growing congregations that passionately engage their
TRANSCRIPT
A Newsletter of the Presbytery of New Covenant
November | December 2021
Growing congregations that passionately engage their communities to make disciples.
Making HistoryToday
Clerk’s Corner Mission & Ministry –Grants
Mission & Ministry –Remembering
Mission & Ministry –Seafarer Boxes
Events –Fresh Elastic
Community News –History, con’t.
Community News –Thanks Forbes!
Community News –“Innkeepers”
Community News –Service Center
An Unofficial History of the Presbytery
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11this edition
One of my tasks as our Presbytery’s Coordinator for the Vital Congregations Initiative has been to write a history of the Presbytery to honestly assess its joy and pain. I quickly discovered that this was a daunting task. I decided to begin with the formation of the Presbytery of New Covenant in 1980. But after blearily scanning through two years of Presbytery minutes, I gave up on going through all forty years of Presbytery meetings. I turned to oral history, interviewing a handful of people, some who had been in the Presbytery for a long time and some who had taken part in significant aspects of our Presbytery’s history. I delighted in all the stories I heard but ran out of time to interview everyone I would have liked, nor did I have the chance to fact-check what I learned. To that end, I am writing, as
my final Connections article as the VCI Coordinator, an “unofficial” history of the Presbytery of New Covenant. I want to leave with you my impressions of themes that emerged from hearing people’s stories. Many thanks to everyone who talked with me, including Jim Currie, Connie Nyquist, John and Paul Alexander, David Green, Jim Gill, Sharon Darden and Mary Currie. New Covenant was formed in 1980 as a union presbytery between the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS, also known as the “southern Presbyterian church”) and the United Presbyterian Church of the United States of America (UPCUSA, or the “northern Presbyterian church”). This happened in 1980, three years before the official reunion of these denominations to form the Presbyterian Church (USA). By 1980, the offices of Brazos (PCUS) and Gulf Coast (UPCUSA) Presbyteries had
been sharing building space in Houston and had made it relatively easy for pastors to switch denominations in order to pastor churches in the area. I don’t know all the political wrangling that went in to making this union presbytery happen, though I have heard there was some tension over what to name the Presbytery. One Presbytery voted for the “Presbytery of San Jacinto” and one Presbytery did not. Finally, the two agreed on “Presbytery of New Covenant.” I do sense that leaders worked hard to bring these two presbyteries together, both symbolically and in terms of polity. For example, the Moderator’s Cross was fashioned by Rev. Sam Lanham by melding parts of the crosses of Brazos and Gulf Coast and then setting in the new cross a stone from Mars Hill. Rev. Lanham had been a member of the Committee of Twelve, which had brought together the design for the new
Unofficial History … continued on page 4
By Rev. Rachel YoungVital Congregations Coordinator
Lynn HargroveEditor
Carrie WalkerLayout
Patricia BrantleyCirculation Manager
New Covenant Connections is a freely provided, non-profit newsletter, published in its entirety for the Glory of God by:The Presbytery of New Covenant4803 San FelipeHouston, TX 77056713-526-2585
Circulation: 137 print, 1345 digital
Next deadline: Tuesday, December 7, with distribution by the end of the month.Email: [email protected]
Send changes of address to:Patricia [email protected]
The Presbytery of New Covenantwww.pbyofnewcovenant.org
NEW COVENANTCONNECTIONSNovember | December 2021Volume 27, Edition 6
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Remembering Rightly One of the troubling platitudes many of us have heard over the years is “Forgive and forget.” Each of those words – “forgive” and “forget” – is packed with problems. As stewards of memory and history (two more words that are packed with issues), it is important for us to consider their meaning. Recently I have been helped by two books, one by a Vietnamese Christiantheologian who lives in Houston, Phuc Luu, Jesus of the East: Reclaiming theGospel for the Wounded, and one by Miroslav Volf, The End of Memory:Remembering Rightly in a Violent World. Each addresses issues that concern the individual as well as the larger community, whether secular or ecclesiastical.
