I regret that due to unforeseen circumstances at the last presbytery meeting I did not get a chance to share with you all why I sought your endorsement to stand for moderator of the 2010 General Assembly.  It was somewhat frustrating that I had to recuse myself from leading the very portion of the meeting that was most confusing.  But I promised then that I would share with you today my rationale for what many consider a crazy move.  So here goes.

I am a third generation Presbyterian nurtured in faith by loving Korean immigrant congregations in South Carolina and Georgia.  I went to college, then immediately to seminary, then immediately to pastoral ministry and ordination.  I have been a local church pastor for the past 17 years, and have loved every minute – yes, even the minutes that include presbytery meetings!  I love the Presbyterian Church passionately, and one of the reasons I am standing for moderator is to love this massive church more fully than I ever have before.

Those of you who have come to know me over the last 11 years that I have been a member of this presbytery will know that I have no shortage of critiques of our denomination.  I quarrel with this church everyday.  I quarrel with our inflexible and onerous system, an ecclesial bureaucracy that is often faceless, cold, oppressive, irresponsible, cowardly, and utterly unimaginative.  I quarrel with our sense of entitlement to the prestige of a bygone era.  I quarrel with the pervasive fear of change, making the emergence of new life almost impossible.  I quarrel with the racism that makes us even now a 93% white, Euro-centric denomination in the 21^st century(!), unable to embody the sovereignty of God and the priesthood of all believers in our local congregations.  I even quarrel with the endless quarreling between the Left and the Right, between those in the center and those on the margins.  Nevertheless, my quarrel is a lover’s quarrel. 

I love the church.  I don’t believe that I was born in the East, grew up in the West, and had the joy of visiting somehow over 30 countries and all 50 states without a providential reason.  In my 17 years of pastoral ministry I have served on committees and councils of the presbytery, synod and general assembly, as well as ecumenical agencies.  I currently serve on the boards of Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches, the Minnesota Council of Churches, the Greater Minnesota Association of Evangelicals, the National Council of Churches, and the global Lausanne Movement.  I also serve on the GA Special Committee on the Belhar Confession, the Jewish-PCUSA Dialogue, as adjunct professor at Dubuque Seminary, and as an ongoing instructor at Princeton Seminary.  I’m not trying to boast here, but I have come to find out since the last meeting that many of you really don’t know much about my background and the experiences that shape who I am.  The combination of preaching regularly at my local church, the countless speaking engagements I tend to, and the theological writing that I engage in constantly inform my understanding of the church.

I believe that God has given me some insights to help us understand the times we are living in.  Since 1965 our denomination has lost more than half our membership.  We lost 69,381 members in 2008, at which rate we will have zero members by the year 2042.  Amidst all the social upheaval of the 1960s, many are not aware that the Immigration Act of 1965 unleashed a torrent of emigration from non-Western countries.  The US Census estimates that whites will be a minority by 2042.  Are you making the connection?  While the liberals blame the closed-mindedness and homophobia of conservatives for our decline, and the conservatives blame the lack of commitment to biblical orthodoxy of the liberals, both seem to miss the massive demographic shifts that really is the critical reason for our decline.  Let us remember that sister Reformed denominations, the liberal United Church of Christ and the conservative Christian Reformed Church both have been declining in membership for decades.

The basic problem is that we remain a Euro-centric, white, middle class church wedded to a way of doing faith that is deeply dependent on Enlightenment Rationalism, whether they be liberal or conservative churches.  Yes, we’ve declined since 1965, but are we aware that hardly any denomination grew as much as the Presbyterian Church from colonial days right up to 1965?  As a strongly rational church (Calvin was a Renaissance man and a lawyer, after all) that rode the wave of American rationalism that includes within its framework American ideas of democracy, pragmatism, progressivism, and individualism, no religious disposition matched this modern spirit more than Calvinist Presbyterianism.  But since the 1960s the US has become a post-modern nation in which the rational is only one of many competing paradigms for interpreting our God, ourselves, and the world around us.

