Church names themselves are meant to evoke feelings into the parking lot the last time they were in town. He of spirituality. New congregations don’t just number didn’t remember his early days with us. themselves (First, Second or Third). They’ve discov- “We’re at church,” his grandmother said. He was ered what real estate professionals have always known: skeptical. Inspiring names attract more people. In fact, my friend “That’s not church. That’s a castle,” he announced. His Laura and her sister have an ongoing game where they grandmother laughed and told him that the traditional try to guess if the majestic yet peaceful names they see red-brick, white-steeple building was indeed the church. on signs in a rapidly growing suburb are churches or “Is there a band?” he asked. “No,” she said, “but there housing developments. Mountain Bliss? Serenity Place? is music on something called an organ.” Paradise Park? Majesty Garden? The church I serve is named Reunion, a historical name recalling the reunication of split factions in 1869. A split had occurred when the New School adopted some The buildings that house of the characteristics of the Second Great Awakening and emphasized revivalism, including the importance of congregations are no longer distinctive a conversion experience, expressive worship and higher moral standards. The Old School was sure that the and set apart They are storefronts popular revivalism presented a threat to the church’s decency, order and integrity. and coee shops and warehouse-style I can’t help but think that we are in a similar split today. We are thinking long and hard about our build- buildings with mall-sized parking lots ings and mission, the kind of music we sing and how active we should be in working for God’s justice beyond our walls. The church of the last hundred years will not be the church of the next hundred. As they walked into the sanctuary, he asked where I look at the children in the congregation and wonder his class was. His grandmother patiently explained that what church will look like when they are my age. Will he wouldn’t leave for class; he would stay with her. So he the “castle” that has been on Main Street for 150 years settled wide-eyed into a pew for worship. still be a church when they are 20 or 50? Or will it be At 3 years old, he already had a working understand- converted into a ea market or brewery or boarded up? ing of what church is — and it’s nothing like mine. I Will the children we serve today be in pews as adults? know that Jesus prefers pews and organ music and Or will they be in Majestic Heights, singing songs that that he loves me when I put on my Sunday best, includ- haven’t even been written yet? When they are 50 years ing a robe and stole. I know that one hour (no more!) of old, will they be like us, wondering what church will look pensive, reective time with Jesus is true worship. But like for their children? the little boy knows something different. For people like him and his 20-something mom (and Sue Washburn is the bi-vocational pastor of Reunion Presbyterian maybe even his grandmother), church comes with a new Church in Mount Pleasant Pennsylvania

Presbyterians Today OCTOBER JUST LIVING

Remembering a pioneer and legend Rev Dr Katie Geneva Cannon -

he Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon, a renowned womanist theologian and T social ethicist who became the rst African-American woman to be ordained in the former United Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), died Aug. 8. Cannon was ordained in 1974. In 1983, she became the rst African-American to earn a doctor of philosophy degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. At the time of her death, Cannon, 68, was the Annie Scales Rogers Professor of Christian Ethics at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. She taught, wrote and lectured on Christian ethics and womanist theology and was known for always giving freely of her intellect to educate and inspire others. Cannon was recognized for her outstanding lifetime contributions to both the church and society at the 223rd General Assembly (2018) in St. Louis, where she received the Award for Excellence in Theological Education. The award, which is conferred biennially by the Committee on Theological Education and the Theological Education Fund of the Presbyterian Foundation, is the highest honor in the PC(USA) for those who teach, lead and support theological education. Presbyterians Today remembers one of God’s trailblazers for justice and shares the impact her life has had on those who seek to live by the words of the prophet Micah as she did: to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God.

OCTOBER Presbyterians Today The powerful witness to her work for the Lord is that she told her story without compromise as to how the Lord God, through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, gave her enlightenment and life. She was a powerful expression of a rural upbringing that was not compromised by scholarly acclaim or ivory tower lectures. Her truth was made plain by her commitment to following Jesus’ words, “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). — Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Katie Cannon had a heart of gold and mentored many women of color, myself included. She taught us to be radically inclusive and touched many lives. It is her shoulders that we stand on today; she is now among COURTESY OF SHANNAN VANCEOCAMPO Cannon shared her passion for a just world and encouraged many pastors, those great cloud of witnesses. — Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett, like the Rev. Shannan Vance-Ocampo, with words of inspiration. president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon: You came to speak at my It was easy to talk to Katie and to become her friend. home church when I was in college and you wrote me Yet she also had a way of challenging you to rise to the these words — “May justice be your mandate in all that next level. I will never forget one of her objectives about you say and do.” They have been a guidepost in ministry our quest on behalf of those who are African-American, and in life. Thank you for being the rst person to begin female and clergy — “to make visible our curious invis- the lifelong process of offering me the truth to help me ibility.” — Rev. Dr. Rhashell Hunter, director of Racial wake up. — Rev. Shannan Vance-Ocampo, general pres- Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries of the byter, Presbytery of Southern New England Presbyterian Mission Agency There are people who inuence your life, and they themselves probably never knew how important their life and witness were to you. Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon was FROM THE COMODERATORS OF THE RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY denitely one of those women for me. I am so grateful Elder Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri and for her life and witness. In life and in death we belong to the Rev Cindy Kohlmann God. — Rev. Irene Pak Lee, associate pastor at Stone Though we had not met her personally we have known her Church of Willow Glen in San Jose, California through the people she taught and mentored and through her impact to the body of Christ A trailblazer educator and Such a powerful and anointed voice. I knew her only faithful leader her example and life journey compel us to a short time, but her scholarly and saintly advice was serve and to act Rev Dr Cannon was presented the Award invaluable. — James Parks, former moderator of for Excellence in Theological Education at the rd General Baltimore Presbytery and a board member of both Assembly () In a video presented during the award the Presbyterian Mission Agency and Presbyterian breakfast she shared some words about her call “Teaching Investment & Loan Program is my ministry I love teaching to empower to equip to set people free to live into the graces and gifts [the students] LEARN MORE have been given” May we honor her words and life as we This short ﬁlm tells the story of Cannon’s ordination her mentor and disciple new generations in building the kin-dom call to teaching and her legacy as a teacher who informed of God Que descanse en paz Dra Cannon and challenged her students Go to vimeocom

HONORING CANNON’S LEGACY A scholarship fund honoring the Rev Dr Katie Geneva Cannon has been established for women of color to attend leadership development events Those wishing to donate to the scholarship fund can contribute online at presbyterianmissionorg donate e -womens-ministries

Presbyterians Today OCTOBER MOVED BY THE SPIRIT

COMMUNITIES

Baltimore kids ﬁnd safe space to play year-round Faith communities come together to help youth

BY MIKE GIVLER

or ve weeks during the Fsummer, nearly 50 youth in West Baltimore can be seen working on their reading and math skills, or they might be packing up for a day on a local farm or at an area museum. It’s all part of the Rosemont Community Interfaith Coalition, which is focused on ending the violence in the Maryland city by offering positive experiences and hope for youth. “The goal is to provide ongoing healthy and safe opportunities for children and youth in that neighborhood where a lot of families are afraid to let their kids be outside freely because of danger,” said the Rev. Deborah McEachran of nearby COURTESY OF THE CENTER Hunting Ridge Presbyterian Church in Baltimore is part of the city’s Rosemont Community Interfaith Hunting Ridge Presbyterian Church, Coalition, which provides a safe place for children to learn and play. which is part of the coalition. “We want to provide good role models of adults who care. I feel by doing that, and say, ‘Hey, this is a corner where in the evening, either on one of the we are communicating the gospel.” we’re not going to allow violence to city’s streets or in a nearby school- Hunting Ridge, which is a little be,’ ” McEachran said. “We partici- yard. This year the camp took place over a mile from where the summer pated on one of the corners and then in a church building in the neighbor- camps are held, is one of seven faith- made a decision as a church that we hood, running from noon to 5 p.m. based groups in the area that make wanted to continue going to the same The seven contributing groups, up the coalition. Hunting Ridge origi- corner every Friday.” which are Presbyterian, Catholic, nally got involved in the area through While the summer camps have Apostolic, two nondenominational a movement to help “take back the been occurring for the past four congregations and two community street corners” in August 2014. years, this year was the rst time it ministries, supplied a leader for each “They were trying to encourage spanned ve weeks. In the past, the week of the summer camp. people in the community to come out weeklong camp was held outside and, “It’s an interesting conglomeration