And each one is helpful in enabling us to consider matters from a faith perspective. What difference does our role in following Jesus make in how we
“remember” or “forget”? Volf frames the question this way, “How can we remember rightly?” Luu helps us look at the matter of memory, love, and brokenness from an Eastern point-of-view. Both emphasize the role of honesty and truth-telling in our reflection on the past. As ones who are interested in individuals, institutions, and events in this part of God’s kingdom, for example, we are asked to consider the difference between memory and history. Volf suggests that memory is the claim for ourselves of what has gone before. God’s claim on us in the person
of Jesus Christ is not simply history; it is part of our memory. It is part of who we are. We are part of that story. Similarly, the story of our congregation is “our” story. We have a claim on it and it has a claim on us. It is part of our memory. The history of a school or a seminary or a presbytery is not simply a narrative of persons and dates; that story becomes “our” school and “our” seminary and “our” presbytery. They are by no means perfect or without warts and flaws, which we acknowledge, but they are nevertheless “ours”. To remember rightly is not to ignore painful episodes. Nor is it to focus only on the virtues in a particular story. It is to keep in mind the larger context of God’s love and grace as revealed in Jesus Christ. Luu reminds us that wounds and wounded personsare all around us, whether personal or institutional. How we deal with them, how we as the people of God appropriate them is informed by the memory that we belong to thatone who is “wounded for our transgressions, ...bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed”(Isaiah 53:5). So, as we explore and reflect on our history – whether it’s the history of acongregation or of some institution or our own relationships with others – may we do so with gratitude for that story and may we see ourselves as part of that story. That’s the spirit in which the PHSSW hopes we go about examining and reflecting on “the rockfrom which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were digged” (Isaiah 51:1).
Making History TodayRev. Dr. James S. Currie, Executive SecretaryPresbyterian Historical Society of the Southwest
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Clerk’s CornerRev. Lynn Hargrove, General Presbyter + Stated Clerkfor Administrative ProcessPresbytery of New Covenant
I sit on the board of an organization called LEAD which stands for “Living Everyday As Disciples.” It is dedicated to growing leaders, both clergy and laity, that can inspire their congregations to take the journey towards a growing sense of loving neighbors as themselves. This effort began in the Gulf Coast Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church which has similar boundaries to our own presbytery, except that they go all the way to New Orleans where we stop at the state line. At a recent retreat, we wrestled with the following passage of Scripture:
Philip and the Ethiopian26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the wilderness road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian[a] eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited
Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”[b] 34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37] [c] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea. We made several observations that seemed to parallel the times that we are living in now due to the pandemic. First, the angel told Philip to get up and go into the wilderness, and Philip got up and went. No plan, no guidance, no equipment to take – just “go!’ On the journey, he met a very important person from another culture who did not look like Philip, and would not be accepted inside the Temple although he has been to Jerusalem to worship. He was reading Scripture while sitting in his chariot. Did he have a scroll of the book of Isaiah? How did he have access to the Scriptures, especially if he might have been considered to be “unclean”?
The Holy Spirit told Philip to go to that chariot where Philip had the opportunity for a theological conversation. One can imagine that the eunuch was finding himself in this particular passage. There are no details about why or how he became a eunuch. This gave Philip the opportunity to talk about that particular passage and to share the Good News. As they traveled a little while together, the eunuch asked about being baptized after they came to some water. It must have been a large chariot, since he had to give orders for it to stop, and Philip took the opportunity to baptize the eunuch who then went on his way rejoicing. Philip disappears to appear in a town near the coast, not too far from Gaza, where he continued to preach in all the towns until he reached a different destination at least a day’s walk to the north. We pondered how ready we might be to go into the wilderness and go with the Spirit’s leading. In many ways, these days may feel like wilderness times. In our call as disciples, we are to “love our neighbors as ourselves.” How many of us fear our changing neighborhoods, or do we welcome those that might be different? How many of us are ready to have an impromptu Bible study? What sort of barriers do we put up
Clerk’s Corner... continued on page 4
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&
The next Stated Presbytery Meetingwill be by Zoom on
Saturday, November 20, 2021
Presbytery Meeting
Copy deadline forTuesday Connect
is every Monday at noon.
Send your announcements [email protected]
Tuesday Connect Copy Deadline
The next deadline for CONNECTIONS is
Tuesday, December 7 for theJanuary/February issue.