Some of us in this world never bought into modernity as our reigning plausibility paradigm, and so we are neither modern nor post-modern.  We certainly are not pre-modern, as if we did not understand modernity.  We are what I would describe as non-modern people.  Church of All Nations, the congregation I have the great privilege of serving, is the convergence of the post-modern and the non-modern hermeneutic coming together to live out the timeless faith in Jesus Christ under the timeless authority of the Bible in order to interpret the times we live in and to participate in the wild and unpredictable movement of the Holy Spirit in our midst.  I am not saying that any particular framework is superior to the others.  I am making a case against epistemological parochialism, or put another way, the insistence that we Presbyterians be locked into speaking in only the language of modernity.  When Presbyterians speak today, the world hears English but in the King James version so-to-speak, and they tune out.

And so I stand for moderator to raise some critical questions for our whole church to wrestle with.  In a post-modern, post-ideological, post-denominational, multicultural age often marked by uprootedness and loss of meaning, how do we “do church” in a way that testifies to the reconciling gospel of Jesus Christ?  In an individualistic culture that tends toward alienation and isolation, how do we lead our congregations, ministries and presbyteries to become high-risk, low-anxiety places, to lead God’s people to confess who they are, to experience healing in intimate community, and to be a witness to the liberating power of the Spirit?

This is an age that requires a new conceptualizing of leadership.  How can churches be re-oriented from institutional management to the kind of leadership that is daring, imaginative, prophetic, countercultural, yet peace-full?  In a time when many of the historic mainline churches find themselves on the brink, how might we reinterpret this de-centering as a gift and an opportunity for transformation?  Is it possible to lead our local congregations and presbyteries into an embodiment of both radical diversity and deep intimacy that counters the homogenizing and commoditizing impulses of the dominant culture?

I want to invite the whole Presbyterian family to engage these difficult questions out of my unique experience of leading a vital mainline congregation representing more than 25 nations, cultures, languages, generations and denominational backgrounds where everyone is a “minority.”  I thank you for your confidence in me, which your endorsement signified.  I also welcome your suggestions and critique, as long as it’s a lover’s quarrel.

Jin S. Kim, Moderator of PTCA and Pastor of Church of All Nations

The Mission and Witness Committee is looking for applications between March and September of 2010.  If your congregation is interested in applying, please go to the Mission and Witness Committee page and download the application or contact committee chair Walter Chuquimia at mission@ptcaweb.org.

LOUISVILLE — Four women have been named recipients of the 2010 Women of Faith Awards by the General Assembly Mission Council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Recipients were approved by the council at its meeting on Feb. 26. The women will be honored at the Women of Faith breakfast, July 4, during the PC(USA)’s 219th General Assembly (2010) in Minneapolis.

The Women of Faith Awards were established in 1986 to honor women in the 2.2 million member PC(USA) whose lives exemplify their Christian commitment through witness, service and leadership.

The theme for this year’s awards is “Women with a Peaceful Heart: Guiding Paths to Peace” and therefore honors women who have helped the church grow in its witness and commitment to peacemaking. The four 2010 Women of Faith recipients are:

