The PCUSA’s 226th General Assembly took place in Salt Lake City Utah from June 25th - July 4, 2024, and it was a powerful experience for all involved! 

In this episode, meet the PSNE 226th General Assembly Team:

• Rev. Anne Weirich (Commissioner and Polity Committee Chair; Honorably Retired, serves on Commission on Ministry at PSNE)
• Elder Nicole Aronson Champagne (Commissioner and Environment and Climate Committee Member; Nominating Committee Chair at PSNE)
• Rev. Kate Carlisle (Stated Clerk for PSNE and Boston)

Hear about their experiences from GA, including committee processes, electing new Co-Moderators and a new Stated Clerk, passing items of business, worshiping together, and dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak. From discussions on reducing single-use plastics and divestment from fossil fuels, to offering personal testimony as an overture advocate, this gathering truly offered an opportunity to live into hope.

Learn more about General Assembly and future meetings at https://ga-pcusa.org/

Connecting our Conversations is hosted by the Presbytery of Southern New England, a regional governing body in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This is our space for conversations that push the edges of our faith and help us deepen discipleship.

Who does your building belong to? What are our money stories, theological frameworks, and core values? How do you make strategic decisions out of abundance and hopefulness?

In today’s conversation, we hear from:

• Mieke Vandersall, founder of Vandersall Collective, and ministry member at PSNE 
• Tim Anderson, coach and consultant from Minneapolis MN
• Nancy Baseel, Pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Hartford 

Vandersall Collective is a consulting group that focuses on fundraising, communications, and strategic thinking to raise money, reach people, and reimagine the future. They are collaborating with three congregations in our Presbytery (First Presbyterian Hartford, Westminster, and MLK Community Presbyterian Church), alongside with our Trustees, Roundtable, and Commission on Ministry. Vandersall Collective is helping us to answer questions about property and missional views, to help us find clarity at both the congregational and Presbytery level for values-based decision making.

To learn more about the Vandersall Collective, visit https://www.vandersallcollective.com/

Connecting our Conversations is hosted by the Presbytery of Southern New England, a regional governing body in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This is our space for conversations that push the edges of our faith and help us deepen discipleship.

The Rev. Dr. Terrlyn L. Curry Avery is the Pastor of Martin Luther King Jr. Community Presbyterian Church in Springfield MA. She has a passion for dismantling racism, and is deeply involved in the work and advocacy with the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. 

This podcast was recorded a week before the Mass Poor Peoples and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington and to the Polls, a national gathering in Washington that draws attention to the interconnected struggles of issues such as affordable housing, gun violence, health care, environmental racism, and other compounding factors and politics of poverty. In this conversation, Shannan and Terrlyn bear witness to the importance of testimonies, encourage pastors to give a prophetic word, and ask us if we are living the way of Jesus, who gives us the Matthew 25 mandate.

Call to Action! If you are interested in using your power for good, here are some ways to get involved in this work and learn more:

• Get involved with the Poor People’s campaign! Join the RI or MA chapters. Connecticut needs a chapter - maybe you could help organize it. You can also donate funds. Learn more at https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/ 
• Advocate. The Presbyterian Office of Public Witness is an advocacy office in Washington DC, and has many resources: https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/compassion-peace-justice/washington 
• Pray (a practice which change our own hearts)
• Learn more:
  • Recent article from Presbyterian Mission Agency: https://www.presbyterianmission.org/story/june-29-moral-march-gathers-steam-as-pcusa-and-others-offer-continued-support/
  • Books from Liz Theoharis: https://liztheoharis.org/books/
  • Liz Theoharis keynote speech from the Matthew 25 Summit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDHsvT77wXE 

This is the second episode of the fourth season of Connecting Our Conversations. This season is a Summer Series! We'll hear from folks engaged in Presbytery and beyond, including updates from General Assembly, Pride celebrations, marches, summer camps, and Vacation Bible Schools. Connect with us on social media, subscribe so you never miss an episode, and let us know if you have other ideas for conversations to share!

Connecting our Conversations is hosted by the Presbytery of Southern New England, a regional governing body in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This is our space for conversations that push the edges of our faith and help us deepen discipleship.