Send articles and photos toLynn Hargrove at
Connections Copy Deadline
presbytery. One thing this Presbytery has always had is strong leadership. The first two Co-Executive Presbyters were the Executive Presbyters of Brazos and Gulf Coast Presbyteries – John “Pete” Hendrick and Richard “Dick” Siciliano. Both were strong shepherds in bringing together the two presbyteries. Jack Boelens was a strong administrator, while Stew Coffman was an exquisite pastor to the pastors. Mike Cole and Lynn Hargrove brought an ecumenical spirit and passion for justice and absorbed tension, conflict, and litigation as a schism in the denomination divided the Presbytery. I am also impressed by how this presbytery has been able, over the years, to come together in common mission, despite division and conflict. Youth groups have come together for mission trips and Conclaves. Conferences for educators and church leaders sponsored by the Presbytery in the 1980s and 1990s would involve hundreds of participants from
around the Presbytery. Thousands of Presbyterians in our Presbytery showed up for rallies at Astro World in 1990 and 1991. Churches responded quickly and generously during Hurricanes Ike and Harvey to help fellow Presbyterian churches that flooded. When I first arrived in this Presbytery 12 years ago, I was impressed by the conviviality I sensed at Presbytery meetings, even when we were discussing tense topics. That said, the past 15 years have been filled with tension, conflict, and churches leaving the PC(USA). This has had an impact on the Presbytery. The loss of substantial givers to the Presbytery as well as the strain placed on the Presbytery through past lawsuits means that we have less financial resources now. Churches with long histories have closed. We have many small congregations working very hard and yet still struggling to keep their doors open. The future feels uncertain. And division is always painful, even if we ultimately disagreed with the ones who left. We have reason to grieve and lament, and I wonder if this is the next step to which God is calling us as we
Unofficial Historyfrom page 1
Clerk’s Cornerfrom page 2
seek vitality – to take an honest look at the recent past and acknowledge to God and one another that what we’ve collectively experienced is painful. This doesn’t mean we don’t celebrate the fruit (and there is always fruit, however small). But we cannot heal and move forward without naming the pain of the past and of the present. God holds us in our pain and our repentance and uses both to birth something new in us. I think of a forest after a wildfire. In the midst of burned up, scarred trees, new life buds from the ground. What new life is springing forth in the Presbytery of New Covenant, as we think about the next 40 years of our history? God declares through the Prophet Isaiah, “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” God is doing something new in our midst. I pray that in our lamenting and our rejoicing, we continue to seek that new thing. It is a privilege and a gift to be a part of the Presbytery of New Covenant.
around the sacrament of baptism, or are we ready to just “jump in” when the opportunity presents itself? How many people that we meet on a daily basis might go on their way rejoicing because of our encounter? And how might it
be to preach the Good News wherever we are, in a way that is understandable, relevant, and engaging? I share these ponderings because I ask these questions of myself. As I feel withdrawn from the world due to COVID, am I living every day as a disciple? I urge you to check out LEAD (https://waytolead.org/) and see if you
and your congregation might want to engage the work of living everyday as disciples. As we watch what seems to be the decline of our way of being church, are we ready to contemplate change? Perhaps we can walk this journey together and figure out what it means to be an every day disciple in today’s world.
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By Melissa Nelson, Northwoods Presbyterian Church, Houston
Faith in Practice
Thank You, Forbes Baker!