OCTOBER Presbyterians Today of churches who are able to work and learning together,” McEachran farm. They got to see a wide variety together,” McEachran said. said. of animals, went on hikes around “Sometimes we nd the going dif- Hunting Ridge also added a the farm, played with tadpoles in the cult, but we all see this as a valuable unique element to the leadership of creek and went swimming.” testimony to God’s work in our city.” the camp when a Burmese congrega- It all adds up to year-round activi- This year an academic component, tion it hosts sent children and youth ties that aim to create a better atmo- including math and reading, was volunteers. sphere and mindset for these West offered. Those lessons were prepared “It was such a beautiful picture Baltimore children and youth and by a Hunting Ridge member. The of Asian faces, black faces and white serve as a learning experience for the camp also received some key support faces,” McEachran said. “People in leaders themselves. from the city of Baltimore in 2018 the neighborhood just loved seeing “God has enabled us to nd the through youth workers, which the what they called the ‘United Nations’ value in working together, even city hires each summer. The camp in their community.” though we come from some differ- also teamed up with The Center, The summer camps are only a part ent backgrounds,” McEachran said. a ministry of the Presbytery of of the programming offered by the “We’ve had some bumpy roads. Baltimore that provides a place for Coalition, as the youth that range in There’s been some frustration. But out-of-town groups to stay and work age from pre-kindergarten to eighth the fact that people have hung in with Presbyterian churches in the grade are also treated to things like there and seen the value of this to me city. The Center assigned groups to movie nights, back-to-school activities is God working through us.” help at the camp for two of the ve and holiday-themed events through- weeks. out the year. Mike Givler is the communications coordi- “That has been such a gift to see “We have tried to plan special nator for the Synod of the Trinity in Camp the connections between kids from events or trips to broaden their Hill Pennsylvania out of Baltimore and kids from in experiences,” McEachran said. “The Baltimore laughing, playing, singing rst couple of years we went out to a

Presbyterians Today OCTOBER SERVANTS

Senior sings birthday greetings to all Man lives into the joy of God’s ‘call’

BY PAUL SEEBECK

t’s your birthday. The phone rings. IWhile it could be a family member or a friend wishing you well on your special day, the last thing you might expect to hear is a 99-year-old man on the other end of the call singing “Happy Birthday” to you. But that’s exactly what happens to those who attend Westminster Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, where Carl Webb has found his purpose, his “call” so to speak, in serving God. And that “call” is to be the birthday crooner of the church. In all of the 18 years of this unique ministry, Webb has had only ve days KHADEJEH NIKOUYEH/NEWS & RECORD off. And that’s only because on those Carl Webb proves you are never too old to serve God. The 99-year-old has a “Happy Birthday” ministry, days he didn’t have anyone to sing in which he dials church members and nonmembers alike and sings to them on their special day. “Happy Birthday” to, he says. Webb has also kept track of the number of calls he has made over the years. “I was the voice of ‘the wonderful “I thought, ‘Doggone it, you love “I’ve done between 35,000 and land of Eden, WLOE,’” Webb said, to sing,’” Webb said. “You can sing 36,000 ‘Happy Birthday’ calls to repeating the station’s tagline from ‘Happy Birthday’ to people.” people at my church — even strang- back in the day. He asked for a copy of the birthday ers,” Webb said. Webb was also a renowned soloist, list, and the “Birthday Man” was More than 2,000 people attend using his God-given gift of song for born. Westminster Presbyterian. Webb all of Eden. At rst, though, Hyslop was estimates that he averages six calls “He was the famous wedding and worried — and not because her father a day. funeral person,” said his daughter couldn’t sing. He’d been doing that in He’s found himself on the cover of Betsy Hyslop, director of music minis- public since he was a child, and his the Sunday edition of the Greensboro tries at Westminster Presbyterian. voice was still ne. She was worried News & Record, and NBC Nightly Webb now lives with Hyslop in her because she just wasn’t sure how News — with viewership in the family’s basement. When he started people would respond to getting a call millions — featured him recently on going to church with her, he noticed from someone they might not know. one of its segments. church secretaries taking a sheet Sure enough, one day, a woman from “I’ve hit the big time,” Webb said, of paper from a packet on one of the the church called Webb. laughing. church’s walls. “Somebody from this number Webb moved to Greensboro after “What is that, Betsy?” he called my boy and sang ‘Happy his wife of 54 years, Connie, passed inquired. His daughter replied that it Birthday.’ Who was it?” she asked. away in 1996. They were from Eden, was a list of birthdays for the month “She was a little taken aback,” said North Carolina, where he once — for all of the people who went to Hyslop. worked for a radio station. church. Shortly thereafter, a pulpit

OCTOBER Presbyterians Today announcement was made in the church, sharing the exciting new “Happy Birthday” ministry of Webb’s. The birthday singing is a blessing, though, for Webb as well as those in the congregation. “He couldn’t walk and see as well as he once did,” said Hyslop. “He was trying to nd something he could do for the church.” Once people in the church knew who was singing — and why — word spread beyond the church family. Even people Hyslop didn’t know tried to get on her father’s “Happy KHADEJEH NIKOUYEH/NEWS & RECORD Birthday” singing list. Hyslop’s Carl Webb’s voice was heard for many years on the radio. He now blesses others over the phone with a children also called, asking if “Papa” unique ministry that makes those at Westminster Presbyterian Church feel connected and loved. could add another friend’s name to his list. famous birthday man: The entire the same way that I remember them,” “He was even trying to get names congregation sang “Happy Birthday” Webb said, adding he plans to sing from the dentist ofce. I had to put a to him. The song was followed with until he can’t breathe anymore. stop to it,” she said, laughing. a standing ovation and thunderous On Webb’s 99th birthday this clapping. past May, Westminster Presbyterian “It was a great joy to know people Paul Seebeck is a communications strategist Church did something special for the remembered me on my birthday, in for the Presbyterian Mission Agency

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Presbyterians Today OCTOBER ADVOCATES

A church’s refusal to die leads to growth New life found in a hard-hit neighborhood

BY PAUL SEEBECK

espite being part of the Dsame church family, Hazel Pugmacher and Jaquette Easterlin never met. “I’ve heard a lot about her,” Easterlin said. “She was a big part of creating a place where I could go and be loved on.” The place Pugmacher and others helped create was in a dingy, old church basement in Tacoma, Washington, where Easterlin now works. In 1987, the year Easterlin was born, Trinity Presbyterian Church was down to 25 members — in a neighborhood caught in the cross re of drug traf cking, gang violence and poverty. Built in 1922, the church was near Bryant Elementary, which, at the time, had the highest free and reduced lunch enrollment in TRINITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Jaquette Easterlin, right, Trinity Presbyterian Church’s learning center coordinator, is now paying Tacoma. Pugmacher — one of forward the support she got as a teen to today’s students, like these girls from Jason Lee Middle School. Tacoma’s rst female school prin- cipals — was told by a friend, the principal of Bryant Elementary, schoolteachers. Together, with other the one Easterlin came to six years that the school needed help. Trinity members, they started a later. Eighty years old at the time, reading and mentoring program for “It was my rst connection to Pugmacher recruited retired rst- and second-graders at Bryant, Trinity,” she said. “The rst thing I remember is fun. It was a place where I could be a kid.” Trust the Stevens Worldwide Van Lines The Bryant after-school program ™ was a turning point for the church. Clergy Move Center As children came to Trinity, rela- Stevens is proud to deliver over 110 years of family-owned moving expertise and quality services to Presbyterian Church tionships began to form with others (USA) Members, Clergy and Employees and Educators: in the neighborhood, and that led • Discounted pricing • Stevens Home Protection Kit™ to a weekly soup and conversation • Top-rated drivers and crews • Free no-obligation move estimate • Customized moving packages • Single point-of-contact ministry. Endorsed Mover for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) “The seeds for resurrec- The way to move tion were planted — and they CALL VICKI BIERLEIN: have blossomed,” said Trinity’s 800.248.8313 current pastor, the Rev. Matt www.stevensworldwide.com/pcusa Robbins-Ghormley. USDOT 72029 By the early 1990s, with the help

OCTOBER Presbyterians Today of University Place Presbyterian Easterlin, who lived ve houses Trinity were doing in 1987. Many, Church, Trinity added a medical down from them. like Pugmacher, who died in 2003, clinic for those without health In 1998, with the help of the are no longer physically present in insurance. Easterlin’s grandma took Northwest Leadership Foundation, the congregation, but their spirits her there when she needed health the Herrons created structure and are alive. care. funding for ActsSix scholarships for “She was a passionate vision- “It was this incredible group of promising urban leaders. Easterlin ary who wasn’t afraid to speak her older adults who thought they were received one of the scholarships to mind,” Hunter said. “She kept us young,” said Kevin Hunter, whose Whitworth University. Now, she is focused on what God wanted us to family with small children was Trinity’s learning center coordina- do as a church.” one of the rst to join Trinity in tor, providing homework help, study Trinity’s membership is now the early ’90s, and experienced the skills, teacher advocacy and adult over 200. In April 2019, construc- turnaround. mentoring to students at Jason Lee tion will begin on a new Bryant When he moved to Tacoma, Middle. Easterlin is grateful for Neighborhood Center in the church’s Hunter bought a house in “the Trinity’s providing a place of refuge basement, which is part of a $4.7 Wedge,” two blocks from Trinity. for her. million “Here for Good” campaign. That was signicant because the “I was accepted there. I didn’t The church has received $1.16 Sixth Avenue side of the street cut have to worry about anything million in pledges from Trinity through Tacoma’s north and south else,” she said. “It’s the same for members and another $1.5 million addresses. The other side was kids today. I try to create fun for from community partners, including Division Avenue — the technical them and keep them focused in the an anonymous $1 million gift. line of demarcation. moment. I get in the muck with “This old gray-haired congrega- people, to support and love them, tion of 25 straddled that,” he said. regardless of where they are.” Paul Seebeck is a communications strate- “It’s amazing how committed they And that’s what 25 members at gist for the Presbyterian Mission Agency were to God’s vision to stay in the neighborhood.” Impressed, Hunter and his wife, Kim, went to two other young $&ROXPEDULXPLQWKHOLIHRIWKH&KXUFK families, with two or three kids SUHVHUYHVDWUDGLWLRQRIUHPHPEUDQFH each, and asked them to come to church with them. Suddenly the membership had increased by six An Armento Columbarium adults and seven to nine children — is an affordable alternative that preserves cherished memories and tripled the youth group. and delivers a message of Hunter initially worked for comfort in the knowledge that Young Life urban ministries — those that have touched our lives and then for World Vision, which will always remain in the company awarded a $100,000 vision grant to of family & friends. cover work being done in the neighborhood by Tim and Anna Herron, who had started a learning center for kids in their garage. The Herrons, educators involved COLUMBARIUMS with InterVarsity Christian BLENDING ARTISTRY Fellowship, didn’t start attending AND CRAFTSMANSHIP SINCE 1946 Trinity until 2000, when their then- University Place associate pastor, the Rev. Harlan Shoop, became Trinity’s pastor. SEND FOR OUR FREE INFORMATION KIT & DVD What would become Trinity Learning Center at Jason Lee 1011Military Road, P.O. Box 39, Buffalo, NY 14217; Toll Free 1-866-276-3686, e-mail: [email protected] Middle School was initially open Visit us at www.Armento-Columbarium.com to the kids they knew — including

