Resilient Faith

Over forty years ago, Gayla Cooper felt reluctant to spend even one day ministering to children in a Tijuana orphanage.  However, after meeting a group of children from a Mexican orphanage, Gayla’s heart was touched so deeply that she decided to pack her bags and move to Mexico to work in the orphanage full-time.

Meanwhile, Scott Congdon traveled to the very same orphanage with a community service group from his college.  The children had such a profound impact on Scott, that when he returned home, he began collecting food and clothing for the children, returning to deliver the collected items.

Together, Scott and Gayla soon discovered that they shared the same dream of ministering alongside the poor in Mexico.  In March of 1980, Scott and Gayla founded Amor Ministries.  That fall, they recruited their first ministry group to participate in a building project at a Tecate orphanage.

Scott and Gayla were married a year later and four more missions teams traveled to Mexico with Amor.  Today, the ministry continues to live out the Congdon’s initial calling and builds homes alongside families each day.

What we believe in:
#1 – We love Jesus.

In all things we look to Jesus. We work because of him and we want our work to point to him.

#2 – We are diverse.

The churches we serve are diverse and our staff reflects that diversity. You are guaranteed to find someone here who thinks differently than you about just about anything theological, political, or even where the best tacos are. Iron sharpens iron and, in the end, see #1.

#3 – We have healthy conflict.

We are learners, which means that we are open to being better in all things which means we need to be able to discover with our coworkers how we can be better. Even when we seek to be better, it doesn’t always feel good to hear how to be better, so we always refer back to #1.

#4 – We eat together.

Any Christian community worth its salt breaks bread together. It breaks down barriers and creates opportunities for deeper relationships. When we meet, more often than not, we eat together. Sometimes we even compete in our annual Chili Cookoff!

#5 – We laugh.

Ministry is fun. We serve a savior whose first miracle was turning water into wine at a party. We are at a nexus point of people’s lives being transformed. Ministry is also hard which is why we make sure we laugh a lot.

#6 – We are servants.

The words, “That’s not my responsibility,” don’t exist with us. We go the extra mile with our groups, our donors, our pastors, and our teammates which frequently takes us outside of an eight-to-five schedule.

#7 – We constantly seek God.

We are structured like a business but we spend time listening to what God is saying to us as part of the body of Christ. When closeness and proximity to God is your top priority (see #1), there’s no more exciting place to be than to be listening.

How to volunteer, donate and help:
https://amor.org/

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Westside Food Bank (WSFB) was founded in 1981 by the Westside Ecumenical Council, when several Westside social service agencies worked together to create a food bank warehouse that could deal with food purchases and collections on a larger scale than any single direct service agency could.

Now, we provide nutritious food for more than 112,000 households in need and their families with the help of well over 55 member agencies throughout our service area. We collaborate with a host of community coalitions and multi-sector partners to strengthen the food assistance network on a large scale.

How to volunteer and learn more:
https://www.wsfb.org/

About Genevieve Riutort and WSFB:
Genevieve brings more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising and management to her role as Westside Food bank’s leader. Her personal experience as a single woman of color raising a family amidst food and housing insecurity informs her hunger relief and anti-poverty work. Born and raised in Bronx, NY, as a child Genevieve benefited from numerous social service programs including food assistance, childcare, summer camp, performing arts, and scholarship programs. Years later, as a single mother of three in the midst of a divorce, Genevieve relied on government safety net programs such as SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) WIC, state subsidized healthcare, and subsidized housing. It was getting a job at Westside Food Bank in 2004 that put her on the path out of poverty and being able to support her family.

Genevieve is passionate about bringing innovative approaches to difficult problems and collaborating for community impact. She loves sharing her expertise in nonprofit management, fundraising, communications and media relations to lift others up and expand the collective impact of the social good sector. Over her more than 20-year career in the nonprofit world she has provided education on issues and impact through workshops and presentations, by facilitating meetings and roundtables, organizing conferences and convenings, and providing coaching and mentoring.

She has worked at Westside Food Bank since 2004, previously serving as Deputy Director and Chief Development Officer. WSFB’s income has more than tripled during her tenure with strong support from private foundations and individuals.

