Category Archives: Mission

Mission Partnership News

From Jo Lucas of Mission Partnership:

We are blest to be partnered with work in Bethlehem.  We can celebrate this award, with all those around the world who support this work. To date the Presbytery of Ohio Valley congregations, individuals, foundations and the POV have provided nine scholarships, 23 people have traveled there, seven batches of used hearing aids have been sent, 87 formal presentations have been made, $125,000.00 has been sent for the work there, and prayer is offered daily for the work in Bethlehem and in Indiana.

The Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb of Bethlehem is announced as a winner of the International Award “Deutscher Medienpreis” for 2011.

The official announcement of Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb as recipient of the 2011 prestigious international award “Deutscher Medienpreis” was made in Germany today Friday, January 13, 2012. Launched in 1992, the award was mainly granted to Heads of States, including …the German Chancellor Angela Merkel (2009), the Dali Lama (2008), King Juan Carlos of Spain (2006), Kofi Anan (2003), Queen Rania of Jordan (2002), , Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder (2000), Bill Clinton (1999), Nelson Mandela (1998), King Hussein of Jordan (1997), Boris Yeltsin (1996), President Arafat (1995), Yitshak Rabin (1995), Francois Mitterrand (1994), Chancellor Helmut Cole (1993), in addition to few and selected personalities such as Sir Richard Branson (2010), Steffi Graf (2007), Bono (2005) and Rudolph Giuliani (2002).

Aside from Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, the award is given to the Russian Stanislaw Petrow, who prevented a potential third world nuclear war in 1983; the Afghani Dr. Sakena Yacoobi who worked diligently on empowering women in Afghanistan; and to Dr. Denis Mukwege from Congo, who assisted thousands of rape victims in the Congo war.

The decision of the jury to give the award to Rev. Dr. Raheb was based on his tireless work in creating room for hope for his people, who are living under Israeli Occupation, through founding and building institutions of excellence in education, culture and health. He was also recognized due to his strong position and stance on the Culture of Life and Dialogue.

The official ceremony will be held in the city of Baden-Baden in Germany on February 14, 2012. The keynote speaker during the celebration will be the previous German Chancellor Professor Roman Herzog.

Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb expressed his delight to receive this prestigious award, since it is indicative of the international appreciation and recognition of his efforts that are made on the local, regional and international levels.  He is pastor of Christmas Lutheran Church, Bethlehem, and founder and director of the Diyar Consortium, a group of educational, healing, and cultural ministries.
For more information, go to:
www.diyar.ps
www.deutscher-medienpreis.de
www.brightstarsbethlehem.org

Souper Bowl of Caring

“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.” Luke 6:21

Presbyterian youth are leading the way to help feed the hungry

  • Since Presbyterian youth in Columbia, SC started locally the Souper Bowl of Caring in 1989, youth from all over the country have raised over $80 million for food banks, soup kitchens, and food pantries.
  • The Souper Bowl of Caring has become a national movement uniting congregations, schools, community organizations, corporations, and compassionate individuals in the fight against hunger.
  • Last year 2,153 Indiana youth collected $154,373. Indiana Presbyterians were the largest group, with 40 congregations participating.
  • As Indianapolis hosts “the Big Game” on February 5, 2012, we want to make this the largest food mission outreach in our history. One in four children is hungry in Marion County, and one in six children suffers food deprivation across Indiana. As Indiana is in the spotlight, we can use the energy and pride of hosting the game in order to share God’s Love with those in need.

Our goal is to raise $300,000 for Indiana, and with your congregation’s help we can do it! Encourage your church’s youth group to:

1. Register online at www.tacklehunger.org to receive free materials.
2. Collect donations between Jan 15 and Feb. 5 (the day of “the Big Game”)
3. Come to the Service Blitz Rally, Sat. Feb 4th at Arsenal Tech High School in Indy, followed by a morning of volunteer work at Westminster Neighborhood Ministries.
4. Report their results on the website to be included in the national total.
5. Donate 100% of the collection to the hunger charity of their choice.

Questions?
Contact Carolyn Dederer, Indiana Field Director, Souper Bowl of Caring (317) 372-5122, carolyn@souperbowl.org

A Special Hour About Africa with Nancy Collins

UPDATE: This Event has been cancelled.

Tuesday, October 25, 7:00 in the Laws Room at First Presbyterian, Columbus.