For over 25 years, Faith In Practice volunteers have been providing life-changing medical care for the poor in Guatemala. The network of care begins in remote villages with clinics established to offer treatment to patients with the greatest need and least access to care. Patients requiring surgery are guided through the entire process with Faith In Practice volunteers from the diagnosis in the village to a surgical location and team. They are provided with room and board as they heal in a guest house and then accompanied safely home. The Guatemalan volunteers are key to providing a continuity of care. These Guatemalan leaders become like family to the patients in their journeys to being healed. They identify the patients and manage the logistics of getting the patients to the village medical clinic and to the hospital for surgery, when appropriate. All U.S. volunteers pay for their own room and board during the one-week trip and participate on a Village Medical Team or a Surgical Team. Village teams provide basic medical care in Pediatrics, General Medicine, Gynecology, and ENT, with a full pharmacy and on-site lab
support. Some village teams also provide wheelchairs through a mobility clinic. On average 2400 patients are seen weekly by these medical teams. The surgical teams work out of 2 Guatemalan hospitals and represent the following specialties: ENT, Gynecology, General, Orthopedic, Plastics, Pediatrics, and Urology. The surgeons perform surgeries ranging from simple tumor removals to extensive scoliosis and trauma repair, as well as total hip and knee replacements. On average 60 – 100 surgical procedures are performed during each week. In 2020, Guatemala shut its borders due to COVID-19 and required a suspension of many of the Faith In Practice programs. The Guatemalan volunteers and staff did what they could to provide some medical care during the shutdown. On May 1, 2021, the Faith In Practice teams began
L to R: Sandy Roberts, Pastor Paul Nazarian, Bette Chenault, Dr. David Chenault, Melissa Nelson, and Bobby Gonzales.
A cerebral palsy patient receiving a wheelchair customized by a Guatemalan Faith In Practice staff person in a wheelchair herself.
their return to Guatemala with many protocols and protections in place to keep everyone safe. Forty (40) teams are expected to return in 2022 and hopefully the number of patients seen and surgeries performed will return to pre-COVID numbers. The Chenault Village Team #702 had 6 members of Northwoods Presbyterian Church volunteering on the team from September 25 through October 2, 2021. Rev. Linda McCarty, a Presbyterian pastor, is the President and CEO of Faith In Practice with members from several churches in our Presbytery volunteering on village and surgical teams. Faith In Practice has held the 4 Star Rating with Charity Navigator for 16 consecutive years. You can read blogs and see photos of the teams in action at https://www.faithinpractice.org/blog/
Forbes Baker is retiring on November 24 after serving as the Director of Finance for the past 15 years. Forbes came in to the presbytery at a challenging time after some
financial malfeasance and was able to rectify that situation. His expertise has guided the presbytery into a much healthier place as he has managed our financial transactions. Additionally, Forbes has staffed the Finance, Outreach, and Evangelism and Church Growth committees and has served on the presbytery’s board that oversees the work of our chaplains at Port of
Houston. Forbes, you will be missed! Blessings on your retirement. If you would like to send cards or notes, please send them to:The Presbytery of New Covenant4803 San Felipe, Houston, TX 77056Attn: Forbes Baker
Forbes Baker
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& Friends, In the familiar parable of the Good Samaritan, we see the embodiment of Christ in the risk-taking love given by the Good Samaritan to the man who has been beaten and robbed. In the parable, we learn about the story’s characters, like the Samaritan, the traveler, the Levite and the priest. There’s another character in the parable that we don’t learn much about: the role of the innkeeper. When the Samaritan brings the man to the inn, the innkeeper receives payment for the traveler’s care and agrees to restore the beaten man back to health. His is not just the profession of hospitality, it also includes healing and restoration. Day after day, we can
Appreciating “Innkeepers”picture the innkeeper changing the traumatized man’s bandages, cleaning his sheets and feeding him – work not for the faint of heart! The innkeeper provides temporary space where the traveler can safely rest before continuing his journey. Who are today’s “innkeepers”? In light of COVID-19, we may rightly think of doctors, nurses and hospitals as “innkeepers.” What about foster parents? Foster parents open their hearts and homes to provide children in the midst of trauma with healing hospitality. Foster parents offer temporary spaces of healing and rest at a time when children need it the most. They begin the patient work of restoring the hearts of children who come from hard places and build
Share Some Christmas Joy The Christmas Joy Offering reflects that God is with us, through the generous gifts that support church leaders among us, retired, present and future, who have pointed us to God. Even as we support our current and former church leaders through the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions, God is calling new leaders for our Church and world, through the ministry of Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color – offering students the means for a brighter future and enhanced opportunities to use their talents and skills to serve God, the Church, and the world for years to come.