Presbyterians Today OCTOBER OCTOBER Presbyterians Today PART ONE IN A THREEPART SERIES

Rural Realities White, straight no more Diversity leads to ministries of peace and unity

BY DONNA FRISCHKNECHT JACKSON

Racial and gender diversity, drugs, hunger — big-city challenges have come to Main Street U.S.A. Presbyterians Today is launching a three-part series, “Rural Realities,” to explore the challenges and blessings for today’s rural churches as they navigate a new reality. In the rst installment, PT talks to pastors about the racial diversity and gender identication issues in their small communities.

DEFINING ‘RURAL’ n one rural community, the Rev. The phrase “rural America” often IDr. Richard (Skip) Shaffer Jr. conjures up images of cornﬁelds red began his rst day in a new call barns and cows The reality though is as most pastors do — unpacking that “rural” can mean many dierent many boxes of theological books and things depending on whom you talk to praying fervently that he had suf- and where in the country they live cient shelf space in his new ofce. The mundaneness of move-in day, The United States Census Bureau though, was broken with a gentle deﬁnes rural by what is not urban The tap on his door. Shaffer had his rst guidelines state visitor: Moses. “I thought it was a joke when • An Urbanized Area (UA) has the secretary told me who was here or more people Urbanized Areas have a to see me,” Shaffer said, laughing. core with a total land area less than two But it wasn’t playful church hazing square miles and a population density of on behalf of the congregation. It persons per square mile was indeed a man named Moses, a 7-foot-tall immigrant from South • An Urban Cluster (UC) also has a core Sudan, who reached out his hand with a total land area of less than two to the pastor and said, “We’ve been square miles and a population density waiting for you.” of persons per square mile It It was in that moment of white may contain adjoining territory with at and black hands joining together minimum persons per square mile in a hearty shake that Shaffer’s and encompass a population of at least ministry changed course even but less than persons before it set sail. The predominantly all-white congregation of • “Rural” consists of all territory popula- Westminster Presbyterian Church tion and housing units located outside of in Worthington, Minnesota, would UAs and UCs become the place of radical welcome and — nally — diversity.

Presbyterians Today OCTOBER GETTY IMAGES “The town experienced Hispanic, and meat packing have brought of diversity — that is, if diversity is Asian and African immigration in immigrants to new places in rural understood and embraced, not feared the years before I arrived, but they America in recent decades. Places and not shunned. had not yet found their way into like Worthington, Minnesota, whose the church in signi cant numbers,” Presbyterian church was revital- Connecting to a community Shaffer said. Now there was a com- ized due to the in¢ux of Sudanese Driving on Route 22 — known as munity of Sudanese immigrants immigrants in the mid-1990s, is now the “main drag” connecting the looking for a place where they would seeing a quickly growing Hispanic once-thriving dairy farms with be accepted. They came to the population. once-vibrant Main Streets in upstate Presbyterian church, Shaffer says, The pressing story now is how New York’s Washington County — because of the experience they had aware are Presbyterian congrega- one enters the village of Cambridge, with Presbyterian mission workers tions of the growing diversity in which was founded in 1761. There in their own country. their once-homogeneous communion the corner, at the village’s only That was 1995 when the doors ties? How aware — and how proac- traf c light, stands Cambridge — and hearts — of the congrega- tive — is the rural church when it United Presbyterian Church, tion opened to their Sudanese comes to the changing face of rural complete with a soaring steeple. The brothers and sisters. The church America? congregation inside is just as white soon became home to more than Shaffer, who has spent his career (and weathered) as the white vinyl 100 Sudanese men, women and serving small-town churches and siding on the outside. And yet, on children. In addition to helping admits to loving church potlucks the church’s expansive front lawn them nd suitable housing, Shaffer and riding in the cab of a combine, are signs of protest, peace, and and his congregation hosted a food advises those in rural communi- social and racial justice. They are pantry, a clothing drive and English ties to recognize the subtle and all anchored by a main message — lessons for adults, as well as a not-so-subtle changes that are “Hear Our Prayer.” second worship service in the Nuer happening, and to not be fearful of The signs, said the Rev. Kate language, complete with drums and those changes. His current church, Kot la, a self-described suburban dancing. Oswego Presbyterian Church in girl who just happened to nd her “It was so unique at the time Oswego, Illinois, a larger church way to a completely different way that the Wall Street Journal sent that straddles an agricultural com- of life when she came to serve the a reporter to do a page one feature munity, is experiencing an in¢ux of rural congregation seven years ago, on immigration in the heartland,” families from Cameroon. were leftover political signs from the Shaffer said. “I tell my congregation we are a 2016 presidential election. Kot la Today, such stories aren’t as growing, changing community. It had wanted to put those contentious unique as they once were, as studies looks different,” he said, adding that signs to better use. So new messages show that white rural America is the biggest challenge in ministry, no were slapped over campaign jargon, quickly becoming a tapestry of many matter what the changing context and a prayer lawn was created. colors. What is unique, though, is the is, is “to always share God’s love in However, Kot la, aware of the growing rate of diversity in many different ways.” conservativeness of her community, rural communities. “Every day you are to respond made sure that the prayers were not In a 2017 presentation made to the needs around you,” Shaffer just for controversial issues. Among to Congress titled “Small Towns/ said. Shaffer now shares his passion the signs were prayers for veterans Big Changes: The Shifting for the ever-changing landscape and elected leaders. Demographics of Rural America,” of rural ministry, leading a yearly “Places like Saratoga (45 minutes Jennifer Van Hook, director of immersion group in the Midwest for west of Cambridge) can emphasize the Population Research Institute students interested in what he calls advocacy and organize marches. and professor of sociology and a ministry that has often gotten a If I started that here, I would be demography at Pennsylvania State bad rap. heading out the door,” she said. The University in University Park, “So many people have this idea signs, though, were a subtle way for Pennsylvania, said that nine out of that if you are a rural pastor you her to get a conversation going. 10 rural areas are more diverse now are basically providing hospice care. As in many small towns, Kot la than they were 20 years ago. Van That is so wrong. There is vitality in is in what she calls a “tomato red” Hook described how jobs in construc- rural ministry,” he said. community. tion, manufacturing, agriculture That vitality is coming in the way “I am limited in many ways,”

OCTOBER Presbyterians Today COURTESY OF PRINEVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Prineville Presbyterian Church’s peace pole “declares our intention to be people at one with God, one with neighbor, and one with ourselves,” said the Rev. Mike Wilson. It’s just one of the many ways the Prineville, Oregon, church is reaching out to bring together a changing rural community. she said. But her limitations to talk to the community at large. that there has been no resistance don’t prevent her from seeing the Kotla then nds opportunities to to it from those in the church. If possibilities. connect the “invisible” community to anything, unexpected friendships While there are a handful of con- her church community — and do so with white Presbyterians and those gregants who understand when their gently. of darker skin are “permitting pastor compares the man helped by “I know that I must honor the church folk to question policy in the Samaritan in the Gospel lessons Word and live it with the compas- unexpected ways,” she says. to Syrian refugees — “I lost a family sion I have received. So instead of Kotla’s advice for rural pastors last year when I said that,” she says taking on ICE or public policy, the seeking to address the disconnect — Kotla’s approach to helping her church and community have begun from what Sunday morning worship congregation see and embrace the a ministry of support to our local looks like, compared with what growing diversity around them is to farmworkers,” Kotla said, speaking everyday life out in the village looks begin by cultivating what she calls of the Hispanic workers that are like, is to start by simply loving the “invisible” community, the ones there among them but rarely seen. those in the pew. who don’t necessarily come to the “We offer translation, transportation “I believe transformational lead- Presbyterian church, the interested, and tutoring, but mostly we offer our ership means honoring where people the concerned and those tuned in to time to build relationships.” are long enough to love them and the changes all around. She reaches The program is called “Good then nd ways to engage them in out to them and begins to nd ways Neighbors.” So far, Kotla reports their own transformation,” she said.

