A Time for Actions: A Call from The Office of Public Witness of PC(USA)

The week of May 24th will be remembered as a week of lament, mourning, grief, and outrage. Death has been a constant presence throughout the world as lives have been impacted by loss and pain. The most troubling aspect is the fact that so much of it is unwarranted. The simple fact is that people are dying needlessly due to the reality that the resources of this world are not equally nor equitably distributed. Our grief is compounded by the fact that there is intentionality in the suffering inflicted.

The killing of George Floyd, an unarmed African American man, is a tragic opportunity for this nation to come to grips with the fact that the country in which we live has never truly repented of its racist roots. Despite our magnificent words of freedom and justice, neither have ever been evenly distributed to people of color. We want an end to racism and its devastating impact, but that takes determination and, ultimately, sacrifice.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) has compiled a record of speaking against injustice, issuing statements, and defending the oppressed. Every Presbyterian who has seen the video of the death of Mr. George Floyd has to be filled with repulsion and disgust. The fact that one human being could kill another so blatantly and without hesitation in the presence of eyewitnesses, causes each one of us to wonder, “what type of world do we live in when something like this can happen?”

The racist elements in our society must be named before they can be expunged. The excesses of the criminal justice system, which result in the murder of people in the streets and unjust sentencing in the courts, must be ended. Wealth in the hands of a few must be fairly distributed for the benefit of all.

We are people of faith who believe that God is the “creator of the heavens and the earth.” God is a God of love and equally a God of justice. So how do we, as a people called to emulate the actions of a just God, respond? More specifically, for our white brothers and sisters, how will you seek justice for and protect our neighbors of color who are burden by racism?

Are you willing to do what it takes to achieve racial justice in our country? Are you ready to make sacrifices so that others might have a more meaningful life? Are you prepared to let go of your privilege so that others may benefit? How will you respond?

 “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?  If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?  So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”- James 2:14-16



My Take...

The above statement comes from our PCUSA office of Pubic Witness and I strongly agree.  For people of color, there is often a different standard that is applied in our society. Too often minorities are treated with disrespect and inhumanity, suspicion and a presumption of guilt.  Many other segments of our society simply do not understand the struggle that people of color have to endure daily.  We still live in a very segregated country.  There have been so many names, Breonna Taylork Ahmaud Arbery, George Flyod, Tony McDade among just a few that have been victims of injustice.  

Charlottesville showed the country at white supremacy is still alive and well and gaining influence in both the United States. It has been 75 years since the holocaust and it has been shocking to see how Jews are still being targeted by hate groups.  In October 2018 a man stormed the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburg, in 2019, a man armed with a rifle fired shots inside a Chabad synagogue, in December, attackers killed three people at a kosher supermarket, and on and on the lists go.   A deadly mass shooting in El Paso where 23 people were killed, was the deadliest attack on Latinos in modern American history. 

Racism is alive.  Too often, the church in the United States has been complicit in the institutional racism that exists in different parts of our society.  We have to acknowledge our role in promoting racism and racial stereotypes, in excusing discrimination against minorities, in casting suspicion on movements seeking justice, on seeking to discount, discredit and belittle the experience of minorities.  

Collectively, the church must name this sin as our sin, we must lament and strive against it, help to empower communities of color, stop and listen to the stories that we may be too unfamiliar with.  Our world is too filled with injustice, hate, and inequality.  The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of justice and righteousness.  It is a kingdom that seeks to set free those that are oppressed, and to honor the humanity and dignity of all people.  We as Christians must lead the way in saying enough is enough.  We must continue to work to demand that racist attitudes in our society be changed by changing our hearts, by seeking to understand before being understood.  

May we strengthen our resolve to see a fairer and just society this Pentecost season.  