The Christmas Joy Offering is one of four annual special offerings of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). They play an important role in defining what it means to be a connectional church in the 21st century, bringing together the diversity of our denomination to focus and take faith-based action on shared concerns. The Special Offering offer opportunities for partnership, learning, and witness as they profoundly affect the life of the church as a collective witness to the love of Jesus Christ for the whole church. Each congregation should have received information about the offering, including bulletin inserts, a poster, a leader’s guide, and colorfully decorated boxes. Offerings can be made through your congregation, or online at pcusa.org/christmasjoy or you can text CHRISTMASJOY to 91999. When we all do a little, it adds up a lot!
To make a Christmas donation, please go to giving.pchas.org. To provide a Christmas gift to a child in need, please contact [email protected].
foster homes where children can learn how to be children again. This Christmas, PCHAS invites your “Samaritan” donations in support of our “innkeepers.” We welcome in-kind gifts for kids in our care through our Angel Tree Program, and prayers for every child and family we serve. By sharing God’s love through your donation, Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services can continue to restore children back to health and happiness.
We invite you to use this coloring art, designed by A Sanctified Art LLC, to celebrate the 2021 Christmas Joy Offering.
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&Presbyterian Service Center Serves Senior Adults
CUPS Health and Education Ministry Reaches Across the Border
Sixty plus years ago, Dr. Charles Boyd purchased 5.3 Acres of wooded property on Westover Street in Houston. The dream was to put a clinic on the property, along with housing for handicapped people of any age. He was wheelchair bound, as were his wife’s elderly parents. This patch of land was to become housing for this specialized group and/or those 65 or older. Four more duplexes were placed on the property, and there development stopped. The clinic is gone, the housing remains, as does the need. Dr. Boyd and his family passed away, but the Presbyterian Service Center remains. It does not take genius to realize the existing property was deteriorating and about half of the property was begging for development. Three members of the then existing
board pulled together a new board. A board with a vision! A vision of the acreage developed to meet the need for which it was designed. A vision that it should meet the needs of an ever increasing population with disabilities, but with incomes from social security and disability checks based on salaries of years ago. That board temporarily became property managers, planners, and empathizers to the existing residents. They rehabbed empty units, mowed lawns, fixed leaking roofs, and chopped up fallen trees. That board is now ready to hand the property management to professionals in the field. We are working with Volunteers of America, an international Christian based organization, to manage the property and maybe even join hands with them for future development. This will allow the board to work on current needs, future development, and finding resources to do what has to be done to fulfill the necessities of people not as blessed as we. Last Christmas, a small group from
Clear Lake Presbyterian Church was able to bring a bit of cheer to the residents by singing carols while maintaining social distancing, and bringing home baked cookies and poinsettias. The resident who has lived there the longest, (nearly 20 years), and is also the youngest, (just 50), said he had not seen his mother in almost a year. Due to recent surgery, he could not risk exposure to anything. As he turned his chair and wheeled into his home, he said, “Thank You, now I can face the rest of the day.” To learn more about the ministry of the Presbyterian Service Center, please contact Bill Scott ([email protected]).
