From Outreach Foundation ... "Reaching Out Further - November 2023"

Reaching Out Further - November 2023

We serve churches! How can your church and The Outreach Foundation work together? Keep reading to find out!

A Love For The Outreach Foundation!

The First Presbyterian Church of Greenwood, Mississippi, has a special love for The Outreach Foundation ever since Rev. Bill Bryant, a former pastor, became The Outreach Foundation’s leader. The congregation loves The Outreach Foundation’s opportunities to serve others through missionaries, trips, and emergency responses. Thank you, Outreach, for your faithful legacy!

First Presbyterian is 177 years old, but it is blessed to be a church with half of its membership under 49 years of age. 40-50 children come forward each Sunday for the children’s sermon, and the 35-member children’s choir gives a spiritual boost every time they sing. The church just purchased a gas station next to the educational building and leveled it to be a covered drop-off and parking lot for the growing kindergarten.

Racial reconciliation is supported through ecumenical events such as the community Thanksgiving service. Also, the church is a major supporter of nearby Delta Streets Academy, a downtown school for young men at risk of dropping out of regular public school. This school has been recognized nationally for the work it is doing.

Each Advent the Greenwood community looks forward to the outdoor “Singing Christmas Tree,” a tradition now in its 41st year, featuring a live nativity and 100 singing adults and youth presenting the story of the birth of Jesus in narration, song, and drama. When the downtown closes its streets for a night of shopping and carriage rides, First Presbyterian welcomes everyone to hear the free concert “Classics at First,” when acclaimed statewide musicians inspire in our acoustically resplendent and beautiful Sanctuary.

First Presbyterian’s heart for mission is facilitated by The Outreach Foundation’s faithfulness. For instance, after sending a mission team to Liverpool, the church hosted Shapoor Ahmadi, an evangelist to the Persian diaspora in Liverpool, UK, to preach and teach on World Communion Sunday in October 2023. First Presbyterian is blessed by The Outreach Foundation to be a conduit of God’s love to the world!

Dr. Andrew Chaney, Pastor

Dariush Golbaghi is the founder and director of Safehouse Ministries, one of several Outreach partners within the Persian Diaspora Partnerships. The ministry God has laid upon his heart fills a significant gap in the emerging church world of Persian-speaking communities, both in their homelands (Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan) and in diaspora. Thousands have come to Christ through Safehouse, and many more are being effectively nurtured in the faith as first-generation Christians.

Dariush, a Muslim background believer living in The Netherlands, is a worship leader, evangelist, refugee advocate, pastor, leadership coach, social media guru, conference leader, and SAT7 PARS project leader. The Outreach Foundation is honored to amplify the work of Christ happening through Safehouse.

My eyes were opened to the reality of the persecuted church in today’s world. I had no idea of the conversions taking place in Iran!

Thank you for educating me about what God is doing among the Persian-speaking people in this world.

I had no idea that the fastest-growing church in the world is in Iran.

These testimonies are among the many we have heard out of the recent visit that The Outreach Foundation coordinated between Dariush and three U.S. congregations - Grace Community Church in Hilton Head, SC, First Presbyterian Church in Mooresville, NC, and GRACE Church in Bethlehem, PA. Dariush, his wife, Hodeis, and their 18-year-old daughter Bita came at our invitation to strengthen the connections among congregations and people who have gone to The Netherlands, Germany, and Türkiye with him. It was a special joy to give congregations in the U.S. a chance to hear their inspiring testimonies firsthand. Dariush led congregations in worship and his family shared their testimonies. They met people in Sunday School classes, mid-week educational events, among mission teams, in social settings, and in youth groups. Dariush enjoyed his first U.S. football game while the ladies went shopping.

Rev. Dave Rockness (FPC Mooresville):
It is exciting to hear how the Gospel is spreading among Muslims. Personally, I felt a strong connection to Dariush and his family as did most of the folks who were able to meet him. It was a tremendous blessing to our church! We scheduled 90 minutes and after two hours, people didn’t want to leave…they left spiritually inspired and hungry for more.
Reverends Doug Stewart and Marnie Crumpler (GRACE Church, Bethlehem, PA):
What a joy to have Dariush and his family with us at GRACE Church Bethlehem! God is so clearly using their inspirational story and their many gifts to grow His kingdom. It’s our privilege to partner with them. 

Tim Boone, Associate Director

Alternative Christmas 2023

By donating a gift on behalf of others, you can delight your friends and family while supporting one of the ministry opportunities below. You can send a free honor card to each person to let them know of your gift in their honor. Download and print one of the cards or make a note in the memo line of your gift and we will mail you the requested number of cards for your honorees. Then you can mail or deliver them personally.

