Sunspots

On this special episode of Sunspots, Synod Leader and Stated Clerk Valerie Young sits down with Rev. Rich Schempp, H.R. and former Executive Presbyter of Palo Duro Presbytery. Rich and his wife Carol have been Mission Co-workers at NOROC (New Opportunities for Romanian Orphan Children) in Tulcea, Romania.

Because Tulcea is located on the Danube Delta, near the border with Ukraine, NOROC has been in a unique position to respond to the humanitarian crisis as tens of thousands of fleeing Ukrainians seek safety in Romania. Click HERE to read the letters from NOROC Onsite Director Petru Solca to Carole and Rich Schempp.

You can mail donations to:
NOROC Texas, 200 Hedges, Abilene, TX 79605

Or you can give online at:
http://www.noroc.org/how-to-help.html. Note that in the process of filling out the donation form, please write 'Ukraine' or 'refugees' in the Note section.

On this episode of Sunspots, guest host Elizabeth Brinegar sits down with Sarah Leer and Natarsha Sanders to talk about our identity as honest and authentic children of God through the lens of Christian Education.

This week's episode is a Christmas gift of a Christmas poetry reading from her extensive collection of Christmas poems by Christianne Chase and musical adaptations of Christmas songs by pianist Brett N Wilenzick, both Ruling Elders at First Presbyterian Church in Enid, OK.  

Please enjoy this inspirational and entertaining podcast from your friends at Sunspots!

Today, we’re talking with the Rev. Dr. Leah R. Hrachovec and her nine year old daughter Nora. They’re going to tell us a story about the children’s and youth program at First Presbyterian Church in Stillwater, OK.  Specifically, we’ll hear about Nora’s project with RIP Medical Debt, a project to eliminate medical debt in Oklahoma.  

 https://ripmedicaldebt.org

https://www.stillwaterfpc.org

Today, we’re speaking with General Presbyter Rev. Stewart Smith from the Presbytery of Arkansas. Stewart is a lifelong Presbyterian who was born as a preacher’s kid in Charlotte, NC. He moved to Arkansas in the first grade and grew up in the Graham Memorial Presbyterian Church in Forest City. 

He graduated from Trinity University and after several years of work with Diamond Shamrock, he experienced a call to the ministry and attended Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. 

He has served as the Associate Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Fort Smith, AR and as Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Springdale, serving there until accepting the call to become the General Presbyter in October of 2015.  

Stewart is married to Laura, an elementary teacher in Maumelle and they have two sons, Ryan and Alex. In his spare time, Stewart is a runner, jogger, biker, golfer, and just a general sports guy. 

This podcast is a follow-up to our first podcast about the folks of the Presbytery of South Louisiana after Hurricane Ida. In that first podcast, Interim General Presbyter Richard Williams travelled to New Orleans over Labor Day weekend and interviewed some of the Presbyterians who are doing the work of helping their neighbors while also dealing with their own issues.

In this follow-up podcast, Richard returns to the bayou four weeks after landfall and talks first to Don and Val of Raceland Presbyterian Church, who are wrangling supplies and church building issues while being open to worship with their sister church in Gheens.

Next, Richard talks to several members of Gheens Presbyterian Church, who tell of how the church became a gathering point for supplies, a community gathering point, and serving point. Each person testifies to the presence of God during the storm and how the Holy Spirit powerfully moves four weeks later.

You can give to the ongoing work of recovery by going to the Presbytery of South Louisana’s website at pbysouthla.org.

On this episode of Sunspots, Valerie sits down with Tim Blodgett, the General Presbyter for Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery. They talk about his role as GP (side note…he’s not Bishop), his learning about when to enter situations with churches, and how some really good things have come from the pandemic. They also talk about the Native American churches in Eastern Oklahoma and the Presbytery’s efforts to rebuild not just the buildings, but also the relationships. Valerie was also surprised to discover that Tim has a really interesting background that is similar to her own.

Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery - https://www.eokpresbytery.org

This is a special episode of the Sunspots podcast, following up on what has happened in the Presbytery of South Louisiana after Hurricane Ida made landfall there. 

Interim General Presbyter Richard Williams traveled to New Orleans over Labor Day weekend, to interview the faithful Presbyterians who are responding to their local communities in the aftermath of the hurricane. Not only did he find these saints responding, but found them counting their blessings as well.

The voices you hear on this podcast are of Richard Williams; Monica LaGarde an Elder at Bayou Blue Presbyterian Church; Chris Smith, an Elder at Berean Presbyterian Church; and Dan Baker, Young Adult Volunteer Site Coordinator of New Orleans. 

You can give to the ongoing work of recovery by going to the Presbytery of South Louisiana’s website at pbysouthla.org. 

On this episode of Sunspots, we talk with Lynn Hargrove, the General Presbyter and the Stated Clerk for administrative process for the Presbytery of New Covenant. Lynn has a rich history with and respect for the people of Southeast Texas… and it shows. Being on the Gulf of Mexico means there are natural disasters aplenty. We talk about some of that as well as expectations of pastors, that hot topic of divestment, and the best things coming out of New Covenant right now.

Presbytery of New Covenant - http://pbyofnewcovenant.org

Valerie catches up with the Rev. Sallie Watson, General Presbyter to Mission Presbytery.
Recorded before the Delta Variant gained speed - Sallie talks about what those adaptive churches are doing now, and what they'll need to continue to do and be.

https://www.mission-presbytery.org/