From PC(USA) Store ... How Are You Caring for Yourself?

The Presbyterian Church (USA) offers a central online store where you can find all PC(USA)-produced books, curriculum, and resources in one place. PCUSAStore.com is a comprehensive selection of PC(USA) resources that provides the information and materials necessary to support new and existing congregations, leaders, study groups, and individuals forge a deeper understanding of Presbyterian beliefs and doctrines. PCUSAStore.com is maintained by the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, the publishing house of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Geneva Press curriculum publishing, and other agency partners.

---

Highlighting Spiritual & Mental Health

We all know that it's more difficult to help someone up if you are on unsteady ground. As you and your congregations work to rebuild your community and fight for justice, you can find resources at PC(USA) Store that can help individuals and your entire congregation work toward a spiritual renewal ...

• Learn more about Spiritual Renewal Resources ...

---

Please Note: We can currently only ship to customers in the United States. For our international distributors, please contact us at support@pcusastore.com.

PC(USA) Store
100 Witherspoon Street
Louisville, KY 40202
(800) 533-4371
support@pcusastore.com

News from Presbyterian World Mission ... June 2020

A message from Presbyterian World Mission ... Presbyterians do mission in partnership. We believe that doing mission in partnership broadens our awareness of how interconnectional God’s mission is at the local, national and global levels. The one table around which we gather is God’s table and the one mission to which we are called is God’s mission.

---

June 2020

• Mission Matters;
• Mission co-workers finding new ways to serve global partners;
• Hong Kong turns from one crisis to another;
• PIASS staff works together to solve COVID-19 economic crisis;
• Support mission co-workers;
• Sudan/South Sudan Mission Network to meet virtually;
• Take part in historic virtual New Wilmington Mission Conference, July 17–19;
• Subscribe to mission workers’ letters;
• Global partners provide COVID-19 resources;
• Matthew 25 — Actively engaged in the world;
• and more!

• Read this month's News from Presbyterian World Mission ...

From ECPAT-USA ... "Recognizing Internet Safety Month"

ECPAT USA is part of a global network of organizations and individuals working together for the elimination of child prostitution, child pornography and the trafficking of children for sexual purposes. It seeks to encourage the world community to ensure that children everywhere enjoy their fundamental rights free and secure from all forms of commercial sexual exploitation.

"Protecting Children During National Internet Safety Month”

While the connections we make online help create engaged global communities, the internet has also opened the door to insidious forms of exploitation. For years, traffickers have been abusing the web, especially social media sites, to connect with youth more easily than ever before. In fact, studies have shown that exploiters can groom children for online sexual activity in as little as 18 minutes. ECPAT-USA has long approached tackling online exploitation as a vital aspect of our work, but it has become even more urgent in the past months.

As the COVID-19 outbreak moved learning, work and after-school activities online, we recognized that this "new normal" increased the potential risks to kids exponentially. Youth are spending more time than ever on the internet, and we quickly recognized the need to take a leadership role on this critical issue.

ONLINE SAFETY GUIDES

Beginning in March, we worked with students, advocates, educators, parents and sex trafficking survivors to create no-nonsense online safety guides for youth, parents, and teachers. These guides are available for free on our site and are meant to educate and empower others with the tools they need to protect themselves and their families on the internet. We are also working on translating this crucial information into other languages, and a version of the Parent Guide in Spanish is already available.

UNITED NATIONS PANEL

Additionally, we are proud of the opportunity to bring this work to the international stage by hosting a panel on this topic as a side event to this year's United Nations High-Level Political Forum. This virtual round table will bring together experts in child sex trafficking and exploitation, child protection, and internet safety. Join us on July 14th at 11 a.m. EST.

UPLIFTING SURVIVORS' VOICES

Our Survivors' Council has been essential in shaping our programs and guiding our advocacy. As such, leading up to July 30’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, we are amplifying their diverse voices on how the color of their skin has impacted their experiences as trafficking survivors in a new series on our blog, Survivor Stories.

While today is the final day of National Internet Safety Month, it is important to remember that the risk of online exploitation exists year-round. As we move forward, we must continue to work together to protect all children from trafficking in all its forms.

---

For more information on this and other ECPAT USA efforts, please email us at info@ecpatusa.org

• CLICK HERE to support our programs

• CLICK HERE to go shopping with ECPAT USA

From Partners Relief & Development ... “Sneak peek: NEW PARTNERS LOGO!”

Steve and Oddny Gumaer started Partners Relief and Development in response to the needs of refugees and displaced people from Burma, and now in the Middle East, as well. Their mission is to demonstrate, through holistic action, God’s love to children and communities made vulnerable by war in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and other conflict zones.