Happy Pride Month! Listen in our conversation with board members from Presbyterian Promise, an LGBTQIA+ organization in our Presbytery for education, outreach, and advocacy. This year is the 25th anniversary of Presbyterian Promise, and we are so excited to celebrate alongside them this month!

In this episode, we hear from:

• Rev. Jenny Peek, Chaplain at Yale University, co-moderator
• Leah Miller, First Presbyterian Church of New Haven, co-moderator
• Ellen McDonnell, First Presbyterian Church of Stamford, member

Learn about the history of Presbyterian Promise, and dive into their current work at Pride events, curating resources, and presence at local churches. The invitation to be in conversation is always open - all are welcome!

Contact Presbyterian Promise at [email protected] and learn more at https://presbyterianpromise.wordpress.com/ 

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Book Recommendations:

• Heather Has Two Mommies - Lesléa Newman
• Queerfully and Wonderfully Made - Leigh Finke (Editor)
• God vs. Gay - Jay Michaelson

Our Promise:

We believe the time has come to live out God’s call to “love our neighbor as ourselves.” This is a call to an inclusive love that welcomes all people to God’s table. That invitation is central to the Gospel. God calls us to embrace those who have been excluded or marginalized, to welcome them into the fold, and to honor their call and their desire to serve God. Presbyterian Promise is committed to this vision of a just and inclusive church.

We therefore promise to be a resource, a presence, and a witness of inclusion to all LGBTQIA+ people. We further promise to work as agents of reconciliation, inviting all to join in the conversation.

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This is the start of the fourth season of Connecting Our Conversations. This season is a Summer Series! We'll hear from folks engaged in Presbytery and beyond, including updates from General Assembly, Pride celebrations, summer camps, and Vacation Bible Schools.  Connect with us on social media, subscribe so you never miss an episode, and let us know if you have other ideas for conversations to share! 

Won't you bee my neighbor? 🐝  At First Presbyterian Church of Stamford, CT, more commonly known as the Fish Church, bees truly are neighbors! In this episode of Connecting our Conversations, Rev. Dr. Shannan Vance Ocampo chats with Rev. Shelley Donaldson, Associate Pastor at First Pres in Stamford, and with John Bitner, who has been a member for 30 years and served as a deacon and elder.  Shelley and John share how they transformed an old garden bed into 5 hives and the variety of things they are doing with the honey. They also discuss how this act of caring for creation and community supports their work as a Matthew 25 church. Plus, learn some fun bee trivia!

Learn more about First Presbyterian Church of Stamford at https://fishchurch.org/welcomeonhome

Connecting our Conversations is hosted by the Presbytery of Southern New England, a regional governing body in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This is our space for conversations that push the edges of our faith and help us deepen discipleship.

In this episode of Connecting our Conversations, Rev. Dr. Shannan Vance-Ocampo speaks with Rev. Ben Bond (Faith Inclusion and Belonging Associate at RespectAbility) and our Communications Manager Katie Grosh, about disability and church communities. Ben shared tips about how to be more accessible and welcoming in your congregational communities, including giving visual descriptions, attending to a variety of physical and sensory needs, and shifting attitudes. Ben also gave a Disability 101 overview and gave context to the history of disability and the church. Katie shared her experience with leading a weekly zoom discussion group with Kearsarge Community Presbyterian Church, focused on the Justice Unbound series Disabling Lent: An Anti-Ableist Lenten Devotional. There was so much to talk about that a part 2 (focused on disability and theology) will be coming soon! 

Links:

• RespectAbility's Faith, Inclusion, and Belonging page: https://www.respectability.org/faith-inclusion/
• Inclusive Congregations Guide: https://www.respectability.org/faith-inclusion/inclusive-congregations/
• Disabling Lent: An Anti-Ableist Lenten Devotional from Justice Unbound: https://justiceunbound.org/disablinglent/
• Presbyterians for Disability Concerns: https://presbyteriansfordisabilityconcerns.wordpress.com/
• The Institute of Theology and Disability (the conference June 17-20, 2024 will be held at Boston College!): https://faithanddisability.org/about-the-summer-institute/2024-institute-on-theology-and-disability/

A transcript of our episode today is available here.

Connecting our Conversations is hosted by the Presbytery of Southern New England, a regional governing body in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This is our space for conversations that push the edges of our faith and help us deepen discipleship.

