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Mission Yearbook
The Scripture so eloquently phrased in Psalm 150 graced the bulletin cover as we celebrated the 38th anniversary of New Life Presbyterian Church (Iglesia Presbiteriana Nueva Vida) in Miami on the last Sunday in April. The church, located on Coral Way, is served by the Rev. Heidi Arencibia. I was honored to be the guest speaker for the service celebrating “Thirty-eight years of life by the grace of God!” (1981–2019).
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.
My son recently finished the requirements for the Boy Scouts’ highest honor, Eagle Scout. As part of his final project, he designed and built a Little Free Pantry and a Little Free Library, providing food and books to those in need in our community.
The Reformed Calvinist Church of El Salvador (IRCES) is a unique church partner. Though small in number, it is big in vision and commitment to the gospel. Grounded in their Reformed identity, they are always making time to analyze and discern their call, based on the context in which they serve. From way south of the border, our partners are watching and anticipating the direct impact of U.S. immigration policy as
they turn to longtime U.S. mission partners and confidants to ask, “What are you going to do about this? How can we face this together?”
God-given greatness isn’t something one achieves; it is something inherent to being human. This is the core message that the leaders at Elmwood United Presbyterian Church in East Orange, New Jersey, are instilling in their youth. These mentors hold fast to the belief that if a person is to be successful in the Christ-abundant life, he or she must take complete responsibility for that greatness and protect it.
The Presbyterian Church of Portugal (IEPP), the oldest Protestant church in the country, traces its history to 1838, when a physician and missionary from Scotland opened a small hospital and a school and began to preach the gospel on the Portuguese island of Madeira. Soon persecution began in the predominantly Catholic country, and most members of the IEPP had to flee.
I could not understand what he was saying as he responded to the questions in Quechua, the local language of the high jungle. But judging by the reactions of the onlookers and of his wife, this older man, who was on his knees washing his wife’s feet although he was most likely the “man of the household,” was learning not only about hygiene, but about humility and love as well.
When Maria’s husband became increasingly violent toward her, she left her home and sought refuge in a safe place. What she never dreamed was that he would also exercise violence against her legally, through gaining custody of their two sons and filing for a restraining order to bar her from her home and the business she built with him. Homeless, Maria returned to the congregation she had stopped attending when she got married 18 years earlier; she was welcomed back, and a church family offered her shelter in their home. Her story is only beginning, as she heals and finds the courage and stamina to challenge the system and regain access to her sons.
Today is the International Day of Peace, also known as “Peace Day.” For the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), every day should be Peace Day, but this is a special day, set aside by a unanimous U.N. resolution in 1981 and observed around the world. It provides “a globally shared date for all humanity to commit to peace above all differences and to contribute to building a culture of peace.”
I participated in a World Mission global partner consultation this past winter in Nairobi, Kenya. The gathering was attended by Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission co-workers serving in Africa and leaders and members of the various African churches and organizations with whom we partner in God’s mission. The purpose of the consultation was to hear about the work and witness of ministry on the African continent, and to gain insight for the development of the future strategy of World Mission.
