Linda Valentine

A Glimpse of the Kingdom

I had been told that the Multicultural Conference was one of the most inspiring and energetic gatherings of the church, and last week I discovered for myself how true that really is. There were approximately 480 participants – including volunteers and walk-in local attendees – in San Antonio, Texas, for the Ninth Annual Multicultural Conference. They represented congregations, presbyteries, synods, seminaries and agencies, all coming together to celebrate, learn, build relationships, worship, pray and support one another. This conference started in 2000 with less than 80 participants, and has been growing every year ever since.

In the light of the Kingdom vision, which I personally experienced there, it is interesting to note that the demographics of the United States have changed dramatically in the past 25 years. In 1985, the PC(USA) was 95.8% White/Non-Hispanic; 2.2% African-American; .7% Hispanic; 1.1% Asian & Pacific Islander; and .2% Other. By 2006, the percentages were 91.7% White/Non-Hispanic; 3.2% African-American; 1.3% Hispanic; 3.1% Asian & Pacific Islander; and .6% Other. Thus, in spite of a goal set by the General Assembly for the PC(USA) to be 20% racial ethnic by 2010, we are lagging both behind our PC(USA) goal as well as the country as a whole.

Of course, this is just a measure of membership, and does not include worship attendance at immigrant and other fellowships, which are not counted in the annual statistical report. According to church development and redevelopment congregational grant proposals that we receive each year, more than 60% of the proposals are coming from multicultural and racial ethnic churches, with 60% of the eventual grant recipients being congregations that are racial ethnic and multicultural. Even so, and aside from numerical goals, it is our intention as well as our constitutional mandate to be diverse!

"The Church is called to a new openness to its own membership, by affirming itself as a community of diversity, becoming in fact as well as in faith a community of women and men of all ages, races, and conditions, and by providing for inclusiveness as a visible sign of the new humanity.” (The Book of Order of the PC(USA) G-3.0401b)

“The Church in its witness to the uniqueness of the Christian faith is called to mission and must be responsive to the diversity in both the church and the world. Thus the fellowship of Christians as it gathers for worship and orders its corporate life will display a rich variety of form, practice, language, program, nurture, and service to suit culture and need.” (BOO, G-4.0401)

“The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) shall give full expression to the rich diversity within its membership and shall provide means which will assure a greater inclusiveness leading to wholeness in its emerging life. Persons of all racial ethnic groups, different ages, both sexes, various disabilities, diverse geographical areas, different theological positions consistent with the Reformed tradition, as well as different marital conditions … shall be guaranteed full participation and access to representation in the decision making of the church.” (BOO, G-9.0104ff)

And numbers aside, there are many places in which cultures other than English- speaking Anglos are represented, or even predominant. Leading up to this conference, I met in Synod forums with both the Synod of South Atlantic and the Synod of the Sun. As executive presbyters and other presbytery representatives at the Synod of the Sun shared news of their presbyteries, I was struck with how many times racial ethnic fellowships, congregations and initiatives were mentioned. Two of the presbyteries in Synod of the Sun have worship in 11 languages, "and growing" as one said.

Multicultural does not mean in all cases that multiple cultures are represented in a congregation. While there is repeated bemoaning that "Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week," there is a place for congregations predominantly of one racial ethnic culture or language, and the Presbyterian Church celebrates and encourages those as well as congregations that combine two or more cultures. As we move forward in faith to grow our PC(USA) deep and wide, may we be always mindful and intentional about welcoming and encouraging all such expressions of the Kingdom.

Read a related feature -  9th annual multicultural conference kicks off in Texas - by Evan Silverstein of the Presbyterian News Service.

Petition for Fair Food and Human Rights

Among my most memorable encounters on a recent visit to Peace River Presbytery was a frank conversation with the presbytery’s key leaders in farmworker outreach ministries, especially those efforts based in Immokalee, Florida. A number of congregations and agencies in the area relate to Florida’s farmworkers and its new immigrant populations in a variety of mission and outreach activities.

