A paradigm is an intellectual and mental framework for understanding. I like the concept of paradigm. It helps me realize that the way we think about things, the way we look at things, and our perceptions of reality are flexible and changing. We can, in fact, change our perceptions of reality. We can shift our most essential paradigms of thought.
We need a paradigm shift in the church. We need a paradigm shift, a new way of thinking and conceiving, one of the most essential aspects of the church, our leadership. What does it mean to be a leader in the church? How is leadership expressed? Who are the leaders and how did they become leaders? We need a paradigm shift around this most basic and most important question.
Conventionally, and without must serious reflection, we easily and ordinarily hold onto a paradigm of leadership in our church that we see, participate in, and appreciate in many other areas of our society. We hold onto the idea of leadership as paid professionals. In almost every area of our society leadership is provided and leadership is models by paid professionals. Thus this paradigm has controlled our thinking, and defined our perception about leadership in the church.
We must have a different paradigm for leadership in the church. We need a paradigm shift away from our common, modern social practice with its strong emphasis on paid professionals. We need to understand and claim the biblical paradigm of calling and ordination. The paid professionals are not the leaders in the church. Leadership in the church is expressed by those who have been called and ordained.
It is the power and continuing presence of God’s calling which allows the church to exist and thrive in each new day, each new year and indeed for every generation. God will provide leadership in the church through a spiritual calling which is heard and responded to by faithful people throughout the generations. The Bible story is very clear: Abraham and Sarah, Moses, David, Isaiah and Jeremiah, Mary, Jesus, Matthew, Mark, Peter and John, and the apostle Paul, Timothy and Barnabas. God calls. The Bible is also clear that these are not perfect people. Sarah responds to her call, “Wait a moment Lord, I am a little too old for this.” Moses responds to his call, “Lord, not me, I do not have the qualifications or experience for this job.” Jesus responds, “Take this cup from me.” It is not, in the first place, the qualities and characteristics of the people that is important. All that matters is that God calls. God calls. Down through ages God calls. And here in this holy place, in the midst of all the ambiguity and challenge of being the church in our modern, fast, sophisticated society, God still calls. The still small voice; the quiet spritual nudge; the warm encouragement of a friend which becomes in our heart a divine word; the witness of the community that reaches out beyond itself into our town and around the world; in those words of scripture that settle in our minds with comfort and challenge: God calls. This is the basis, the only basis, for leadership in the church.
In our tradition, with our emphasis on good organization, but also in most every other Christian expression, the call of God into the heart and soul of individual believers is affirmed and confirmed by the gathered community, by the church. God calls, and the church sets these ones apart for leadership. This is our service and celebration of ordination; the setting apart of leaders in the church. God calls and the church sets apart these ones for leadership in the church. This is the paradigm through which we must understand leadership in the church. God calls and the church ordains and these people are set apart for leadership. It is not about paid professionals; is all about the call of God and the affirmation of the church.
Elders and Deacons; stand in your calling. Because of God’s call, and the church’s confirmation of that call in your ordination and installation, you are the leaders of the church. Please be clear about that. Elders and Deacons: you are the leaders of the church.
Deacons, remember the story of the Book of Acts. The church was growing so quickly that God set apart special people for a ministry of compassion. It is this ministry to the least and the lost, the hurting, the alone, and the oppressed that has always been central to God’s desire for the church. In the ministry of our deacons, this calling to care, support, pray, encourage, and serve continues.
Elders: remember our name. This calling is particularly powerful and important in our expression of church. The very word “Presbyterian” is linguistically derived from the New Testament word which is translated into English as “elder.” All through the ages God has called and the church has set apart elders for leadership in the church. Our Presbyterian tradition has particularly emphasized the leadership of elders. Elders, you are called to lead.
In the modern church, we have also discerned a special calling to set some people apart as trustees. Trustees are not an ordained office; but have a vital expression of leadership in our modern churches. The best way to understand our Trustees is analogous to our Deacons. They take some of the load off of the Elders, so the Elders can focus on bringing the whole church into line with God’s call and God’s purpose for your life together.
The ordained leadership of the church is responsible for leading the church. Get out of this paid, profession staff versus volunteer paradigm. That is not the church. The church is about called and ordained leaders – Elders, Deacons and Ministers – together and equally leading the people of God into the purposes of God for this place at this time. And what does this leadership look like? Remember the ordination question: “Will you seek to serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love?” That is the leadership we need in the church today. We need leadership that is filled with energy, intelligence, imagination and love. May it be so in this place in the name and to the glory of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Report to the Presbytery Nov. 18, 2008
We are all healed in Jesus.
Early on Saturday, October 11 I was making breakfast for our sons, pancakes and scrambled eggs, as usual on a Saturday morning. While cooking I was chatting with both of them as they were sitting at our kitchen table waiting for food. My wife, Kris, came into the kitchen in her bathrobe, fresh out of her morning shower. With a bright smile on her face and in her voice, she said loudly to all of us, “Stop everything; We need to pray. I am done with my tamoxifen. Thank God.” With great ceremony, she slowly pulled open the cabinet which holds our kitchen garbage can, held her hand up high for a moment, and dropped her empty pill bottle into the garbage.
For five years, 60 months, every single day, my wife has dutifully taken her tamoxifen pill. Tamoxifen is a form a chemo-therapy routinely prescribed now as part of the treatment plan for breast cancer. In the summer of 2003, my Kris was diagnosed with breast cancer. Our lives were immediately all tossed up in the air and we landed upside down, bewildered, dizzy and very confused. Her surgery at UPMC’s Magee Women’s hospital in Pittsburgh went “perfectly”; that was the word her surgeon used when he first came out to talk with me in the waiting room. Immediately after surgery eight weeks of outpatient radiation therapy were prescribed. For those weeks, sometimes alone, sometimes with me, sometimes with other friends, Kris made the trip to the hospital for her radiation therapy. And for every Monday, Wednesday and Friday of those eight weeks the church I was serving delivered a full dinner to our home. I challenge you, in your churches, to match that kind of pastoral care.
On the advice of her doctor, after the radiation therapy, Kris started taking tamoxifen for the recommended five years. This past July she went back for her regular appointment with her oncologist. He reviewed her recent mammogram, examined her, then he gave her a big hug and told her that she had “graduated.” She does not need to see her oncologist any more; she is cancer free. Now that last tamoxifen pill is gone also, we are profoundly grateful.
In 2003, when this journey with cancer started, our three sons that year were ages 15, 11 and 3. I remember praying, hard and deep prayers, which I never shared with Kris. I prayed, “Lord, please just give Kris a few more years so we can get these boys a little older before I must take care of them by myself.” Although we always received encouragement, good news and hope, there was always a dark prayer lingering in my heart, expecting that soon cancer would win this fight. But here we are five years later. The empty pill bottle is in the garbage, my dear Kris is cancer free, and we rejoice in the abundant blessings that have been showered on our family.