Singing Christmas carols
Students learning on new donated computers
Visitors bringing cheer
Communidades Unidades Pro Salud/Communities United For Health has reached across the border with Mexico for more than 30 years. Early projects included building housing in Matamoros and Valle Hermoso. A next phase was providing clean water for seven communities. Community health clinics followed that before adding schools and community centers. At this time, CUPS seeks donations of used computers for use in Mexican classrooms, including primary, secondary, and high schools. The only requirements are:
1. Desktop or Laptop computer in good working condition 2. Computer capable of running Windows 7 or Windows 10 operating system (minimum of 1 GB RAM, 1 GHz processor, 80 GB hard drive, optical drive, ie. either CD or DVD) 3. One or more functioning USB ports (USB 2.0+) CUPS installs a Spanish language OS (either Win 7 or Win 10) and a Spanish language version of Microsoft Office before taking the computers to Mexico. In many cases, CUPS also
assists the school in constructing or configuring a computer classroom. Donations can be brought to the Kingwood, Sugar Land, and Galleria areas in Houston. For more information, please visit https://cupsmission.org/
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& The Presbytery of New Covenant is fortunate to be able to offer five types of grants to member congregations and affiliated organizations. This year, there were two grant periods – one in the spring, and another in the fall. The recipients of the fall grants are: Vision Initiative – project goals are to increase the membership in the presbytery. This can be through new church development, congregational redevelopment, outreach to those outside the church, or other ministries. Grand Lakes Korean Church, Katy (New Worshipping Community) received $5,500 for four Community Music Concerts. Funds will help to pay for the musicians, equipment, food, and other items.Brenham Presbyterian Church, Brenham received $7,000 to “Stream the Words of Life” including upgrades to audio visual equipment to improve the streaming of worship services and other ministry activities.First Presbyterian Church, Navasota
Outreach Committee Awards Grants
Interfaith Thanksgiving Service
received $10,000 for a renovation of their church nursery and adjacent office space to be able to welcome more children.St. John’s Presbyterian Church, Houston received $10,000 to upgrade their education building to be able to accommodate a new Montessori type school to reach children in their neighborhood.St. Thomas Presbyterian Church, Houston received $7,000 for design costs for a kitchen remodel to be licensed to allow partner non-profit organizations to be able to use their facility. Lynn Johnson Social Justice – project goals are to address issues of social justice, particularly for issues concerning equality and inclusion of all persons regardless of sexual orientation. Maximum grant is $2,000.Webster Presbyterian Church, Webster received $2,000 to sponsor an asylum seeking family with the costs of housing, education, food, medical and
other costs.First Presbyterian Church, Navasota received $2,000 for the Nehemiah after-school program.Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services received $2000 for their Single Parent Family Program. Peacemaking - activity can take varied forms, but generally seeks to bring people of diverse races, cultures, ethnicities, or religions closer together. Projects might include environmental concerns, arms control, and gun safety. Maximum grant is $2,000.Northwoods Presbyterian Church, Houston received $2,000 for a 6 week series called “Sustainability: A Christian Responsibility,” which will focus on the response to the challenge of climate change. We are grateful that we can offer these grants yearly. Applications for 2022 will be available beginning in January with a deadline of April 30. More information will be posted at http://pbyofnewcovenant.org/
The Annual Houston Interfaith Thanksgiving Service 2014
The 36th Annual Houston Interfaith Thanksgiving Service, to be held Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 7:00 p.m., will take place at St. PhilipPresbyterian Church, 4807 San Felipe, in the Galleria District of Houston.The theme for this year’s service is “The Gift of Life.” Representatives from nine religious faiths, including Bahai, Buddhism, Christian, Hinduism,Islam, Jain, Judaism, Sikhism, and Zoroastrian, will read a passage fromtheir sacred text and then share a brief interpretation of the text, as itrelates to the theme of the service. The first Interfaith Thanksgiving Service was a response from theEcumenism Commission of the
Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston when a mosque was firebombed in Houston 39 years ago. The purpose of this event is for faith communities to come together at a special time that is
shared by all people, Thanksgiving, to see how various faiths express themselves in worship. Covid protocols for wearing masks and social distancing will be observed.