The persons seated around the table – and the groups they represented – all had ongoing partnerships and many points of connection with the work of the General Assembly Council.  They included Graham Hart, general presbyter of Peace River, Dave Moore, director of the Beth-El Farmworker Ministry in Wimauma, which offers a ministry to farmworkers there as well as at Immokalee, where pastor Miguel Estrada has provided worship, Bible study and a host of outreach services through its Misión Peniel since April 2007.  Miguel, who was also present, is a Presbyterian pastor and a native of Guatemala City. Others whom Graham Hart had assembled for our visit were members of the Vanderbilt Presbyterian Church, including Tom Harp, whose congregation has been a stalwart supporter of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers; Ed Grey, organizing pastor of the New Life Presbyterian Church (NCD), which is involved in Misión Peniel; Jim Berger, another interested NCD pastor; Steve Smith, presbytery council chairperson; Jim Kirk of IHOPE, Immokalee Disaster Assistance, which is related to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance; and Silva Franco, pastor of the Portuguese Brazilian Presbyterian Fellowship of Naples and Southwest Florida.  Silva, a native Brazilian, is reaching many new immigrants through her exciting ministry.

Immokalee has been much in the news through the years and also very recently, as members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) – a community-based worker organization headquartered there – have become leaders in the fight to end slave labor, human trafficking, and exploitation in agricultural fields across the United States. 

Last month, I joined my colleague, Cliff Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the General Assembly, in taking a bold step toward addressing egregious injustices toward farmworkers in our nation by signing the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ (CIW) Petition to End Modern-Day Slavery and Sweatshops in the Fields.

The CIW’s current petition calls on Burger King and other food corporations to immediately work with the CIW to increase farmworkers’ wages and establish an enforceable human-rights based code of conduct.  Signatories of the petition pledge that “they are prepared to cease patronizing Burger King now” if the company continues to refuse to do these things.

Since Cliff and I signed the petition, our signatures have been joined by those of Rev. Dr. Tom Taylor, Rev. Dr. Arlene Gordon (executive presbyter of Tropical Florida Presbytery, where Burger King is headquartered), Rev. Greg Bentley (President of the National Black Presbyterian Caucus), Rev. Alfredo Miranda (President of the Presbyterian Hispanic/Latino Caucus), and former PC(USA) General Assembly Moderators Rick Ufford-Chase and Rev. Susan Andrews.

A number of networks and advocacy groups across the PC(USA) are encouraging Presbyterians to sign this important petition as a way of signaling to Burger King and other retail food corporations, the church's serious commitment to advancing farmworkers' human rights, particularly on this, the 200th anniversary of the US ban on the importation of slaves.

To learn more about the PC(USA) Campaign for Fair Food and the Burger King Campaign – as well as to read Cliff’s public statement and an article by the Presbyterian News Service – see www.pcusa.org/fairfood. 

To view the CIW's Petition (which can be signed online) as well as the background on why it is important to take action, visit http://ciw-online.org/2008_Petitions/index.html  Those who act before April 25 will have their signatures on the petition when it is presented to Burger King at their headquarters in Miami, Florida, by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, representatives from the PC(USA), and other friends of the CIW.

The current CIW efforts are similar in nature to their previous, successful campaigns that targeted Taco Bell, and its parent company, Yum Brands, and McDonald’s and which were supported by the General Assembly. In an historic agreement made by the CIW and Yum Brands on March 8, 2005, which was emulated by McDonald’s, these two fast-food giants agreed to all of the farmworkers’ demands, especially to paying farmworkers a penny a pound more for tomatoes harvested. The PC(USA) had been at the heart of this struggle for fair food and human rights from the very beginning.  Not only did the CIW’s agreements with Yum Brands and McDonald’s result in the near doubling of workers’ wages, it laid the cornerstone for socially responsible purchasing in the fast food industry.  Presbyterians’ prayers and involvement are needed now to ensure that progress continues to be made.

APCU, Savannah, April 3

When I first began blogging during my extensive travels through Asia last fall – observing in October 2007 that Hannam University, started by Presbyterians 50 years ago in Korea, had just joined the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities (APCU) – little did I know that I would have the opportunity to personally greet three delegates from Hannam at the recent APCU Presidents’ Conference in Savannah, Georgia.  Dr. Hyung Tae Kim, Hannam’s president, the Rev. Dr. Dal Lee, the university’s head chaplain, and Dr. Seungho Lee of the global relations office, were all attending the APCU conference for the very first time.

Hannam has connections with colleges all over the world, including 20 in the United States. Among them are six of our Presbyterian-related colleges: King College, Maryville College, Montreat College, St. Andrews College, Presbyterian College, and Warren Wilson College.

I was honored and delighted to have been included in such august company – the presidents of our Presbyterian colleges and universities – who take a few days’ leave from their huge jobs addressing issues of faculty, students, budgets, and accreditation to support, resource, and enjoy one another as peers.