Everyone responds to these kinds of traumas in life differently. Of course, many, many people do not have the good news which we have had. But everyone can be a part of God’s healing presence. Healing comes from our God in many different ways. I know the journey through breast cancer is very difficult for the women involved. But it is in very significant ways also very difficult for the men, for the husbands and the fathers, and for the children. Of course, it is not our bodies that are involved, but it is our lives. Pastors and church people know all this. Our pastoral care in these situations may be the most important thing we do in the church.
What does it feel like to be healed? What does it feel like to be blessed? By grace, I have had the privilege of walking next to a remarkable woman who has taught me about such things. Healing is always plural. Healing is always shared. Kris is healed, the landmark five year point has been passed. Today’s medical definition of being healed of cancer is real, wonderfully, truly, fabulously real for us. Kris dropped the empty pill bottle in the garbage. So I wanted to share this simple and yet important word with you all from my wife. She believes, as I do also in a new way now, that we are all healed in Jesus Christ.
After dropping the empty pill bottle in the garbage and after Kris led our family in a prayer of thanksgiving, we stood around for a moment chatting, reflecting and eating breakfast. Our now 17 year old son, Michael, asked his mom. “So what does it feel like to have had cancer?” Without hesitation Kris responded, “It has all been a great blessing. We are all healed in Jesus.” Thanks be to God.
Early on Saturday, October 11 I was making breakfast for our sons, pancakes and scrambled eggs, as usual on a Saturday morning. While cooking I was chatting with both of them as they were sitting at our kitchen table waiting for food. My wife, Kris, came into the kitchen in her bathrobe, fresh out of her morning shower. With a bright smile on her face and in her voice, she said loudly to all of us, “Stop everything; We need to pray. I am done with my tamoxifen. Thank God.” With great ceremony, she slowly pulled open the cabinet which holds our kitchen garbage can, held her hand up high for a moment, and dropped her empty pill bottle into the garbage.
For five years, 60 months, every single day, my wife has dutifully taken her tamoxifen pill. Tamoxifen is a form a chemo-therapy routinely prescribed now as part of the treatment plan for breast cancer. In the summer of 2003, my Kris was diagnosed with breast cancer. Our lives were immediately all tossed up in the air and we landed upside down, bewildered, dizzy and very confused. Her surgery at UPMC’s Magee Women’s hospital in Pittsburgh went “perfectly”; that was the word her surgeon used when he first came out to talk with me in the waiting room. Immediately after surgery eight weeks of outpatient radiation therapy were prescribed. For those weeks, sometimes alone, sometimes with me, sometimes with other friends, Kris made the trip to the hospital for her radiation therapy. And for every Monday, Wednesday and Friday of those eight weeks the church I was serving delivered a full dinner to our home. I challenge you, in your churches, to match that kind of pastoral care.
On the advice of her doctor, after the radiation therapy, Kris started taking tamoxifen for the recommended five years. This past July she went back for her regular appointment with her oncologist. He reviewed her recent mammogram, examined her, then he gave her a big hug and told her that she had “graduated.” She does not need to see her oncologist any more; she is cancer free. Now that last tamoxifen pill is gone also, we are profoundly grateful.
In 2003, when this journey with cancer started, our three sons that year were ages 15, 11 and 3. I remember praying, hard and deep prayers, which I never shared with Kris. I prayed, “Lord, please just give Kris a few more years so we can get these boys a little older before I must take care of them by myself.” Although we always received encouragement, good news and hope, there was always a dark prayer lingering in my heart, expecting that soon cancer would win this fight. But here we are five years later. The empty pill bottle is in the garbage, my dear Kris is cancer free, and we rejoice in the abundant blessings that have been showered on our family.
Everyone responds to these kinds of traumas in life differently. Of course, many, many people do not have the good news which we have had. But everyone can be a part of God’s healing presence. Healing comes from our God in many different ways. I know the journey through breast cancer is very difficult for the women involved. But it is in very significant ways also very difficult for the men, for the husbands and the fathers, and for the children. Of course, it is not our bodies that are involved, but it is our lives. Pastors and church people know all this. Our pastoral care in these situations may be the most important thing we do in the church.
What does it feel like to be healed? What does it feel like to be blessed? By grace, I have had the privilege of walking next to a remarkable woman who has taught me about such things. Healing is always plural. Healing is always shared. Kris is healed, the landmark five year point has been passed. Today’s medical definition of being healed of cancer is real, wonderfully, truly, fabulously real for us. Kris dropped the empty pill bottle in the garbage. So I wanted to share this simple and yet important word with you all from my wife. She believes, as I do also in a new way now, that we are all healed in Jesus Christ.
After dropping the empty pill bottle in the garbage and after Kris led our family in a prayer of thanksgiving, we stood around for a moment chatting, reflecting and eating breakfast. Our now 17 year old son, Michael, asked his mom. “So what does it feel like to have had cancer?” Without hesitation Kris responded, “It has all been a great blessing. We are all healed in Jesus.” Thanks be to God.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Pretending to be a Missionary
Pretending to be a Missionary.
The young person is stellar and active. The congregation rejoices in having such a gifted young person in their midst. Years of Sunday school classes, Christmas pageants, Palm Sunday processionals, praise worship services and youth group activities roll by. Graduation from high school is celebrated and the young person is off to a prominent university to study, learn and grow. The young person always reconnects with the congregation during Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, and now and again during summer time vacations. The congregation learns of the gifted young person’s graduation from the university with an outstanding degree and a minor course of study in Spanish, or Chinese, or African studies. Soon the letters start arriving at the homes of leading church members. The young person is seeking support so they may spend two weeks or twelve months in a far off, foreign land serving as a missionary. These days such short term mission service is typically connected with some para-church mission organization that specializes in such opportunities for young people. Of course, leading church members who have watched this young person grow up in their church are eager to send $100 to support the cause. One of the active Elders pushes such support even higher and asks the session to support the effort. Soon this young person’s noble journey of discovery serving on a short term mission experience is one of the mission causes of their home congregation. The young person’s photograph standing in the midst of a group of children in some far off land is posted on the church’s bulletin board. Everyone is happy supporting this young person as part of the mission work of the congregation. Indeed, this work is appreciated by all.
I tell this story in a sort of generic sense because I know many Presbyterians can fill in the details. This is a story that can be replicated countless times across the congregations in our church. I can easily tell this same story in a very personal sense about our own son who is now 20 years old. Although his life is on track with purposeful plans and direction, he also loves to pretend to be a missionary. Indeed, the church he grew up in is always eager to support his missionary endeavors. Already he has been to Malawi, to Peru doing evangelism to an unreached people, and this month the letters will be sent out seeking support for his scheduled trip to Uganda where he will be involved with a short-term ministry to children. Let us be clear. Our young people and their short term mission experiences, which we love to support in our churches, are not about mission service. These experiences are about the personal, spiritual and emotional development of these young people whom, indeed, we should support and nurture. These experiences, especially in support of young people we know and love in our own congregations, are important and worthy. But we should not confuse these experiences with mission work. Pretending to be a missionary for a week or a year is not the same thing as long-term, sustained, professional mission service. Within the push and pull for resources within our congregations it would be more correct to name our support for our young people doing mission trips as Christian education, rather that mission work.