PR&D Photos

The Good News: June, 2020

When we made plans to celebrate our 26th birthday in 2020, we had no idea the world would be consumed by a pandemic and protests. We did, however, plan long ago to mark the occasion by updating our logo, and I want to give our subscribers first look at it. What began as a global-team brainstorm - how do we communicate who we are and what we do in a symbol? - became this...

We’ve been partners in this work for 26 years: always fueling our work, your love allows us to act. And even in a pandemic, even with record unemployment and an overwhelming collective anxiety, even while you rightly focus on domestic injustice, you’ve stayed with us. In the past two months you have been part of:

• Delivering 50,000 masks to internally displaced Rohingya in Rakhine State, Myanmar.
• Treating over 5,000 patients at our mobile hospitainer in Syria.
• Sending food to 170 displaced families in Kachin State, Myanmar.
• Sewing 2,572 reusable cloth masks.
• Making over 2,000 bottles of liquid soap.
• Deep cleaning schools-turned-shelters where hundreds of families are sheltering in Syria.
• More than we can possibly tell you in one email.

I love our new logo mainly for this reason: because every time I look at it and see that bright bit of pink, I know that can only exist when you and we partner together to create something. I hope that empowers you as much as it humbles me.

Yours,

Jenn Tendero
VP of Strategic Engagement
Partners Relief and Development

P.S. We have partnered with Fellow to print our logo on a small batch of their Carter Everywhere Mug. Our HQ team tested the Carter Mug for months before deciding to put our logo on it. Because you are on our email list, you get to shop it early, a whole 24 hours before everyone else.

• Buy Now! ...

---

Partners Relief and Development is a registered charity in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States. "We’re a small, grassroots nonprofit passionate about making a big impact in communities affected by conflict and oppression, demonstrating God’s love to children and giving them the opportunity to live free, full lives." For more information about Partners, visit their website at partners.ngo/

In the News ... "The Rev. Hayter leaves ranch for priesthood"

OA Photo by Ben Powell

• Fort Stockton native’s ranching family dates to early 20th Century

By Bob Campbell, Reporter
• Odessa American

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Born into a ranching family that goes back 110 years, Father Timothy Hayter was supposed to be a cowboy.

Everything he’d done pointed to that, but God sent him in another direction and starting July 1 he will become the parochial vicar at St. Ann’s Catholic Church and School at 1906 W. Texas Avenue ...

• Read the rest of this OA report ...

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

The Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study is a daily devotional with 365 inspiring mission stories that come from next door and all across the globe. It inspires thousands of Presbyterians daily as they uphold the mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in intercessory prayer.

Photo by Bob Paulus

Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 30, 2020

SERIOUS JUJU, 1001 WORSHIPING COMMUNITY - Serious JuJu, a skateboarding ministry and 1001 New Worshiping Community in Kalispell, Montana, has been faithful to seeing, feeding and strengthening kids; celebrating skateboarders; and serving Christ for 13 years ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

From @chinaaid : "Prison authorities block Huang Qi's communication with his mother"

The ChinaAid Association is a non-profit Christian organization - based in Midland, Texas - with a mission to uncover and reveal the truth about religious persecution in China, focusing especially on the unofficial church. They do this, they explain in their website, by exposing the abuses, encouraging the abused and equipping the saints to advance the kingdom of God throughout China.

Prison authorities block Huang Qi's communication with his mother
Distributed by ChinaAid, May 2020 ...

CHENGDU, SICHUAN, CHINA – Family members of Huang Qi, a human rights activist who was re-sentenced to prison for leaking state secrets last year, have been blocked from visiting him on the grounds of the epidemic. Huang’s mother, Pu Wenqing, was also denied a phone call with her son by prison officials ...

• More on this story from ChinaAid ...

From Outreach Foundation ... Mission Partnership Update

• Your gifts to the COVID-19 Emergency Appeal are making a difference … in Zambia

With funds that Outreach supporters sent to the COVID-19 Emergency Appeal, we were able to send $5000 to support pastors and their families in Zambia.

The Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) is a Presbyterian denomination which consists of five synods: one in Zambia (Zambia Synod), one in Zimbabwe (Harare Synod) and three in Malawi (Livingstonia, Nkhoma, and Blantyre Synods).

The Synod of Zambia was formed in 1984, out of its partner, Livingstonia Synod, in Malawi. At that time, the church had only four ordained ministers and 16 congregations. It has grown steadily to become a national church with a membership of over 85,000. The Zambia Synod has many departments to carry out its mission of service through holistic ministry as well as a seminary.