Presbyterians Today OCTOBER The Rev. Mike Wilson of Prineville Presbyterian in Prineville, Oregon, knows about loving people where they are. While the only changing — and growing — demographic he sees in his predominantly white congregation is retirees, Wilson is aware of the growing Latino presence outside the church walls. A community garden offering affordable plots on the church’s three-plus acres was a way the church had hoped to connect with its Latino brothers and sisters, offering “neutral” ground to meet and get to know one another, Wilson says. But it didn’t. What is promising is the new Latin Community Association that recently opened in Prineville. There, Wilson hopes for the congregation to get involved and begin to get to know those in the community. A peace pole, featuring prayers for peace in different languages, given to the church by a member and placed outside for all to see, has also become an announce- COURTESY OF KATE KOTFILA ment to the community that differ- Election signs were repurposed into prayer signs in the rural community of Cambridge, New York. ences do not mean divisions. Cambridge United Presbyterian Church’s prayer lawn is one of the ways it is connecting with neighbors. “No one church can be everything to everyone. Today it’s all about working with other organizations in compartmented areas, but that are “People got involved because it outside of the church. It’s about the moving around and into new commu- involved our youth,” Halva said, community working together,” he nities and neighborhoods.” noting, though, “Had we been says, echoing Kotla’s rural ministry To begin the conversation on spending our money and not grant philosophy that “if you start inward, racial diversity in his congregation, money, there would have been more the path outward very rarely the church received grant money or louder resistance.” happens.” to send members to a Montreat Still, he says, the conversations conference called “Neighbor: Being on diversity in his rural community ‘Citizens of the world’ Christian in a Multifaith World.” will continue. In Marion, Illinois, the Rev. Wade At the same time, a Young Adult “If we are raising children in Halva of First Presbyterian Church Volunteer from Halva’s congrega- faith to be citizens of the world, says that while they are “pretty tion was serving a year at DOOR then we need to help make them white” according to the Census (Discovering Opportunities for aware and remind them that the report, there is growing diversity. Outreach and Reection) at First world Jerusalem appears in is a Halva has seen an Asian population Presbyterian Church in Hollywood, world of many races, creeds and coming in to serve medical facilities California, and learning rsthand colors, and that is the world Jesus and an increase in Latinos working about poverty, race and home- sends us into as well,” Halva said. in orchards, “who once were migrants lessness. The intersection of the but are now nding permanent two experiences led First United Donna Frischknecht Jackson is editor of housing.” Halva also says there is a Presbyterian to invite DOOR rep- Presbyterians Today and a rural pastor in small African-American community resentatives to talk about race and Washington County New York in southern Illinois that “often lives poverty, Halva says.

OCTOBER Presbyterians Today TRANSGENDER IN RURAL AMERICA

When the rd General wonderful group of people Assembly passed an overture supported me throughout my a rming and celebrating the transition perhaps without “full dignity and humanity” understanding you were and gifts of all people of all doing so That dear friends gender identities and sexual is walking the walk!” orientations Presbyterians in rural America rejoiced One of my closest friends the One mother of a teen who Rev Bruce Tamlyn a United is transitioning in an upstate Church of Christ pastor and New York farming commu- I were co-preaching that nity wrote on Facebook in day at my church Putnam response to the overture “I United Presbyterian Church am happy to hear my church in Putnam Station New York is a place where my son is Bruce a chaplain at Silver Bay welcomed” Spiritual Life Center in Silver Bay New York was serving as Diversity is growing in rural Putnam’s pastor communities and it is no longer just the shade of one’s Our theme was “All Are skin Gender identity is also Welcome at the Table” It was part of the changing land- Nov two days after scape For example West National Day of Transgender COURTESY OF OWEN GILBO Virginia is now home to the Remembrance I wanted to Owen Gilbo and his wife, Betsy, found acceptance and love in their rural highest number of transgen- include this act of remem- church in Putnam Station, New York, during Owen’s transition. der teens in the nation The brance in our worship to shed Rev Anna Pickney Straight light that not all are welcome Fast-forward to While and God most certainly wants of Old Stone Presbyterian in our nation especially preaching that all are truly us to include all people in our Church in Lewisburg Virginia transgender people who are welcomed at God’s table I places of worship and in our says that a faith campaign is murdered just for being “who explained to the congrega- lives currently underway for these they are” transgender human tion that I am a transgender teens The project is spear- beings God’s children It was man a beloved child of God Bruce’s brother’s husband headed by a group called such a stark contrast to the And they Putnam United Chuck was sitting in church Fairness WV welcoming loving community Presbyterian had never that day He said to me after- at Putnam abandoned me as such They wards “I had to keep looking But long before the rd know the meaning of “all around the room I was overture was accepted this I had been attending the are welcomed at the table” scanning the room looking at past summer Owen Gilbo church since and I will never forget when one all the gray hair and had to experienced the love and became a member in congregant Ann shot up out remember where I was This acceptance of coming out in a known at the time as Angie of her seat and very loudly wasn’t Southern California rural Presbyterian church During “Joys and Concerns” stated “This is why we voted this was Putnam Wow it one Sunday in I stood to be a welcoming church gives me hope” Owen’s story up and stated my joy I This is who we are!” As I stood at the pulpit announced that I was happy Did I mention Putnam Station peering out at the familiar to have legally changed my Everyone laughed when has a population of faces of our small congrega- name to Owen and I would Bruce stood to deliver his people? tion my heart full of gratitude like for everyone to call me part of the message and said for these people I told them by my new nameThey called “Wow! How do I follow that?” “Thank you for walking the me Owen Some struggled He did follow my message Owen Gilbo and his wife walk and not just talking the to ﬁgure out which pronouns emphasizing that God did Betsy moved to the Albany talk Several years ago you to usebut there was never not discern who should and New York area in They not only voted to become a a question as to why I had should not be at the table are currently looking for a new welcoming church you this made the change God made us all loves us all PC(USA) church to call home

Presbyterians Today OCTOBER A blind couple opens a pastor’s eyes

BY RANDALL OTTO

I once was lost but now am found, was records, and Debra serves as a guest her home state of Kentucky to attend blind but now I see. pastor in New Castle Presbytery Louisville Presbyterian Theological as she waits for a church call. But Seminary. hristians often sing “Amazing nding their place in society has been Ironically, in the rst class, one on CGrace” without understanding a challenge. In fact, many times, inclusivity, she felt marginalized by what it is like to actually be they wondered about God’s care and materials that she couldn’t read and blind — either legally blind with provision. by visual exercises that excluded her. diminished vision or completely blind. Debra admits she had periods of She repeatedly told the professor and More importantly, what is it like for deep estrangement from God. She the class how she felt, but to no avail. those who are blind when they come was angry with God, which led to bad When the class paired up to sing to into a church? How are they treated? decisions and bad marriages. During one another, “I need you, you need How are they incorporated into the one of those estrangements from God, me, we need each other to survive,” worship service? she attended a Bible study at a nonde- Debra found herself standing While serving at St. Andrew’s nominational church. She remembers alone and ed the class in tears of Presbyterian Church in Newark, people at the church talking about frustration. Delaware, I got to know David and her to her sighted husband as if she Until then, she had always Debra Trevino. They were each born were not standing right there. Her responded to being excluded with a three months prematurely, weighing husband would appropriately tell feeble, “It’s OK.” Another seminar- approximately 1.5 pounds, and were those people that she could answer ian in the class, however, met Debra put into incubators — the lights of for herself. Her seeing-eye dog, one crying in the hall and afrmed what which burned their optic nerves. Both of ve she’s had in her 60-plus years, she had always felt deep in heart attended residential schools for the also helped her connect with others — it wasn’t OK to be excluded or blind, spending more time with fellow who might have been hesitant to overlooked. pupils than with their own families. approach her. After all, everyone “It’s not that the blind are margin- The isolation, Debra Trevino says, loves to pet those highly trained alized,” Debra said. “We’re not even continued into adulthood, with many companions. in the margins yet.” people not knowing how to interact Sensing she was feeling frus- with the blind. trated doing medical transcription at Welcoming the blind “We just want to t in, be accepted Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Many churches have a sign out front and be a part of society,” she said. Bethesda, Maryland, a pastor friend that says, “Everyone welcome,” but David has begun his own produc- urged her to attend Bible college, the reality is that many who are tion company, selling music with which she did. Eventually, Debra felt different from the congregation catchy jingles he composes, plays and the call to ministry and returned to are not welcomed, simply because