There were many outstanding points of connection - and potential for more connection - between the college presidents and the ongoing work of the General Assembly Council.  A subject on the APCU’s executive committee agenda, for example, was the many international programs in which the colleges are engaged.  Over dinner, we spoke about possibilities to connect with PC(USA) mission partners and World Mission. The GAC is revitalizing Collegiate Ministries under the leadership of former college chaplain, Sylvia Wilson.  Sylvia, along with Eric Hoey, Rhashell Hunter, and other GAC staff members, joined the APCU. Many new acquaintances were made and lots of ideas generated. 

In other international connections, Dr. Gerishon Kirika, vice chancellor of the Presbyterian University of East Africa, also attended the conference.  He and the president of Warren Wilson College have already discussed a number of potential partnership opportunities. The Presbyterian University of East Africa is the same school which James Costen, moderator of the 1982 General Assembly of the former United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, helped to create.  Until his death in 2003, Costen continued in his commitment to theological education in Africa, having arranged for a portion of his estate to go to the university for student scholarships through the Presbyterian Foundation.  This legacy is being carried on by Costen’s widow, Melva, the recently retired Helmar Emil Nielsen Professor of Music and Worship at the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) in Atlanta, and all three of the Costen children.

I was deeply impressed by the new chair of APCU, Dr. Lorna Duphiney Edmundson, president of Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Having two daughters attending all women's colleges, I have a new appreciation for colleges like Wilson that focus so intentionally on the education and development of college women.

While in Savannah, we also honored Tom Williamson, the retiring president of Westminster College, who is also the immediate past chair of APCU.

I give thanks to God that our Presbyterian colleges and universities are in such capable hands.  John Griffith, president of Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C., observed that while young people had long been doing volunteer work, he sees a new energy among today’s students to really want to change the world.  And, with God’s help, so they shall!

Grow God's Church Deep and Wide

The General Assembly Council at its meeting in February voted to recommend to the General Assembly a church wide commitment to Grow God's Church Deep and Wide - to grow in numbers, in discipleship and in diversity. The background to this recommendation begins with this: "The persistent decline in membership of the Presbyterian Church (USA) over the past forty years is a concern to the church at large and to the General Assembly Council. While membership has declined, many congregations and PCUSA ministries are flourishing. As Christians, we are called to ... make disciples of all peoples. ... Rather than give in to a climate of decline, the General Assembly Council believes that a more faithful stance is to take affirmative steps that renew our commitment to advance Christ's gospel in word and deed in our churches, our communities, and throughout the world."

Imagine how exciting it would be if we join together - sessions and congregations, synods, presbyteries, all agencies, entities and networks of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to such a commitment.  (Read the full text of the recommendation.)

One exciting place where the church is growing deep and wide is Elmwood Presbyterian Church in East Orange, New Jersey. Seeing it in person, even if just for the glimpse of an afternoon as I had the good fortune to do recently, is inspiring and uplifting. Under Rev. Robert Burkins, Sr.'s leadership and vision, Elmwood has grown to be a congregation of 1400 in three church buildings and the Harambee Community Development Ministry in a fourth location. The most recent of the three church locations began last year as Elmwood combined with a small congregation in an old church building on a busy intersection in Newark. Attendance has grown from a small number to over 100 in a year's time. A large sign that displays lighted messages and even video-like images of the worship inside catches attention and draws people in from the neighborhood. The original church building in East Orange fills each Sunday, while another part of the congregation is worshiping for the time being in a church building a few miles away. The outreach ministry, Harambee Community Development Ministry, is led by Dr. Curtis A. Jones. Truly an "outreach" ministry, Harambee includes a day care center for young children in the community and a women's empowerment ministry in which "women are challenged to champion their own success and to realize self-sufficiency, and thus to become role models for children, other women in their community and other persons whose livelihood is currently stymied by systemic forces." The Music and Video Production Academy is equipped with professionals, studios and equipment for recording and production, and draws at-risk and other urban youth in to learn video, audio, online and broadcast skills to prepare them for "non-traditional and entrepreneurial professional options . . . [and] an escape route from the oft-captivating and imprisoning lure of violence, drugs, and acceptance of mediocrity so often plaguing the inner cities of the Harambee Super-Village of greater Newark, East & West Orange."  Elmwood and its ministries emphasize sustainable mission development and community transforming - bringing the transforming power of the Gospel to life by addressing needs and opportunities of the community, in ways that are financially and spiritually sustainable. It's no wonder that many congregations come to see and to learn first-hand from this inspiring and growing ministry.