The Outreach Foundation has had a relationship with the CCAP Zambia Synod, for a number of years – supporting their very effective community schools programs, church construction, and theological education.

However, simply sustaining life in their communities under the current pandemic is a real hardship. Rev. Sevatt Kabaghe is the General Secretary of the Church of Central Africa, Synod of Zambia—he and his family are seen in the photo, above, wearing the masks which they were able to purchase with Outreach funds. He wrote the following in a request for help:

“It is, indeed, a hard time which we are in and a lot of things have come to a halt. We are badly affected and the fellowship of believers has been restricted, which poses a big challenge. The closure of the mines, loss of jobs, business coming to a halt is a big blow to the nation of Zambia. The church is the last hope, but with the current structure of CCAP Synod of Zambia, we cannot afford to even pay the ministers as we don't have a central system. If it can be possible to have monthly sustenance for ministers and synod workers for about six months, it will be highly appreciated.”

Because of generous gifts to the Covid-19 Appeal, The Outreach Foundation was pleased to be able to respond with $5,000 in support, to help sustain the lives of their pastors during this COVID pandemic. Here is Rev. Kabaghe’s gracious acknowledgment:

“COVID-19 has brought so many challenges to Zambian society and the Church. Expectations are high for the church to be helping throughout the community. Yet, these COVID times are very hard for us. We are staying home, as are other countries, but without food or necessary things it becomes so difficult to survive…The help from Outreach was a big relief to many families. Pastors who never got anything for two months got something this month…Thank you for your heart to assist the church in this worrying time and a very difficult moment for the world.”

Click here to learn more about Outreach’s COVID-10 Emergency Appeal

Thank you!

---

Engaging followers of Christ for His work in the world, the Outreach Foundation is committed to helping the church live out its missional calling, building the capacity of the global church, especially where the church is vulnerable or growing rapidly, and transforming lives through mission involvement.

The Outreach Foundation
381 Riverside Drive, Suite 110
Franklin, TN 37064,
United States
(615) 778-8881
info@theoutreachfoundation.org

In the News ... "Midland Soup Kitchen gives away all their donated clothes"

• Dining hall closed; serving to-go meals from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

By Shane Battis, Reporter
• KOSA-TV

MIDLAND, TEXAS - The Midland Soup Kitchen hosted a garage sale with deals you truly can’t beat ...

• Read/watch the rest of this KOSA report 

In the News ... GUEST VIEW: "Food banks and the census"

• "For the West Texas Food Bank, an undercount puts millions of dollars of funding at risk over the next decade"

Libby Campbell Executive Director, West Texas Food Bank, Contributor
• Midland Reporter-Telegram

Photo by Rafael Aguilera

MIDLAND/ODESSA, TEXAS - You’ve heard their stories - people suddenly finding themselves struggling to put food on the table, never imagining their family would be in this situation.

You’ve seen the photos and videos - lines of cars snaking up and down a parking lot, like a Friday night football game just let out.

You’ve watched as the West Texas Food Bank team and National Guard spent countless hours loading and distributing boxes of food so kids don’t go hungry.

Almost overnight, food banks across the country found themselves at the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, overwhelmed by sudden need ...

• Read the rest of this MRT report ...

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

The Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study is a daily devotional with 365 inspiring mission stories that come from next door and all across the globe. It inspires thousands of Presbyterians daily as they uphold the mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in intercessory prayer.

Contributed Photo

Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 29, 2020

PRESBYTERIAN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (PDA) - Somewhat submerged in the barrage of headlines about COVID-19 is news that Mother Nature is still doing her thing.

As always, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) plans to respond to calls for help, though in a somewhat altered way, given the limitations of a churchwide domestic travel ban and social distancing necessary to stop the spread of the coronavirus ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

From Outreach Foundation ... "Reaching Out Further" for June 2020

• An Update on Hope for Syrian Students

A “holding pattern” is a concept I am too-well acquainted with, considering how much time I spend on airplanes because of my work with The Outreach Foundation. Given the fact that my “hometown airport” is Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta it is not uncommon to hear the pilot come on the sound system in our approach to the world’s busiest airport to apologize for being in one, sometimes, because of storms in the area, but, most often, because the “traffic” for landing has backed up. Recently, we were stuck in one of these weather-related holding patterns for so long, that we had to bop over to Nashville to get gas – before coming back to Atlanta to land.

In much the same vein, schools all over the world, from Boston to Baghdad, from Denver to New Delhi, from Peoria to Paris have gone into a “holding pattern” because of COVID-19 and such has been the case with the schools for Syrian refugee children run by the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon ...