OCTOBER Presbyterians Today kindhearted people don’t know what to say or do. When I rst picked up the Trevinos to worship with the folks at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian, what I noticed right away was David’s endearing humor and Debra’s serenity. Both put me at ease imme- diately. David came down their apartment steps to the car carefully and con dently, with his white cane in one hand and his trumpet COURTESY OF CAROL AND GENE STILZ Debra and David Trevino have shown the congregation at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Newark, in the other, since he always joins Delaware, that those with disabilities can be an integral part of the family of faith. in the church’s praise band. Debra was effortlessly guided by her black Lab, Suzy. When I left them in front Debra said. “I have also had someone need and including that person, not of the church, they made their own dip the bread and hand me the assuming that someone’s special way to the door and the sanctuary. dripping morsel, leaving me to try needs automatically exclude them They managed well. But it got me and avoid getting grape juice on my from an activity. thinking: If a blind person were to clothes.” The Trevinos have also shown me come to your church, how would they All of this could have been that though they are blind, they see be welcomed? avoided if those in the church had some things more clearly than those Certainly, an usher would offer asked Debra and her husband how who have sight. Let us embrace to help a blind person, or any visitor, they could assist in the couple’s those with disabilities, asking not nd a seat. But beyond seating, let taking Communion and then only what they would have us do the blind person know that they can followed the couple’s lead. for them, but what they can do for call the church of ce in advance and others. As we do, we may nd that ask that a bulletin be emailed in A growing phenomenon our own blindness to their chal- Microsoft Word format so a computer Vision impairment and age-related lenges may be healed and we may can read it to them. Yes, read it to eye diseases could double due to see more fully to experience and them. There are many technologies aging in the next three decades, share God’s amazing grace. available that allow printed mate- according to the Centers for Disease rials to be scanned into computer Control. The epidemic of diabetes software that will then “read” to the and other chronic diseases will Randall Otto was interim pastor of St blind. further contribute to increasing Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Newark “Now is the best time to be blind,” vision loss. So how will the church Delaware from August to August David said, revealing his ability to respond to this? How will congrega- He lives in Chester County joke even when faced with challenges. tions prepare? The Trevinos have Pennsylvania and does online teaching for Given this technology, fewer blind shown me that it is primarily a several colleges in religion philosophy and people today learn Braille, opting matter of caring — asking what other humanities instead for audio books, the Trevinos someone with a disability might said. They both have Braille note- taking devices that can also verbal- INCLUDING THE BLIND ize their notes — on sermons, for instance. Debra Trevino oers • Give them opportuni- transportation a ride is The sacrament of Communion can these suggestions to help ties to be with others go always welcomed pro- also pose challenges. Participating in congregations include for a walk go shopping viding fellowship time the sacrament can be demeaning for those who are blind attend Bible study or a the blind, particularly if the sacra- church dinner etc • Assist in paying for ment is done by intinction. • Ask the blind what costly technology that “I once had someone serving the they want you to do for • Oer rides While allows printed materials elements dip the bread in the chalice them the blind can take mass to be “read” to the blind and actually pop it into my mouth,”

Presbyterians Today OCTOBER Choosing a senior living community

BY SUE WASHBURN

velyn Baker and her husband, EGareth, decided that they’d worked long enough. At age 62, Gareth Baker retired from his job as a Presbyterian pastor and the two of them set off on an adventurous retirement, camping around the country and living in their RV full time. However, after four years they comes from knowing that additional were ready to settle down again. The care is available when they need it. question was, where? They have access to art workshops, last third of our lives.” They had some friends who had tness facilities and programs for Gone are the days of one-size- ts- moved to a retirement community seniors. But most importantly, they all senior living with bingo as the in Ohio, so they started looking have a community of people they’ve highlight of the day. Today’s seniors there. At age 67, the Bakers signed known and loved for about 20 years. want housing and care arrangements a lifetime lease on an independent “We have made some good friends. that allow them to live their best life home in Bristol Village, a continuing I have many people that I can call if I whatever their age. care community about an hour south need a hand with something,” Evelyn “Older adults don’t want to live of Columbus. Now in their 80s, they Baker said. “And, of course, there are in a place where people treat them say it was the best choice they could a lot of employees that we can call for like they are in preschool,” said have made. They have a place of their the more serious things. We think it’s Tom Wyllie, director of wellness at own with the peace of mind that the perfect place to be living out the Presbyterian Villages of Michigan.

OCTOBER Presbyterians Today driver’s license. Art centers, kayaking time-llers. The activities should clubs, woodshops and college classes include the ve dimensions of are not unheard of on senior living wellness: physical, emotional, social, campuses. spiritual and vocational,” Ray said. “Too many people think that senior living means eating bad Finding the right home food and being conned to a small Because senior living is a fast-grow- “Most older adults want to live some- room,” said the Rev. Cynthia Ray, ing business in a lot of states, there’s where they and their families can executive director of the Presbyterian competition to have good facilities both be engaged and stimulated.” Association of Homes and Services for and individualized programming the Aging. choices. The latest models for com- Dierent housing needs But the trend in senior living is to munity living seek to empower the As we age, our needs for housing keep people independent and active resident and re-create the kind of change. Choosing to live in a senior for as long as possible. Sometimes community and independence that community can give life zest and this means being independent in a many folks experience earlier in life. meaning. The communities can bring house or apartment. Other times it Finding the right t for senior living together people who live with limited means living with some assistance. can give the last third of life purpose mobility in ways that may not be “A good community will offer and meaning. possible living at home without a activities that are more than Here are some suggestions for

Presbyterians Today OCTOBER nding the best place: “We have people who get on our crisis preceding a change in housing You’re not too young. Think waitlist when they are in their 60s,” is quite common for older adults. A you aren’t old enough to consider said Katherine Peters, regional fall or surgery can mean the medical senior living? Think again, says director for sales at Westminster professionals and social workers say Audra Frye, director of sales and Communities of Florida. “Along home is no longer an option. When marketing at Presbyterian Villages with great activities for independent this happens, decisions need to be of Michigan. Most people perceive seniors, they also have the peace of made quickly and sometimes the themselves to be 10 years younger mind that support will be in place person who will be living in a new than they are. when they need it.” community can’t even tour it before “I once had a 95-year-old woman Evelyn Baker said the biggest moving in. say she was not quite ready for senior mistake she sees people make is “The worst time to make an living!” Frye said. waiting too long to move in. important decision about where to Researching senior living com- “We can come and go and not have live is in the midst of a crisis,” Ray munities before needing nursing to worry about the house or yard. said. “A fall or other incident means care provides a nonthreatening way Plus, we have met a lot of people who the options have narrowed and the for families to begin talking about have done such interesting things in person being moved feels like they the changes that aging brings and their lives. We learn from each other,” have no control over what is happen- allows everyone to be on the same Baker said. ing in their life. This can have both page about which criteria to use when Don’t wait for the crisis. Too emotional and nancial costs.” evaluating different communities. often the move to senior living Figuring out where to go after Plus, it’s never too early to be put on happens when a crisis occurs, and a crisis means nding an available the waitlist for a community you like. choices are limited. Unfortunately, a bed. Moving before a crisis means choosing a new home. MAKING DECISIONS TOGETHER “People who come in proactively are healthier and can really engage Knowing the right time and finding the right place for a loved one can be a chal- in campus life. They feel good, so lenge for families negotiating late life changes Conflict can arise within generations they can get to know their neighbors and between the senior and those responsible for his or her care However there and try new activities,” said Linda are ways to make it go more smoothly Dickson, director of community relations at Redstone Highlands in » Be good stewards. Family stewardship means participating holistically in the southwestern Pennsylvania. “Then, lives of loved ones and checking on life changes through every age and state. when health changes happen, they Being a good steward means stopping periodically to talk about the lives of the already have a circle of support from people we love, including their medical, physical, financial, social, emotional and their friends on campus.” spiritual needs. Too often conflict arises when people don’t talk, and expecta- Not all triggers for choosing senior tions aren’t met. living are crises. Some people decide » Give your loved one as much control as possible. Choosing to move to a that they want to live differently. senior care facility is a big decision — emotionally spiritually and physically They are tired of cutting grass or Moving out of a place that has been home for years can feel like a loss and cooking dinner or get bored since transition away from independence Allowing a parent or loved one to have as they cannot drive. They want to be much control as possible can ease their anxiety about the move As the resource at a place where there are people and person you can provide information ask questions and make suggestions but activities. This desire for less work whenever possible the final decision should belong to the person making the and more engagement can precede a move move as well. See the big picture. Bernadette » Be a team. Everyone involved should talk openly and honestly about what each Chang, director of sales and mar- person thinks they will be able to contribute to avoid misunderstandings and keting at Westminster Gardens in conflict. Can’t take Aunt Kay into your home? Tell her before she’s forced into Duarte, California, says that people a move. Can’t visit Dad every week if he chooses a community across town? looking at senior communities often Admit it before he signs a contract. Discuss the various options and levels of focus their attention in the room care with everyone involved to be sure the family is clear about who will provide or rooms they are moving into and what. become overwhelmed. “The apartment may be smaller than a three-bedroom home and