The Rev. Margaret E. Howland, Yonkers, N.Y., Hudson River Presbytery, Synod of the Northeast — Howland was one of the first women ordained in the denomination as a minister of the Word and Sacrament and is the retired pastor of South Presbyterian Church in Yonkers. Her career and life are characterized by her commitment to fighting sexism, racism, poverty and violence. At the 218th General Assembly (2008), concurrently with the 50th anniversary celebration of her ordination, she was awarded a special Peaceseeker Award by the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship.
The Rev. Elizabeth Knott, Indianola, Iowa, Presbytery of Des Moines, Synod of Lakes and Prairies — After her retirement, Knott, a former executive of the Synod of Alaska-Northwest, founded Pal CraftAid in 1993, a ministry that works directly with Palestinian crafts persons to sell their goods in the United States. More than $500,000 in profit has been returned to Palestinians. Now in her mid-80s, Knott serves as director emeriti of the program which has been a pathway for establishing positive relationships between Christians and Muslims.
Elder Elona Street-Stewart, Eagan, M.N., Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area, Synod of Lakes and Prairies — Street-Stewart, synod associate for racial ethnic ministries and community empowerment in the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, is actively engaged in the PC(USA) and community missions, development and support programs. For the past 30 years, she has been involved at the grass roots and national levels in social justice issues, including racism, affirmative action, women and family issues, and public policy. She is chair of the St. Paul School Board, where she has served as a member since 2001. She is the first Native American to serve on an urban school board in Minnesota.
Elder Joyce Uyeda, Sacramento, Calif., Presbytery of Sacramento, Synod of the Pacific — Uyeda is an elder at Parkview Presbyterian Church, where she has been a member for 60 years. She has previously served as moderator of Presbyterian Women of the Presbytery of Sacramento and on the Ethnic Concerns Committee of the multi-presbytery Sierra Mission Partnership. Uyeda’s career and ministry have been dedicated to youth and creating opportunities for a more peaceful world for young people. A retired educator, she is a volunteer librarian of a library she helped organize and establish, and a classroom aide at an under-resourced elementary school in her area. Uyeda has led the Ethnic Concerns Committee Youth Camp of the Sierra Mission Partnership for 25 years. A native of Oregon and a Japanese American, Uyeda and her family lived in three internment camps in the Western United States during World War II.
“These remarkable women have dedicated their lives to guiding paths of peace,” said Ruth Lane, chair of the awards selection committee. “Their faithful lives and accomplishments have made a difference, not only in their local church but in the global community. They are true peacemakers witnessing God’s call.”

The selection committee is comprised of representatives from groups related to the Racial Ethnic and Women’s Ministries/Presbyterian Women ministry area. Selection criteria include racial ethnic and geographic diversity.

http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2010/10181.htm

Dear Friends and Family of Stadium Village Church, 
Perhaps you have heard about the main water break outside our church nursery facing Oak St. during the wee hours of Feb. 27. After the 7 firetrucks left and the 2 small pumps finished their 6 hrs of pumping, Service Master cleaners moved in.  
Water was touching the ceilings of the house and church basements (ie all furnaces and hot water heaters and storage items), tunnel between house and church bldgs, 5 ft in the kitchen and commons dining and the nursery floor is buckled with hole under foundation. 

ALL our equipment except Sanctuary sound and office copier is destroyed, including all kitchen appliances & products, books, bells, piano, toys, food for Kids Against Hunger & thousands of meals. Somethings can be restored.
The day before, we had begun a different way of praying for Lent. We praised and thanked God for His provisions, rather than asking.  
Sun. morning three early attenders each said they had dreams relating to the church, floods or rebuilding!  One Korean woman who dreamt she was in a flood had not yet heard the news. 
The sermon planned weeks before was about the Goodness of God in all circumstances: God is in Everything.

We worship a creative and providing God. 
We have heard that you are praying for us at SVC. We thank you so much and ask that you would continue to  PRAISE  and THANK GOD for our Ministry and for his  wisdom and provision in the many decisions we must make.  
 We want to finish the race with a building that can serve future generations of University students, families, and those who understand the importance of touching American and International students’ lives. 
Thank you!  We bless you too!

Your Brothers and Sisters in Christ at Stadium Village Church and Pastor Kathleen Macosko and Pastor Lowell Busman

An orientation for new pastors, and elder commissioners attending for the first time, will begin at 9:00 a.m.  A time of hospitality and fellowship, hosted by the Church, will begin at 9:00 a.m., as will registration.

The worship service for this Presbytery meeting will be presented by the Worship Task force of the Presbytery Council.  The Rev. Mark Lomax, Pastor, First African Presbyterian Church, Lithonia, Georgia will be our guest speaker. 

Please be reminded that the Minutes of the January 9, 2010, Presbytery meeting will be posted online, but not printed for the packets.  Please download to print any portions that may be of interest to you.  The Packets section of the website will contain papers and reports necessary for the meeting, including the docket.  Paper packets, color-coded, are prepared for 150 Presbyters and are available in the registration area.

Presbytery Council will continue the selected theme for the year, “Affirm Local Congregations:  Build Spiritual Energy Through Nurture”.  The Six Great Ends of The Church has provided the guide, as one of the “Great Ends” has been the emphasis of each Presbytery meeting.  At this March, 2010 meeting, the fifth Great End, “The promotion of social righteousness,” is the theme for the day.  The meeting agenda will include a time for small-group discussion, with proposed questions and resources.