Read a related feature by Toya Richards Hill of the Presbyterian News Service.

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday. Celebration. The glorious entry into Jerusalem. The image of a warm day of joy and celebration, along the road strewn with cloaks and leafy branches and people shouting Hosanna! Celebrated to this day with palm branches and some of our great, triumphant hymns. “Ride on! Ride on in Majesty! Hark all the tribes hosanna cry.”

In Chicago, where I have celebrated Palm Sundays for the past 25 years, Palm Sunday is often not a warm day. My memories of many a Palm Sunday are of dressing our daughters up in darling spring dresses, lining up for the Palm Sunday children’s parade, then clutching them, bundled in snow jackets and hats, bracing ourselves and them against the cold and biting wind as we valiantly circled the block on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, out of loyalty to tradition more than joyful celebration, before entering the sanctuary. Once inside, however, it was glorious indeed. Jackets, hats and mittens cast off and cold quickly forgotten, dozens of children, parents and church school teachers marched up the long aisle toward the communion table, waving palm branches as the whole congregation stands and sings over and over again, “All Glory, Laud, and Honor To Thee, Redeemer King! To whom the lips of children Made sweet hosannas ring.” Now that we know how the story unfolded, we have in the back of our minds a sense of foreboding on Palm Sunday, knowing that we will go through the darkness of Good Friday before coming to the light of Easter, but as the procession continues and we sing that hymn over and over, all those children and their waving palm branches are a beautiful and joyful sight and capture our hearts and full attention.

I never thought about where the palm branches come from, but in a joint effort among Presbyterians, Lutherans, Catholics, congregations and presbyteries, the University of Minnesota and the communities in Guatemala and Mexico that grow and harvest the palms, a couple of thousand congregations have not only thought about it, but have chosen to acquire palms that support increased wages for farmers and better environmental practices for the communities that harvest them - caring for fellow children of God and God's good creation. The Eco-Palm Project, a new component of the PC(USA)’s Enough for Everyone program, was featured recently in USA Today in a front page article entitled, “Churches Go Green for Palm Sunday,” the text of which is also pasted below.  Our Presbyterian News Service has also written a story.

Sing Hosanna. "To Thee, before Thy passion, They sang their hymns of praise; To Thee, now high exalted, Our melody we raise. . . Accept the prayers we bring. . . Thou good and gracious King!" 

Churches go Green for Palm Sunday.
By Jeff Martin, USA TODAY

Palm Sunday is going "green."

This year, more than 2,130 congregations across the USA, including Catholics, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodists and Presbyterians, will use "eco-palms" that are harvested in a more environmentally friendly way, says Dean Current, program director at the Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Management at the University of Minnesota.

The number of churches using eco-palms on Palm Sunday — which, in the Christian faith, marks Jesus' triumphant return to Jerusalem before his death and resurrection — has grown from a pilot program of 5,000 in 2005 to the 600,000 eco-palms ordered for this year's March 16 celebration, Current says. He estimates that is about 1.5% of the 35 million to 40 million palms sold annually for Palm Sunday services in the USA but says he expects the growth to continue. 

What makes the eco-palms different is the way that they are harvested, says RaeLynn Jones Loss, a research specialist at the University of Minnesota.  More than 50% of the palms are wasted by traditional methods, Jones Loss says. Harvesters in the eco-palm program are trained to be more selective. They cut only the best fronds, which results in only 5% to 10% waste.

Advocating for Egypt's - and all of God's - children

One of the ways in which Presbyterians connect most effectively and passionately with partners around the world is through the diverse Networks that serve to unite Presbyterians across the U.S. who share a common international mission focus.

One such network is the Egypt Network for Joining Hands Against Hunger, called Together for Family Development (TFD).  That Network is accompanied by a Network in the Presbytery of Des Moines, which is actively engaged with it on behalf of Egypt’s children with disabilities.

Nancy Collins, who facilitates that accompaniment, has summarized the important work TFD has accomplished so far toward moving that country toward a new Child Law Amendment.

In June 2006, after a relatively lengthy process of gathering information and conducting studies concerning the situation of Egyptian children with disabilities and the laws governing their situation, TFD decided to advocate for a law that would more clearly state children with disabilities have the right to public education.  Existing laws are inconsistent; primary school principals routinely refuse admission of children with disabilities - both intellectual and physical.  The vast majority of disabled children receive no services and no education.

