Two weeks after the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) shared with staff sweeping cuts to its mission co-worker program as part of a broader restructuring, the denomination faces mounting criticism. Despite two commissioner resolutions passed by the 226th General Assembly last summer reaffirming the role of mission co-workers and calling for their retention, this week co-workers were notified that they are either being laid off or reassigned. Many mission co-workers and church leaders have voiced frustration over what they have experienced as an abrupt decision, a lack of transparency, and concerns over the future of global partnerships.
A shift in global mission engagement
After mission co-workers were informed of their employment status, an article published by the Presbyterian News Service on February 5 reported that the newly formed Interim Unified Agency (IUA) intends to shift its approach to global engagement, focusing on “mutuality” and “sustainability” rather than a reliance on traditional mission co-worker deployment. However, these changes have left many questioning what this shift will mean in practice.
“This approach continues our commitment to partnership and takes the next step of moving from sending missionaries to being more equal ministry partners in the world. …” — Stated Clerk of the General Assembly and Executive Director of the IUA Jihyun Oh
Jihyun Oh, stated clerk of the General Assembly and executive director of the IUA, told the Presbyterian News Service, “This approach continues our commitment to partnership and takes the next step of moving from sending missionaries to being more equal ministry partners in the world. We have been shifting in that direction for decades and are taking another significant step this year. … The hope is that this approach will help us be more nimble in responding to the ongoing shifts in the world and in the church while continuing to foster deeper and broader relationships with faith communities worldwide.”
While the article suggests this is a move toward a more equitable and collaborative global engagement model, critics argue that it has been implemented without sufficient consultation with mission co-workers or their international mission partners. This discrepancy continues to fuel concerns that the changes amount to a withdrawal from “on the ground” mission partnerships rather than a restructuring. Several mission co-workers, who commented on condition of anonymity, feel this shift has come at the expense of decades-long relationships and significant progress toward undoing some of the more paternal and colonial styles of mission by previous generations of missionaries.
“I feel that I’ve been treated like a financial liability rather than as an asset in ministry.” — An anonymous mission co-worker
One mission co-worker expressed feelings of betrayal: “I feel that I’ve been treated like a financial liability rather than as an asset in ministry.” This sentiment echoes the concerns of others who have dedicated years – sometimes decades – to serving alongside global partners.
Open letter calls for transparency
In response to the layoffs, former mission co-worker Cynthia Holder Rich, co-authored an open letter addressed to PC(USA) leaders questioning both the rationale behind the decision to lay off a significant number of mission co-workers and the lack of consultation with global partners. With 81 signatures, the letter was delivered to the stated clerk and other denominational leaders on January 30 and again on February 1.
“When progressive Christians, communions, and mission-sending organizations leave a mission field, their absences are inevitably and invariably filled with voices, personnel, and mission partners who view Jesus and his ministry differently, in less inclusive and liberating ways,” the letter states. “Specifically, this impacts work with women and the ordination of women, with people in the queer community, and with communities on the margins.”
The letter also criticizes PC(USA) leadership for making such drastic changes without a clear theological framework or engagement with on-the-ground global partners, especially at a time when nationalism and threats of political violence are on the rise.
“Are there theological and missiological shifts that are going on here?” Holder Rich asked in an interview with Outlook. “If there are, it’d be great to hear about them because we are a theological body.
“We’re not a business.”
Henry Kuo, one of the original five co-signers and contributors to the letter, wrote in response to the January 23 Outlook article, “In a time where countries are withdrawing into themselves, the PC(USA) demonstrates that it is following the trend. Sad, because this is a time when demonstrating collaboration and partnership across boundaries, especially for justice work, is even more critical.”
In an interview, Kuo said, “There’s a sense, at least with the missionary co-workers I talked to, that the Presbyterian Church on the whole does not seem to value the kind of work that they are doing.”
What comes next?
Mission co-workers face difficult decisions whether they were laid off and offered a severance package or invited to consider reassignment. Co-workers have 45 days to respond. Despite being laid off, they continue to question how the denomination will maintain its global partnerships.
Holder Rich served as a mission co-worker in Madagascar and Tanzania for a decade and now serves as a pastor in Dayton, Ohio, and is part of the administrative faculty at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. She worries about the long-term consequences of IUA’s shift.
