Together
Hospitality in the Household of God
By Patricia Lloyd-Sidle
Hospitality. Congregations. Global Mission. Presbyterian women
know a lot about all three subjects. It is no secret that Presbyterian
Women (PW) is skilled at hospitality, centered in congregations
and committed to the global Church. And so, it is no surprise
that members of PW are committing time and energy to help the
Worldwide Ministries Division of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
plan the upcoming conferences, "Hospitality in the Household
of God: Congregations and the Global Church."
Conferences for Presbyterians seeking to strengthen congregational
global mission commitment were held in 1997 and 1999. The decision
to hold another round of these conferences was based on the enthusiastic
response of both familiar faces and newcomers to the global mission
arena. Dave Dawson, executive presbyter of Shenango Presbytery
and long-time mission enthusiast, called the 1997 conference
"a watershed event." Former moderator of the PC(USA),
Marj Carpenter, said that the conferences were evidence of an
exciting reawakening of the passion for mission in our denomination.
A woman who attended one of the 1999 conferences wrote: "Wow!
I had no idea that there are so many different ways for my local
church to get involved in world mission."
Getting to Know WMD
The Worldwide Ministries Division (WMD) engages in a wide variety
of ministries. The WMD sponsors mission workers all over the
world, including the United States. The ministries of the One
Great Hour of Sharing program are all part of WMD, so hunger,
self-development, refugees and disaster relief are central to
our work. We focus on international ministries in evangelism,
health and education. We also work with congregations, presbyteries
and synods, a variety of PC(USA) mission-minded groups (including,
of course, Presbyterian Women) and seminaries as they support,
learn about and participate in mission around the world. The
WMD works ecumenically, in partnership with churches around the
world and with regional, national and international ecumenical
ministries.
The "Hospitality in the Household of God: Congregations
and the Global Church" conferences will focus on the broad
mission agenda described above. Leadership at both conferences
will include Marian McClure, director of the Worldwide Ministries
Division, PC(USA); Anna May Say Pa, president of the Myanmar
Institute of Theology; the Thuma Mina mission theatre group;
and Debbie Dierks and Lewis Washington, a husband and wife music
team from Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Kentucky.
Curtis Jones, pastor of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in
Baltimore and chair of the National Black Presbyterian Caucus,
will provide leadership at the October conference in Cherry Hill,
New Jersey. Bill Carter, pastor of First Presbyterian Church
in Summit, Pennsylvania, and jazz pianist, will provide leadership
at the November conference in Anaheim, California. But, stay
tuned-there are many more leaders still to be confirmed.
Turning Goals into Reality
The four goals for these conferences are to:
- celebrate the hospitality of God
- create a hospitable conference community
- deepen our commitment to creating a hospitable world, and
- strengthen our practice of being hosts and being guests
The more Presbyterian women that participate in these conferences,
the greater the likelihood that these pretty words on paper will
become a vibrant reality in our lives and in our church.
Patricia Lloyd-Sidle is the coordinator for Global Awareness
and Involvement, People in Mutual Mission, Worldwide Ministries
Division, PC(USA).
Interested in knowing more about mission? Resources are
still available from the past conferences. Contact the Presbyterian
Distribution Service (PDS) at 800/524-2612 and ask for "Congregations
in Global Mission: New Models for a New Century," PDS# 74-400-98-068,
from the 1997 conference, and "Congregations in Global Mission:
Stepping Into God's Future," PDS# 74-400-00-110, from the
1999 conference. These resources are free of charge.
Get Involved
Hospitality in the Household of God: Congregations and the Global
Church
October 11--14, 2001, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey
November 1--4, 2001, in Anaheim, California
For more information, contact Vennie Constant at 888/728-7228,
ext. 5338 or vconstan@ctr.pcusa.org. Or visit www.pcusa.org/wmd
and click on "conferences." Registration brochures
and online registration will be available by mid-February.
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