Lunch for 150, at $7.00, will be available.  Tickets will be sold in the registration area.

The Presbytery office staff is trying very hard to be certain that anyone who may be interested in knowing of the meeting receives this Call.  An expanded address list is being followed, and some may receive two notices, especially if your name appears twice in the Gray Directory.  If we are notified, we will continue to update our list as we proceed.  All church members within the Presbytery are welcome to attend the meeting.  Each session should be very sure to be represented by the assigned number of elder commissioners who have voice and vote.  This is the way to have the voice of your congregation heard on the floor of Presbytery.

Directions to the church follow.  There is ample parking.

Grace and Peace,

Nancy E. Grittman

Stated Clerk

Presbytery Packets

The Presbytery Packet for the March 13, 2010 Stated Meeting is now available for download by going to www.presbyterytwincities.org/presbyterypacket. Please note that this is a partial packet and will be updated as we recieve reports from various committees and task forces, so please check back at the Presbytery Packet page for updates.     

 If you have any questions, please contact the Presbytery office at 612-871-7281 or by email at communications@ptcaweb.org.

Directions to North Como Presbyterian Church

North Como Presbyterian Church
965 W Larpenteur Ave, Roseville, MN 55113
651-488-5581

FROM THE NORTH:

Take I-35 S toward St. Paul.  Take the Larpenteur Ave. Exit, EXIT 110A, toward Wheelock Parkway.  Turn RIGHT onto Larpenteur Ave. E./CR-30W.  End at 965 Larpenteur Ave. W.

FROM THE SOUTH:

Take I-35 N.  Merge onto I-35E N toward St. Paul.  Keep LEFT to take I-35E N via EXIT 242B.  Take the Wheelock Parkway exit, EXIT 110A toward Larpenteur Ave.  Turn LEFT onto Larpenteur Ave. E./CR-30W.  End at 965 Larpenteur Ave. W.

FROM THE EAST:

From I-94W/US-12W merge onto I-35E N/US-10 W via EXIT 242B.  Take the Wheelock Parkway exit, EXIT 110A, toward Larpenteur Ave.  Turn LEFT onto Larpenteur Ave. E./CR-30 W.  End at 965 Larpenteur Ave. W.

FROM THE WEST:

From I-94E, merge onto I-35W N via EXIT 233C on the LEFT.  Keep RIGHT to take MN-36 E via EXIT 23B.  Merge onto Snelling Ave. N./MN-51S.  Turn LEFT onto Larpenteur Ave. W./CR-30E.  End at 965 Larpenteur Ave. W.

The GAP we want to fill includes our GIVING, our ACTION and our PRAYER . Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has already provided $540,000 in aid to Haiti. Here are specific ways you can be of help and service immediately “to the least of these my children.”

Opportunities for GIVING:

Our PTCA Offering for Haiti continues progress towards the goal of raising $25,000 in giving from churches  and individuals in the PTCA. As of February 22^nd, our total giving is $$21,164.18. Thank you for your diligent collection of offerings for this emergency relief effort. We all know the rebuilding of life for the people of Haiti will be ongoing for months to come. Our Campaign will culminate at the March Presbytery meeting, where the Mission Witness committee will bring forward an update on relief efforts of PDA.

All donations should be made out to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and sent directly to the Presbytery Office at 122 W. Franklin Ave. , Suite 508, Minneapolis, MN 55404 . Please indicate Haiti Offering in the memo line. If your congregation has already responded with a gift of some sort, possibly through another agency, please let us know in the Presbytery office so that we may report the extent of our gifts to one another. Please email the Presbytery office at communications@ptcaweb.org  and let us know other creative ways your congregation and members have reached out with loving support to our dear friends in this time of extreme need.

Opportunities for ACTION:

The PDA is searching for trauma counselors fluent in French or Creole to increase the communication and effectiveness of the relief effort.

PDA and its partners are seeking qualified persons interested in offering emotional care/staff care for Haitian national staff engaged in development and disaster relief activities in Haiti. Go to the PDA website  for applications and contact information.

