This week we continue our fall Conversations at the Well as we hear from three of our four seminarians participating in our Ministry and Leadership Incubator. The Ministry and Leadership Incubator is a partnership with Princeton Theological Seminary that connects up to six seminary students with three local congregations, ideally two students per site. Seminary students are mentored at the congregational level and nurtured and coached within a peer cohort facilitated by executive leadership within the Presbytery. This cohort gathers three times per semester to talk about relevant issues facing the church, explore vocational discernment, and develop pertinent leadership skills for ministry in the 21st century. During the eight-month program, seminary students, local congregations, and presbytery leadership work in partnership to exegete their neighborhoods, discover their unique gifts as individuals and faith community, design and experiment with contextualized ministries of empathy, face challenges and risk failure, and live into their call as the next generation of Christian leaders. Since 2015, we have partnered with 17 of our congregations and 31 Princeton Seminarians. You can learn more about this initiative at:

https://presbyphl.org/ministry-incubator/seminary-partnerships/

In today’s conversation, we talked with Beth Putney (serving alongside Rev. Kari Olson at East Falls Presbyterian Church), Reni John (Serving alongside Rev. Anna Grant-Borden at Mt Airy Presbyterian Church), and Yujin Cho (Serving alongside Rev. Kris Shondelmeyer at The Presbyterian Church in Deep Run) . Carlos Acosta is also serving at Deep Run, but was unable to join us for the call- he has been a gift to us as well! Listen in now to how these gifted seminarians have been asking faithful questions, exploring revitalized possibilities, and are dreaming about what it can look like to be the Church of Jesus Christ in our time and place.

This week we continue our fall Conversations at the Well: Reflecting on Christ’s Work through Our Faithful Witness. We have all had a fair share of invitations to webinars on the struggles we face related to COVID-19, and they are real, exhausting, and devastating to so many. That said, we wanted to take a moment to listen into to how congregations have risen up to the occasion as people of hope, leveraging their faithful imaginations and empathy to continue to discern neighborly love in this time of distancing. I love what was said by one of our pastors in our previous episode on urban hunger and homelessness- shameless plug to go back and listen to that gem of a conversation at the well. It was said that we need to find ways to get next to our neighbor, maybe not physically but in ways that still assure that God is with them and loves them and hears their cries and concerns. This week we are joined by three pastors in the suburbs serving various congregations who have found ways to lovingly get next to their neighbors in solidarity and with great intentionality. Listen in to the uncut audio from our recent webinar facilitated by our Moderator, Vijay Aggarwal, as he ZOOMED with Revs. Rachel Rhodes of Morrisville Presbyterian Church, Tim Dooner of Valley Forge Presbyterian Church, and Stephanie Templin Ashford of Thomposn Memorial Presbyterian Church.

This week we continue our fall Conversations at the Well: Reflecting on Christ’s Work through Our Faithful Witness. In this episode you are going to want to grab a pen and paper to take notes, because the wisdom and insights of the four ministry leaders is pure gold, better said, a refreshing witness to the Living Water found in Christ as we talk about urban hunger and homelessness in the midst of the pandemic. We are so grateful for their ministry from Southwest Philly to West Kensington, Chester to the Center City Parkway. Theses faithful imagineers of possibilities will introduce themselves in a bit. If you want to learn more, be sure to visit us on the web at www.presbyphl.org/convversations-at-the-well.

West Kensington Ministry: Rev. Adan Mairena

https://westkensingtonministry.com

The Welcome Church: Rev. Schaunel Steinnagel

https://thewelcomechurch.org/

The Common Place/Salt and Light Church: Rev. Chris Holland

http://www.thecommonplacephilly.org

Chester Eastside Ministry, Inc.: Rev. Zuline Wilkinson

https://chestereastside.org

As we lean into the fall season of ministry, our presbytery leadership thought it would be good to pivot a bit in regards to how we tell the stories of our churches and related ministries. Instead of writing alone, we wanted to expand upon our podcast platform and directly hear from those imagining and incarnating ministry in these challenging times. We deeply miss the human connection of those gathered and scattered around the Presbytery, so we are taking our previously known Covenant Connections virtual and primarily onto our PresbySpeak podcast platform. Even more, we are building on the summer series CyberPsalm Cafe and leaning into what we are calling, Conversations at the Well: Reflecting on Christ’s Work through Our Faithful Witness. Our hope is to spur one another on, in the words of the writer of Hebrews, towards love and good deeds. And the sacred space where stories have been shared throughout Scripture has been at the well where we find the living water in Christ to sustain us. That said, our first conversation will be musings with our moderator, Vijay Aggarwal and Vice Moderator Rev. Ashley Rossi as they join our Executive Presbyter, Rev. Ruth Faith Santana Grace and Stated Clerk, Rev. Kevin Porter.