“Every particle of real estate that we voluntarily leave is going to be occupied soon by people who don’t agree with us, whose sense of what it means to follow Jesus is completely different and much more exclusive,” she said.
While financial realities may necessitate change, at least some Presbyterians are demanding that the church articulate a clearer vision for its future in global mission and be more transparent…
While financial realities may necessitate change, at least some Presbyterians are demanding that the church articulate a clearer vision for its future in global mission and be more transparent in conversations with staff, current mission partners, and the broader membership of the church. Stated Clerk Jihyun Oh and Director of World Mission Mienda Uriarte have not responded to a request for further comment.
For now, the uncertainty continues, leaving mission co-workers, partners and congregations grappling with what this new chapter means for the Presbyterian witness in the world.
Here is the full text of the letter signed by more than 80 Presbyterians, including five original signatories, and sent to PC(USA) leadership on January 30 and again on February 2:
Dear Presbyterian Church (USA) leaders,
Grace and peace be with you all.
We write, concerned about announced changes coming to the deployment of PC(USA) mission personnel — which include a significant decrease in number of mission co-workers, the potential of changes in the way these church servants are deployed, and a lack of consultation with global partners before changes were announced. We write with questions.
1) When there have been significant shifts in the past in how the PC(USA) has engaged in world mission, these have occurred after significant work has been done to develop new missiological understandings, informed by our confessions and by conversations both with global partners and within our church to discern where the Spirit is moving in new ways in a new time. If this work has been done, it has not been reported to the wider church. Please direct us to the links or files where we can understand the work that has been done and begin to understand how our missiological approach as a denomination is changing in ways that are faithful, respecting our global relationships and the desires of those with whom we minister. We would appreciate hearing the work you have completed to read the signs of the times and to respond appropriately. If it has not been done, please share with us honestly the biblical and theological foundation(s) on which these decisions have been made.
2) We are concerned that the PC(USA) is withdrawing staff — some of whom have served for many years and have deep relationships with and understanding of global partners and their ministries, histories, and cultural contexts — at a moment when nationalism and jingoistic tendencies are on the rise in the U.S. and in many other places. We would like to know how you have discerned the Spirit’s guidance, and what brought you to move in this direction at this crucial moment, and how you see the PC(USA) continuing to confront injustice and nationalism where you have chosen to withdraw staff, particularly those engaged in this work.
3) When progressive Christians, communions and mission sending organizations leave a mission field, their absences are inevitably and invariably filled with voices, personnel, and mission partners who view Jesus and his ministry differently, in less inclusive and liberating ways. Specifically, this impacts work with women and the ordination of women, with people in the queer community, and with communities on the margins. We would like to know your plan for ensuring that progressive Christian understandings and the people in countries where we have global relationships who rely on these for life and health will be protected.
4) Finally, in mission, communions who historically sent mission personnel have often been accused of colonial approaches to the spreading of the good news — with good reason. The lack of consultation with global partners with whom PC(USA) mission co-workers have labored about the choice to cut so many mission personnel is one way to continue the tragic and deadly tradition of top-down, colonial approaches to the ways we relate with our siblings across the globe, particularly those who are less well-resourced than we. This approach is neither decolonial, just, nor Reformed. We encourage reconsideration of these steps with appropriate conversations and consultations with our global partners, to discern God’s guidance for us all in mission in this moment.
Thank you.
Peace in Christ be with you all,
The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Holder Rich
Pastor, Corinth Presbyterian Church, Dayton, Ohio
Administrative Faculty, Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio
Dr. Henry S. Kuo
Associate Professor of Church History and Historical Theology
Eden Theological Seminary
Webster Groves, Missouri
The Rev. Dr. Ruben Rosario Rodriguez
Clarence Louis and Helen Steber Professor of Theological Studies
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis, Missouri
The Rev. Antonio (Tony) Aja, D.Min.
The Rev. Dr. R. Ward Holder
Interim Pastor, Historic Roxbury Presbyterian Church, Boston, Massachusetts
Professor of Theology and Politics, Saint Anselm College, Manchester, New Hampshire