OCTOBER Presbyterians Today A QUICK GUIDE TO SENIOR CARE TERMINOLOGY

When most people think of senior living they imagine infirm Assisted living allows Alzheimer’s disease and people confined to a bed or wheelchair However that is just seniors to live relatively dementia Residents typi- one level of care in most facilities independently but with some cally live in a designated and assistance for things like secure part of the assisted “Many people don’t realize how many oerings we have A lot housekeeping meal prep living or skilled care commu- has changed in the field of senior housing and services” said showering and remembering nity to avoid wandering Linda Dickson director of community relations at Redstone medication Most have sta Highlands to monitor the residents Hospice care — special medical psychological and Independent living or not be part of a continuing Skilled care oers the spiritual support for resi- senior communities oer care community services of nurses and aides dents facing a life-limiting or small homes and apartments who provide -hour medical terminal illness — is oered to people who need little Continuing care facilities and daily care Rehabilitation by many continuing care care and meet a minimum oer multiple levels of care as and IV medications may be communities Caregivers age requirement They may the need for help increases administered seek to provide peace oer some dining services The facilities may begin with comfort and dignity at the as well as entertainment and independent living and move Memory care caters end of life programs They may or may through hospice care specifically to patients with there just won’t be room for every- solely on the person giving the tour to sure you are clear on what future thing, but they are getting access to inform the decision about what is best care is included in the contract you the whole campus and a community for you. Talking to the residents and sign. Paying attention to the details of people who will love and care for caregivers can allow for a broader is important,” said Dickson. them,” Chang said. She encourages view. Residents can give an unvar- Finally, ask about club imagining yourself in the gardens nished look at what happens each programs. Many senior living com- and common areas of the new com- day and describe how their needs are munities are opening their doors and munity and not just in the personal met — or not. Asking the staff how providing activities to people who space. long they have worked there and how still live at home. This “try before Lynn Alexander, senior vice presi- often workers come and go can say you buy” offer allows participation in dent and chief marketing of cer for something about morale. Stopping activities before moving in. Making Presbyterian Villages of Michigan, in unannounced during off-peak friends and becoming familiar with says good care is more than a lovely hours with fewer staff around can the facility and programs can make campus. provide a look at things like morning the transition to senior housing “So many people get caught up in and evening rituals and the slower, easier. a beautiful environment, but things weekend pace. Leaving home for a senior living like ratios of caregivers to residents, “And don’t forget to ask the money community is not always easy. But feelings of control, programs that are questions,” advised Dickson, “espe- the mission of many communities of interest and sense of community cially about benevolent care.” Some is to empower their residents to live can be even more important than the places may terminate the relation- their best life at every age. Chang decor,” she said. ship because of an inability to pay says moving to a senior living com- “A building is a building,” said and the search for a new home then munity can be like going to a party Nicole Muller, president of Occupancy begins all over again. Senior commu- you aren’t sure you want to attend. Answers, a consulting rm for senior nities that have some sort of benevo- “You are nervous and hesitant at living communities. “It’s best to get lent care fund will help residents rst, but once you get there you meet to know the unique personality of remain in the community even if they people you like and have a good time. a community. We encourage people outlive their nancial resources. In the end, you’ll be glad you went,” not just to tour a building but have a Also, be sure you compare apples she said. meal and participate in the programs to apples when making the nancial so they can truly experience being in decisions. the community. It’s even possible to “When it comes to pricing and Sue Washburn is the pastor of Reunion ask for a trial stay.” contracts, know what is included in Presbyterian Church in Mount Pleasant Talk on the tour. Don’t rely the monthly fee or entrance fee. Make Pennsylvania and a freelance writer

Presbyterians Today OCTOBER Building a mission village

Dwindling church revives with grand vision

BY SHERRY BLACKMAN

KONA GRAY A rendering of Sanctuary Village shows a bold vision of ministry in Florida that will include not just a church, but also health care facilities, aordable housing, restaurants, schools and oce space. Perspective Rendering s OCTOBER Presbyterians Today n the fall of 2016, the Rev. Dwayne them,” he said. The congregation also in the world, says Black. Passionate IBlack, pastor of The Sanctuary learned that they had to give every- about relieving suffering and ghting Church, found himself behind thing away — space and place — to social injustice, and joining the God bars more than once for feeding the move on to bigger things. of the oppressed in living out the homeless on Florida’s Fort Lauderdale “Hold nothing back; don’t be afraid transforming message of the resur- Beach. His arrest gleaned interna- to trust God’s provision,” said Black. rected Jesus, the church has teamed tional attention. In his defense, Black “Everything we do is about missions.” up with so many other groups that says he “follows the red letters in In other words, the church began the list reads like a table of contents. Scripture.” living into its name as a place of Included among them is All Saints “This is what we [ministers] sanctuary. Soup Kitchen, Refuge Recovery, signed up for,” he said. Black, who community outreach programs such says no human being should be left Working side by side as Abandoned Pet Rescue, Toys for behind, continues to feed 300 to 400 On an average day, more than Tots and the LGBT Chamber of people a week despite the ordinance 400 people attending Alcoholics Commerce, as well as a variety of against it. The city has given up Anonymous meetings are present educational programs and institu- enforcing the ordinance. on the church campus. Black is tions: Delmar Arts Academy and This full-throttle, expansive, visible at their meetings and has Florida Singing Sons Boys’ Choir, 60-something-year-old visionary an open ofce door policy, establish- for example. Add to the list health was called to The Sanctuary Church ing personal relationships with services such as Life Line Screening, in Fort Lauderdale seven years ago those who attend. A number of other a preventive screening program, and with one mandate: Turn the church recovery groups meet on campus as OneBlood, a blood donation organiza- around with its aging and dwindling well. tion. At Thanksgiving, the congrega- membership on its eight-acre water- For Black, though, partnering tion collaborates with the sheriff’s front property, or close its doors. is more than offering space on the ofce, delivering 4,500 turkeys to “The church was either going to be church’s campus. It means working those in need. the biggest albatross or the biggest side by side (in and out of jail) with What’s clear is that Black believes blessing,” Black said. people like Arnold Abbott of Love in a seamless gospel — where salva- At its height in 1966, the church Thy Neighbor, an interfaith nonprot tion and social justice go hand in had a membership of 1,580. By 2008, organization that is on the forefront hand. the membership had fallen to 104. of helping the homeless in Broward “The church is the best when it “When I came to Sanctuary County. With more than 10,000 serves, sacrices and loves, caring Church in 2011, our membership was homeless men, women and children, about the things God cares about. down to 25 people, many of whom Love Thy Neighbor works to preserve We were created to live for something were in their 80s. There was a sense the integrity of the individual as well larger than ourselves,” he said. of security in not changing, but God as to help them help themselves. That something “larger” was about is always about change — God is Black joins with other volunteers to come. always moving. It’s dishonoring to to provide meals for more than those who came before us if we don’t 1,400 homeless people per week. The The vision change,” said Black. Sanctuary Church even opened its Every day since his arrival in 2011, Black quickly began partnering doors to help train those in recovery Black has faithfully walked around with local social justice nonprot through Love Thy Neighbor’s the church seven times and prayed. organizations. Every empty space culinary skills training program. One day, as he walked and prayed, he in the church began lling with Over the past two years, the program had a vision transform the water- outreach programs that reected the has had more than 400 graduates, front campus into a residential, community. helping the homeless get off the commercial and community center “We partnered with every organi- streets and back into society as pro- where multitudes would come. It zation you could think of. I learned I ductive, contributing members. would be called Sanctuary Village, had to go to the people, not expect the The church is living out its incorporating affordable housing, an people to come to me, to minister to mission as God’s ongoing presence amphitheater, green spaces, retail

Presbyterians Today OCTOBER establishments and restaurants, Right now, the land is fallow. There builds community, welcomes the health care facilities, schools, of ces, is very little public marine space in poor, provides service, has space outdoor education and a place for the Fort Lauderdale; most of it is private, for nonpro ts to come together, and celebration of the arts. Every business so this will open up the opportunity lives fully the commitment that it is would give a small percentage of its for the public,” Gray said. “This is all about mission. It was a moment pro ts to a mission of their choice the kind of project that the presby- when Bultena says he saw what the that impacts the community. tery should support as it will provide Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated “This is how to do church — to ongoing revenue far into the future Clerk of the General Assembly of the experience God in a multitude of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), has ways, with the church at the center,” been calling “the kingdom of God.” Black said of the idea. One of the rst things Black had I believe when we Contagious passion to do was consult a land planner to “I believe when we really live out the see if his vision could in fact become really live out the call call of God on our lives, then some a reality. The Presbytery of Tropical really big and incredible things can Florida provided a loan to the church of God on our lives happen. This church is not doing this for the session to work with a land project out of desperation or to stay planner and help them consider what then some really big alive. They are doing this because God might be calling them to do with and incredible things of their passion for mission — that the church property. passion drives all their desires,” Landscape architect and urban can happen This Bultena said. “As I introduce people designer Kona Gray, of the global to the building project of Sanctuary rm EDSA (which has its world head- church is not doing Village I often ask a question: What quarters in Fort Lauderdale), was if a group of people passionate about approached. this project out of mission — a church — were to take “The eight-acre campus is a all they had and develop it in such a valuable piece of property. Developing desperation way that it becomes a village where it responsibly is a way to be a good everything that happens there gener- steward of the land. By highly utiliz- — Daris Bultena ates more mission?” ing it, it will leave a legacy for the One answer he offers to that future,” Gray said, adding, “I told question is that the church is often Rev. Black that yes, we absolutely looking back 50 years, thinking that can do this. It’s a fantastic project for the mission of the church.” was the nest hour of this church, that will transform and provide The presbytery has indeed part- when this very moment, and living space for the church and for the nered with the session to see this into this dream, may indeed be the community.” dream come to fruition. nest moment in the life of The The Sanctuary Church borders “Sanctuary Church was a church Sanctuary Church. the highly traf cked U.S. Highway in decline and then a few years ago “Other churches and pastors in 1, but the church itself is not visible caught the wind of the Spirit that the Presbytery of Tropical Florida from the road and most people mission is their point of contact with are very interested in what is hap- aren’t even aware the church exists. how God is moving in the community. pening because it touches us deep — Its waterfront borders on Middle In an effort to truly live missionally, we are ready to really do something River, which joins New River that the church has fully embraced its more than decline; we know God has runs into the Atlantic Ocean. With calling to live into, and even create, more in store for us,” Bultena said. climate change and global warming a place where community is for all Groundbreaking for Sanctuary on the minds of most Floridians, the God’s people,” said the Rev. Dr. Daris Village is expected to start at the end property will be developed in such a Bultena, general presbyter. of this year with the construction of a way as to improve and preserve it for Bultena was invited to participate $20 million housing project. the present time and for the future, in the “Master Plan Workshop” that Gray says. Gray held with the church’s session. Sherry Blackman is the pastor of “We look at all the in¢uences of During that workshop, he sat back Presbyterian Church of the Mountain in the land design for resilient landscap- and watched the session members Delaware Water Gap Pennsylvania ing, making it better than before. express their desire for a place that