Nancy, a Presbyterian Mission Consultant, will share about her work and converse with us about new directions for Presbyterian World Mission. Nancy Collins is regional liaison for East Africa. She facilitates PC(USA) relationships with partner churches and institutions in Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia. She also provides support for PC(USA) mission personnel and is a resource for U.S. congregations who are in a relationship with one of our partners in the region. Nancy’s special focus is on the evangelism, leadership development and church-growth work.

Dessert will be provided.

Friends from other congregations are certainly welcome!

Self-Development of People in Alabama

By Dan Stephens

A group of youthsYouth on the Move and Youth Making a Difference project participants. Photo courtesy of Open Door Resource Center.

Over the past several years, the Self-Development of People Committee of Sheppards and Lapsley has been cultivating long-term relationships with community partners throughout Central Alabama.   Through the efforts of past-chairperson Jessie N. Williams, our SDOP Committee has connected with the Open Door Resource Center in Furman, Alabama.  Furman is located in one of the poorest counties in the United States, but through the efforts of community leaders such as Doris Smith, children and teenagers are able to develop their leadership skills, improve their academic performance, and develop broad life-skills.  SDOP has helped fund the Youth on the Move and Youth Making a Difference programs at the Open Door Resource Center for several years, and has been pleased to see the programs expand to include collaborations with Tuskegee University and other community groups.

Sheppards and Lapsley’s SDOP Committee has also helped fund the “Daddy’s Little Girls” project, in connection with the Community Action Association of Alabama. The program, organized by Ken King with support from Lukata Mjumbe, developed Fatherhood Committees of socioeconomically oppressed fathers in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham to help develop stronger relationships among fathers and daughters.  The fathers gathered to share their own wisdom with one another, and also learned new skills and perspectives from trained workshop leaders.  The fathers even learned how to help style their daughters’ hair as a means of bridging the relationship gaps that can develop between fathers and daughters.   The program includes employed, under-employed, unemployed, homeless, single, married, custodial, and non-custodial fathers.

The SDOP Committee of Sheppards and Lapsley rejoices to see how the spirit of God is empowering people to strengthen their communities in creative and meaningful ways!

This article is re-posted from the PC(USA) web site. To read more about Self-Development of People, go to http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/sdop/.

Presbyterian World Mission – Oct 2011

Meet mission workers Jeff and Christi Boyd

Thanks in part to the work of Presbyterian mission co-worker Jeff Boyd, about 30 school buildings in Central Africa have been constructed that serve more than 9,000 children annually. Meanwhile, his wife, Christi, has helped develop 41 grain banks in the arid North of Cameroon.

While their roles are different, Jeff and Christi share a common commitment to working alongside African partners in ministries of empowerment.

Watch Jeff as he talks about Presbyterians’ collective commitment to mission and expresses his thanks to the church. Jeff serves as the PC(USA)’s regional liaison in Central Africa. He and Christi, facilitator for the Presbyterian Hunger Program’s Joining Hands initiative in Cameroon, have been mission co-workers in Africa for more than two decades.

Make a gift to support Jeff and Christi and other mission coworkers in the world

Seeking Justice in Peru

PC(USA) mission worker Jed Koball’s service with the Joining Hands program in Peru takes him to La Oroya, one of the 10 most polluted cities in the world. A study showed that 97 percent of the city’s children have lead poisoning, a condition that can reduce a child’s intelligence and stunt physical growth. Watch Jed talk about the children of La Oroya and the work he’s doing with Peruvian partners and U.S. Presbyterians to bring justice to this community. Married in 2010, Jed is accompanied in service by his wife, Jenny.

But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream. (Amos 5:24)

Please support the work of Jed Koball and other Presbyterian mission workers.

PC(USA) World Mission for June

Mission Connections Live!

Presbyterian World Mission co-workers available to speak at presbyteries this fall.

The host presbytery will be responsible for developing a full schedule, for providing room and board for the mission speaker, and for transporting the mission speaker from place to place within the presbytery.  Presbyterian World Mission will be responsible for the cost of transportation from presbytery to presbytery.

You can choose any of these sessions to host a speaker. The first and second sessions are longer and the third session is shorter.