Here comes the rub. Especially within our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) our commitment to long term, sustained mission service is suffering because of the redirection of our attention and resources toward supporting short-term mission experiences. Indeed we have taken our eye off the prize when it comes to our church’s mission service. It may be convincingly argued that the greatest legacy and the most important heritage in our American Presbyterian tradition is our world mission work. Presbyterians were at the forefront of the world mission movement 150 years ago, and this work defines our worldview and theological foundations more than anything else. In my opinion, this legacy of world mission is so powerful in our church that it is, itself, the source of the new energy to do mission trips and seek out short term mission experiences. But this energy has exploded in some unhealthy ways. In previous generations of Presbyterians this deep calling to be engaged in world mission was expressed through a robust commitment to recruiting, equipping, and sending out long-term professional missionaries on behalf of the whole church. These career missionaries were the servants of our church serving the larger world. We still have in place through our World Mission office a comprehensive infrastructure to support, equip and send out long term missionaries on our behalf. But we have recently allowed this long term commitment to fall off because of our lack of a mature and deep theological understanding of mission.
An analogy is appropriate here. Within the life of our church we have created a very comprehensive infrastructure of pastoral support and evaluation through the work of each Presbytery’s Committee on Ministry. We have a very sophisticated understanding of the relationship between a pastor and a congregation which we test, discern, evaluate and equip. We do not allow any person in the church, or walking in off the street, to preach in our pulpits, celebrate our sacraments or moderate our session meetings. We have a sophisticated, theologically grounded and a highly functioning polity for sanctioning and supporting the relationship of a pastor and congregation. All of our churches expect this of themselves, of their pastors and of our presbyteries. The Presbyterian Church is very good at this kind of theologically grounded polity. In our churches we are deeply committed to the vision of the called, theologically rooted and equipped pastor whose relationship with a congregation is very carefully discerned and evaluated. We must have the same commitment in our world mission work. For a church that has such high expectations for our pastors, why are we not expecting the same thing of our missionaries? But it seems as if we allow anyone to pretend to be a missionary. Indeed they are often sent out with our blessing and financial support, and quite often a very poor grounding in any theology of mission. Why have we allowed our world mission work to be taken over by our obsession with short-term, unequipped, unconnected enthusiasm which often functions without language and cultural training? This enthusiasm is seldom equipped to understand what God may be doing in and through a different culture.
What should we do?
· Renew our commitment to long-term, sustained, professional missionaries who are trained and equipped by the church and sent out on behalf of the whole church. Support Presbyterian world mission.
· Develop a holistic theology of mission which moves beyond the American arrogance which presumes we can fix the world’s problems, and expects everyone in the world to “do church” just like us.
· Encourage and support our young people in their own spiritual development by encouraging mission trips and experiences in different Christian cultures. But this support must be more than financial. We must provide our young people with a robust Christian education that seeks to discern what God is doing in the world, and especially in people, cultures and churches very different from our own. We must, by word and deed, help our children to be global Christians.
· Do not do it alone. Connect people together, connect churches together and strive to create bridges across cultural divides.
The young person is stellar and active. The congregation rejoices in having such a gifted young person in their midst. Years of Sunday school classes, Christmas pageants, Palm Sunday processionals, praise worship services and youth group activities roll by. Graduation from high school is celebrated and the young person is off to a prominent university to study, learn and grow. The young person always reconnects with the congregation during Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, and now and again during summer time vacations. The congregation learns of the gifted young person’s graduation from the university with an outstanding degree and a minor course of study in Spanish, or Chinese, or African studies. Soon the letters start arriving at the homes of leading church members. The young person is seeking support so they may spend two weeks or twelve months in a far off, foreign land serving as a missionary. These days such short term mission service is typically connected with some para-church mission organization that specializes in such opportunities for young people. Of course, leading church members who have watched this young person grow up in their church are eager to send $100 to support the cause. One of the active Elders pushes such support even higher and asks the session to support the effort. Soon this young person’s noble journey of discovery serving on a short term mission experience is one of the mission causes of their home congregation. The young person’s photograph standing in the midst of a group of children in some far off land is posted on the church’s bulletin board. Everyone is happy supporting this young person as part of the mission work of the congregation. Indeed, this work is appreciated by all.
I tell this story in a sort of generic sense because I know many Presbyterians can fill in the details. This is a story that can be replicated countless times across the congregations in our church. I can easily tell this same story in a very personal sense about our own son who is now 20 years old. Although his life is on track with purposeful plans and direction, he also loves to pretend to be a missionary. Indeed, the church he grew up in is always eager to support his missionary endeavors. Already he has been to Malawi, to Peru doing evangelism to an unreached people, and this month the letters will be sent out seeking support for his scheduled trip to Uganda where he will be involved with a short-term ministry to children. Let us be clear. Our young people and their short term mission experiences, which we love to support in our churches, are not about mission service. These experiences are about the personal, spiritual and emotional development of these young people whom, indeed, we should support and nurture. These experiences, especially in support of young people we know and love in our own congregations, are important and worthy. But we should not confuse these experiences with mission work. Pretending to be a missionary for a week or a year is not the same thing as long-term, sustained, professional mission service. Within the push and pull for resources within our congregations it would be more correct to name our support for our young people doing mission trips as Christian education, rather that mission work.
Here comes the rub. Especially within our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) our commitment to long term, sustained mission service is suffering because of the redirection of our attention and resources toward supporting short-term mission experiences. Indeed we have taken our eye off the prize when it comes to our church’s mission service. It may be convincingly argued that the greatest legacy and the most important heritage in our American Presbyterian tradition is our world mission work. Presbyterians were at the forefront of the world mission movement 150 years ago, and this work defines our worldview and theological foundations more than anything else. In my opinion, this legacy of world mission is so powerful in our church that it is, itself, the source of the new energy to do mission trips and seek out short term mission experiences. But this energy has exploded in some unhealthy ways. In previous generations of Presbyterians this deep calling to be engaged in world mission was expressed through a robust commitment to recruiting, equipping, and sending out long-term professional missionaries on behalf of the whole church. These career missionaries were the servants of our church serving the larger world. We still have in place through our World Mission office a comprehensive infrastructure to support, equip and send out long term missionaries on our behalf. But we have recently allowed this long term commitment to fall off because of our lack of a mature and deep theological understanding of mission.
An analogy is appropriate here. Within the life of our church we have created a very comprehensive infrastructure of pastoral support and evaluation through the work of each Presbytery’s Committee on Ministry. We have a very sophisticated understanding of the relationship between a pastor and a congregation which we test, discern, evaluate and equip. We do not allow any person in the church, or walking in off the street, to preach in our pulpits, celebrate our sacraments or moderate our session meetings. We have a sophisticated, theologically grounded and a highly functioning polity for sanctioning and supporting the relationship of a pastor and congregation. All of our churches expect this of themselves, of their pastors and of our presbyteries. The Presbyterian Church is very good at this kind of theologically grounded polity. In our churches we are deeply committed to the vision of the called, theologically rooted and equipped pastor whose relationship with a congregation is very carefully discerned and evaluated. We must have the same commitment in our world mission work. For a church that has such high expectations for our pastors, why are we not expecting the same thing of our missionaries? But it seems as if we allow anyone to pretend to be a missionary. Indeed they are often sent out with our blessing and financial support, and quite often a very poor grounding in any theology of mission. Why have we allowed our world mission work to be taken over by our obsession with short-term, unequipped, unconnected enthusiasm which often functions without language and cultural training? This enthusiasm is seldom equipped to understand what God may be doing in and through a different culture.