Pastor Omar
Forest City, Florida

New Models for the Office of Deacon

I wanted to share the article below published on line through Presbyterian Today magazine by Sherry Blackman, because it features our neighborhood sister church Howey in the Hills Community Church (PCUSA) and Rev Linda Jaberg.  Not all Presbyterian Churches are able to utilize the office of Deacon for a number of reasons.  This article points out the reality of many congregations that no longer are able to utilize the office and are looking for new ways to provide pastoral care and member care through members that are called to a ministry of compassion.  I hope that this article will be a good resource to addressing issues related to one of the oldest problems of the church that goes back to the book of Acts, when the apostles recognized the need to serve meals to the needy.  

Churches are developing new models for more relevant ministry

By Sherry Blackman | Presbyterians Today

At Community Church in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., all worshipers are encouraged to care for one another. Three years ago, the traditional board of deacons was replaced with a care team. Courtesy of Community Church 

Since the early church, the office of deacon has been an integral part of ministry, with men and women called to care for the needs of the faith community. In the Book of Acts, Stephen was among the first of seven deacons appointed by the elders to alleviate the burgeoning care of widows and orphans. With the appointment of these deacons — which comes from the Greek word diakonos, which means “servant” — the elders were then able to focus on preaching and teaching.

Today, though, there seems to be ambiguity as to what a deacon does. There are deacons wondering if their only job is to send get-well, birthday and anniversary cards to members. There are clergy who see beyond greeting card ministries and train deacons to share in visiting the sick and lonely, only to be frustrated when the care of their congregations continues to fall solely on their shoulders. And then there are nominating committee members tasked with filling vacant deacon slots, who are disheartened by the small pool of candidates to choose from and then are told “no thanks” by the few.

These questions and challenges are making many church leaders ask, “Is it time for an ancient ministry to be overhauled?”

The Rev. Dr. Earl S. Johnson, honorably retired, thought so — back in 1992. It was then, at the 204th General Assembly, Johnson presented a report titled “The Presbyterian Deacon: An Essential Guide” that suggested “deacons could model new and even risky ways of serving.”

Now some three decades later, the pressures of serving an aging church population, coupled with fewer members and leaner pastoral staffs, have led congregations to reach for new models.

Widening the circle of care

Faced with a membership roll of about 50 members, and with 75% of the community beyond the church at retirement age or older, the Rev. Linda McCardle Jaberg, transitional pastor of Community Church in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida, has established a care team rather than a board of deacons.

The team currently includes nine people, some of whom had served as deacons in the past. “The only requirement to be part of the team is to have a passion for caring for others,” said Jaberg. “Anyone from the congregation can volunteer or be recruited to serve.”

The team has been in place for three years, and Jaberg says it is “working pretty well.” Each member of the team is assigned one to three people that they are to “care” for by checking in with them at least once a month. As for serving communion to shut-ins, elders now have that responsibility.

Jaberg says that the care team — not the pastor — is “the first level of congregational care” at the church. To nurture the care team, and in fact, to nurture all the ministries at the church, Jaberg says that “compassionate care” is “intentionally layered” into every meeting or small group gathering. Compassionate care includes a time for Bible study, prayer and sharing with one another what is going on in their lives. By doing so, she says, a deep connection has formed among the members of the church, and an understanding of how participants can minister to one another has grown. Jaberg has also discovered that meetings “go better and tend to be shorter” as compassionate care is practiced.

Shorter deacon terms

Several years ago, First Presbyterian Church of Rockaway in New Jersey, was faced with the difficulty of getting people to serve on the board of deacons, mainly because of the high rate of burnout their deacons experienced.

Graphic by Mark Thomson 

“People were overwhelmed with their responsibilities. They were responsible for getting ushers and communion servers, and preparing communion and meals,” said Joe Martinoni, an elder at First Presbyterian of Rockaway, adding that many of the deacons were also serving two consecutive three-year terms.

Realizing that the church “needed a new beginning,” Martinoni says that the bylaws were changed to commission deacons for a one-year term rather than three years. “More people are willing to make that kind of commitment,” he said. In addition to the one-year term, there is also no limit as to how many consecutive terms a deacon can serve.

