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Mission Yearbook
Church planters in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) recently held their final conference at the TradeWinds Island Grand Resort. They’ve been coming to St. Pete Beach, Florida, since 2003.
To honor the memories of the place that has become “holy ground” for them, the “Living, Dying, Rising” 1001 New Worshiping Communities (1001 NWC) conference planning team organized a celebration on their last night for everyone — including the TradeWinds staff.
Cathy Chang and her husband, Juan Lopez, are mission co-workers in Manila, Philippines. They help global partners such as churches and nongovernmental organizations address issues of migration and human trafficking. During her visit to Grace Presbytery, Cathy spent time with members of several churches to help spread awareness of her mission work.
At “Living, Dying, Rising,” the national gathering for 1001 New Worshiping Communities (1001 NWC), they talked about death. Ninety minutes were devoted to the topic of dying during a worship and plenary session.
We are living in the “between” of the beginning and the end. Because of our tendency to want to control time — to want to know when things begin and end — life and ministry can be hard.
This was the essence of the opening sermon and plenary talk from the Rev. Juan J. Sarmiento at the recent national gathering for 1001 New Worshiping Communities (1001 NWC).
Joanna Shelton was about 5 years old when her grandmother Evie Shelton began to talk to her about Japan. Evie was born in 1889 in Oakland, California, but at the age of 3 months traveled to Japan with her parents, Presbyterian missionaries Tom and Emma Alexander. Evie introduced her granddaughter to chopsticks and a few words of Japanese that she remembered. Shelton later learned details of her great-grandparents’ mission in Japan from a copy of Tom Alexander’s journal. As an agnostic, she considered the journal important to her as a historical and family document, not as an account of a faith journey. Years later that would change.
According to Irene Neller, Fuller Theological Seminary’s vice president of communications, marketing and admissions, “Technology is causing a mass disruption in higher education.” She added that “Students’ learning preferences, the pace and the way they go about learning has radically changed.”
Paola Schellenbaum is a trained cultural anthropologist in Italy and abroad. Her work includes research and training on intercultural education and integration. This fall, she will be one of 16 individuals who will visit Presbyterian churches, mid councils and other institutions as part of the International Peacemakers initiative, sponsored by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program.
In a video by Presbyterian Mission, Financial Aid for Service is drawing attention to its Transformational Leadership Debt Assistance (TLDA) program. TLDA offers $5,000 loans — with forgiveness for service — to qualifying pastors of churches with 150 or fewer members and to qualifying pastors of new worshiping communities.
One of my favorite seminary professors once said that you can sum up all of Paul’s letters in eight words. Eight words!
The first four words are “You are God’s children.” That’s what the first 11 chapters of Romans are all about: The gospel is the power of God for salvation to all who have faith.
The Presbyterian Church of Rwanda has created a program for youth to get the training to start small businesses. Unemployment is a particularly big challenge among ages 18–26. Sometimes there are 5,000 applicants for one job.
With the support of World Mission’s regional liaison Nancy Collins, and a grant from Presbyterian Women, the Presbyterian Church of Rwanda created a program that is showing strong results called “Best Future from Today.”