TFD learned in September 2006 that the National Council of Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM), the national body vested with the responsibility for developing laws to protect the rights of children, was working on amendments to the Child Law of 1996 to protect the rights of street children.  TFD retained an attorney to work with it to develop an amendment for inclusive education for disabled children.  TFD's proposed amendment was presented to and accepted by NCCM at a conference held in Alexandria in December 2006.

Throughout 2007, NCCM went through the process of refining the wording of multiple amendments to the 1996 Child Law based on input from multiple governmental organizations.  In addition to TFD's amendment for inclusive education for disabled children, amendments, among other things, raise the age of criminalization for street children from 7 to 12, support DNA analysis to identify the parentage of children whose fathers are unknown, and raise the age of marriage for girls from 16 to 18. As a result, TFD is supporting an entire, very important package of child rights amendments.

Concerned NGOs are now conducting a series of round tables with parliamentarians throughout Egypt to obtain their feedback and any concerns with the amendments. TFD member organizations are participating in this process by holding meetings with parliamentarians in the governorates of Cairo (February 26), Beni Suef (March 3) and Minia (March 6).  Once the meetings conclude at the beginning of March, the amendments will be introduced into Parliament for discussion and vote.

The Egypt Network for Joining Hands invites our prayers for guaranteeing and assuring the full rights of Egypt’s – and all of God’s – children.

Happy Valentine's Day!

In my family, we send Valentines.  This year, our card was designed by my daughter, Christie.

Valentine's Day is not a liturgical holiday, nor is it even given a mention in the Presbyterian Planning Calendar.  Some might even say that it's a "Hallmark holiday," celebrated with dime-store candy, cardboard cut-outs, and silly little cards.  But I say, why not have a little fun?

There's a disc jockey on one of our jazz stations in Chicago who signs off with the words, "Be good.  Be kind.  Tell someone you love them."  So on this Valentine's Day, let's remember the love that passes all understanding.  Let's remember Paul's words on the gift of love in 1 Corinthians 13, that "faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love."

So eat some candy.  Give someone a hug.  Share the love.  Enjoy the day.

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Circle is Widening

The circle is widening!  The list is growing!

Sixty-four people from across the church and around the world, united by a commitment to God’s mission, gathered January 16-18 for a church-wide consultation in Dallas acknowledging the rich Presbyterian heritage in world mission and reaffirming the Presbyterian understanding of God’s mission.

As I mentioned in a previous entry, a document entitled "An Invitation to Expanding Partnership in God’s Mission," signed on the last day by every participant present, includes a covenant to live and serve together and a commitment to work cooperatively. The participants also pledged to celebrate diverse Presbyterian approaches to mission, to share responsibility for education and preparation of all Presbyterians for mission, and to seek and support more mission personnel.

To witness the growing list of organizations and individuals who have pledged their support of this document (or to affirm the invitation yourself), visit the Invitation to Expanding Partnership in God's Mission Website.

The Rev. Mark Englund-Krieger, executive presbytery of Carlisle Presbytery, has just yesterday addressed this groundbreaking movement in his blog.  His entry is reprinted below in its entirety:

Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Transformations in World Mission
There are sweeping changes blowing through the General Assembly’s World Mission division. These changes, the work that is now being done in world mission, the changes in leadership at the General Assembly in the World Missions office and the shifting theology of mission at the national level have not received a lot of attention across the church. I now regularly remind people that we must understand what we mean when we speak of the General Assembly. Concerning the General Assembly offices in Louisville we must remember that this work is divided into two very separate, autonomous tracks. On one hand is the Office of the General Assembly (OGA). In my experience, it is the OGA which most people have in mind when they speak of the General Assembly. The OGA includes the Office of the Stated Clerk and is responsible for the actual meeting of the General Assembly, for the Book of Order and for all constitutional questions in the church. Anything having to do with the Book of Order, including the newly proposed Form of Government taskforce report, is under the rubric of the OGA.
We must remember that there is another, completely separate track of ministry and mission at the General Assembly that is organized under the leadership of the General Assembly Council (GAC). With its own Executive Director, newly hired Linda Valentine, the GAC is responsible for the ministry programs and mission work of the General Assembly. All the world mission work of the General Assembly falls under the rubric of the General Assembly Council. In my mind, the most exciting and most positive changes in the national church are happening within the GAC. But we generally do not seem to pay much attention to these issues.
One of the most exciting and most important transformations happening in our church is in the area of world mission but it all seems to be quietly unheralded, in the face of our massive conflicts over Book of Order issues. I want with this article to call our attention to important work that was accomplished recently at a church-wide consultation that was held in Dallas in January 2008 titled, Renewed Call to Presbyterian Mission in the World!
(Read about this conference at: http://www.pcusa.org/worldwide/renewed.htm).