She plays a key role on WSFB’s Strategic Planning Committee and works on updating systems, revising policies, staff engagement, emergency preparedness and disaster planning. She facilitates communication and coordination between multiple food service providers in West Los Angeles County working with the Westside Coalition on Housing, Hunger and Health as well as Westside Food Bank’s member agencies.

Genevieve has represented Westside Food Bank in hundreds of media appearances including on-air interviews for radio and television programs, podcasts, webinars, live talks, and newspaper and magazine articles. She was the host and producer of the City TV Santa Monica talk show Nonprofit Profiles  for 3 seasons where she interviewed nonprofit leaders, staff, volunteers, and clients and has produced numerous promotional videos and PSAs.

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In this episode, you will learn about our Mission Partner, MBF and how Spiritual healing is necessary in medical healing of the body.
Our guest is Patrick Coughlin, VP of Partner Engagement. He will share the reason behind the mission and how and why MBF started.

About Patrick:
Patrick Coughlin was called to Medical Benevolence Foundation (MBF) in May of 2018. As Vice President of Partner Engagement, Patrick is responsible for setting and implementing strategy to connect U.S. partners with overseas partners. He leads an MBF team, which spans coast to coast, engaging churches, foundations, families, and individuals in medical ministry in developing countries.
Patrick’s primary functions include communicating the needs, goals, and successes of partners in under-resourced countries, securing support from U.S. partners to meet those needs, leading mission trips, and helping grow the MBF organization.
With strong leadership skills in strategic planning, team building, and communication, Patrick was chief executive officer of five chambers of commerce and founded 4ward consulting before joining MBF. His experience in building communities taught him the need to positively impact several foundational issues at once, to build capacity, and to enable populations to seize opportunities. Building sustainable medical ministries through MBF requires the same approach.
Patrick, his wife Melanie, and daughter Isabella share their blessings by finding opportunities to serve as the hands of Christ by sponsoring a child in Mali, participating in their church’s sponsorship of a class in Haiti, supporting local churches’ mission events which serve the poor and disadvantaged, contributing to ministries which fight the sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking of teen girls, and of course, supporting MBF.
How to connect with MBF:
https://mbf.org/

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BPC Youtube Channel:
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Join Resilient Faith Podcast as we interview Tracey Evans, Hospitality Manager with Hope on Union. 
To learn more and to volunteer, contact Tracey here:
Hope on Union l United University Church  uuc-la.org  

 
How does BPC focus on Mission work? BPC is a Matthew 25 Church!
Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

Matthew 25:31–46 calls all of us to actively engage in the world around us, so our faith comes alive and we wake up to new possibilities. Convicted by this passage, Brentwood Presbyterian Church joins our denomination, the PC(USA), to act boldly and compassionately to serve people who are hungry, oppressed, imprisoned or poor.

The themes of the Matthew 25 invitation are grounded in the gospel. Jesus calls us to serve with and for “the least of these” — not as a group to be pitied, but as people who are deeply loved by Jesus. This loving commitment to radical and fearless discipleship has three focuses:

• Building congregational vitality by challenging congregations and their members to deepen and energize their faith and grow as joyful leaders and disciples actively engaged with their community, seeing new disciples engaged in ministry and longstanding believers develop in faith as the gospel of Jesus Christ is shared in word and deed.

• Dismantling structural racism by fearlessly applying our faith to advocate and break down the systems, practices and thinking that underlie discrimination, bias, prejudice and oppression of people of color.

• Eradicating systemic poverty by acting on our beliefs and working to change laws, policies, plans and structures in our society that perpetuate economic exploitation of people who are poor.

· Link to current OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE

· Link to BPC’s INTERNATIONAL MISSION PARTNERS

· Link to BPC’s SEASONAL OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE

BE A PART OF THE BPC MISSION TEAM

Interested in becoming part of the BPC MISSION TEAM 

or learning more about the Church’s mission activities and partnerships?

Contact Mission Elder Steve Ruth ([email protected]) 

or Pastor Lora East ([email protected]).