What should we do?
· Renew our commitment to long-term, sustained, professional missionaries who are trained and equipped by the church and sent out on behalf of the whole church. Support Presbyterian world mission.
· Develop a holistic theology of mission which moves beyond the American arrogance which presumes we can fix the world’s problems, and expects everyone in the world to “do church” just like us.
· Encourage and support our young people in their own spiritual development by encouraging mission trips and experiences in different Christian cultures. But this support must be more than financial. We must provide our young people with a robust Christian education that seeks to discern what God is doing in the world, and especially in people, cultures and churches very different from our own. We must, by word and deed, help our children to be global Christians.
· Do not do it alone. Connect people together, connect churches together and strive to create bridges across cultural divides.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Mission Networks in the PC(USA)
Did you know that the Presbyterian Church in Madagascar has more members than our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)? Did you know that we have a close working partnership with two different Presbyterian Churches in Ghana: the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ghana? Did you know about the efforts of American Presbyterians to establish relations with the emerging house churches, many of which include people with a Reformed and Presbyterian background, in all the “stan” countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan)? Did you know there are new efforts to connect our church with the peacebuilding efforts which have been bearing fruit in Ireland for many years, through the work of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland? Did you know about the longstanding effort of American Presbyterians to stand with our brothers and sisters in Columbia against the violence in that nation? Our Columbia Mission Network, in a powerful ministry of compassion, has provided for the General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Columbia when he, his wife and young children needed to leave Columbia because of the death threats received in response to their Christian witness? Did you know that because of the influence and support of American Presbyterians, the Presbyterian Church in Honduras, after years of effort, has finally had their legal petitions with the government, which is dominated by Roman Catholic officials, approved. Now the Presbyterian Church has official standing as a religious organization in Honduras. This means, for the first time, that the Presbyterian congregations in Honduras are able to legally own their church buildings and property. Given the lack of social infrastructure in Haiti, do you know about the incessantly difficult work which American Presbyterians are doing to bring a long-term, sustainable, mission effort to that poor country? Did you know, after generations of conflict and war, the church is emerging with amazing life and vitality in Vietnam and Laos and that American Presbyterians are partnering with those congregations? All of this work is being carried and supported by the burgeoning, new Mission Networks of our Church.
There are now thirty three Mission Networks in our church working closely with our World Mission office and spanning the globe. Do you know about this new movement in Presbyterian World Mission? We were all together for what was only the second official gathering of Mission Networks for several, strategic days in September. Hosted by Hunter Farrell, the Director of World Mission and all of the Mission Area Coordinators from around the world, each one of our mission networks participated in this gathering. The energy, vision and commitment of the more than sixty people gathered at our Mission Network conference was remarkable. The images and stories of mission work from around the world breathes life into this dry definition of Mission Networks taken from our World Mission website:
“Mission Networks bring together Presbyterians from around the United States who share a common international mission focus. World Mission Networks facilitate building and maintaining healthy partnerships, and provide a place for representatives of various PC(USA) partnerships to share information and coordinate their efforts. Each Mission Network centers around a specific country, people group or program area of ministry, and is composed of Presbyterians who represent international mission partnerships established through their synods, presbyteries, congregations, or other PC(USA) entities.”
The Mission Network movement is clearly the way forward in Presbyterian World Mission. This movement responds to the fact that the locus for World Mission has undeniably shifted to our congregations and presbyteries, who are doing mission on their own by sending out short term mission teams. The Mission Network movement is an effort to harness and connect those congregational efforts. When we learn some of the horror stories of poorly planned and unconnected mission trips the importance of our Mission Networks is clear. When we learn of two different Presbyterian congregations bringing large, medical mission teams to the same foreign medical clinic the same week, we understand the important of Mission Networks. We learn of the small, Presbyterian Church in a nation in Africa that could not handle the repeated requests from different American congregations to host their mission trips. Thus the different American teams were asked to paint the same wall in the same public school four weeks in a row and we see the need for Mission Networks. When we learn about the social scientific research of Dr. Robert Priest at Trinity Evangelical Seminary about short term mission trips we see the need for Mission Networks. Dr. Priest’s research concludes that short term mission trips have very little long term transformative power in the lives of participants if these experiences are not surrounded by very intentional support, reflection and nurture both before and particularly after the experience.
The Mission Network movement is an effort to connect all the enthusiasm and passion for mission, which is expressed in congregations doing mission trips, with the Presbyterian Church’s historic commitment to deep, long-term, sustainable mission work with Christian partners around the world. Mission Networks connect the long-term, mature, sustainable model of mission which grounds the work of our professional mission co-workers with the short-term, local, enthusiasm of mission trips. Most important, the Mission Networks may be the best connection between our congregations and the World Mission office. There is a new spirit of collaboration, partnership and mutually blowing through our General Assembly, and particularly embodied in the new team, under the leadership of Dr. Hunter Farrell, now assembled to lead the World Mission office. This spirit is very evident in the growth and support given to our Mission Networks. We have received and we stand in a glorious heritage of Presbyterian world mission. Get involved! Support World Mission!
There are now thirty three Mission Networks in our church working closely with our World Mission office and spanning the globe. Do you know about this new movement in Presbyterian World Mission? We were all together for what was only the second official gathering of Mission Networks for several, strategic days in September. Hosted by Hunter Farrell, the Director of World Mission and all of the Mission Area Coordinators from around the world, each one of our mission networks participated in this gathering. The energy, vision and commitment of the more than sixty people gathered at our Mission Network conference was remarkable. The images and stories of mission work from around the world breathes life into this dry definition of Mission Networks taken from our World Mission website:
“Mission Networks bring together Presbyterians from around the United States who share a common international mission focus. World Mission Networks facilitate building and maintaining healthy partnerships, and provide a place for representatives of various PC(USA) partnerships to share information and coordinate their efforts. Each Mission Network centers around a specific country, people group or program area of ministry, and is composed of Presbyterians who represent international mission partnerships established through their synods, presbyteries, congregations, or other PC(USA) entities.”
The Mission Network movement is clearly the way forward in Presbyterian World Mission. This movement responds to the fact that the locus for World Mission has undeniably shifted to our congregations and presbyteries, who are doing mission on their own by sending out short term mission teams. The Mission Network movement is an effort to harness and connect those congregational efforts. When we learn some of the horror stories of poorly planned and unconnected mission trips the importance of our Mission Networks is clear. When we learn of two different Presbyterian congregations bringing large, medical mission teams to the same foreign medical clinic the same week, we understand the important of Mission Networks. We learn of the small, Presbyterian Church in a nation in Africa that could not handle the repeated requests from different American congregations to host their mission trips. Thus the different American teams were asked to paint the same wall in the same public school four weeks in a row and we see the need for Mission Networks. When we learn about the social scientific research of Dr. Robert Priest at Trinity Evangelical Seminary about short term mission trips we see the need for Mission Networks. Dr. Priest’s research concludes that short term mission trips have very little long term transformative power in the lives of participants if these experiences are not surrounded by very intentional support, reflection and nurture both before and particularly after the experience.
