PresbySpeak

In memory of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and other victims of Racial Violence, African American pastors and other leaders of our Presbytery gathered to pray, meditate, reflect on Scripture, and pause for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Below are links to the gathering if you would like to use in your congregations.

The video of the vigil and other links can be found here: https://presbyphl.org/title-breathe-on-us-breath-of-god-a-virtual-prayer-vigil/

This week we bring you an important and heart-wrenching conversation with four of our local chaplains serving on the frontlines in the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic: Revs. Kathy Hecht, Sameh Shaker, Tom Summers, and Marcie Brozyna. As we have checked in on them and many others, beloved members of our presbytery and validated ministers whose ministry of compassion, pastoral care, and presence in the midst of calls for distance, the vitality of their witness has been proven over and again. We know one of the challenges of this virus and pandemic is the unknown. The mandate to stay home can make the suffering of our neighbors harder to grasp and thereby difficult to know how best to respond, even to question if what we are doing is working or the right thing. Our hope and prayer is that by hearing the stories of these courageous saints among us, they would become your eyes and ears and affirm once again that the best way to love and care for your neighbor is to adhere to the precautions of social distancing, mask wearing, handwashing, and more. So listen now from these disciples of Jesus serving as chaplains among us. Then take a moment, or five and ten moments, to pray for them and those under their care.

Rev. Eustacia Moffett Marshall sang Amazing Grace as a part of the conclusion of worship for the Presbytery of Philadelphia's first virtual stated meeting, May 16, 2020.

This week we bring to you excerpts from our first-ever virtual stated meeting of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, moderated by our Moderator Elder Vijay Aggarwal of Wayne Presbyterian Church and Vice Moderator Rev. Ashley Rossi of Carmel Presbyterian Church. Yes, while the distance feels great as this pandemic has caused us not to be able to gather in person, our people have risen up and over 225 gathered on-line for worship, work, and witness as a gathered and scattered people throughout Greater Philadelphia. What follows is the Meditation titled “What Time Is It?,” offered by our Executive Presbyter, Rev. Ruth Faith Santana Grace and Stated Clerk, Rev. Kevin Porter. We also have musical selections from Rev. Eustacia Moffett Marshall and Rev. Peter Ahn. We hope you enjoy this abbreviated Stated Meeting as you continue to hold tightly to the hope we have as the church of Jesus Christ, bearing witness to the gospel in a time such as this.

Hear now the Scripture readings from Rev. Ken Ross and Cheryl Pyrch.

More information on this gathering: https://presbyphl.org/events/may-16th-2020-digital-stated-mtg/

Minutes in Brief can be found here: https://presbyphl.org/may-16-2020-stated-meeting-re-cap/

View the video shared at the end of the Stated Meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7DUI0dAi70

This week’s Cyber Psalm Café topic is Trauma Matters, aware that each of is not only navigating how to care for and shepherd our congregations and God’s people in the midst of this pandemic, but also navigating our own self-care as we endure trauma ourselves. We are grateful to have as our guest, Bob Stice, a licensed psycho therapist and member of the Credo faculty of the Board of Pensions. Bob comes to us with a specialty in trauma and is the director of the behavioral health agency in Albuquerque, which is the primary mental health provider for the University of New Mexico Hospital and level I trauma center in the state. We also will hear from three of our own local pastors, Rev. Tom Summers, chaplain at Rydal Park (a Presby’s Inspired Life Community), Rev. Carla Jones Brown, pastor and head of staff at Arch Street Presbyterian Church, and Rev. Steve Morganti, the pastor of Concord LIberti Presbyterian Church.

This week we hosted a digital Call to the Table and Prayer for Holy Week. Instead of gathering for conversations about the nuts and bolts of ministry in such a time as this, we hit pause and invited the faithful of our presbytery to join in a virtual meditation of the stations of the cross, musical selections, and a a chance to participate in communion together. As you listen in, may this unconventional service and the elements of Christ’s table sustain you for the uncertainty of these days and the days to come.

Side note: Our CyberPsalm Cafe will take a break for the next two weeks and will return on April 28th. Stay tuned. We plan to offer this series of our PresbySpeak podcast regularly, albeit not weekly. Blessings this Holy Week.

A special thanks to our guest musician, Rev. Eustacia Marshall, and liturgists: Vijay Aggarwal, Revs. Ashley Rossi, Casey Thompson, Adam Hearlson, Carla Jones Brown, Jade King Bass, Laura Colee, and Susan Wonderland.

