mission yearbook Archives

Small group leads big solar projects at Kansas church

Posted September 20th, 2021

The solar panel project at Village Church Child & Family Development Center in Overland Park, Kansas is a head-turning endeavor for a church, but not surprising when considering other environmentally conscious projects Village Presbyterian Church in neighboring Prairie Village has undertaken over the years.

Minute for Mission: Gifts of New Immigrants

Posted August 25th, 2021

Rola Al Ashkar is a Presbyterian Christian from Lebanon. She grew up in a non-religious family, in a culture drenched in religion. Her parents took her and her brothers to church and Sunday school on occasions. When she had her confirmation class, she received her first Bible, and even as a teenager, she read the Bible with critical eyes, questioning parts of it and searching for answers. Her curiosity led her to regularly attend Sunday services, youth meetings and church summer camps, and through those experiences her faith grew and she found a community in the Presbyterian Synod of Syria and Lebanon.

Minute for Mission: Labor Day; A Social Creed for the 21st Century

Posted August 25th, 2021

It seems that everywhere we turn there are “help wanted” signs displayed in merchant windows. Employers are offering enticements like higher wages, better benefits and flexible work hours, all with the hope of attracting workers to fill needed jobs. As our country moves away from COVID-19-related lockdowns and opens up again for business, many employers seem to be having a labor problem.

Taking the Hygh road

Posted August 25th, 2021

When telling the church’s story, it helps to know one’s own faith story well enough to tell it succinctly and powerfully.

It’s not over

Posted August 25th, 2021

“I’m a Black Italian, a Black European, a woman who was born in Rome with Somalian roots,” said writer Igiaba Scego. She spoke out about herself after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died in police custody in Minnesota after being pinned to the ground, and whose last words were, “I can’t breathe.”

What we share with the hungry

Posted August 25th, 2021

Sharing food is one of my great joys. I know, I know … that isn’t altogether unique, and definitely not unique for Presbyterians I know. We gather around tables for myriad reasons, and in lots of different ways. But the act of sharing food can remind us of other things we share: namely a need for food — hunger — and the interdependence it takes to make a meal possible. I think it is true that we never eat alone. Not really. Even if we sit at the table by ourselves, we are eating with each and every person who finds a part to play in this interconnected food system that helps bring food to table.

‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’ are not trends

Posted August 25th, 2021

These days, every organization is coming up with a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion — commonly referred to as DEI — strategic plan. The hiring of diversity and inclusion executives has grown 113% in the last five years. As of February 2021, half of Standard & Poor’s 500 companies have a chief diversity officer. The national agencies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are also putting together DEI plans as a response to the General Assembly mandate for a Race Audit in 2018. However, this is not the church jumping on the latest business trend. DEI has been a core value from the birth of the church. In fact, the church practiced them first. Consider the basic definitions of DEI and how they were present in the early church, from its Pentecost birth.

Theologically speaking

Posted August 25th, 2021

The objective of this brief reflection is to explore the theological interplay between the Bible and racism. Being an African Jamaican, I have embraced the Christian faith through Presbyterian missionary Christianity. For me, Scripture centers on being “the Word of the Lord.”

Presbytery takes steps to welcome transgender teens

Posted August 25th, 2021

The Presbytery of New Covenant in southeast Texas has had a strong youth ministry for decades. A highlight has been its Youth Conclaves weekend retreats that are led by the youth themselves. These retreats are a time to meet other Presbyterian youth and a time to grow as disciples. Our presbytery also recognizes that youth is a time of exploration and identity formation — including gender or sexual orientation. This became apparent in February 2020, when a request was received regarding a young person who was hesitant to attend a retreat weekend because of who she is. Katrina is transgender. She had attended the previous year when she hadn’t fully come out, and she stayed in the boys’ cabin. While she knew she didn’t want to stay there, she wasn’t sure she would be able to stay with the girls. The presbytery’s General Council made a quick decision, with a hastily written policy, that Katrina could attend and stay with the girls. We felt that, at the very least, she could feel comfortable, and we were covered legally. We knew, though, that inclusion of transgender youth in church events had to be addressed because there were more teens like Katrina among us.

Race, faith and climate change

Posted August 25th, 2021

The first time I became aware of a connection between race, faith and climate change was in the late 1980s when I was a sociology student in Venezuela. I lived in Caracas with my family. In this cosmopolitan city, there was lots of nonregulated air pollution that caused me to have a sore throat and irritated eyes daily.