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Mission Yearbook
Without a pastor’s love for fly-fishing, Monica Carrillo might still be living in the shadows. And the Rev. Karlin Bilcher might still be unhealthy and depressed, after a terrible first experience in ministry that nearly cost him his family.
“I call it the holy place,” said Sultan,* a young man from Eritrea who came to St. Andrew’s Refugee Services (StARS) hoping to access education through the Unaccompanied Youth Bridging Program, a specialized initiative designed to assist young refugees in Egypt without a parent or guardian. Since he was here with his family, he was ineligible to enroll. But he was persistent, eventually landing a job as a teaching assistant in the program. Over the years, he has become a leader among the staff at StARS and now works as a program assistant in the Refugee Legal Aid Program, and as a StARS ambassador, meeting with visitors and planning events.
Three Presbyterian-related educational institutions are offering summer 2018 leadership programs for high school students in cooperation with grant funding from the Lilly Endowment. Maryville College, Monmouth College and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary are each hosting different programs, but the schools are working collaboratively to create a uniquely Presbyterian experience for students.
Kathryn Urban spent her spring break with the United Nations and the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) as part of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) delegation. She learned about the challenges women face around the world and spent her nights in a hostel several blocks away.
Giving generously is something the Rev. Kerry Slinkard makes a point of practicing as well as preaching. “It’s a response to
God’s blessing,” he says, “an acknowledgment of our responsibility to those around us.”
Mangos taste so good that many consider them the world’s best fruit. But they have more qualities than flavor alone. The mango is one of the few tropical fruits that grows well on low-fertility soils and where there is a long dry season. Mangos are sold in local markets throughout the tropical world but can also be processed into dried fruit, drinks, pickles and chutney. Mango wood burns well and makes good charcoal.
Two years ago, I collaborated with colleagues and friends to develop an experimental, art-making, spirit-stirring, imagination space called Creation Lab. We believed that the church needed spaces set aside for creativity and trying new things — a research and design space, if you will.
My husband and I had been married for three years when we had our first child. We learned quickly that even though we loved our daughter deeply, kids are disruptive and expensive. The change to our family meant learning to live on less sleep and smaller income. It meant figuring out who would do midnight feedings and make sure there were clean diapers. Once our daughter started crawling, it meant rearranging everything so that it wouldn’t be destroyed by a curious, free-range toddler.
Members of the Fumbisi congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana recently expressed their generosity in big bundles: two large farm sacks filled with fresh peanuts.
They sold the peanuts in the local marketplace and donated the $65 they received to the sending and support of Presbyterian mission co-worker Josh Heikkila.
Webster Presbyterian Church, just a few miles southeast of Houston on NASA Parkway, has been called “the astronauts’ church.” Just a stone’s throw from the Johnson Space Center, the church has become the preferred house of worship for astronauts, engineers and other employees at the center.