Opportunities for PRAYER :

Remember there is a Worship Insert  for your church bulletin or newsletters. Also please remember to use this prayer offered on the PDA website in your individual and corporate times of prayer and worship.

We pray for Haiti

God of compassion
please watch over the people of Haiti,
and weave out of these terrible happenings
wonders of goodness and grace.

Surround those who have been affected by tragedy
with a sense of your present love,
and hold them in faith.
Though they are lost in grief,
may they find you and be comforted.
Guide us as a church
to find ways of providing assistance
that heal wounds and provide hope.
Help us to remember that when one of your children suffers
we all suffer;
through Jesus Christ who was dead, but lives
and rules this world with you. Amen.   

This training is presented two times a year, April and October, by Advocates for Integrity in Ministry (AIM).  All clergy are required to take the training.  New incoming pastors have a year from their reception to fulfill the requirement.  Churches are encouraged to send elders, deacons, all staff, lay and clergy, and any other persons engaged in any form of ministry in or on behalf of the church.

You must sign-up for the event online before the close of business on Tuesday, April 20. To register please go here.

Editor’s Note: The following article is from Paul Moore, organizing pastor of Chain of Lakes Presbyterian Church in Lino Lakes.  He shares the experiences of the new congregation’s “grand opening” worship service on January 31.

What a fabulous day of worship we had at our Grand Opening worship service on Sunday, January 31.  A Grand Opening service should be remembered throughout the history of the congregation.  In my research of churches I frequently see churches who talk about their Grand Opening service on their web site.  I believe that years from now people will still talk about what we experienced in worship. 

Numbers matter to me—mainly because numbers signify something deeper. Here are the numbers from the Grand Opening service:

• Over 100 people attended. The usher told me 101. Our Administrator, Jennifer Huehns, and I think that approximately 110 people came.  The attendance was so large that we had to open the back walls to our sanctuary. Some people sat in the hallway because the sanctuary was full.
• Forty-three adults and children attended from Chain of Lakes Church. This was the most we’ve ever had attend worship from our own faith community on a Sunday morning.
• Eight new families came to check us out.  As I do with every new family, I will personally deliver a coffee mug to each of these families during the week following the first visit. 
• Approximately twenty-five children came up for the time for children.
• Nineteen Presbyterian churches sent representatives to support us.
• We collected 58 Haiti Hygiene bags which will be sent to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.
• A large number of people shared their hopes and prayers for Chain of Lakes by filling out a card and pinning them to the cross we made for the service. I counted approximately 50 cards in the above picture.
• Fifty-seven people voted for the topic of the next sermon series. On Sunday, February 7 I am starting a three-week sermon series called, “Mythbusters.” For three weeks I am going to explore the myths that prevent people from having a deeper relationship with God and with the church. On the Communication card I shared eight myths about God and the church and asked people at the Grand Opening to vote on three.

Just as important as the numbers was how the Spirit was present in worship at our Grand Opening service.  The music shared by Richard and Melinda Marshall and Sue Ruby was fantastic. My daughter, Hannah, caused many of us to choke up with her song. Chaz Ruark shared a powerful message about being connected as Presbyterians. John Ivers shared his passion for Chain of Lakes when he shared the history of our new congregation. As an aside, John gently teases his wife, Gloria, about how she cries in public. When he spoke, John appropriately choked up twice. As he did the second time Gloria shouted out, “he’s put a lot of work into this project.” That was beautiful on many different levels.  Many people complimented the sermon. And the singing—wow! When Presbyterians are inspired we sure can sing. One person from Chain of Lakes decided to accept the invitation I had previously extended her to serve on our Steering Committee as she sang the final hymn, “Here I Am, Lord.” Never underestimate the power of singing!
The Scripture we heard in worship was the story in Acts 2 of the birth of the church. That story shares that “awe” came upon the group as many wonders and signs were performed. In my sermon I shared that a three-letter synonym for awe is “wow.” I believe that when we say the word, “wow” we are expressing the movement of the Spirit. At our Grand Opening service we experienced a symphony of “wows.”