OCTOBER Presbyterians Today A container garden from the Presbyterian Giving Catalog transforms small spaces into productive plots requiring fewer natural resources to produce vital nourishment for families.

presbyteriangifts.org/agriculture Passing the peace of Christ to all

BY PAT COLE

PRESBYTERIAN MINISTRY AT THE UNITED NATIONS Peace & Global Witness gifts help the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations facilitate congregational involvement in the Red Hand Day Campaign. This international initiative seeks to persuade countries to stop using children in warfare.

rinceton Abaraoha was a had conscripted him for service in rocket detonated, and he sustained P carefree 13-year-old boy when its unsuccessful war to gain inde- multiple wounds. Over the next year he was snatched by soldiers and pendence from Nigeria during the and a half, he endured six surgeries taken to a military training camp. 1960s. without anesthesia. He came home Two weeks later, he was carrying a As the war in Nigeria progressed, at age 17 and started high school, gun as a soldier in Nigeria’s civil war. Abaraoha was trained as a muni- but his wartime experience left him “I was going to fetch water for my tions and explosive device specialist. angry and rebellious. He drank mom when they grabbed me, and I One hot, sunny afternoon, his unit heavily, and he says many consid- didn’t see my family again for 2½ came under heavy re, and an unex- ered him a “terror to society.” His years,” he said. ploded rocket landed nearby. While life changed, however, after profess- The secessionist state of Biafra Abaraoha attempted to defuse it, the ing his Christian faith for the rst

OCTOBER Presbyterians Today time at an Anglican high school he the PC(USA) is involved in initia- church he serves, the Old Bergen attended. tives around the world aimed at Church in Jersey City. “My mom said God changed a ending children in combat, sex “To see children of different heart of stone into a heart of esh,” trafcking, forced labor and other races, ethnicities and faith traditions Abaraoha said. types of human trafcking. Several singing and laughing together was Eventually, Abaraoha came to mission co-workers are also involved a powerful medicine for all of us in the United States to attend college. in anti-trafcking work, including that moment,” Brown said. It was then that he sensed a call Cathy Chang in the Philippines, who The four-day event, which had to ministry. Today, Abaraoha is devotes full-time work to the human been planned for months, drew pastor of First Presbyterian Church trafcking issue. nearly 100 children. It was spon- in Midlothian, Texas, and serves sored by Christian congregations, a the national church as a eld Peace at home synagogue and a mosque in Jersey staff member for the Presbyterian Closer to home, Peace & Global City, which is one of the most ethni- Mission Agency’s Intercultural Witness Offering gifts are helping cally, racially and religiously diverse Ministries. congregations bear witness to communities in the United States. While Abaraoha’s story has peace in their neighborhoods. This The children learned ways to a happy ending, there are many happened last year in Jersey City, resolve con icts and to handle angry children whose lives will not. New Jersey, in the aftermath of and sad feelings. They brainstormed Unfortunately, the use of child the racially charged violence in about what is needed for a good soldiers continues today. UNICEF Charlottesville, Virginia. neighborhood and built model neigh- estimates that tens of thousands of Like many other Americans, borhoods out of cardboard boxes children worldwide are currently the Rev. Jon Brown experienced and other materials. They heard ghting in armed con icts. the shock waves of fear and grief from guest speakers, including a “Using child soldiers is an evil that swept across the United States police ofcer, librarian, teacher and that we need to exterminate. We on that August weekend. He was a public health ofcial, all of whom need to call attention to any system distraught to the point of numbness. told the children how they could help that supports this evil,” Abaraoha However, on the following Monday others. said. morning his hope was renewed, a The camp’s themes were adapted Gifts to the Peace & Global restoration brought about in part from a curriculum published with Witness Offering can help the through the Peace & Global Witness support from the Peace & Global Presbyterian Mission Agency do just Offering. Witness Offering. The curriculum, that. For example, because of these His spirits were lifted by dozens Building a Neighborhood Together, gifts, the Presbyterian Ministry at of elementary-aged children who draws a connection to Mister Rogers’ the United Nations can facilitate had gathered for Peace Camp at the Neighborhood, a PBS program congregational involvement in the Red Hand Day Campaign. This international initiative seeks to persuade countries to stop using children in warfare. In conjunction with the campaign, Presbyterians across the country have sent prints or paper cutouts of red hands along with an accompanying note to the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations. The hands and a cover letter are then sent to ofcials in countries that have yet to sign a U.N. protocol that forbids the use of child soldiers. To date, 167 countries have ratied the protocol while 30 PRESBYTERIAN MINISTRY AT THE UNITED NATIONS Presbyterians across the country have sent paper cutouts of red hands as part of the Red Hand Day have not. Campaign, which Peace & Global Witness gifts help to support. Working with global partners,

Presbyterians Today OCTOBER that was created and hosted by the late Fred Rogers, a Presbyterian minister. Brigid D’Souza, the parent of two campers and one of the camp’s adult leaders, called it “a really important gift” to her children and other campers. “When I was growing up, I didn’t attend Bible study camp, so for me it was informative to see what this type of camp could mean for kids,” she said. Many congregations and mid councils use gifts from the Peace & Global Witness Offering to put creative ideas like Peace Camp into action. Twenty-ve percent of the COURTESY OF THE ABARAOHA FAMILY The Rev. Princeton Abaraoha, center, who once carried a gun as child soldier in Nigeria, is thankful for Peace & Global Witness Offering is the gifts to the Peace & Global Witness Oering. The gifts help children in war-stricken countries. retained by congregations for local ministries of peacemaking and Lucy Janjigian, a longtime mission experienced and was very sad to reconciliation, another 25 percent advocate in Los Altos, California. hear what was happening,” said supports such ministries at the mid Seminar participants were seminary student Ravo Vonialisoa. council level, and 50 percent goes inspired by the agricultural, edu- Vonialisoa says her goal in to the peacemaking and reconcilia- cational and health care ministries ministry is to “bring new ideas and tion ministries of the Presbyterian that the Church of Jesus Christ new life to the churches I serve and Church (U.S.A). A portion of the in Madagascar and Presbyterian a new life to the nation.” gifts to the national church helps the mission co-workers do together. The Her resolve was strengthened by PC(USA) reach out to people who participants are now sharing the her Presbyterian visitors. long for peace and reconciliation. As story of the Malagasy people and are “I realize now that the Church unlikely partnerships take shape, calling Presbyterians to deepen their of Jesus Christ in Madagascar is people carry each other’s burdens, commitment to them. Particularly, not alone. I will share this with the advocate for one another and share they want Presbyterians to advocate churches I serve so they know that each other’s hopes. for an end to the current practices there are many around the world of stripping the country of natural praying for us,” she said. “I feel a Forming new partnerships resources without replenishing greater connection to the worldwide Members of the PC(USA) and them, often done in the name of church.” the Church of Jesus Christ in development. Gifts to the Peace & Global Madagascar (FJKM) shared such an The seminar participants’ convic- Witness Offering are traditionally experience this past year through a tions were deepened by the people- received the rst Sunday in October, travel study seminar. to-people contact. “I can see the faces which is World Communion Sunday. Madagascar is an island nation of the people,” Janjigian said. “It located 250 miles off Africa’s east makes it so much more alive.” Pat Cole is a communications specialist for coast. Due in part to years of unsus- At the FJKM’s Ivato Seminary, the Presbyterian Mission Agency tainable development practices, the students empathized with some country suffers greatly from poverty hardships that Janjigian herself has and government instability. Despite endured. Janjigian gave an account this, the churches’ efforts to allevi- of her family eeing Jerusalem LEARN MORE ate hunger and promote democracy during the 1948 war and talked Learn more about the Peace & offer much hope. about the ongoing struggles in the Global Witness O ering by visiting “The church there is so alive. It is Holy Land. specialoeringspcusaorg active and caring, and they encour- “I was very surprised by peace-globalhtml aged us to be more faithful,” said the violence people there have

OCTOBER Presbyterians Today CLASSIFIED ADS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ally: . Annual subscription price: . . Complete AD RATES: per line (approx characters) Kirkmont Center, Inc. Dynamic, seasoned leader mailing address of known o¨ce of publication: DISPLAY AD: per column inch needed to continue to transform a beloved facility in Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY §-. DEADLINE: weeks before issue date Email southwest Ohio and its dual ministry of faith forma- Contact person: Jeffrey Lawrence. Telephone: copy to today@pcusaorg or call -- tion and outdoor science education. Please refer to: - - . Complete mailing address of head- ext Classifieds also appear on Presbyterians kirkmontcenter.com/sta-employment. quarters or general business office of publisher: Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Witherspoon Today’s website at no additional cost FULL-TIME PASTOR/HEAD OF STAFF St., Louisville, KY §-. 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Presbyterians Today OCTOBER CHURCH MATTERS | Jerry Van Marter