This conference brought together leaders from the General Assembly, international mission co-workers, the many mission organizations affiliated with the PC(USA), and seminary professors in the area of mission. This conference gathered some brilliant reflections on the theology of mission which we need for this new era.
For example, Setri Nyomi, General Secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches presented an important paper on “Mission in Unity.” He claimed the centrality of mission for the church today:
(Read this paper at: http://www.pcusa.org/worldwide/pdf/missionandunity.pdf).

“In Reformed thinking, mission is at the heart of our understanding of the church. Where the church is facing dwindling numbers and challenged at many fronts, to revitalize the church we have to reclaim the centrality of mission and move beyond a state in which we are yielding to every issue that threatens to divide us. We have to clarify mission understanding relevant for our era and also to overcome distracting divisions, so that our mission can be effective.”

Even more, at the same conference, Professor Scott Sunquist, Professor of World Mission and Evangelism at Pittsburgh Seminary, named again the essential call of Christian mission:
(Read this paper at: http://www.pcusa.org/worldwide/pdf/community.pdf)

“I put this up front, because I think we have forgotten that Christian mission has always been a matter of participating in the suffering and glory of the Triune God. It is not our safe and carefully planned work, it is dangerous, often imperfectly organized, it can be frightening and it is a work of the unbridled Holy Spirit of the Living God. Christian mission is a matter of spirituality more than structures, of sacrifice more than strategies. Any assumptions that our task here is to restructure life into Presbyterian mission will fail, and it should. Our task is to participate with God, and plead with God that he would breathe new life into this old institution. We should begin be confessing that we have been trapped in small dreams, we have lost our way in swirling winds of culture, and we have been concerned to defend out little kingdoms, while the Kingdom of God is about ready to overwhelm us. It is true. As we restructure and restructure and reorganize our little decreasing kingdom, the Kingdom of God is arising as a magnificent and glorious city of the poor and the oppressed.”

This important conference on world mission may have set a course for the future direction of Presbyterian world mission. The conclusion of the conference, articulated in their “Invitation to Expanding Partnership in God’s Mission” included these affirmations which all together reflect a stunning transformation in our theology of mission:
(Read this paper at: http://www.pcusa.org/worldwide/pdf/invitationtoexpandingpartnership.pdf).

1. We will affirm and encourage World Mission as it continues to move from a regulatory to a more enabling and equipping role.
2. We will celebrate and encourage diverse Presbyterian approaches and structures for mission while maintaining the unity of our participation in God’s mission.
3. We will share responsibility for the education and preparation of all Presbyterians for mission.
4. We commit ourselves to seeking more mission personnel who will serve long-term in cross cultural contexts through the PC(USA), and to supporting them fully.
5. We commit ourselves to enabling and supporting our global partners as they send their mission personnel in cross-cultural service.
6. We recognize and affirm the growing opportunity for cross-cultural mission in our own increasingly pluralistic and multi-cultural society, and we receive the global community from near and far as mission partners and God’s gift to us. We seek increased integration between local and global mission.

***

We have also just heard from the Rev. Jim Milley, president of the Association of Presbyterian Mission Pastors (APMP), indicating that organization's affirmation.  Read Jim's message below:

Dear fellow Dallas participants,

                The Leadership Cabinet of the Association of Presbyterian Mission Pastors (APMP) is pleased to announce our unanimous affirmation of the Dallas Statement on the values and practices that unite Presbyterians in World Mission.  We rejoice in the acknowledgement that the PC(USA) is a multi-structured, network of organizations and congregations seeking to synergize our efforts for God's Kingdom purposes.

With passion for Christ,
Rev. Jim Milley, President
Association of Presbyterian Mission Pastors (APMP)

***

This week, the General Assembly Council at its meeting in Louisville will be asked to adopt the invitation.  Please join us in prayer and in action as this exciting chapter in Christ's mission continues to gain momentum!