Currently, nine deacons minister to those within the church and outside in the community. They are not on a board of deacons, but like Jaberg’s church, belong to a congregational care committee. However, First Presbyterian Church of Rockaway’s deacons do serve communion to those who are homebound or ill. They also oversee the prayer chain, deliver meals that are needed, track church visitors and host new member breakfasts, Lenten lunches and Sunday fellowship hours.

Lisa DiBonaventura, a deacon who serves as the communion coordinator, says changing the bylaws and creating a care committee “opened up more opportunities for everyone in the church to be involved.”

“When I first became a deacon 20 years ago, there were a lot more deacons, so we could handle all the responsibilities and needs of the church. As the number of deacons dwindled, the need for more help in caring for our congregation grew,” DiBonaventura said.

Diminishing numbers overall continue, she says, but the congregational care committee is “a fantastic, hard-working group of people who are committed to the care of our congregation and supporting each other.”

Dissolving the board of deacons

The Rev. Melodie Haag Long is the transitional pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, which has a membership of 200. During their transitional process, she says the board of deacons was dissolved — requiring a change in bylaws — as the church examined the role of deacons in its overall ministry.

“When we looked at what the deacons had been doing, their duties revolved around social events, such as dinners, coffee hours and communion preparation. We wanted to move to a relationship model where commissioned individuals serve under a congregational care committee,” said Long.

By doing so, she says that deacons, who still serve for a three-year term, are doing the work of witness, caring and compassion — and are helping to prevent pastor burnout.

“One of the things that contributes to pastor burnout is [the expectation] that the pastor will visit every person. That is not the way it was set up biblically or in our Presbyterian polity,” said Long. “We’ve moved away from a diaconate to a congregational care model, where deacons will work with the pastor.”

Long reports that the move to a congregational care model has meant more congregants have stepped up and taken over the social events of the church, such as coffee hours and dinners. A worship committee handles communion preparation. Elders, as well as deacons, have taken on the task of bringing communion to the homebound, Long adds. Training is available for offering home communion with a prepared liturgy and a home communion kit.

With the congregational care committee in place, what is emerging is a church that is embracing a new identity.

“The deacons are nurturing relationships,” Long said, adding, “How do we tell the world we care for others, when we don’t care for one another?”

The return of the deacons

Back in the 1960s, Highland Presbyterian Church in Louisville disbanded its board of deacons, which was responsible for the care of people, as well as the property and finances. In its place, a five-person care committee was created. The property and financial responsibilities were given to the session.

Five years ago, though, the church brought back the board of deacons, complete with 15 members who would focus solely on witness, care and compassion as defined in the Book of Order. According to the Rev. Megan McCarty, associate pastor for mission and membership, the move to reestablish a board of deacons was made simply because “our care team was too small, and there were too many member needs.”

The church of about 800 members, with a pastoral staff of three, defines the ministry of deacons as such: “From birth to death, life is filled with needs that the deacons support. The deacons celebrate babies born, grieve in times of loss, and offer support to the church when people are recovering from surgery, are lonely, or simply need a caring presence.”

The deacons meet monthly with McCarty to share what the needs of the congregation are, who is in the hospital and what they need, which may include visits, meals, transportation and taking communion to those who are homebound or in nursing care facilities. They oversee the prayer quilt ministry, prepare for funeral receptions, create care kits for those being treated for cancer, and welcome new babies. The deacons also look for new ways to help those going through a critical time.

“We have a young woman who is undergoing cancer treatment, and the deacons have arranged for her to receive a card every day over the last two years,” said McCarty.

Sherry Blackman is the pastor of Presbyterian Church of the Mountain in Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania.

---

A creative deacon approach

Breaking down the needs for better care

For the Rev. Hunter Camp of Memorial Presbyterian Church in St. Augustine, Florida, the old deacon model of assigning families to individual deacons to care for — sometimes up to 30 families per deacon — just wasn’t going to “cut it,” especially in a congregation with over 800 members, and growing.

“The old model wasn’t serving the deepest needs of the church,” said Camp, explaining that for the deacons who were assigned young families, the responsibilities were often overwhelming, leaving many feeling paralyzed.