Read more about hope for Syrian students ...

• How your gifts to the COVID-19 Appeal are being used

Your gifts to Outreach's COVID-19 Emergency Appeal have already been sent to many of our partners around the world because of your generosity. We've received updates on how those gifts are being used to help the people of Kenya, Iraq, Brazil, and more ...

Read the updates ...

Click here to learn more about Outreach’s COVID-10 Emergency Appeal

• The History of Outreach's Partnership in Egypt

For the last several months, Jeff Ritchie has been chronicling the history of The Outreach Foundation in Egypt.

This history is primarily a story about the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Egypt and how it has developed a vision for mission and evangelism from a “mustard seed” at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo in 1999 to the present explosion of new churches, churches undergoing revitalization, and mission beyond Egypt. There are many other aspects of this story that can be told ...

Read more ...

Thank you!

---

Engaging followers of Christ for His work in the world, the Outreach Foundation is committed to helping the church live out its missional calling, building the capacity of the global church, especially where the church is vulnerable or growing rapidly, and transforming lives through mission involvement.

The Outreach Foundation
381 Riverside Drive, Suite 110
Franklin, TN 37064,
United States
(615) 778-8881
info@theoutreachfoundation.org

In the News ... OPINION: "It’s time to change the name of Lee High School"

Photo by Chris Carlson/Associated Press

• "I think it’s time for all of us to do more."

By Eric Winston, Lee High School Graduate, Contributor
• Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - I love Midland. I loved my high school experience. It included wonderful experiences on the playing field, competing with guys I consider friends for life in front of the best fan base in America. I look back so fondly of the many memories I have from my time growing up. I would want every kid to have the same upbringing and opportunities that I had.

However, it’s time to right a wrong that we have let go on for too long ...

• Read the rest of this MRT guest view ...

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

The Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study is a daily devotional with 365 inspiring mission stories that come from next door and all across the globe. It inspires thousands of Presbyterians daily as they uphold the mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in intercessory prayer.

Photo by Elizabeth Turk

Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 28, 2020

PC(USA) WORLD AIDS SUNDAY - How would you celebrate your 50th anniversary? Last year, the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM), a PC(USA) partner church, promoted free HIV testing at all of the events celebrating its 50th anniversary. FJKM President Irako Andriamahazosoa Ammi was tested publicly last August. Over 40,000 people were educated about HIV and AIDS, and 2,000 were tested during six events ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

In the News ... "San Angelo area churches announce worship options, 06/27/20"

• Here is a look at the communications received by the Standard-Times to date

By Matthew McDaniel, Reporter
• San Angelo Standard Times

SAN ANGELO, TEXAS - Faith briefs may be submitted by emailing News@GoSanAngelo.com. Briefs are published in print on Saturdays and the deadline to submit an entry is noon Wednesdays ...

• Read the rest of this SAST report

In the News ... "Odessa Church News"

• Today and in the days ahead, in Odessa-area houses of worship

Staff Report
• Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - Coming events include worship services, classes, Bible studies, community outreach, fundraisers, mission opportunities and more ...

• Read the rest of this OA report ...

In the News ... "Tye Anders rally has been postponed"

Photo: Midland Police Department

• Has been rescheduled for July 18

Staff Report
• Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - The rally that was planned for 1 p.m. Saturday at Washington Park in response to the Tye Anders incident has been postponed ...

 • Read the rest of this MRT report ...

In the News ... "Organist to celebrate 50 years with FBC"

MRT Photo by Jacy Lewis

• Doris McSparran looks at First Baptist as her family

By Jacy Lewis, Reporter/Photographer
• Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - A celebration at First Baptist Church on Sunday will mark 50 years that Doris McSparran has been music associate and organist. The celebration, which will begin at 5 p.m., will feature McSparran and several other musicians.

McSparran said she has seen a lot of change in church music over her 50 years, but people still enjoy listening to the organ and piano ...

 • Read the rest of this MRT report ...

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

The Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study is a daily devotional with 365 inspiring mission stories that come from next door and all across the globe. It inspires thousands of Presbyterians daily as they uphold the mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in intercessory prayer.

Photo by Jim Nedelka

Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 27, 2020

RULING ELDER FRANCES THOM - On Saturday, March 7, the eve of International Women’s Day, the Presbytery of New York City celebrated this year’s theme, “An equal world is an enabled world,” in a unique way: the installation of Ruling Elder Frances Thom and Ruling Elder Terri Youn to their one-year terms as, respectively, moderator and moderator-elect. Present for this historic occasion in the sanctuary of Riverdale Presbyterian Church in the Bronx was the Rev. Cindy Kohlmann, Co-Moderator of the 223rd General Assembly ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

From ServLife International ... "We have to fight against injustice and we have to give respect to people."