First session: September 24 – September 29 (6 days)

(travel day: Friday, September 23)

Second session: October 1 – October 5 (5 days)

(travel day: Friday, September 30)

Third Session: October 7 – October 8 or 9 (3 days)

(travel day: Thursday, October 6, Sunday, October 9, late in the day, or Monday, October 10, early in the day)

We will try to schedule mission speakers to speak in clusters of neighboring presbyteries, so it may not be possible to respond to requests for a particular mission co-worker.  If you would like to coordinate with an adjacent presbytery, please feel free to submit a proposal for either a shared session or for two sessions back-to-back.  We will give preference to hosts that invite a speaker to talk at a presbytery meeting, to hosts that can promise a full schedule, and to hosts that promise to include churches that do not currently support a mission co-worker.

Mission co-worker speaker list:

  • Sara Armstrong and Rusty Edmondson, Peru
  • Marta Bennett, Kenya
  • Nancy Collins, East Africa
  • Brenda Harcourt, Kenya
  • Jane Holslag, Lithuania
  • Pix Mahler, Haiti
  • Nancy McGaughey, Sudan
  • Burkhard Paetzold, Germany
  • Doug and Liz Searles, Poland
  • Dan Turk, Madagascar
  • Mark Adams and Miriam Escobar, Mexican border

Two of our mission co-worker speakers will be accompanied by international church partners with the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program:

  • Dave Thomas, with Brenda Trinidad Espitia, Mexico
  • Karla Koll, with Juana Herlinda Yac Salanic, Guatemala

To sign up to host a mission speaker for your presbytery, or for more information, please contact Carol Somplatsky-Jarman, at 888-728-7228, ext. 5826, or carol.somplatsky-jarman@pcusa.org Please give Carol your first choice of dates, as well as your first three choices of mission speakers, as well as special circumstances such as presbytery meetings, presbytery partnerships, or proposals for the joint hosting of a mission speaker.

Big Tent: Word Mission Matters!

Hopefully, you’ve heard by now that Big Tent will be in Indianapolis this summer.  Please register now and make your travel plans for the World Mission Matters partner conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, June 30-July 2, 2011.

World Mission Matters is one of nine partner conferences at Big Tent — a chance to connect with other Presbyterians from across the church, share ideas and dreams for spreading the love of Jesus Christ as we connect for service in his name.  World Mission Matters isn’t just another conference to attend — it’s the beginning of a movement!

On Saturday, July 2, at 10 a.m., my colleague and I will lead a workshop entitled, “Talents and Treasure: Funding Mission Co-workers.” We will talk with you about trends and challenges in mission support, why generating support for mission co-workers is one of the top priorities of Presbyterian World Mission and the relationship between successful funding and sharing engaging stories as part of mission interpretation.

  • Download a World Mission Matters Conference flier
  • See the World Mission Matters partner conference schedule
  • Download a complete Big Tent schedule
  • Register for the Big Tent

We hope to see you there!

Wanted: Your Minutes for Mission!

Have you created a particularly creative or touching minute for mission about a PC(USA) World Mission co-worker?  We’d love to see it, and maybe to share it with other congregations that also share in the support of that co-worker.  A written script would be great, and a video would be even better!  If you’d like to share a minute for mission, please let me know.

E-Newsletter:  Mission Yearbook Tips

Want to be alerted about ways in which the Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study can enrich your ministry?  Find tips and suggestions on how you and your congregation can stay connected to mission with the Mission Yearbook. We’d love to add your name to our free subscription list to receive one e-newsletter a month.  You can sign up today at http://gamc.pcusa.org/subscriptions/lists/mission-yearbook-tips/

New short video:  Roger Dermody reflects on a trip to Sudan

Share Roger’s informal reflections following a recent trip to visit our mission co-workers in Sudan by following this link:  http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/global/changin-lives-sudan/

Presbyterians Do Mission in Partnership

For a good reminder of how Presbyterian World Mission hold tightly to the idea of supporting and empowering the church that Jesus Christ calls into place in particular cultures around the world, please read and study the text of this document, available at http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/global/mission-partnership/

Thank you for reading our newsletter and helping us share the Good News of what God is doing among us, through us and with us.

Chris H. Roseland
Church Support Associate
Communications and Funds Development

3928 Laurel Oak Lane
Lexington, KY 40514
Phone:   (859) 224-8118
Mobile:  (502) 439-4930
chris.roseland@pcusa.org