We give thanks to God for yet another faithful gathering of the Presbytery of Philadelphia at our recent virtual stated meeting on July 18, 2020. Over 175 individuals logged onto ZOOM or viewed through Facebook LIVE. As a part of the meeting, we examined two candidates for ordination, Timothy Wotring and Alex Evangelista, both whom were approved to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament. We also heard from commissions and committees serving our presbytery, gave reports on how we are coming alongside our congregations in the midst of challenges posed by COVID-19, and heard from our Executive Staff about the last seven months of ministry together. Check out our YouTube channel for videos shared during this time. However, a major highlight was our Commissioners and Young Adult Advisory Delegate to the 224th General Assembly leading the faithful in worship and reporting on where they saw the Spirit at work in this year’s virtual assembly. What follows are the full and unedited reflections from our stated meeting. Our commissioners will now serve as the Committee on Bills and Overtures for the next two years. Please lift them in prayer.

You can check out their interviews and blogposts during the Assembly and read their bios here: https://presbyphl.org/general-assembly-commissioners-blog/

Ministers of Word and Sacrament:

Rev. Anna Grant-Borden (Mt. Airy Presbyterian Church)

Rev. Pam McShane (Tree of Life Church)

Rev. Leah Miller (The Anchor Church)

Rev. Todd Stavrakos (Gladwyne Presbyterian Church)

Elders:

Elder Megan Acedo (Beacon Church)

Elder Eck Gerner (Swarthmore Presbyterian Church)

Elder Lois Adele Hayman-El (West Philadelphia Presbyterian Partnership)

Elder Lloyd Higgins (Oxford Presbyterian Church)

Young Adult Advisory Delegate (YAAD):

William “Will” Gillespie (Wayne Presbyterian Church)

Side note: As we continue to discern possibilities in the midst of both the pandemic of COVID-19 and the pervasive realities of systemic racism, we are reminded over and again of the courage and care that is expended by our congregations and ministry leaders as incarnations of Gospel Hope. You are in our prayers. You have indeed demonstrated energy, intelligence, imagination, and love as you serve the people. May God continue to move in and through you, assured it is Christ’s work that forms and sustains our witness.

Welcome to PresbySpeak, the Podcast of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, This week marks our final episode in a series we have titled, CyberPsalmCafe: PresbySpeak for a Time Such as This. We have covered a lot, from frontline workers and chaplains to safety measures, youth and childrens ministry to courageous conversations on race. You can check out all of these past episodes on-line and the videos are available on Facebook, Youtube, and our website at www.presbyphl.org/cyberpsalm. As we wrap up this series and make space to envision what conversations might be helpful for the fall, we thought it would be good to talk Congregational Creativity in a Season of Caution. As Pennsylvania moves to green and explores how to adapt in the midst of recovery as we continue to live into this reality of pandemic life that is far from over, we brought together a panel of ministers who are are thoughtfully, carefully, and faithfully exploring how to be the church in this season and days ahead. Listen in as we hear from Revs. Diane Fitch, Randy Barge, Ryan Balsan, and Carla Jones Brown.

Quick plug: this weekend also marks the end of the virtual gathering of the 224th General Assembly. Originally scheduled to be hosted by the Presbytery of Baltimore, our delegation of nine has been participating on-line as the Presbyterian Church conducts only essential business but also leans into what it means to be a connectional church as we bear witness to the gospel in our time and place, near and far. Be sure to listen to Conversations with Our commissioners on previous episodes and continue to lift them in prayer. We will hear more from them at our July Stated Meeting scheduled for Saturday, July 18th.