ServLife International is a movement defined by values of God’s kingdom, not programs built around human efforts and activities. The reign and rule of God should be made apparent to every person on the planet, despite their religion, race or socioeconomic status. We believe that issues of justice are inseparable from the good news that Jesus Christ came to proclaim. ServLife exists to take the gospel of Christ and the hope of a better, more just, world to the lives of people we touch. This happens through individual contributions of time, creativity, resources and dreams.

---

A Conversation About Racism

I had the opportunity to have a remote conversation with Nepal Director Bekharaj this week to discuss issues of racism and prejudice. (View full video conversation here.) Bekharaj shared that racism and prejudice manifest in Nepal mostly through the caste system. "The lower caste, they won't get the good jobs," Bekharaj explains. "Even their work is determined by their caste system."

The caste system in Nepal is based on Hinduism. They believe each caste emerged from the body of the creator god, Brahma. From his mouth comes the high caste, who are priests and teachers. The second caste is from his arms, and they are warriors and rulers. The next caste is from his thigh and are merchants, craftsman and farmers. And the lowest caste, the Dalits, are from his foot and are laborers and service providers. Even if those in the Dalit caste are educated (which is rare) and capable, they cannot get the same jobs and opportunities so readily available to the higher caste.

"The best way to fight against prejudice is, we need to change their heart," Bekharaj shares. "And how we can change their heart, I think only God can change the heart of the people. So when we come to know Christ, Lord Jesus, then God can change our heart."

When I asked what encouragement Bekharaj would have for us in the USA as we are struggling with our deeply-seeded racism, he replied, "We all are created in the image of God. Therefore, everyone matters to God. Every life matters to God. Because we are special in the eyes of God. Therefore, even disabled people matter. Black people matter. And white people matter. So we have to love them... Because, if we love God, it will be very easy for us to love people as well. But if we say we only love God but we don't love people, that is also, we are not obeying God... We have to fight against injustice and we have to give respect to people."

In many ways, Bekharaj was summarizing 1st John, which says:
"Let's not love with words or speech but with action and truth. Dear friends, let's love each other, because love is from God, and everyone who loves is born from God and knows God. The person who doesn't love does not know God, because God is love. This is how the love of God is revealed to us: God has sent his only Son into the world so that we can live through him. This is love: it is not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son as the sacrifice that deals with our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us this way, we also ought to love each other."
1 John 3:18; 4:7-11 CEB

Peace!

From Adam Nevins
Executive Director
ServLife International Inc.


Click here to give a gift of $30, $90, $150, $300 or more to help families in India and Nepal.




Join Our Mission

ServLife International propels reconciliation and justice by building global community to plant churches, care for children and fight poverty. Compelled by the message, life and love of Jesus Christ, we seek to care for the spiritual, physical, social, and economic areas of life in northern India and Nepal.  Learn more about our latest news, featured stories, and how to get involved at servlife.org

Support a Pastor Our church planters spread the love of Christ in some of the most difficult environments in the world. • Support Them ...	Sponsor a Child For only $30 per month you can help give a child food, education, care and, most importantly, hope. • Sponsor Now ...	Fight Poverty The HOPE Fund, our micro-finance program, provides start-up funds for a small business, paving a way out of poverty for families in need. • Learn More ...

---

ServLife International, Inc.
P.O. Box 20596
Indianapolis, IN 46220
USA

From @FWMission ... Friday Story: Nonprofits: Finding Hope in the Midst of COVID-19”

Founded in 2001, Free Wheelchair Mission is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to providing wheelchairs for the impoverished disabled in developing nations. Headquartered in Irvine, California, FWM works around the world in partnership with a vast network of humanitarian, faith-based and government organizations, sending wheelchairs to hundreds of thousands of disabled people, providing not only the gift of mobility, but of dignity, independence, and hope.

---

FWM Photo

Friday Story: “Nonprofits: Finding Hope in the Midst of COVID-19”

As I watch the media coverage surrounding COVID-19 here in the U.S., it’s clear that the pandemic is having a staggering impact on the economy, especially on small businesses and for those in the service industry (restaurants, barbershops, gyms).

What doesn’t come up as often in the coverage and social media conversations is that charitable organizations—the tens of thousands of nonprofits across the country who do so much good—are also among the hardest hit right now ...

• Read/watch the rest of this story ...

Here's a Chance for YOU to Get Involved!

• “Get Rolling!” with Grace Presbyterian and Free Wheelchair Mission ...