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Mission Yearbook
Mark Eldred had been singing in the choir at Fourth Presbyterian Church for six years when love struck.
A new season had begun, and Gillian Hollis walked into rehearsal after moving to Chicago to pursue her master’s degree at Northwestern. She took her place in the soprano section among several other new members. Eldred was drawn to her and managed to overhear her talking about swimming with one of the other choir members. As he approached her, he decided to introduce himself as a fellow swimmer. Six months later, they were dating. Today, they have been married for six years.
E.P.O.C.A. (Ex-prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement) is an innovative group from Worcester, Massachusetts, that provides leadership and organizing training for formerly incarcerated people. The outcome of this training provides participants with skills and resources that enable them to build capacity through community networks.
May the joy of Christ’s Resurrection be yours this Easter Sunday. Today, we are reminded of the abundant hope we have in Christ.
Resurrection hope points us to the promise of eternal life and calls us to celebrate all circumstances where hopelessness is overcome by God’s grace. A good example of this can be found among our brothers and sisters in Haiti who are thriving in new communities that have sprung up after the devastating 2010 earthquake.
International Roma Day is an opportunity for those of us who know little about the Roma (often pejoratively called “gypsies”) to learn about and celebrate their culture, history and people, moving past stereotypes and media depictions.
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.
The spirit of the Lord is upon me, Isaiah confidently tells readers in the 61st chapter of the book that bears his name, because God has anointed the prophet to bring good news to the oppressed, release of prisoners and comfort to all who mourn.
While about 85 percent of the congregations within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are predominantly white, more than half of Presbyterians recently surveyed said they’re not opposed to worshiping in a congregation where most of the members aren’t of the same racial and ethnic background as they are.
While the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Matthew 25 invitation officially rolls out April 1, it has already been underway informally and organically in a number of Presbyterian churches.
The Stewpot, a ministry of First Presbyterian Church of Dallas, recently served its 8 millionth meal — equivalent to 13 million pounds or 2,800 pallets of food — marking a major milestone in the ministry’s 44-year history.
At the Church of Amazing Grace International in Anaheim, California, the Bible that the Rev. Kinyua Johnson preaches from is in the language he grew up with — Kikuyu, a language spoken by about 17 percent of Kenyans.
But recently, Johnson and the community discovered something profound about their approach to worship. “We realized we were being selfish,” he said, “by just having the service in Kikuyu.”