The Mission Network movement is an effort to connect all the enthusiasm and passion for mission, which is expressed in congregations doing mission trips, with the Presbyterian Church’s historic commitment to deep, long-term, sustainable mission work with Christian partners around the world. Mission Networks connect the long-term, mature, sustainable model of mission which grounds the work of our professional mission co-workers with the short-term, local, enthusiasm of mission trips. Most important, the Mission Networks may be the best connection between our congregations and the World Mission office. There is a new spirit of collaboration, partnership and mutually blowing through our General Assembly, and particularly embodied in the new team, under the leadership of Dr. Hunter Farrell, now assembled to lead the World Mission office. This spirit is very evident in the growth and support given to our Mission Networks. We have received and we stand in a glorious heritage of Presbyterian world mission. Get involved! Support World Mission!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Report to the Presbytery September 23, 2008
What do you want to talk about? G.A.C. or O.G.A.?
What do you want to talk about? When we speak of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) it is very important for us to remember that there are several different conversations going on at the same time. These different conversations often have nothing to do with one another.
What do you want to talk about? On one hand we can talk about the work of the Office of the General Assembly. But, in fact, I would much prefer to talk about the work of the General Assembly Council. What I want us to remember again is that when we are talking about the work of the General Assembly we must be very clear about the distinction between the Office of the General Assembly and the General Assembly Council. These two entities are very distinct, with different purposes, different sources of funding, and completely different staff.
My concern is that when we talk casually about the General Assembly, in our congregations, what we typically mean is the Office of the General Assembly. The Office of the General Assembly is funded almost totally by our Per Capita assessment, it is led by the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, now the newly elected Gradye Parsons, and it is responsible for the polity side of the church. The Office of the General Assembly includes the Stated Clerk’s office, the Permanent Judicial Commission, and is fully responsible for the biennial meeting of the General Assembly. Any time we are talking about polity including the Book of Order and the Book of Confessions we are talking within the purview of the Office of the General Assembly. Indeed, we must again have conversations here at our Presbytery about polity, and about proposed changes to our Book of Order. I understand that these conversations are very important. We must carry them out with prayerful discernment.
But, my friends, I want to talk about something else. I want to talk about the work of the General Assembly Council. This is a very different conversation. The General Assembly Council, now under the leadership of Executive Director Linda Valentine, is the mission and program side of the General Assembly. Although we do not talk about it nearly as much, the General Assembly Council is significantly larger than the Office of the General Assembly. The General Assembly Council is funded by our mission giving and our special offerings. The General Assembly Council includes Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and the Presbyterian Hunger Program. The General Assembly Council also includes the Office of Theology and Worship, which creates excellent theological resources for our church. The largest piece of the General Assembly Council is our work in World Mission. The General Assembly Council’s office of World Mission recruits, trains, funds and supports our more than 200 full-time, professional mission co-workers around the world. Let’s talk about that work!
This is my request and my plea. Many of you, I know, on both sides of the debate, have concerns and deep questions about the conversations we are having about polity and the Book of Order. We will continue those conversations here at our presbytery as we consider the latest proposals. Please do not allow any frustrations you may have with our conversations about polity to distract from or frustrate your support for our world mission. They are very different conversations, representing very different entities within the church. More over, I have this crazy idea that if we can shift the conversation a little bit, and talk more, and learn more, and commit ourselves more to our work in world mission, on the General Assembly Council side of the church, it may help us find our way forward through our very difficult polity conversation. What do you want to talk about? We must continue our conversation about polity, but let us also remember this very important conversation and commitment to world mission.
Note: For more information about the General Assembly Council please see their website at www.pcusa.org/gac. World Mission also has a website at www.pcusa.org/worldmission. The Office of the General Assembly also has a website at www.pcusa.org/oga.
What do you want to talk about? When we speak of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) it is very important for us to remember that there are several different conversations going on at the same time. These different conversations often have nothing to do with one another.
What do you want to talk about? On one hand we can talk about the work of the Office of the General Assembly. But, in fact, I would much prefer to talk about the work of the General Assembly Council. What I want us to remember again is that when we are talking about the work of the General Assembly we must be very clear about the distinction between the Office of the General Assembly and the General Assembly Council. These two entities are very distinct, with different purposes, different sources of funding, and completely different staff.
My concern is that when we talk casually about the General Assembly, in our congregations, what we typically mean is the Office of the General Assembly. The Office of the General Assembly is funded almost totally by our Per Capita assessment, it is led by the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, now the newly elected Gradye Parsons, and it is responsible for the polity side of the church. The Office of the General Assembly includes the Stated Clerk’s office, the Permanent Judicial Commission, and is fully responsible for the biennial meeting of the General Assembly. Any time we are talking about polity including the Book of Order and the Book of Confessions we are talking within the purview of the Office of the General Assembly. Indeed, we must again have conversations here at our Presbytery about polity, and about proposed changes to our Book of Order. I understand that these conversations are very important. We must carry them out with prayerful discernment.
But, my friends, I want to talk about something else. I want to talk about the work of the General Assembly Council. This is a very different conversation. The General Assembly Council, now under the leadership of Executive Director Linda Valentine, is the mission and program side of the General Assembly. Although we do not talk about it nearly as much, the General Assembly Council is significantly larger than the Office of the General Assembly. The General Assembly Council is funded by our mission giving and our special offerings. The General Assembly Council includes Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and the Presbyterian Hunger Program. The General Assembly Council also includes the Office of Theology and Worship, which creates excellent theological resources for our church. The largest piece of the General Assembly Council is our work in World Mission. The General Assembly Council’s office of World Mission recruits, trains, funds and supports our more than 200 full-time, professional mission co-workers around the world. Let’s talk about that work!
This is my request and my plea. Many of you, I know, on both sides of the debate, have concerns and deep questions about the conversations we are having about polity and the Book of Order. We will continue those conversations here at our presbytery as we consider the latest proposals. Please do not allow any frustrations you may have with our conversations about polity to distract from or frustrate your support for our world mission. They are very different conversations, representing very different entities within the church. More over, I have this crazy idea that if we can shift the conversation a little bit, and talk more, and learn more, and commit ourselves more to our work in world mission, on the General Assembly Council side of the church, it may help us find our way forward through our very difficult polity conversation. What do you want to talk about? We must continue our conversation about polity, but let us also remember this very important conversation and commitment to world mission.