In this episode of Connecting our Conversations, Rev. Shannan Vance-Ocampo speaks with Christian educators and pastors in our Presbytery who attended the recent Association of Partners in Christian Education (APCE) conference in St. Louis Missouri. Tara Church, Patrick Notley, Karen Hammond, and Mark Montgomery all share their takeaways from the conference and what the future of Christian Education holds.

Featured on this episode:
- Tara Church, Director of Children's Ministry at First Presbyterian Church of Greenwich
- Karen Hammond, Director of Faith Formation at Westminster Presbyterian Church in West Hartford
- Patrick Notley, Pastor at Barrington Presbyterian Church
- Mark Montgomery, Pastor at Wilton Presbyterian Church

Learn more about APCE at https://apcenet.org/

Connecting our Conversations is hosted by the Presbytery of Southern New England, a regional governing body in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This is our space for conversations that push the edges of our faith and help us deepen discipleship.

The church is changing. Wilton Presbyterian Church is thriving with innovative staffing and programming! In this episode of Connecting our Conversations, the Rev. Shannan Vance-Ocampo talks with Wilton Presbyterian Church's triple-pastor team:

Rev. Jessica Jones - Co-Pastor, Pastoral Care and Education
Rev. Chris Tate - Co-Pastor, Outreach and Technology
Rev. Mark Montgomery - Co-Pastor, Administration

Get to know each of them, and how they work together in this unique model of church leadership. Rev. Jessica, Chris, and Mark work the hours combined to equal one full-time pastor. This allows them to focus on their gifts, collaborate, and even take some genuine time off.  They also share the success of their Wild Goose Sundays. Named after the Holy Spirit in Celtic Christianity, these are intergenerational communion services where things happen a bit differently... like “passing the peace” with beach balls, or having live animals present to learn about the Heifer Project. 

Learn more about Wilton Presbyterian Church at https://wiltonpresbyterian.org/ 

Get to know our PSNE Moderators! In this episode of Connecting our Conversations, Rev. Shannan Vance-Ocampo interviews our Moderator, Rev. Kevin White, and our Vice Moderator, Rev. Dallas Bradel. Especially as our stated meetings are online this year, it's important to have opportunities to get to know one another in different ways. This is both an introduction to Kevin and Dallas, as well as a behind-the-scenes look into what the job of Moderator / Vice Moderator is like! 

Connecting our Conversations is hosted by the Presbytery of Southern New England, a regional governing body in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This is our space for conversations that push the edges of our faith and help us deepen discipleship. 

Connecting our Conversations is hosted by the Presbytery of Southern New England, a regional governing body in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This is our space for conversations that push the edges of our faith and help us deepen discipleship. Today, Shannan Vance-Ocampo speaks with Bruce Reyes-Chow about his new book, Everything Good about God is True: Choosing Faith.

In this primer on progressive, expansive, generous Christianity, writer and pastor Bruce Reyes-Chow offers his own "faith montage" and helps individuals and groups create their own. There is a more loving, more genuine vision of God than the one we see being performed around us, and this book helps us find it.

With clarity, vulnerability, and wit, Reyes-Chow helps us learn a grammar of faith about God, Jesus, and the Spirit that breathes fresh meaning into old words like sin, confession, salvation, baptism, communion, and gratitude. He doesn't shy away from calling out the hateful and hurtful dogmas of many churches, but he also turns our attention toward essential questions: What if God created humans to be beautifully complex? What if the Spirit calls us to lament and repent and also beckons us toward pathways of healing, wholeness, and hope? And if Jesus equips us for lives of justice and kindness, how might our imaginations expand for what the world could be?

Bruce Reyes-Chow is a sought-after speaker and writer on topics of faith, culture, politics, race, and technology. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), has led churches in the San Francisco Bay Area for nearly three decades, and is a former moderator of the PC(USA). Reyes-Chow, who is third-generation Filipino-Chinese American, hosts the podcast BRC & Friends and has authored five books, most recently In Defense of Kindness. A senior consultant and coach with Convergence, Reyes-Chow and his spouse have three adult children and live in San Jose, California.

Read "Everything Good about God is True: Choosing Faith" today! The book is available everywhere books are sold, including bookshop.org/ or check out your local bookstore. You can go to https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9781506495699/Everything-Good-about-God-Is-True or https://reyes-chow.com/books/ to learn more.