A few years back, the 130 or so members of First Presbyterian Church of South Lyon, Michigan, decided to turn their focus outward into their community about 40 miles west of Detroit.
The 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti and changed it forever also set Andral Estes’ life on a different course.
Estes lost his home and career in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital city, and moved to a rural community on Haiti’s Central Plateau. He now makes his living as a small-scale farmer, a far cry from his former occupation in the insurance industry.
While violence and fear continue to pervade war-torn Syria, Presbyterians across the United States are helping those displaced by the conflict rebuild their lives. Thanks to previous gifts given to One Great Hour of Sharing, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has been able to respond quickly to the refugee crisis.
South Presbyterian Church of Rochester, N.Y., is full of energy and vitality, which has not always been the case. Under the faithful, intentional leadership of Pastor Deb Swift, the church made the painful decision to sell their building. Even though it is beautiful, the building had become a burden for this small, declining church. Through New Beginnings, attending our Evangelism conferences, and the church’s heart to be on mission, the leadership of the church made the decision to sell their building without knowing where they would worship.
When Rev. Eric Markman became pastor of Hartford Street Presbyterian Church in Natick, Massachusetts, 5½ years ago, several members warned him not to do anything with the church’s land. Hartford Street Presbyterian had been through a difficult and ultimately unsuccessful effort to create low-income housing on part of its nine acres of land-locked property.
Neighborhood prayer walks help historic congregation experience new life By Paul Seebeck To the Rev. Jon Brown the congregation he serves, which is about ten minutes away from the World Trade… Read more »
A church sells its building to make way for affordable housing and a new worshiping community By Paul Seebeck Arlington Presbyterian Church in northern Virginia is a mile from the… Read more »