Note: For more information about the General Assembly Council please see their website at www.pcusa.org/gac. World Mission also has a website at www.pcusa.org/worldmission. The Office of the General Assembly also has a website at www.pcusa.org/oga.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Support World Mission
A Report from Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
The jet ways which off board each jet at Toncontin International airport lead everyone to a long walkway. At the end of this walkway a pair of escalators direct everyone down to the immigration desks, baggage claim and customs. Like the whole airport, this hallway is always immaculately clean, it’s polished floor glistening and bright. The outside wall of this long walkway is glass from floor to ceiling. Like the whole facility, the glass is sparkling clean. I am delighted to return to Tegucigalpa, Honduras; a place I have learned to love. Walking along this walkway, shaking off the fatigue of the long jet rides which started early in the morning in Baltimore, I breathe in the joy and satisfaction of being here again. My body enjoys the opportunity to stretch, loosen and walk after being cramped up in an airplane for the last hours. My eyes and mind are lifted up and out through the windows and far beyond to the exquisitely beautiful horizon. The jagged peaks of Tegucigalpa’s famous mountains, which are all around in all their lush green, rise up and out of the urban sprawl and touch a beautiful sky. Strolling along this walkway is a moment of spiritual transition. Now having arrived, my mind can cast aside all the details of travel. The obsession with flight schedules, making connections in Houston, and constant concerns about delays, changes, or cancellations are now all gone. Now I am here and turn to the purposes I have in mind for these few precious days in Honduras.
Our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been doing world mission for a very long time. Our heritage of world mission is deep, long and remarkable. One of the purposes of my ministry now is to understand, celebrate and support our work in world mission. Our world mission work is where my heart is; increasing this is where my passion and energy are leading me. As we have always done, the church must again rally and unite around our world mission work. This is now one of my deepest convictions. This is a conviction which has been building, growing, developing and maturing for many years. The congregations where I have served as pastor were always blessed, renewed and vitalized by strong mission programs and generous mission giving. I believe our mission work is a vital piece, maybe the vital piece, toward the future peace, purity and unity of the church. This quick, three day trip to Honduras is an expression of my continuing education. I am here again to learn how the Presbyterian Church does world mission. I want to learn with my feet on the ground, talking with the people, understanding the decision-making, beginning to discern the challenges which must be faced, and learning this process. What does our world mission work look like in our world today?
On this trip I have the opportunity to learn with the experts. Along with Kathy Wells, the Director of Christian education in our Mechanicsburg Church; we are along for the ride as our world mission people do their work. We are here with Stan Devoogd, the area coordinator for Mexico and Central America. Stan is one of six area coordinators who work with the General Assembly Council and oversee our world mission. We are joined by our mission co-worker Tracey King, the regional liaison for Central America. Tracey’s office is in Managua, Nicaragua and she is responsible for relationships with all our mission partners, supporting our mission co-workers, and relationships with other U.S. Presbyterians working in the area. Specifically, Kathy and I have joined Stan and Tracey on this quick trip to Honduras to talk with our mission partners, and begin creating plans for a potential new PCUSA mission co-worker position in Honduras.
I have learned about the structure which we now have in place in our world mission office. Hunter Farrell is the director of world mission, and works directly with Linda Valentine, the executive director of the General Assembly Council. Hunter is the voice and vision of world mission today. (Hunter will be with us for the April 2009 meeting of the Presbytery of Carlisle.) Hunter is supported by the six area coordinators, like Stan, who each oversee our mission work in a particular area of the world. The six areas each have several regional liaisons, like Tracey. Together these world mission staff people are responsible for recruiting, supporting, encouraging and connecting the 200 mission co-workers who are serving in world mission for the PCUSA.
The single most important feature of our world mission work today is its collegiality. We do mission in partnership with other churches, ecumenical partners and all varieties of Christian mission organizations all over the world. Thus our mission co-workers are always serving at the invitation of local Christian organizations, schools, hospitals or churches. This commitment to collegiality with Christian brothers and sisters in every nation expresses deep theological commitments about what we believe about world mission today.
Our task here in Honduras is to talk with our Christian partners, to understand their ministries, and to explore ways we may work together. In Honduras, like most nations today, we have several different Christian partners. In Honduras, our Presbyterian Church has had a long partnership with Heifer Project International with whom our PCUSA mission co-workers, Tim and Gloria Wheeler, are now serving. (For this trip, we are staying in the Wheeler’s home even while Tim and Gloria are in the United States doing mission itineration. The Wheelers will be in our Presbytery in October.) We met with the Heifer Project staff all afternoon on Friday in their office. We had a wonderful discussion of their model of community development. This work is commendable, and I encourage your support. Our Second Carlisle Church has a close relationship with the Wheelers, and has been doing mission trips with the Wheelers every year. Please talk with Rev. Jennifer McKenna about their work. I particularly encourage your support of Heifer’s alternative Christian gift program.
Most important, our world mission staff has been in a continuing conversation with the Presbyterian Church of Honduras. We are exploring ways that our churches may work together and join in mutual mission. Thus we met all day with the executive board, “el junta,” of the Presbyterian Church of Honduras. Stan and Tracey led us through a three point agenda around which we worked for almost five hours. Of course, in the relaxed Latin American style, we also had a lengthy time of Bible study, shared prayer, numerous coffee breaks, a long, leisurely lunch and a lot of cordial conversation, especially since my Honduran friends keep pushing me to speak Spanish. We did spend considerable time on these questions: In what ways are the PCUSA and PC Honduras cooperating and working together now?; What would the PC Honduras propose as the responsibilities and objectives of a potential mission co-worker working with them?; How would the PC Honduras define the qualifications and personal qualities they would like in a mission co-worker? These leaders from the PC Honduras were very clear and very articulate in their appreciation for the partnership with our PCUSA. Their objectives for a potential mission co-worker working serving with them are also very clear: leadership development. They need help in the administrative organization of their Presbytery. (The PC Honduras now has one presbytery which includes all of their 20 congregations.) They need help in the theological and spiritual support of their pastors. They need help in the equipping of their Sunday school teachers and the strengthening of their ministries of Christian education. Clearly these are gifts and skills the PCUSA can bring to Honduras when the right person is called, recruited, and funded.
As I reflect on that long day of conversation with my friends in the PC Honduras, I rejoice both in my opportunity to be involved in these conversations and the beautiful work our church is doing in world mission. At this meeting we were truly brothers and sisters working together to build Christ’s church. This experience was a true embodiment of mutuality in mission and partnership. I am convinced that if our PC USA can find the will and way for growing world mission, and providing a mission co-worker to work with the PC Honduras, we will be doing a very worthy and good ministry. I plea for your generous support for our work in world mission, and specifically for this new mission co-worker position to serve the Presbyterian Church of Honduras.