Yes, we are all ministers in the church In Presbyterian lingo, the buck stops with you

n my various roles over the years — pastor, national staff Two of the responsibilities really stand out for me — Imember, presbytery stated clerk — I have visited many “demonstrating a new quality of life within and through congregations for worship. A church’s worship bulletin is the church” and “reviewing and evaluating regularly the a good window into the life of the congregation, so I always integrity of one’s membership and considering ways in read them carefully. Not just the order of worship — one which one’s participation … may be increased and made can walk into almost any Presbyterian church anywhere more meaningful.” and feel familiar with the order of worship. Wow! “Ministers: all members of the church” is I like to read all the other material in the bulletin. What can be an annoyance to regular pewsitters is the stuff that can really tell visitors a lot about your congre- The real ministry of the church belongs to gation. And I have been struck by how many Sunday bul- letins, in the staff section, list “ministers: all the members each of us in a fundamentally personal and of the church.” At rst glance, I am put off by this terminology. It indispensable way seems too cutesy, or manipulative, like the pastor is almost too eager to remove himself or herself from whatever imaginary pedestal is perceived to exist. It profoundly correct terminology when we see it in the light seems to proclaim an egalitarianism that may not be true, of G-1.0304. These are responsibilities that cannot be or to reect a pastor overly anxious to recruit helpers. I done by professional clergy or by anyone else in the con- confess the need to check that impulse and to see “minis- gregation. Ministry is both individual and corporate. And ters: all members of the church” for what it really is — a there’s no passing the buck. key to Presbyterian polity. Earlier, in G-1.0101, we read: “The triune God gives to The Book of Order states it pretty clearly in G-1.0304: the congregation all the gifts of the gospel necessary to “Membership in the Church of Jesus Christ is a joy and being the church.” And G-1.0102 states: “The polity of the a privilege. It is also a commitment to participate in Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) presupposes the fellowship Christ’s mission.” In my congregation in Louisville, we are of women, men and children united in covenant rela- engaged in all kinds of activities we call mission: English tionship with one another and with God through Jesus as a Second Language (ESL) classes for immigrants, Christ. The organization rests on the fellowship and is not support of our local community ministry, a partnership designed to work without trust and love.” with several churches in Guatemala, and participation The church fully depends on the nature of the fel- in a variety of local, regional and national coalitions lowship among its members and on the love and trust addressing many issues. That’s what most Presbyterians between them. No mention of clergy or professional staff think of as mission. here. We all know how important our pastor is and how A closer look at G-1.0304 reveals a far deeper, far more much we rely on our music director and Christian educa- personal theology of mission. The “ministry of members” tors and the person who answers phones and emails in in that section lists 12 responsibilities of a faithful the ofce during the week. But the real ministry of the member, including “proclaiming the good news in word church belongs to each of us in a fundamentally personal and deed,” taking part in the church’s life and worship, and indispensable way. lifting one another in prayer and support, studying Scripture and issues of Christian faith, living responsibly, Jerry Van Marter recently served as interim director of communica- working for justice and peace, caring for God’s creation tions for the Oce of the General Assembly and is stated clerk for the and participating in church governance. Presbytery of Mid-Kentucky

OCTOBER Presbyterians Today Chip Hardwick | BIBLE EXPLORATIONS: WALKING HUMBLY WITH GOD

Happiness is so overrated Troubling texts reveal God’s joy

Job 1:1, 2:1–10 is a lectionary text for World Communion Sunday, Oct. 7.

hen we wade into Job 1:1, 2:1–10, the theo- skin with a jagged piece of pottery. W logical waters get deep very quickly. So many Jesus’ life and death tell us the same thing about challenging questions oat up to the surface, God’s interest in “happiness.” Jesus fully embraced the and any one of them can threaten to upset our balance. road to the cross, but it is hard to imagine that Calvary This part of the Scriptures might as well come with the made him happy (at least in the way we think about hap- warning “here be dragons,” which was a phrase used piness). The whipping, the stripping, the mocking, the by 18th century mapmakers to warn risk-averse sailors nailing — Jesus could not have had a smile on his face away from uncharted, dangerous waters. Yet the Revised while he endured these trials. And yet he endured them. Common Lectionary asks us to swim along in this As commentator Paul E. Capetz puts it, “Virtue passage’s currents — and on World Communion Sunday, does not always entail happiness.” This is difcult to no less. remember when “here be dragons” is not a note on a map The passage is troubling for any number of reasons. but the headline over a season of life, but it is nonethe- We don’t dare let ourselves imagine that we might ever less true. We may long for happier times, but God is nd ourselves in Job’s shoes. Is Job’s wife encouraging mysteriously somehow more interested in other goals. him to be honest about his feelings or trying to berate A woman named Carolyn in the church where I serve him? What do we do with the gure of Satan? And recently had her left arm and shoulder amputated to probably most important, why would God give permis- prevent her cancer from spreading. I was stunned when sion for all these tragedies to happen to our protagonist? she told me that somehow, mysteriously, she had never This last question sticks with us because it feels felt God’s “lavish and complete” love more completely so counter to one of the central premises of American than she had since her surgery. I suspect, however, that culture. That is, each of us is endowed by our Creator she would not say she has been happier. with the right to pursue happiness. The suffering of Job On World Communion Sunday, Presbyterians join formidably undermines that pursuit. Christians all over the world and celebrate Christ’s Happiness, though, goes hand in hand with religion lavish and complete love for us. We give thanks that he these days. A church-rattling study of teens by Christian let his body be broken and his blood be shed, rather than Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton, chronicled in pursuing happiness. Somehow, mysteriously, we can their book Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual experience that love wherever there be dragons. Lives of American Teenagers, tracked how important various theological concepts were to the 3,000 students Chip Hardwick is interim pastor at First Presbyterian Church interviewed. of Lake Forest Illinois He is the former director of Theology The No. 1 religious subject? Being happy. In fact, Formation & Evangelism for the PC(USA) students mentioned becoming happy twice as often as they did sin, 20 times more often than salvation, 30 times more often than the Trinity, 40 times more often than grace and 50 times more often than justice DISCUSSION QUESTIONS or holiness. The pursuit of happiness, according to the » Has there been a time in your life when you felt like research, is the most important religious goal for teens. Job, with tragedies all around you? The only problem is that this passage from Job tells » How is your experience in that time colored by the us that God is not primarily interested in Job’s hap- understanding that God somehow permitted those piness. If the pursuit of happiness were as important tragedies to take place? to God as it is to our country’s founders and today’s teens, God would have told Satan to stay away from Job. » If “virtue does not always entail happiness,” what is Furthermore, our story’s lead couldn’t possibly have had happiness’ place in our life of faith? a smile on his face while scraping all those boils on his

Presbyterians Today OCTOBER JUSTICE FOR GOD’S WORLD | Vernon S. Broyles III

( ) A nation of immigrants All people and all faiths are welcomed

A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamenta- non-white asylum-seekers make the words by Emma tion, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be Lazarus on the Statue of Liberty seem like a joke: “Give consoled, because they are no more. — Matthew 2:18 me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming here is no agony like the pain of a parent separated shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I Tfrom their children. It is, in fact, the outcry of the lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Lord, recorded in Jeremiah 31:15–17, over the loss As former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright of the Lord’s beloved children. They have gone away, and said, “There is no ne print on the Statue of Liberty. the Lord calls out of the divine pain of separation. America must remain open to people of all faiths and That cry is heard again across Palestine, as King backgrounds.” Herod goes on a rampage, having heard from the Magi What shall we say to this? Must we not, as fol- that a new “king of the Jews” is to be born. He orders lowers of Jesus Christ, respond to those who have the slaughter of all of the children 2 years old and ed, through danger and hardship, seeking asylum younger to quash the threat. among us? The exaggerated claims that so many of How is it possible that now, in the United States, these people are criminals or that we do not have the this kind of anguished cry of parents separated from resources to process them or that they have not pre- their children should be heard among us? How is it sented themselves in the proper manner are all fabrica- that in the name of “the law,” children are taken from tions or avoidance mechanisms. Ironically, there is not their parents and carried off to be warehoused in a single American, including those who are refusing prison facilities or in hastily constructed military com- to offer shelter and hospitality to those who come to pounds reminiscent of those used for the internment of our borders, whose own presence in the U.S. cannot be Japanese citizens during World War II? Who could have traced directly back to immigrants who came — often possibly thought that such an outrage could be justied under great duress — to nd shelter and a new home on by a “zero tolerance” edict from those in power, or, even our shores. more outrageously, be defended by the warped use of If the voice of the faith community in our nation of Scripture? immigrants matters, now is the time for it to be heard. We are a sick nation — the opioid crisis, the rising cases of suicide, the racism that drives so much police Vernon S Broyles III is a volunteer for public witness in the brutality in our cities — and now, the willingness PC(USA)’s Oce of the General Assembly of our courts to justify the barring of non-Christian,

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