 The Mission Team meets monthly, in person as well as via Zoom, 

usually after the final service of each second Monday of the month. 

ALL ARE INVITED.

Support the show

Support us here:
https://www.bpcusa.org/financial-ministry/

BPC Youtube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/BrentwoodPresbyterianChurch

Join Resilient Faith Podcast and Pastor Lora East as she interviews Rev. Heidi Worthen-Gamble, the Mission Catalyst for the Presbytery of the Pacific.

How does BPC focus on Mission work? BPC is a Matthew 25 Church!
Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

Matthew 25:31–46 calls all of us to actively engage in the world around us, so our faith comes alive and we wake up to new possibilities. Convicted by this passage, Brentwood Presbyterian Church joins our denomination, the PC(USA), to act boldly and compassionately to serve people who are hungry, oppressed, imprisoned or poor.

The themes of the Matthew 25 invitation are grounded in the gospel. Jesus calls us to serve with and for “the least of these” — not as a group to be pitied, but as people who are deeply loved by Jesus. This loving commitment to radical and fearless discipleship has three focuses:

• Building congregational vitality by challenging congregations and their members to deepen and energize their faith and grow as joyful leaders and disciples actively engaged with their community, seeing new disciples engaged in ministry and longstanding believers develop in faith as the gospel of Jesus Christ is shared in word and deed.

• Dismantling structural racism by fearlessly applying our faith to advocate and break down the systems, practices and thinking that underlie discrimination, bias, prejudice and oppression of people of color.

• Eradicating systemic poverty by acting on our beliefs and working to change laws, policies, plans and structures in our society that perpetuate economic exploitation of people who are poor.

· Link to current OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE

· Link to BPC’s INTERNATIONAL MISSION PARTNERS

· Link to BPC’s SEASONAL OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE

BE A PART OF THE BPC MISSION TEAM

Interested in becoming part of the BPC MISSION TEAM 

or learning more about the Church’s mission activities and partnerships?

Contact Mission Elder Steve Ruth ([email protected]) 

or Pastor Lora East ([email protected]).

 The Mission Team meets monthly, in person as well as via Zoom, 

usually after the final service of each second Monday of the month. 

ALL ARE INVITED.

Support the show

Support us here:
https://www.bpcusa.org/financial-ministry/

BPC Youtube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/BrentwoodPresbyterianChurch

What am I doing here? Why were we born and what is my purpose?  - Dave asks this or us in this sermon. It makes us all think, right? WHY was I born, why were we born. Let's use 2023 to find out! 

5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

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Scripture: Isaiah 9:2,6-7

The people walking in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
    a light has dawned.
For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

Scripture: Luke 2: 1-7

 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

Scripture: Luke 2: 8-20

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5: 17-20

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

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In the quiet, we hear God. It’s easy to reflect on the past; that is
why they say hindsight is 20/20. As we reflect on this past year, let us be grateful. When we take moments of silence and still, we can hear
God. It may not always be great at deciphering the message, but I do know
that God soothes me and allows me to get through stressful times.

This holiday season can be one that is stressful, lonely, frustrating,
busy, and full of the hustle and bustle that is the holiday season.
Many of us have suffered sickness during this time, and many of us
have to travel and juggle busy schedules. Some of us have suffered
great loss and others are celebrating their best year ever. Through it
all when we have a chance to be still, and  listen to God,  that is
the best gift of all.

Luke 2: 8-20 NRSV

The Shepherds and the Angels

8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah,a the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,bpraising God and saying, 

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, 

and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”c

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

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Join Pastor Dave with a beautiful message about Joseph, and the importance of his role in welcoming our savior, who would be named Jesus. Thank you Lord for our dads, and now important they are in our lives.

Matthew 1: 18-25

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[a]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[b] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[d] (which means “God with us”).

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

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Pastor Dave hits us with a core issue in today's world: how when we are hurt, it spills out to others. How do we reconcile with ourselves and with God? How can we spill out love and not hurt? Listen to ponder the issue. 

Scripture is from NIV. 

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

Support the show

Support us here:
https://www.bpcusa.org/financial-ministry/

BPC Youtube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/BrentwoodPresbyterianChurch