“Over the years, many deacons simply mailed birthday cards to households,” he said. The card ministry started becoming the predominant task of the deacons, which Camp says, “left deacons feeling that their work was insignificant.”

That has now changed to a model of care at Memorial Presbyterian that focuses on placing 21 deacons into the following four teams, each with its specific tasks:

• The “BeLoved” Team is responsible for visits, calls, cards and home communion.
• The Health Navigator Team offers resource referrals to help members navigate medical issues and life transitions due to health or housing needs.
• The Reception Team expresses hospitality and care to family and friends during life remembrances (funeral receptions) and celebrations.
• The First Friends Team connects new members to the life and activities of Memorial Presbyterian by providing one-on-one interactions and group fellowship opportunities.

According to Camp, the team model has given deacons a greater sense of satisfaction and energy as it taps into their individual gifts and passions.

“Now our deacons are becoming more integral to the caring ministry of the church,” said Camp. “They have become vital to the life of the entire church community.”

— Sherry Blackman

Eight Steps for Churches to Take for Mental Health Month

Ministry releases eight steps for congregations and pastors to get active

by Darla Carter | Presbyterian News Service

The COVID-19 crisis has “brought home the relevance of mental health to everyone,” says Donna Miller, Associate for the Presbyterian Mental Health Ministry. (Photo by Rich Copley)

LOUISVILLE — May ushers in Mental Health Month, an annual observance that takes on greater significance this year because of the global pandemic.

The COVID-19 crisis has “brought home the relevance of mental health to everyone,” said Donna Miller, Associate for Presbyterian Mental Health Ministry. “There’s this recognition that the situation that we’re in increases mental health vulnerability across the board. We know that prolonged stress does that for people.”

From front-line workers to average citizens dealing with the repercussions of grief, racism and economic insecurity, there are a host of people within churches and their communities who may need help coping with trauma and emotional distress.

With that in mind, the ministry has released a new tip sheet containing eight suggestions for pastors and congregations on how to put mental health in the forefront this month and make it a topic of conversation and study for individuals and groups.

The pandemic has resulted in more than 63,000 U.S. deaths, upended normal life and enhanced pre-existing stressors. There is the risk of social isolation while people are separated from loved ones, and increased vulnerabilities for domestic violence and child abuse while people are working remotely or jobless and many school campuses remain closed.

All of this “highlights the need for us to pay attention to mental health in ourselves and our loved ones and friends and neighbors,” Miller said. “Mental health experts and public health experts are talking about the fact that everyone is under increased stress. We need to find the ways to manage stress and build resilience that work for us.”

Ways to spotlight Mental Health Month include disseminating a pastoral letter linking congregations to the Presbyterian Mental Health Ministry’s collections of resources, using digital spaces to support prayer and peer support groups, taking advantage of online training in skills of mental health first aid and suicide prevention, and joining community efforts to bring hope and happiness to people during the pandemic.

“Connection is so important,” Miller said. “This is a time when connections are less incidental and more intentional.”

Additional material from the Presbyterian Mental Health Ministry will be posted online soon, including hotline numbers and resources to assist specific groups, such as parents and families. It will join an existing collection of COVID-19 mental health materials released earlier this year.

“There are great resources talking about how to cope with anxiety — your own and how to help your children with fears they may be having, how to cope with anger and frustration that comes up when you’re at home and you’re trying to juggle jobs and children,”  Miller said.

Mental health was a strong topic of interest within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) even before the pandemic. Examples include an ongoing Mental Health Ministry initiative and the creation of the Presbyterian Mental Health Network, which is in its formative stages.

A churchwide survey on mental health drew 6,000 responses, including nearly 4,000 from ministers. The survey also garnered 2,000 individual comments.

“That was a really robust kind of response and interest, and there were also 400 requests for more information about resources that we responded to,” Miller said.

She anticipates that the need for mental health assistance and resources will continue as the effects of the pandemic manifest in different ways. “Public health experts are predicting there is going to be a wave of mental health impacts that will follow the wave of COVID,” Miller said.