The "Ecosystem" of the PC(USA)

My PC(USA) colleague, Marcia Myers, uses the analogy "ecosystem" to describe the interrelatedness of congregations, seminaries, schools, governing bodies, mission partners and other parts of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Others use the analogy of family, or fabric. One way we see this play out is in how people come into the staff of the General Assembly Council from congregations, governing bodies and mission partners, and return to various places in the church - knitting us together and strengthening the fabric as they do. Dan Rift, formerly a leader in some of our relief and development ministries, is now executive pastor at Preston Hollow Church in Dallas. Corey Nelson, formerly on our world mission staff is mission pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Lake Forest, IL. Tony Aja, also formerly in our world mission, is interim pastor of Bardstown Presbyterian Church in Louisville -- to name just a few who are providing leadership in congregations. Will Browne, who served for many years as a mission worker and leader in World Mission, has recently assumed an important role as executive director of the Medical Benevolence Foundation, one of our validated mission support organizations and a key mission partner. MBF describes its mission with these words, "Working with our partners, MBF supports healing ministries in more than 100 hospitals and clinics throughout the world."  In what I think speaks volumes about the quality of our Theology and Worship staff, five former members are now professors in PC(USA) seminaries - John Burgess (Pittsburgh Theological Seminary), Glaucia Vasconcelos-Wilkey (University of Seattle School of Theology), Martha Moore-Keish (Columbia Theological Seminary), Paul Galbreath (Union Theological Seminary-PSCE), and Kimberly Bracken Long (Columbia Theological Seminary).What a joy it is to work with people like this, and to know that they continue to contribute their considerable talents to the work of the "ecosystem" of the church.

The "Crown Jewels" of the PC(USA)

When I say one of the cool* things about my job is that I get to meet with the presidents of our Presbyterian-related seminaries, I am often met with blank stares or quizzical looks, but I mean it. Michael Lindvall, pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City, has referred to our seminaries as the "crown jewels" of the denomination. And so they are. Last week, I had the privilege of being an invited guest at a meeting convened by the seminary presidents.  Because their relationships with both the PC(USA) and each other matter to them deeply, they meet voluntarily to resource, support, and enjoy one another.  Our seminary presidents are smart, dedicated and faithful, and it was a special treat for me as an observer to see what good colleagues they are for each other.

(*cool betrays my generation, so read groovy, awesome, or sweet depending on yours)

As part of my itineration throughout the church, I have been invited to meet with the boards of our Presbyterian-related seminaries.  It's been interesting to me to see how each seminary has its own character. Each seminary picks a topic on which to focus the conversation in addition to our each sharing our priorities and initiatives to become better acquainted. At McCormick, we spoke about multicultural theological education; at Princeton, commissioned lay pastors and resourcing the whole church; Christian education combined with theological education at Union PSCE; passing on the Reformed tradition for the practice of ministry at Austin; disciplines of spiritual formation, critical theological reflection and skills and arts of ministry at San Francisco; world mission at Pittsburgh; and common interests at our neighboring seminary in Louisville. I’ve yet to get to Dubuque or Johnson C. Smith, but hope to do so, and the Columbia visit on the pastoral needs of the future church was held before I came to the GAC.

Last week, I joined the presidents in a stimulating dialogue about preparing leaders for building up the church.  In a denomination that is increasingly comprised of smaller membership churches, we spoke of the challenges of identifying, preparing, supporting and encouraging leaders who can undertake the starting of new congregations, or transform existing ones into healthy and vibrant congregations.  There are some striking examples already out there.  Through the Mission Initiative: Joining Hearts & Hands, critically needed support has been provided for a number of new churches that are off to promising starts.

Our morning conversations last Friday began with worship, where we remembered and gave thanks for the life of Jack Stotts, a former president of two Presbyterian seminaries, McCormick and Austin. I remember Jack fondly from his association with my home church, Fourth Presbyterian, Chicago.  My husband, Chris, also had the opportunity to talk to Jack on the recognition of his 50th anniversary graduation from McCormick when Chris was at the board meeting. How wonderful that he was so honored then, and at Fourth, and how glad I am that I had the chance to greet him and receive his blessing when we were at Austin Seminary.  The seminary, by the way, is inviting congregations to use portions of the Brief Statement of Faith on Sunday, February 10, the day when Jack’s memorial service will be held.  What a moving tribute this will be for the man who chaired the committee that wrote the Brief Statement.  May God comfort Jack’s extended Presbyterian family, who mourns the loss of this good and faithful servant of the church.