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We All Have Made America (Stronger): Remembering Our Hispanic Heritage
In his interesting and provocative, best-seller book Made in America, Bill Bryson tries to bring us closer to the history of how the English language evolved in the United States. This book is a lot more of a history of the United States than a history of the English language. Besides supplying us with historical and funny facts about the origin of words culled from everyday activities: eating, shopping, sports, advertising, going to the movies, and others, Bill reminds us very creatively of the very heart and fabric of the American nation through something as sacred as the English language to Americans - even though the founding fathers wisely conceived this nation without an official religion and language, as way to distance themselves from any British tyranny. There is an undeniable truth at the center of the book: this country is a country of immigrants, and its history has been the history of a country where people from all over the world have left
their homes and their families to risk everything and come here bringing their own culture and language, which has impacted not only the society but also American English. As a Cuban immigrant and adoptive son of this country, it was very easy for me to connect with Bill’s approach, especially as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 - October 15. It would be an understatement to say that the Hispanic (or Latinx) culture and the Spanish language are gaining more and more momentum in the US. It is a phenomenon that many call the “Latin Wave” that affects everything from music and food to sports, politics, the economy of the country and even the religious life. The signs are everywhere: America’s top baseball teams are made up of large numbers of Latino players; Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, Benicio del Toro and many more are transforming Hollywood and the music industry. Currently, more tortillas than bagels and more salsa than ketchup are sold in the United States. The purchasing power of Hispanics is over 2 trillion dollars. The United States is already the country with the largest number of Spanish speakers in the world (with the exception of Mexico) and Spanish is heard in every corner of the nation, including the White House. In the context of Christian faith, Hispanic churches have over the past decades been growing, impacting the Christian landscape in the US
with a colorful and powerful way of worshiping. As a way to respond to this reality, we at Northwoods Presbyterian Church have been dreaming of a new bilingual (English-Spanish) worshiping community in our area. Following this dream, I recently hosted a dinner gathering at my house with some Hispanic families from Northwoods to celebrate the Hispanic Heritage Month and ultimately to brainstorm about what kind of a Latinx church we would like to be. It was a beautiful experience where everyone had the opportunity to share not only our visions but also our culinary traditions. Besides this opportunity the gathering also helped us to realize something else. Among us there was an engineer, a businessman, an entrepreneur, a college professor, a senior caregiver, and a prison chaplain. Each of us felt that when we decided to make the US our home, we brought something unique to this country that made it more beautiful, despite the discrediting rhetoric that tries to emphasize the negative aspects of immigration. The same anti-immigrant rhetoric has always been present in the history of the US. But as Bill Byrson proved at the end of his book… “If history is anything to go by, then some things about America’s immigrants are as certain today as they ever were: Immigrants will become Americans and this country will be stronger for it.”
First dinner gathering of El Camino Presbyterian Church. October 9, 2021.
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The Presbytery Christmas Open House has been cancelled but hopefully we can turn the holiday
celebration into a Spring Fling. We wish you, your family and friends a joyous Christmas!
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&Christmas Boxes Have a Lasting Impact
New Online Leader Training Helps Churches Begin or Expand Stephen Ministry
Each year, thousands of Christmas boxes are distributed in December to the seafarers who dock along the 25 mile long Houston Ship Channel. This note was received by someone at St. Andrew’s in Houston a couple of months ago:
Dear friends,I’m writing you on behalf of my husband Josip. Sometime between 2000 and 2010 he arrived to Houston as a member of the crew on a Slovenian vessel. It seems the members of your church were involved in the Seafarer’s Center activities at that time. That was very helpful for the seamen from abroad. Besides, it was Christmas time and he got some simple, but useful presence and a card from then little girl Bridgette. He has kept this card for years as he had fond memories of those days. Today he remember this again and I had to find the old card for him. The thing is that
he suffers from lung cancer, and his condition is difficult. That’s why I was inspired to let you know of this. Please, pray for him as he isn’t believer. God bless you all.
Greetings from Croatia,from Julijana and Josip
Many of the congregations in the Houston area prepare Christmas boxes. Items such as hygiene products, new clothing (caps, t-shirts, socks, work gloves), pocket size notebooks with pens and pencils, game books like Sudoku, playing cards, 2022 pocket calendar, flashlights and batteries, USB drives, earbuds or headphones, sewing kits, gum and hard candy, Texas souvenirs, and other items can be included in a standard size shoe box. The hygiene items should be full size such as body wash, shampoo/conditioner, lotion, shaving cream, or deodorant. Items such as toothbrushes, Christmas boxes wrapped and ready to go.
toothpaste, dental floss, disposable razors, lip balm, cloth band aids, nail clippers, combs, and hairbrushes should be in their original packaging. You might include a card to say who the present is from. Wrap the box in festive paper without a bow. Boxes can be taken to the Howard Tellepsen Seafarers Center, located at 9750 High Level Road, just inside Gate 1 at the Port of Houston (713-672-0511 please call to let them know you are coming), or delivered to the Presbytery office at 4803 San Felipe St., Houston.
