I still remember the first words from the first church leader I met as I first arrived in Manila: “You are welcome here, but you are not needed here.” Those words, spoken with wisdom and love almost two decades ago, would go on to shape the course of my time as a Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) in the Philippines. I didn’t know it then, but that same sentiment shaped the YAV program at its inception. And it continues to guide our current vision for the program as volunteers serve around the world and witness the holy ways the Spirit is leading them.
We disembark from the taxi with the Rev. Philip Obang, General Secretary of the South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church, at the checkpoint at the edge of the city. Private and public vehicles are not allowed beyond this point.
Twelve months ago, the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins packed his bags, said goodbye to his North Carolina congregation at Covenant Presbyterian Church in New Hope Presbytery, and made his way to the nation’s capital as the new director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Office of Public Witness.
The 2020 Vision Team is trying to work its way through a first draft of its report to the 2018 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) – hoping to hit the right mix of being short, yet challenging; being grounded in biblical history and also looking forward. For sure, it’s an intricate dance.
For nearly three decades the Synod of the Covenant (Michigan and Ohio) has continued to participate in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Mission to the USA program. The synod began participating in the effort which links congregations in the synod with mission partners including international church leaders as well as both clergy and lay leaders in 1989.
A Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) peace delegation will travel to South Korea in November in response to Overture 12-01 and Committee Referral 12-13 that focus on the reunification of the Korean Peninsula and the need to build upon the increasing momentum toward peace. They were adopted at General Assembly 222 (2016) in Portland.
Two representatives of the Mexican Communion of Reformed and Presbyterian Churches (CMIRP) met with Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) World Mission staff in Louisville last week to explore the possibility of engaging in mission together.
Presbyterian mission co-workers Jeff and Christi Boyd developed a floor and board game several years ago to help U.S. Presbyterians appreciate the joint efforts of students, parents, communities and churches to improve education in Africa. The game also prompts players to ponder the plight of African children.
Eight years ago, a mission co-worker and YAV site coordinator visited a little church in Laramie, Wyoming, and met five students in the college group to share information about the PC(USA)’s Young Adult Volunteer program. Two of those students, Kendra and Karl, were fresh-faced 22-year-olds with dreams of teaching college mathematics (Karl) and designing the future infrastructure and skylines of the country (Kendra). Two years later, they were serving as YAVs in Northern Ireland. A year after that they served as YAVs in Tucson, Arizona.
La reconstrucción después de la tormenta Sandy ha sido lenta para algunas personas en Nueva Jersey, especialmente las más desfavorecidas. Misión Nueva Vida ha trabajado desde 2015 para ayudar a las personas que viven en el Parque Metropolitano de Casas Móviles, en Moonachie, donde las inundaciones continúan dañando casas de familias inmigrantes hispano-latinas, y donde hace mucha falta el dinero. Tres casas móviles han sido arregladoa y levantadas, y pronto se completará una cuarta.
