The Presbyterian Mission Agency Board voted May 13 to expand the mission of the Presbyterian Investment and Loan Program (ILP) to allow the loan program to finance some operational expenses for congregations and presbyteries — with financing “to be provided on a temporary basis with a short-term payback,” according to the recommendation for the action. (Read the full recommendation: PILP Operational Loans.) James Rissler, ILP’s president and chief executive officer, told the board that the original deliverance from 1995 creating the loan program made it clear that loans were restricted to acquiring or improving real property — in other words, for capital projects. ILP has been reluctant to consider funding ongoing operating costs because “it just snowballs and causes issues going forward” if a loan is taken for reoccurring operational costs, Rissler said. But he said ILP has received inquiries in recent years for short-term loans for more limited operational costs — for … [Read more...]

The Presbyterian Mission Agency Board is being asked to approve beginning a “focused exploratory planning phase” for a multiyear fundraising campaign with a goal of raising $4 million to support the work of Stony Point Center. That’s the next step in a plan to finance major capital improvements at Stony Point, a conference center about an hour north of New York City that Diane Moffett, the president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA), wants to make a focus of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Matthew 25 initiative. Last fall, the board voted to “affirm the basic direction” of a 75-page vision plan for Stony Point — a plan that was developed with the help of the Run River Enterprises consulting group and that called for making at least $10.3 million in capital improvements at Stony Point over the next decade. The board also voted then to provide $75,000 for a feasibility study to assess how much likely could be raised in a capital campaign — and … [Read more...]

BALTIMORE – Equity and inclusion: How well is the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) doing? That question was like a bright thread running through the discussions as the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board met Feb. 12-14 in Baltimore. Some of it came directly, in presentations on assessments underway. And sometimes it surfaced in questions about how the PC(USA) deals with issues involving immigrants and people of color. Migration. Board member Michelle Hwang outlined recommendations that the Racial Equity Advocacy Committee(REAC) will be bringing to the General Assembly in June – saying the theme of REAC’s efforts this year will be migration, forced or voluntary. REAC held its meeting in January in El Paso, and also traveled across the border to Ciudad Juarez to meet with asylum seekers who are being forced by the policy of the Trump administration to wait in Mexico as their asylum claims proceed. Those conversations were powerful, Hwang said – and REAC wants to work to strengthen … [Read more...]