The jet ways which off board each jet at Toncontin International airport lead everyone to a long walkway. At the end of this walkway a pair of escalators direct everyone down to the immigration desks, baggage claim and customs. Like the whole airport, this hallway is always immaculately clean, it’s polished floor glistening and bright. The outside wall of this long walkway is glass from floor to ceiling. Like the whole facility, the glass is sparkling clean. I am delighted to return to Tegucigalpa, Honduras; a place I have learned to love. Walking along this walkway, shaking off the fatigue of the long jet rides which started early in the morning in Baltimore, I breathe in the joy and satisfaction of being here again. My body enjoys the opportunity to stretch, loosen and walk after being cramped up in an airplane for the last hours. My eyes and mind are lifted up and out through the windows and far beyond to the exquisitely beautiful horizon. The jagged peaks of Tegucigalpa’s famous mountains, which are all around in all their lush green, rise up and out of the urban sprawl and touch a beautiful sky. Strolling along this walkway is a moment of spiritual transition. Now having arrived, my mind can cast aside all the details of travel. The obsession with flight schedules, making connections in Houston, and constant concerns about delays, changes, or cancellations are now all gone. Now I am here and turn to the purposes I have in mind for these few precious days in Honduras.
Our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been doing world mission for a very long time. Our heritage of world mission is deep, long and remarkable. One of the purposes of my ministry now is to understand, celebrate and support our work in world mission. Our world mission work is where my heart is; increasing this is where my passion and energy are leading me. As we have always done, the church must again rally and unite around our world mission work. This is now one of my deepest convictions. This is a conviction which has been building, growing, developing and maturing for many years. The congregations where I have served as pastor were always blessed, renewed and vitalized by strong mission programs and generous mission giving. I believe our mission work is a vital piece, maybe the vital piece, toward the future peace, purity and unity of the church. This quick, three day trip to Honduras is an expression of my continuing education. I am here again to learn how the Presbyterian Church does world mission. I want to learn with my feet on the ground, talking with the people, understanding the decision-making, beginning to discern the challenges which must be faced, and learning this process. What does our world mission work look like in our world today?
On this trip I have the opportunity to learn with the experts. Along with Kathy Wells, the Director of Christian education in our Mechanicsburg Church; we are along for the ride as our world mission people do their work. We are here with Stan Devoogd, the area coordinator for Mexico and Central America. Stan is one of six area coordinators who work with the General Assembly Council and oversee our world mission. We are joined by our mission co-worker Tracey King, the regional liaison for Central America. Tracey’s office is in Managua, Nicaragua and she is responsible for relationships with all our mission partners, supporting our mission co-workers, and relationships with other U.S. Presbyterians working in the area. Specifically, Kathy and I have joined Stan and Tracey on this quick trip to Honduras to talk with our mission partners, and begin creating plans for a potential new PCUSA mission co-worker position in Honduras.
I have learned about the structure which we now have in place in our world mission office. Hunter Farrell is the director of world mission, and works directly with Linda Valentine, the executive director of the General Assembly Council. Hunter is the voice and vision of world mission today. (Hunter will be with us for the April 2009 meeting of the Presbytery of Carlisle.) Hunter is supported by the six area coordinators, like Stan, who each oversee our mission work in a particular area of the world. The six areas each have several regional liaisons, like Tracey. Together these world mission staff people are responsible for recruiting, supporting, encouraging and connecting the 200 mission co-workers who are serving in world mission for the PCUSA.
The single most important feature of our world mission work today is its collegiality. We do mission in partnership with other churches, ecumenical partners and all varieties of Christian mission organizations all over the world. Thus our mission co-workers are always serving at the invitation of local Christian organizations, schools, hospitals or churches. This commitment to collegiality with Christian brothers and sisters in every nation expresses deep theological commitments about what we believe about world mission today.
Our task here in Honduras is to talk with our Christian partners, to understand their ministries, and to explore ways we may work together. In Honduras, like most nations today, we have several different Christian partners. In Honduras, our Presbyterian Church has had a long partnership with Heifer Project International with whom our PCUSA mission co-workers, Tim and Gloria Wheeler, are now serving. (For this trip, we are staying in the Wheeler’s home even while Tim and Gloria are in the United States doing mission itineration. The Wheelers will be in our Presbytery in October.) We met with the Heifer Project staff all afternoon on Friday in their office. We had a wonderful discussion of their model of community development. This work is commendable, and I encourage your support. Our Second Carlisle Church has a close relationship with the Wheelers, and has been doing mission trips with the Wheelers every year. Please talk with Rev. Jennifer McKenna about their work. I particularly encourage your support of Heifer’s alternative Christian gift program.
Most important, our world mission staff has been in a continuing conversation with the Presbyterian Church of Honduras. We are exploring ways that our churches may work together and join in mutual mission. Thus we met all day with the executive board, “el junta,” of the Presbyterian Church of Honduras. Stan and Tracey led us through a three point agenda around which we worked for almost five hours. Of course, in the relaxed Latin American style, we also had a lengthy time of Bible study, shared prayer, numerous coffee breaks, a long, leisurely lunch and a lot of cordial conversation, especially since my Honduran friends keep pushing me to speak Spanish. We did spend considerable time on these questions: In what ways are the PCUSA and PC Honduras cooperating and working together now?; What would the PC Honduras propose as the responsibilities and objectives of a potential mission co-worker working with them?; How would the PC Honduras define the qualifications and personal qualities they would like in a mission co-worker? These leaders from the PC Honduras were very clear and very articulate in their appreciation for the partnership with our PCUSA. Their objectives for a potential mission co-worker working serving with them are also very clear: leadership development. They need help in the administrative organization of their Presbytery. (The PC Honduras now has one presbytery which includes all of their 20 congregations.) They need help in the theological and spiritual support of their pastors. They need help in the equipping of their Sunday school teachers and the strengthening of their ministries of Christian education. Clearly these are gifts and skills the PCUSA can bring to Honduras when the right person is called, recruited, and funded.
As I reflect on that long day of conversation with my friends in the PC Honduras, I rejoice both in my opportunity to be involved in these conversations and the beautiful work our church is doing in world mission. At this meeting we were truly brothers and sisters working together to build Christ’s church. This experience was a true embodiment of mutuality in mission and partnership. I am convinced that if our PC USA can find the will and way for growing world mission, and providing a mission co-worker to work with the PC Honduras, we will be doing a very worthy and good ministry. I plea for your generous support for our work in world mission, and specifically for this new mission co-worker position to serve the Presbyterian Church of Honduras.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Camp Krislund update
July 2008
Dear Presbyterian brothers and sisters,
We write to express our grateful appreciation for the generous support which many of our congregations have already pledged toward our Funding the Future Campaign at Camp Krislund and your participation in Krislund’s Summer Camp program. We also write to offer this brief status report.
As we write this letter the most important and faithful expression of the Camp’s ministry is in full swing: our summer camping program. Krislund Summer Camp is again this year a vital program. Because of the financial stress on the regular program budget, Steve Cort has taken on the extra responsibility of serving as the Summer Camp’s program director. We appreciate his devotion and commitment to the summer program. Under his leadership a team of counselors, junior counselors, adventure coordinators, kitchen staff, life guard and nurses have been gathered to serve the almost 700 young people who will come to Camp. Of these campers, many are on full scholarships.
At the same time our plans for the future growth of the camp are underway in response to your generous support of our Funding the Future Capital Campaign. Your financial support for this effort has been remarkable. We are very grateful for the Coordinating Teams in each presbytery, the many campaign advocates in our churches, and the many elders who have responded to our presentations and solicitations at your session meetings. Thus far 94 of our congregations and many individuals have pledged more than $1.8 million to the Funding the Future Campaign. Of course, the Campaign continues.
