Thursday, July 5, 2012

General Assembly (2012) #9



The Most Important Thing: Presbyterian World Mission
            When I am asked what was the single most important thing that came before the 220th General Assembly, my answer will be the commissioning of our new missionaries through Presbyterian World Mission. This did not require a vote, or a lengthy debate, it was more liturgical than legislative. But clearly, the continuing growth of Presbyterian World Mission, our ability to create new mission positions in response to the requests of our Church partners around the world, the ability to recruit and train new missionaries for these positions, and most of all the increasing financial support from all around the church which makes this growth possible is the most important thing in our church today.
            I am proud that the Presbytery of Carlisle was involved in creating a new missionary position in cooperation with the Presbyterian Church in Honduras which is now filled by Mark and Ashley Wright serving in Tegucigalpa. I am proud that out of this relationship with the Presbyterian Church in Honduras, we were able to bring Rev. Juan Rodas to the General Assembly as an ecumenical representative.  
            Copied here is part of the Presbyterian News Service article about our new missionaries:
Continuing a 175-year tradition, the 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) on Wednesday evening (July 4) commissioned 152 Presbyterian mission co-workers and young adult volunteers who have accepted assignments since the previous General Assembly.
The commissioning was held in the state where, in 1837, Presbyterians established their first national denominational mission agency. Presbyterian World Mission traces its heritage to that board formed in Philadelphia. Nine mission co-workers were at the commissioning, representing the 30 new and reassigned mission co-workers who have been appointed since 2011.