View this service at www.presbyphl.org/cyberpsalmcafe

This week we hosted our third episode of our brief series in light of COVID-19 (CoronaVirus) called CyberPsalm Cafe. Each Tuesday at 2 p.m. on both ZOOM and Facebook LIVE, leaders from our Presbytery have hosted an organic conversation as we remain connectional people during the quarantines and social distancing. CyberPsalm Café is a chance to enter into the laments and hopes that is the ambiguous season and find God together in the midst of it all. These conversations include some of our pastors and presbyterian leaders who will reflect on how they are encountering and practicing the presence of Christ in such a time as this along with recommended resources available in various places. Each thirty-minute or so LIVE chat will also be available as weekly episodes on our Youtube channel and our PresbySpeak podcast via SoundCloud and iTunes. Interested in sharing how you are seeing this at work in your congregation, ministry, and wider community? Share with us on our page www.presbyphl.org/cyberpsalm.

This week we welcomed Rev. Dr. Mark DeVries, veteran youth ministry practitioner and educator and founder of Ministry Architects. Our conversation focused on how to with children and youth in this time of pandemic. It is no secret that there is a great challenge for all our churches is we walking alongside parents and others talk about this inexplicable reality that has neighbors not playing with neighbors and children not able to hug their grandparents. As a part of this conversation we also heard from our own Revs. Josh Gill, Jiuen Lee, and Adan Mairena.

Be sure to join us next Tuesday at 2 p.m. for our Holy Week Call to the Table and Prayer. This will be a chance for all of us to gather for a brief service of prayer, communion, and meditation as we lean into the unfolding story from basin to table to cross to empty tomb. For you expending yourself for others this week, this is a chance for you to just come and be. See you then. Prayers your way.

This week we hosted our second episode of our new platform in light of COVID-19 (CoronaVirus) called CyberPsalm Cafe. Each Tuesday at 2 p.m. on both ZOOM and Facebook LIVE, leaders from our Presbytery will host an organic conversation as we remain connectional people during the quarantines and social distancing. CyberPsalm Café is a chance to enter into the laments and hopes that is the ambiguous season and find God together in the midst of it all. These conversations will include some of our pastors and presbyterian leaders who will reflect on how they are encountering and practicing the presence of Christ in such a time as this along with recommended resources available in various places. Each thirty-minute or so LIVE chat will also be available as weekly episodes on our Youtube channel and our PresbySpeak podcast via SoundCloud and iTunes. Interested in sharing how you are seeing this at work in your congregation, ministry, and wider community? Share with us on our page www.presbyphl.org/cyberpsalm.

In Episode 2 we welcomed Rev. Ellie Johns Kelley, our Ministry Relations Officer from the Presbyterian Foundation. Aware that over 80% of congregational giving comes through in person giving and 78% comes from Sunday mornings, Rev. Ellie Johns Kelley joined us to share about how we can practice ongoing stewardship efforts and generosity through digital platforms offered by the Foundation. Our aim is to help our congregations continue to support and sustain the vital ministry of our 119 churches in Greater Philadelphia. As a bonus to today’s conversation, we also welcomed several of our pastors to respond witha few questions and to share about how they are practicing spiritual formation and discipleship in these strange times. Our thanks to Rev. Eustacia Marshall, Rev. Ted Mingle, Rev. Kari Olson, Rev. Sarah Colwill, Rev. Roberta Kearney, and Rev. Chris Holland.

This week we launched our pilot of a new platform in light of COVID-19 (CoronaVirus) called CyberPsalm Cafe. Each Tuesday at 2 p.m. on both ZOOM and Facebook LIVE, leaders from our Presbytery will host an organic conversation as we remain connectional people during the quarantines and social distancing. CyberPsalm Café is a chance to enter into the laments and hopes that is the ambiguous season and find God together in the midst of it all. These conversations will include some of our pastors and presbyterian leaders who will reflect on how they are encountering and practicing the presence of Christ in such a time as this along with recommended resources available in various places. Each thirty-minute or so LIVE chat will also be available on our Youtube channel and as weekly episodes on our PresbySpeak podcast via SoundCloud and iTunes. Interested in sharing how you are seeing this at work in your congregation, ministry, and wider community? Share with us on our page www.presbyphl.org/cyberpsalm.

This week was an open conversation with our Executive Presbyter, Rev. Ruth Faith Santana-Grace, Stated Clerk, Rev. Kevin Porter, Moderator of the Presbytery, Vijay Aggarwal, Vice Moderator, Rev. Ashley Rossi. Former Moderators, Rev. Dr. Janel Dixon and Rev. Wonjae Choi, and pastor of The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, Rev. John Wilkinson, as we begin this new form of community and connectional life together. Stay tuned for more episodes, assured we are with you, although distant, for the journey ahead.

If you are listening in, this is part two of our two-part episode that features the facilitated workshops and conversations with MaryAnn McKibben Dana, author of the book God, Improv and the Art of Living. MaryAnn was the featured speaker at this year’s Ecumenical Equipping Event at United Lutheran Seminary in Partnership with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. If you have not already done so, check out part one on our podcast. If you have already engaged, enjoy the final two sessions as we hear more about how YES AND can be some of the most empowering and life-giving words to leverage faithful ministry.

More information and links here: https://presbyphl.org/ecumenical-equipping-event-2020/