In proper stewardship of these abundant gifts, we have already taken significant steps to address the most pressing financial need of the Camp, but the least glamorous aspect of our campaign. We have paid more than $460,000 toward our land debt. We expect that our commercial land debt with NorthWest Savings Bank will be completely paid this year! This is the first major component of our campaign. Gifts from our Funding the Future Campaign are not intended to pay off our other significant land debt which is held by the Synod of the Trinity. Our presbyteries will hear more about the restructuring of our Synod loan as these plans develop.
Under the leadership of our Director of Development and Maintenance Kent Rishell, we have accomplished a remarkable amount of legal and administrative infrastructure work in preparation for new construction at Krislund. We have received authorization and permits from both Centre County and the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection for our proposed construction. This allows us, first of all, to move forward with the two major infrastructure demands of any new construction: water and sanitation. With an estimated cost of $170,000, we expect the Camp’s new water system to be installed this fall. After satisfying stringent environmental regulations, our new well has been drilled and the system is ready to be installed. This new water system will completely replace the old system and will be large enough to include any and all of our future new construction. The next step, to be accomplished in 2009, is the installation of our new sanitation system. This is an additional system which is necessary to support all our new construction. Our current, state-of-the-art, natural sanitation system will still be used as it is now, but it cannot be expanded to include any new construction.
Of course, any project the size and scope of our Funding the Future Campaign will face obstacles and challenges. Our biggest challenge thus far has been the concept of new adult housing at the Camp. This, we know, is the most exciting and visible element of our campaign. Our new adult housing will allow us to move our Camp’s ministry and mission into bold new directions reaching many more people all year long. But the concept of one large adult lodge attached to the back of the existing retreat center has proved untenable because of construction and environmental-impact costs created by its sweeping design. Thus we have formed a Design and Construction Team to consider other options for adult housing at the camp. (Please call Mark if you are interested in joining the work of this team.) Conceptually, this team has decided to take a step back and consider again any and all options for adult, year-round housing at the Camp given our theological vision of ministry, the restraints of the legal and environmental regulations and the financial constraints of the Funding the Future Campaign. This effort will move forward with careful discernment.
As our Funding the Future Campaign has developed we sadly learned that our creative plans for an “omni building” can not be included within our current campaign. Thus our plan for this multi-purpose building which will support our Summer Camp program and also offer flexible, indoor recreational opportunities all year remains a dream. Given the success of our Funding the Future Campaign we hope there will be energy and enthusiasm to move forward with this dream in the future.
Our plans, hopes and dreams for our beloved Camp Krislund are bold and big. We have appreciated your generosity and support. We hope all our congregations will join us in creating a camp and conference center that in all its ministry and mission loudly proclaims the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sincerely,
Presbytery of Carlisle Presbytery of Huntingdon Presbytery of Northumberland
Executive Presbyter General Presbyter Executive Presbyter
Mark Englund-Krieger Joy Kaufmann William Knudsen
Dear Presbyterian brothers and sisters,
We write to express our grateful appreciation for the generous support which many of our congregations have already pledged toward our Funding the Future Campaign at Camp Krislund and your participation in Krislund’s Summer Camp program. We also write to offer this brief status report.
As we write this letter the most important and faithful expression of the Camp’s ministry is in full swing: our summer camping program. Krislund Summer Camp is again this year a vital program. Because of the financial stress on the regular program budget, Steve Cort has taken on the extra responsibility of serving as the Summer Camp’s program director. We appreciate his devotion and commitment to the summer program. Under his leadership a team of counselors, junior counselors, adventure coordinators, kitchen staff, life guard and nurses have been gathered to serve the almost 700 young people who will come to Camp. Of these campers, many are on full scholarships.
At the same time our plans for the future growth of the camp are underway in response to your generous support of our Funding the Future Capital Campaign. Your financial support for this effort has been remarkable. We are very grateful for the Coordinating Teams in each presbytery, the many campaign advocates in our churches, and the many elders who have responded to our presentations and solicitations at your session meetings. Thus far 94 of our congregations and many individuals have pledged more than $1.8 million to the Funding the Future Campaign. Of course, the Campaign continues.
In proper stewardship of these abundant gifts, we have already taken significant steps to address the most pressing financial need of the Camp, but the least glamorous aspect of our campaign. We have paid more than $460,000 toward our land debt. We expect that our commercial land debt with NorthWest Savings Bank will be completely paid this year! This is the first major component of our campaign. Gifts from our Funding the Future Campaign are not intended to pay off our other significant land debt which is held by the Synod of the Trinity. Our presbyteries will hear more about the restructuring of our Synod loan as these plans develop.
Under the leadership of our Director of Development and Maintenance Kent Rishell, we have accomplished a remarkable amount of legal and administrative infrastructure work in preparation for new construction at Krislund. We have received authorization and permits from both Centre County and the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection for our proposed construction. This allows us, first of all, to move forward with the two major infrastructure demands of any new construction: water and sanitation. With an estimated cost of $170,000, we expect the Camp’s new water system to be installed this fall. After satisfying stringent environmental regulations, our new well has been drilled and the system is ready to be installed. This new water system will completely replace the old system and will be large enough to include any and all of our future new construction. The next step, to be accomplished in 2009, is the installation of our new sanitation system. This is an additional system which is necessary to support all our new construction. Our current, state-of-the-art, natural sanitation system will still be used as it is now, but it cannot be expanded to include any new construction.
Of course, any project the size and scope of our Funding the Future Campaign will face obstacles and challenges. Our biggest challenge thus far has been the concept of new adult housing at the Camp. This, we know, is the most exciting and visible element of our campaign. Our new adult housing will allow us to move our Camp’s ministry and mission into bold new directions reaching many more people all year long. But the concept of one large adult lodge attached to the back of the existing retreat center has proved untenable because of construction and environmental-impact costs created by its sweeping design. Thus we have formed a Design and Construction Team to consider other options for adult housing at the camp. (Please call Mark if you are interested in joining the work of this team.) Conceptually, this team has decided to take a step back and consider again any and all options for adult, year-round housing at the Camp given our theological vision of ministry, the restraints of the legal and environmental regulations and the financial constraints of the Funding the Future Campaign. This effort will move forward with careful discernment.
As our Funding the Future Campaign has developed we sadly learned that our creative plans for an “omni building” can not be included within our current campaign. Thus our plan for this multi-purpose building which will support our Summer Camp program and also offer flexible, indoor recreational opportunities all year remains a dream. Given the success of our Funding the Future Campaign we hope there will be energy and enthusiasm to move forward with this dream in the future.
Our plans, hopes and dreams for our beloved Camp Krislund are bold and big. We have appreciated your generosity and support. We hope all our congregations will join us in creating a camp and conference center that in all its ministry and mission loudly proclaims the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sincerely,
Presbytery of Carlisle Presbytery of Huntingdon Presbytery of Northumberland
Executive Presbyter General Presbyter Executive Presbyter
Mark Englund-Krieger Joy Kaufmann William Knudsen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)