The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) plans to send out a video worship service for Easter to congregations – with J. Herbert Nelson, the PC(USA)’s stated clerk, preaching. That’s one of the ways PC(USA) leaders are working to provide support for congregations, mid councils and pastors struggling to respond to the COVID-19 epidemic – a range of responses discussed March 26 during conference call meetings of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board’s coordinating committee and the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly (COGA). One reality is the recognition that some congregations are struggling financially – as more Americans lose their jobs, as giving to some churches goes down, as congregations struggle to collect and pay per capita. Diane Moffett, president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA), said the PC(USA) will work thorough Presbyterian Disaster Assistance to try to provide “some kind of relief to churches that are dealing with this crisis” … [Read more...]

As COVID-19 continues to spread and international travel is disrupted, Presbyterian World Mission has asked all of its mission co-workers who have the United States as a home base (meaning they are U.S. citizens or permanent residents) to return home as recommended by the U.S. State Department, and is working with them individually to determine what’s best in their particular situations.  The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) also has brought back young adult volunteers (YAVs) serving at its international sites. Sara Lisherness has served as interim director for World Mission for the past seven months. Lisherness spoke with the Presbyterian Outlook March 25 about what the unexpected transition has been like for the mission co-workers, and about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the PC(USA)’s international work. Here are excerpts from that conversation. What’s this been like for the mission co-workers? So far, about 70 mission co-workers have chosen to shelter-in-place – … [Read more...]

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is recalling many of its overseas mission co-workers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sara Lisherness, the PC(USA)’s interim director of World Mission, posted an announcement on World Mission’s Facebook page March 21 stating that “the PC(USA) has requested that all mission co-workers with the United States as home-base (U.S. Citizens and U.S. permanent residents) return to the U.S. as recommended by the State Department.” World Mission’s crisis team is coordinating individually with each mission co-worker to determine the best approach, the message from Lisherness states. “In some cases, borders and airports are closed and in other cases our mission co-workers are making the decision to shelter-in-place. Those that are sheltering-in-place have submitted detailed plans for how to remain safe or be evacuated if necessary. “This was a very difficult decision, arrived at after much prayer and discernment, but considering the unpredictable … [Read more...]

Day by day, First Presbyterian Church of Snohomish, in Washington state, is figuring out what it means to live with COVID-19 – and how to build community. Snohomish is some 30 miles north of Seattle — a region in the United States hit hard early by the coronavirus, so people there have had a bit more time to take in what’s happening and begin to react, perhaps providing some guidance for others not far behind. Snohomish is close enough to Seattle for a long commute, but with a separate small-town identity as well, surrounded by farms and houses on acreage. This congregation of about 250 is filled with people who are mostly well-educated and generally affluent, said Ann Lewis, who is co-pastor of the congregation along with her husband, Charlie. Initially, “it just seemed very limited,” Ann said — with one person falling ill, a man who had traveled to China and who was hospitalized in Everett, about four miles from her home. “He was in his 30s, he responded to the … [Read more...]