The Presbyterian Mental Health Ministry is one of the Compassion, Peace and Justice ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency.   

You may freely reuse and distribute this article in its entirety for non-commercial purposes in any medium. Please include author attribution, photography credits, and a link to the original article. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDeratives 4.0 International License.

PCUSA Mission Agency Link to original article

How the Presbyterian Hunger Program is assisting with Covid-19 global Pandemic

If you’re poor, social distancing is nearly impossible

by Valéry Nodem, Presbyterian Hunger Program | Special to Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE — The whole world has come to a pause over the last two months as the coronavirus hit almost all countries on the planet. From just a few hundred people infected in January, there are currently more three million confirmed cases around the world. The message across countries has been the same: wash hands regularly, practice social distancing, cover coughs and sneezes, wear a mask, and clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces.

For those living in the United States, the richest country in the world, most of these measures have been hard to apply. COVID-19 took nearly everyone by surprise and has drastically changed the way people live their lives.

Many things that we have always taken for granted like hand sanitizers, toilet paper, masks and gloves have become extremely hard to find. Testing was delayed in the U.S. and still is not broadly available. States are still trying to secure much needed ventilators and Personal Protective Equipment. More than 26 million people  have filed unemployment over the past five weeks, a historic record. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 957,000 people have been confirmed positive, and nearly 54,000 people had died as of Sunday.

If COVID-19 has had all these drastic consequences for the United States, what will be the impacts for countries in the developing world that do not have the resources that wealthier countries like the United States have?

Since COVID-19 began spreading, Presbyterian Hunger Program has been in touch with our partners around the world to find out how they are doing, how their countries and communities are responding to the pandemic, and how we can be of help in these challenging times. The stories we have heard are breathtaking.

In most countries where we work, social distancing is a real challenge, and seems impossible for most poor families. Many economies are informal, or gig economies, and people rely on going out and making the money that will help the family to get food on that specific day. According to our partner from CISCOPE in Nigeria, Peter Egwudah, “For most communities, it seems like the choice is to die from coronavirus or die from hunger.”

The response from most governments has been very slow, and very late. Many countries do not have adequate capacities to respond to the crisis. A country like South Sudan, with more than 12 million people, has been able to run only 70 tests so far, with 4 confirmed cases. Devastated by years of civil war, the country only has 24 isolation beds, and is not prepared if COVID-19 infects large numbers of the population.

Inflation has gone up rapidly in many countries, and food and essentials are not affordable for the very poor and marginalized communities. Since many borders have been closed, countries and communities that were reliant on imported food and goods have had to pay a higher price, as supplies have decreased, and it takes longer for these goods to be available in stores. Jaff Bamenjo, the Coordinator of RELUFA, the Joining Hands network in Cameroon, said that since his country closed its borders and also suspended the importation of animal and fisheries products from countries affected by the pandemic, the prices of these products have soared in local markets, and the majority of the population is not able to afford them.

In the United States and in many developed countries, governments have announced a set of measures that will help relaunch their economies, support families in need and help the private sector get back on its feet. However, very few developing countries are able to provide such support or additional resources to people confined at home and unable to work.

The need for social distancing has meant that humanitarian and other development workers are not able to continue the work they do in close proximity with the poorest communities. This means that frontline communities, “the least of these,” risk being abandoned and left without the urgent assistance needed in the middle of this pandemic.

The good news is that a lot of our partner organizations are respecting health protocols and recommendations but are also not leaving the field and abandoning local communities. PHP is discussing with partner organizations to see if some of the original funded projects need to be modified so that organizations can respond to pressing needs created by COVID-19. Paul Raja Rao, the Director of BIRDS in India, is working on COVID-19 in villages where they are constructing toilets with funding from PHP. They are planning to provide sanitizers, masks and food supplies to daily wage laborers, and looking for more resources to extend their work. Their plan is to work in 25 villages and add the 80 villages that are covered by another PHP partner, Chethana, in South India. BIRDS is also targeting older and sick people with their operation.

