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Mission Yearbook
Serious JuJu, a skateboarding ministry and 1001 New Worshiping Community in Kalispell, Montana, has been faithful to seeing, feeding and strengthening kids; celebrating skateboarders; and serving Christ for 13 years.
Somewhat submerged in the barrage of headlines about COVID-19 is news that Mother Nature is still doing her thing.
As always, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) plans to respond to calls for help, though in a somewhat altered way, given the limitations of a churchwide domestic travel ban and social distancing necessary to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
How would you celebrate your 50th anniversary? Last year, the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM), a PC(USA) partner church, promoted free HIV testing at all of the events celebrating its 50th anniversary. FJKM President Irako Andriamahazosoa Ammi was tested publicly last August. Over 40,000 people were educated about HIV and AIDS, and 2,000 were tested during six events.
On Saturday, March 7, the eve of International Women’s Day, the Presbytery of New York City celebrated this year’s theme, “An equal world is an enabled world,” in a unique way: the installation of Ruling Elder Frances Thom and Ruling Elder Terri Youn to their one-year terms as, respectively, moderator and moderator-elect. Present for this historic occasion in the sanctuary of Riverdale Presbyterian Church in the Bronx was the Rev. Cindy Kohlmann, Co-Moderator of the 223rd General Assembly.
He drives up the Philadelphia Turnpike for his semi-annual appointment with the allergist, and sneezes. Not unusual for this time of year. Should he, a senior, be nervous? He’s not anxiety-prone, but with the advancing virus constantly in the news, how can he not have dying at the back of his mind?
Fear, exhaustion and grief came through as the primary emotions as a group of mid council leaders gathered on a Zoom call in late March. The group was brought together by the Presbyterian Mission Agency to listen to their concerns and learn how the Church might best help mid councils and congregations during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Before a hunger emergency struck Somalia, Hawo Abdi and her husband were successful herders near their country’s border with Kenya.
However, two years of intensive drought parched the land to the point that they could no longer raise the camels, cattle, sheep and goats that supported their pastoralist lifestyle. The country’s civil war added further complications to the situation. As her family faced economic ruin, Abdi’s husband died, and at the time of his death, she was two months pregnant with the couple’s fifth child.
The Rev. Richard Avery, half of the Avery and Marsh songwriting duo along with his longtime collaborator Don Marsh, died March 15 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was 85.
I recently had the opportunity to participate in a small-group Bible study with other Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission co-workers serving throughout Africa. We were invited to read closely Matthew 25:31–46, where Jesus speaks of when he comes again and is like a shepherd separating “sheep from goats” at the final judgment. We were also invited to ask the questions: “What word or phrase stands out? How does the text resonate with or challenge you? What might the text be calling you to do, be or change?”
For this Father’s Day Mission Yearbook entry, I decided to rely heavily on one of the National Council of Presbyterian Men’s Bible Study Guides prepared by Presbyterian men for Presbyterian men. There are 24 of these study guides; 23 are based on books of the Bible and one on “Some Biblical Bases of a Brief Statement of Faith.” The guide used for this Minute for Mission, based on 1 Samuel, is titled “Fathers, Brothers, Friends and Others: A Study of Male Relationships,” authored by H. Michael Brewer and edited by Curtis A. Miller. The other references also come from the study guide.