Stephen Ministries St. Louis offers a new training for caring ministry leaders through a live, interactive online training experience called the Bridge Leader’s Training Course (BLTC). The BLTC draws on newly redesigned and updated resources to equip participants with the skills and know-how to lead all aspects of their congregation’s Stephen Ministry. This includes training a team of congregation members as lay caregivers (called Stephen Ministers), matching them with hurting people in the congregation and community, and offering ongoing guidance and support to Stephen Ministers as they provide one-to-one, Christ-centered care to people experiencing a wide range of
life difficulties. The new training and resources carry this ministry into the future, preparing congregations to meet the ministry challenges of an ever-changing world. The Bridge Leader’s Training Course is delivered via Zoom to cohorts of twenty people, led by two members of Stephen Ministries’ teaching faculty. Each session uses a variety of teaching methods—presentation, small- and whole-group discussions, skill practice, video, and more. The course consists of ten sessions held twice weekly for five weeks or once weekly for ten weeks. Participants have been welcomed from churches across the United States and Canada, as well as from other countries
including Australia, China, Germany, and Switzerland. Since the initial cohort in July 2020, more than a thousand individuals representing hundreds of congregations have completed the training from the convenience of their own home or office and are now serving as Stephen Leaders. To learn more about Stephen Ministry, visit www.stephenministries.org or call (314) 428-2600. Additional information about the Bridge Leader’s Training Course is available at www.stephenministries.org/bridge.
pbyofnewcovenant.org | New Covenant CONNECTIONS |November - December 2021 | 11
November 7 Daylight Savings Time ends
November 11 Veterans Day
November 25 Thanksgiving Day The Presbytery office will be closed November 25 and 26
November 28 First Sunday of Advent
November 30 Giving Tuesday
December 19 Christmas Joy Offering
December 24 - 27 Christmas Holidays The Presbytery Office will be closed and reopen on Tuesday, December 28
On the calendar
What a time we have all experienced these last months! Masks and vaccinations and quarantines! Oh my! Not to mention zoom sessions, social distancing, and virtual church and Sunday School. It has certainly been a time of change and learning for those of us who serve the church and we are coming out of it wiser and stronger. So, now, it is time to come back together, face to face, to share and fellowship! The SEALs have missed the Fresh Elastic gatherings and are inviting you to join us to make up for a little lost time. Let’s get together for some reunion fun and talk about what has challenged us and sustained us over these pandemic times. Please bring your ideas about what Fresh Elastic can offer to this group as we
move forward into this new phase of ministry in the church. If you are a volunteer, paid staff person, teaching elder or have a heart for education, you are invited. It will be our pleasure to serve you lunch, complete with a beverage and dessert! Your RSVP will assist our planning. Please send replies to [email protected] by Monday morning, November 8. This session will be facilitated by folks with a seasoned heart for education. Feel free to contact any one of them if you have questions.• ConnieNyquist ([email protected])• KimShrull ([email protected])• AnneWilson ([email protected]
Thursday, November 11, 202111:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Presbytery Center | 4803 San Felipe St., Houston
Fresh elastic For stretched-out educators
rescheduled event
United CampUs ministryin aggieland presents
An Evening with theRev. Nadia Bolz-Weber
Thursday, November 18, 2021Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Dinner served at 7:00 p.m.Hildebrand Equine Complex Auditorium
Tickets and more information available at TX.AG/AGGIELAND
12 |November - December 2021 | New Covenant CONNECTIONS | pbyofnewcovenant.org
A gathering for High School age youth, youth leaders and young adults in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Cumberland Presbyterian Churches.
God has called us to be together to SEE God’s people, andto SEE and explore what it means to truly SEE each other.
There is a place for you to be, to see, and to be seen... in July 2022.A place where young Presbyterians will gather together to activate their next steps in faith,
exploring the intersection of justice, courage and vision.For more information about this event, go to PresbyterianYouthTriennium.org
Sunday, November 149:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Atascocita Presbyterian Church19426 Atasca Oaks Dr., Atascocita, TX 77346Masks are required
Theme:
Rebuilding
“ Your cities, people of God, will be rebuilt, much larger and more prosperous than before.”
Micah 7:11
NEw LoCATioN: indiana Convention Center, indianapolisAll Presbyterian Youth Triennium participants attend this event as a delegation.
watch for information from Aaron Seay, our PYCC Youth Coordinator