Red Uniendos Manos Peru, the Joining Hands network in Peru, is developing plans to support Venezuelan refugees in Peru. More than 210,000 refugees and migrants have found themselves in a highly vulnerable situation as they have no access to the government’s financial subsidies. Venezuelan migrants in the city of Lima constitute a disadvantaged population due to their precarious status and options in Peru. Refugees and migrants often have underlying health problems stemming from poor nutrition, poor housing conditions, or prolonged lack of access to healthcare due to health systems having collapsed in their country of origin and limitations of access to the health service in the host country. These conditions place them in a situation of greater vulnerability to COVID-19. Red Uniendos Manos Peru’s plan is to reduce the risk of the spread of COVID-19 amongst these vulnerable families and to improve their stability.

This COVID-19 crisis is teaching us many lessons. The first one is that we are all in the same boat. Rich and poor are all able to catch it. Industrialized and non-industrialized countries are exposed and suffering. White people and people of color; men and women. All of a sudden, social status and class doesn’t seem to matter. May we see and realize that and break barriers that divide us and create us vs them. We need to do better to be our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. May we open our door to the sick and the oppressed and speak for those who cannot speak.

Workers in sugarcane plantations in El Salvador work very long hours, use lots of pesticides and receive little pay. Many suffer from chronic kidney disease. They are organizing to improve their working and living conditions, and to reduce the use of pesticides in agriculture. (Photo by Valéry Nodem)

Another lesson is that change is possible if we want it to happen and work for it. For decades, there have been conversations about reducing our consumption and carbon footprint, and that seemed to never happen. Just a few months after we’ve all been confined to our houses, pollution has dropped significantly in many parts of the world where people rarely could see the blue sky or mountain ridges. In many places, wild animals are roaming wild again. With fewer cars on the road and fewer factories open, we are giving the planet a much-needed rest and an opportunity for healing.

May we come out of this with more respect for nature and for all its creatures. May we be reminded that we are the stewards of Creation, not its owners.  May we be encouraged to continue our fight for justice because we know change is possible and it is our call.

Valéry Nodem is associate for International Hunger Concerns for the Presbyterian Hunger Program. He coordinates both the international development work of PHP and the global advocacy work of the Joining Hands Initiative.

The work of the Presbyterian Hunger Program is possible thanks to your gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing.

Article used by permission:

Click on original PCUSA link for Presbyterian Mission

Easter Worship Link for Presbyterian Easter Worship from Presbyterian Chapel in Louisville

I encourage you to join the Presbyterian Church for a special Easter service from the Presbyterian Center in downtown Louisville.  The Rev. Dr. J Herbert Nelson will be leading the worship during this unprecedented time of social distancing and stay at home orders.  I anticipate that you will be blessed by this service.  Below is a link to the service as well as a letter from the Presbyterian Mission Agency giving the background to this beautiful service.  May we rejoice this Easter in the victory of God in Jesus Christ!  

Link to video also provided below

Link to Easter Video Presbyterian Church (USA)

On Friday morning, March 27, the Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, walked into the chapel of the Presbyterian Center in downtown Louisville. With his white robe in one arm and sermon notes in the other, the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) was preparing to do something he hadn’t done for an Easter service before, deliver his sermon to an empty room.

Nelson was one of a handful of people working to pull together the PC(USA)’s virtual Easter service. The Presbyterian Center had closed on the Monday before because of the COVID-19 outbreak and the participants were practicing something they had not heard of months before, social distancing, to bring the elements of the service together.

Actually, the Stated Clerk says he is very comfortable preaching to an empty room, saying he does this quite often in preparation for a preaching engagement.

“I literally will preach out loud, generally in the house, in preparation for a sermon. That’s not a new thing for me,” he said. “This goes back 30-plus years when I first started preaching in Greensboro, North Carolina. Every Saturday, when no one was in the church, I would go into the sanctuary and would preach as if the church was packed. It took me back there.”

