Presbyterian Mission Agency cultures Archives

Ministering through the challenges and gifts of older adults of Hispanic heritage

Posted April 28th, 2021

After serving for many years as a commissioned lay pastor of Brentwood Presbyterian Church in the Presbytery of Long Island, New York, a Matthew 25 presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Rev. Ida Rosario retired at the end of 2020 to start a new season in her life and ministry. Today she serves as a minister in a small multicultural church that partners with a Hispanic congregation of more recent immigrants.

‘That’s what we need to root out’

Posted December 2nd, 2020

One moment emerged above all the others recently during a “Vital Conversations” webinar hosted by the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Office of Vital Congregations. While discussing how it feels to enter a room full of white people, the Rev. Shanea D. Leonard, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s associate for Gender & Racial Justice, talked about scanning the room for a person of color to chat with. Sometimes the search produces no one.

Learning from a dedicated partner in ministry

Posted April 29th, 2020

It’s a universal theme among mission co-workers that they often learn more from the people in the cultures they serve than they could ever hope to give. That’s exactly the lesson mission co-workers Richard and Debbie Welch, serving in Guatemala, learned from their longtime partner in ministry, Julian.