The Rev. Jessica Derise has served as a mission co-worker for more than a year, but for the first time is able to do so in person.
Derise is serving in an interim capacity as chaplain for the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy (MPC), an international congregation founded in the 1960s as a Protestant worshiping community for the U.S. Embassy. From the beginning, five denominations have worked together to ensure that the congregation has had pastoral leadership — the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Methodist Church, the American Baptist Church and the Reformed Church of America.
The people of First Presbyterian Church of Plano are adding blessings to the showers a local organization provides for homeless people.
The church, north of Dallas, has operated a clothes pantry for 53 years, but that ministry was paused when the building was closed due to the pandemic. Thankfully, this turned out to be not an ending but a new opportunity for the church to serve others.
More than 1,500 days. That’s how long Hilda and her 14-year-old son, Ivan, have been living in sanctuary in Austin, Texas.
The family arrived at the U.S. border from Guatemala in 2014 hoping to start a new life, but it didn’t work out that way.
First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta wanted to reshape its ministries. Standing in the heart of the city since 1848, becoming the first Presbyterian church to lay roots in Atlanta, the congregation has had a long history of community involvement, from serving breakfasts to the homeless every Sunday to providing safe housing to women, to name a few. Still, it was time to think differently, go further and create ministries that would empower people, ministries that would “walk alongside the community,” says the Rev. Rebekah LeMon, executive pastor.
Calvary Presbyterian Church has had a heart for mission ever since a group of friends gathered in 1944 seeking to have a church closer to their home — in what was then a growing suburb of southwest Wilmington, Delaware. Today, the long legacy of helping neighbors continues with partnerships with organizations like Meeting Ground, a local group addressing homelessness, and Friendship House, which offers transitional housing, a clothing bank and “empowerment centers,” providing those in need with a place to regroup, work on resumes, have a cup of coffee and connect with others. But Wilmington is a big city with lots of opportunities to help others. So, Calvary Presbyterian created what is called “Second Sunday Sharing,” in which the congregation helps one local nonprofit.
Calvary Presbyterian Church has had a heart for mission ever since a group of friends gathered in 1944 seeking to have a church closer to their home — in what was then a growing suburb of southwest Wilmington, Delaware. Today, the long legacy of helping neighbors continues with partnerships with organizations like Meeting Ground, a local group addressing homelessness, and Friendship House, which offers transitional housing, a clothing bank and “empowerment centers,” providing those in need with a place to regroup, work on resumes, have a cup of coffee and connect with others. But Wilmington is a big city with lots of opportunities to help others. So, Calvary Presbyterian created what is called “Second Sunday Sharing,” in which the congregation helps one local nonprofit.
Presbyterian Mandy Manning, in Spokane, Washington, admits she’s “a little tired” of the attention she’s received this year as National Teacher of the Year, but it’s also been a welcome opportunity for her to share her students’ stories. Manning was awarded the title in April by the Council of Chief School State Officers. The honor was first awarded in 1952 and continues as the oldest, most prestigious national honor that focuses public attention on excellence in teaching.
A citywide interfaith Service of Light & Remembrance, hosted by Faith Forward Dallas, will be held to remember neighbors in Dallas County, Texas, who died homeless during this past year. The service will take place at First Presbyterian Church of Dallas on Sunday, November 4, starting at 4 p.m.