A Louisville-based film and storytelling production company, 180 Degrees, set up two cameras to film the service. The pulpit and nearby cross were decorated with lights and Easter lilies.

“Whenever I film for PC(USA), I find myself wearing multiple hats. I wear the hat of a creative, a business owner, a technician, and of course that of a Presbyterian,” said Mike Fitzer, partner with 180 Degrees. “During several shoots with the church, I have found myself taken away by the strength and intensity of the moment. We cover some heavy topics. However, this production was especially touching for me.”

Once Nelson was ready to preach, there was another mic check, camera angles were reviewed once again, and the sermon began.

“To know I am not going to my Easter service and that I will not be with my extended family on that special day has left me, like so many others, feeling an inexpressible emptiness,” said Fitzer. “So, in the midst of single-handedly monitoring two cameras, fluctuating sound, and ever-changing light levels, J. Herbert Nelson managed to take me away. He reminded me to ‘slow down’ and listen to God’s Word. Truth be told, this is a message that I may have glossed over or quickly forgotten during normal times.”

Once Nelson had completed his piece for the service, he left the chapel. Minutes later the Reverend Dr. Diane Moffett, President and Executive Director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, came in to prepare for her portion of the service.

The cross at the Presbyterian Center. Photo by Rick Jones

“I am grateful for the opportunity to share this Easter worship with fellow Presbyterians in our country. The taping alone reminded me that Good Friday is happening, but Sunday will roll around and I pray that our Easter worship, whether in this national Easter service or in local congregations, will inspire, nurture, and encourage all of us and that our sense of connection and the tie that binds us together as followers of Christ will be strengthened,” said Moffett.

After filming greetings and delivering prayers, Moffett and Nelson filmed some final scenes together, but six feet apart.

Dr. William McConnell, mission engagement advisor with the Presbyterian Mission Agency, is a familiar face at PC(USA) gatherings and is often called upon to lead music. For this service, he selected, sang, and played two familiar Easter hymns, “Jesus Christ Is Risen Today” and “Thine Is the Glory.”

“It was an honor, a disorienting honor, to share familiar congregational Easter hymns with a congregation I couldn’t see or hear, and that hadn’t gathered virtually yet,” said McConnell. “It is my prayer that the familiar words of the music will remind us that there really is new life beyond the tomb — life beyond COVID-19.”

The service was rounded off with readings from the Co-Moderators of the 223rd General Assembly (2018). Ruling Elder Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri and the Reverend Cindy Kohlmann recorded their portions of the services on their smartphones. Fitzer had the job of bringing it all together with one smooth transition to the next.

The Reverend Dr. David Gambrell, associate for worship in the Office of Theology and Worship in the Presbyterian Mission Agency, pulled the service together. He says planning an online service in some ways is no different than the standard preparation.

“The Word is central. We confess our sin and offer our prayers. We give glory to God with songs of praise. We use multiple languages to reflect the unity and diversity of the church,” he said. “The biggest challenge is to imagine an Easter service without a physical gathering of the people of God. The act of assembling as the body of Christ is, itself, a way of bearing witness to the resurrection. We will miss being able to gather in the same way this year. Nevertheless, we trust that the Spirit will use these efforts to proclaim the good news the world needs so much: that ‘Jesus Christ is risen indeed!’”

“As we confront a global health crisis which is forcing everyone on the planet to adjust their very concept of normal, the words I heard throughout the service but especially from J. Herbert told me that with God, there is no ‘new normal,’” said Fitzer. “God has always been there and always will be. With God there is just ‘now.’ For me that was not work. That was church.”

“It was a joy taping this Easter worship service and seeing it all come together. I am grateful for the witness of Christ that comes through the hands and feet of Presbyterians and the opportunity for every congregation to help heal the brokenness caused by COVID-19 by participating in our One Great Hour of Sharing offering,” said Moffett. “While times are difficult, we remain a Matthew 25 Church.”

Nelson says that while he wasn’t sure what the service would look like when complete, he’s confident it will be a moving experience for those who watch.