This past week we have enjoyed these conversations with our commissioners as we hear from our delegation to the 224th General Assembly. Typically, by Thursday of GA we would have engaged some significant work, wrapped up committee work, anticipated our final plenary sessions on Friday, and been moving towards a closing worship. Instead, the agenda has been skeletal and Friday and Saturday will mark the only days of real business. It will begin, however, with worship at 11 a.m. and we invite you to join us on livestream at www.ga-pcusa.org or on the Spirit of GA Facebook Page. There you can also check out previous videos of misison and ministry partners, bible studies, and more. We also invite you to pray for the newly-elected co-moderators, Elder Elona Street-Stewart and Rev. Gregory Bentley as well as the election of the Stated Clerk of the OGA, currently held by the Rev. Dr. J Herbert Nelson. For now, enjoy these three faithful servants, two commissioners, Rev. Pam McShane and Lloyd Higgins, and Young Adult Advisory Delegate, William Gillespie.

Grateful you are here to join us as we hear from our commissioners once again. As they continue to serve as a part of our delegation to the 224th General Assembly, we are grateful for how they have served on our behalf virtually even though originally scheduled for Baltimore. You can check out some of the updates as to what has transpired thus far at www.ga-pcusa.org. We also encourage you to check on on the Spirit of GA Facebook page to see the recent streams of stories and initiatives partnering with and supported by this year’s assembly, to include the Poor People’s Campaign and the Youth Rising Coalition through the Presbytery of Baltimore and this year’s Hand’s and Feet Initiative. These young entrepreneurs are impacting Charm City in profound ways. The offering collected at GA is supporting this movement.

See also previous conversations with our commissioners and a blogpost, too: https://presbyphl.org/general-assembly-commissioners-blog/ or on our PresbySpeak Podcast on both iTunes and So0undCloud.

This weekend was a historic, unique, and all in all faithful virtual gathering of the 224th General Assembly. We are grateful for our commissioners and young adult advisory delegate who represented us well, albeit over ZOOM versus in Baltimore. One of the major highlights, the Assembly elected co-moderators Elder Elona Street-Stewart and Rev. Gregory Bentley. On a deeply historic note, Elona is the first indigenous person to serve in this roll and we are grateful for how this pair will serve the church and shape the vision for the next two years of gospel witness in such a time as this.

We are grateful in this video to hear from two of our commissioners, Elder Megan D. Acedo (Beacon Church) and Rev. Todd Stavrokos (Gladwyne Presbyterian Church).

More details on GA224:

https://presbyphl.org/the-224th-general-assembly/

In 2015, our Presbytery began a year-long venture in what we called Courageous Conversations on Race, Bias, and Privilege. We knew then that our commitment was rooted in our collective call as disciples of Jesus Christ to love God and love neighbor. We also knew we were building upon the work of the many saints before us, entering into the work alongside saints in our time and place, and would need these conversations to continue well into the future. Needless to say, we have regularly reengaged these courageous conversations as racism, along with many other isms of our day, continue to impede upon the wellbeing of our neighbors and each of us in 2020. That said, in light of the ongoing killings of African Americans, to include George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery among others, and the recent marches, protests, rallies, and vigils intended to affirm black lives matter and demand the dismantiling of racism that plagues our neighborhoods, faith communities, systems, institutions, governments, and law enforcement, we rebooted our fishbowl conversation from 2015 with a new wave of panelists. These panelists represent both ministers of color and ministers who are white as we once again enter into a courageous conversation, asking together, what does the Lord require of us? May this be your question, too. And may you live into the response in word and deed as a witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Panelists: Rev. Kevin Porter, Rev. Eustacia Moffett Marshall, Rev. Wonjae Choi, Rev. Adan Mairena, Rev. Baron Mullis, Rev. Samantha Hudson, and Rev. Casey Thompson. Moderated by our Executive Presbyter, Rev. Ruth Faith Santana-Grace. Opening Prayer by the Moderator of our Presbytery, Elder Vijay Aggarwal.

More episodes of our CyberPsalm Cafes: PresbySpeak in a Time Such as This: www.presbyphl.org/cyberpsalm.

Interested in 2015 conversations on Race, Bias, and Privilege: https://presbyphl.org/race-bias-privilege/