It has been a week of mission at Manokin Presbyterian Church in Princess Anne, Maryland, along the state’s Eastern Shore. That’s because the 30-some members of this congregation, first organized in 1672, continue to stay in touch with each other, even though they have not gathered for worship since March 8 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
Next week, First Presbyterian Church of Succasunna is putting on a mission trip for the youth of the church without leaving the cozy confines of this unincorporated community in northern New Jersey.
Listen. That was the first and best advice I received about being with the people of Haiti. Now, as a mission co-worker hosting groups visiting Haiti, some for the first time, I try to explain the importance of listening. And when I do, I often remember the lessons I learned when I listened on my very first trip.
In 1993, during a study abroad program to Central America, I visited El Salvador, a small Central American nation that had just recently signed peace accords after more than a decade of violent civil war. In a unique exchange with Salvadoran youth, during a Bible study on the beach, we privileged and somewhat sheltered North American college students were interrogated about our countries’ policies and forced to reflect on our own complicity.
Living Waters for the World (LWW), the global ministry of Synod of Living Waters, has partnered with popular all-girl singing group Cimorelli to raise awareness of the world’s water crisis and LWW’s efforts to address it. The group’s youngest members, Dani and Lauren, along with their father Mike Cimorelli, recently traveled to Cuba with LWW to meet with partners there. Their resulting awareness campaign, which includes the release of the song, Thirst For Life.
El Rev. Dr. Benjamín F. Gutiérrez, quien sirvió a la Iglesia Presbiteriana como compañero de misión, junto con su esposa, Ernestina “Tina”, en Ecuador; ejerciendo como secretario asociado para el diseño de la misión, como enlace con América Latina y el Caribe, y como coordinador de área para Sudamérica, falleció el 2 de noviembre en Texas a los 87 años.
The Rev. Dr. Benjamin F. Gutiérrez, who served the Presbyterian Church as a mission co-worker, along with his wife, Ernestina “Tina,” in Ecuador; as joint field secretary, associate for mission design, and liaison with Latin America and the Caribbean; and as area coordinator for South America, passed away November 2 in Texas at age 87.