“I’m very confident with the individuals who participated in this worship and know that the production work of pulling this together is going to be good,” he said.

Link to Worship from PC(USA) main home page

Click on this link

Meditation for Good Friday 2020

image Art in the Christian Tradition: Copyright © 2024 Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries, Vanderbilt University

used Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial use

When Jesus goes before Pontus Pilate, he is asked straight up, "are you a king?"  This Holy Week, I have been using the theme of "what kind of King was Jesus."  It is a simple enough concept, and one that Jesus, his disciples and his audience understood.  The ideas of power haven't changed all that much in 2000 years.  Jesus had a different understanding of kingship or leadership.  Where we as humans use force, cohesion, power, wealth, and pride to bring people under authority, Jesus did not.  His view of kingship was different.  When Jesus is confronted by Pilate, Jesus says that he comes to bear witness to the truth.  The truth that Jesus lives is seen in his life, death and resurrection.  It is the truth of who Jesus was and why he came into the world to rescue humanity and creation.  This meditation will highlight the ways in which Jesus is God's truth in his life and ministry.  May it be an encouragement on this Good Friday, as we continue to pray and help where we are able, to come along side those that are suffering under this global pandemic of Covid-19

Litany of Penitence for Good Friday

Copyright © Jean and Alexander Heard Library and the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, a division of the Heard Library, 2007.

Lord, you said from the cross, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

I confess that too often I know exactly the evil I do and I do it anyway. I horde rather than share. I look out for myself and neglect the interest of others. I judge others harshly and absolve myself undeservedly.

Forgive me for all that I do knowingly, neglect willfully and perpetrate indiscriminately. Forgive me for my culpability in this violent day.

Lord, you said from the cross, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

I confess my resemblance to the one crucified beside you who derided and chided you. I want your benefits with none of the responsibilities. I call to you for rescue even when I fail to acknowledge my own guilt.

Forgive me for failing to recognize my sin and for my sense of entitlement to your intervention. Forgive me for not seeing your innocence and selfless sacrifice.

Lord, you said from the cross, “Woman, here is your son. ... Here is your mother.”

I confess my unwillingness to tend to those for whom I have been entrusted to care. I resent others’ demands on my time and resources. I desire the gifts of community but act as if my choices are solely about what is best for me and me alone.

Forgive me for not taking to heart your command to love one another. Forgive me for not seeing each person I encounter as a gift for you and someone for whom I am to care.

Lord, you said from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

I confess that I have forsaken you, time and time again. I said I would risk my life for you but instead denied you. You told me to stay awake and on watch, but I fell asleep. I promised I would not abandon you, but I ran at the first sign of danger.

Forgive me for not being there when you most needed me. Forgive me for fickle faith and a lack of courage. Forgive me for throwing off the cross and running away.

Lord, you said from the cross, “I am thirsty.”

I confess my failure to give a cup of cold water to the little ones desperate for a drink. I confess that my heart has not been a spring of living water, but instead often a desert of deceit. I look away from those crying out for life’s basic necessities.

Forgive me for not giving what I have in your name and for your sake. Forgive me for my lack of compassion and my hard-heartedness. Forgive me for not responding to your cry for help.

Lord, you said from the cross, “It is finished.”

I confess that I left you long before you declared your work complete. I confess that I could not stand to see you suffer. I confess that my fear for myself over took my love for you.

Forgive me, for not sticking with you. Forgive me for all the times I have not finished the work you gave me to do. Forgive me for giving up when I should have trusted your promises.

Lord, you said from the cross, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

I confess that I was not there when you breathed your last. I confess that I doubted my declaration that you were the Messiah. I confess that there were times I wished I had not left everything to follow you.

Forgive me for allowing you to die alone. 

Forgive me for my lack of trust. Forgive me that I could not see past the earthly powers and recognize the kingdom of heaven come near, come to earth, come to me.

© Presbyterian Outlook, 2020. Liturgy written by Jill Duffield

and provided for free distribution.

For more resources, visit pres-outlook.org