BIBLES FOR NEW CHRISTIANS, SUGGESTED GIFT OF $20

A Bible in one’s own language may be one of the most precious gifts a new Christian ever receives. The Bible is the foundation for growth in the faith for every Christian and a powerful tool in leading people to Christ, but in many places in the world, Bibles are not available or are too expensive for individuals to obtain. Your gift of $20 will help provide God’s sacred word to new believers in many countries, including some who have come to Christ while living in diaspora.

• DOWNLOAD THE HONOR CARD (pdf)

TUMAINI CHILDREN’S MINISTRY, SUGGESTED GIFT OF $100

he Outreach Foundation is privileged to work with the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) which oversees the Tumaini Children’s Ministry for vulnerable children. The parish also cares for individuals at Huruma, a nearby facility that houses a number of disabled individuals. A vocational training program, including computer and sewing classes, serves post-secondary students and people from the community. Your gift of $100 will help provide funds for operations at Tumaini and Huruma, including food, housing, clothes, and education.

• DOWNLOAD THE HONOR CARD (pdf)

TOGETHER FOR THE FAMILY BABY MINISTRY, SUGGESTED GIFT OF $250

oor living conditions and the economic crisis in Lebanon have left refugees with newborn babies unable to obtain basic necessities. Through our partner in Lebanon, Together for the Family, your gift of $250 will help provide formula, medicine, and diapers to a newborn baby for six months.

• DOWNLOAD THE HONOR CARD (pdf)

---

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 ... "Feast for your eyes and stomach"

• Feast of Sharing is an annual gathering hosted by H-E-B that serves more than 340,000 meals across Texas and Mexico

By Nathaniel Miller, Reporter
• Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - Get ready to make room for barbecue not long after a full Thanksgiving meal.

Scheduled for Dec. 8, H-E-B is bringing the annual Feast of Sharing to Odessa at the Ector County Coliseum, 4201 Andrews Highway, in Barns D and E. The event is scheduled from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m., and doors will open at 3:30 p.m.

The Feast of Sharing is an annual gathering hosted by the grocery chain that serves more than 340,000 meals across Texas and Mexico.

Jessicka Gonzales, H-E-B’s Public Affairs Officer for West Texas, said the 21st annual event is scheduled to have a Texas-style spread, live music and entertainment and activities for children.

The event is free to the public and organizers are expecting up to 8,000 people ...

... Not just content with feeding residents of Odessa at the event, H-E-B sponsors food for a day with Meals on Wheels of Odessa, and members of the company deliver those meals to home-bound seniors ...

• Read the rest of this OA report ...

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

On God

He who has God and everything else has no more than he who has God only.

• From The Weight of Glory
• Compiled in Words to Live By

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 courtesy of Brentwood Presbyterian Church

Today in the Mission Yearbook: November 8, 2023

SERMON SERIES INVITES TAYLOR SWIFT TO HELP TELL THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST - A weekly infusion of Taylor Swift music has proven memorable and meaningful at Brentwood Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles.

“The Gospel According to Taylor Swift” six-week series began just after the hugely popular singer/songwriter completed six performances of her “Eras” tour at nearby SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. BPC pastor the Rev. Dave Carpenter and the Rev. Lora East, BPC’s associate pastor, attended Swift’s performance ....

• CLICK HERE to read more.

In the News ... "Samaritan Center celebrates 50 years of community impact with Golden Celebration"

• Event is also a fundraiser, aiming to generate crucial financial support for Samaritan Center’s ongoing mission

Staff Report
• Odessa American

MIDLAND/ODESSA, TEXAS - Samaritan Center has announced its Golden Celebration that will honor the remarkable legacy of the organization. As part of this grand occasion, Samaritan Center will recognize the 2023 Samaritan Honoree, the founders and benefactors of Permian Basin Behavioral Health Center.

This historic celebration will take place at 6 p.m. November 7 at the Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center. The event is set to be a night to remember, bringing together generations of Samaritan supporters, community members, and friends who have all played a vital role in the growth and success of the organization, a press release said ...

• Read the rest of this OA report ...

From Synod of the Sun, PC(USA) ... 'Liminal Conversations' This Thursday: "How is the Diminishing Impact of our Churches and the Death of many Churches Affecting our Presbyteries and Churches Emotionally and Spiritually?"

Amidst the changes and chances of the COVID-19 pandemic, churches and entities throughout the The Synod of the Sun found ways to not only survive but also find unique and beautiful ways to minister to God's people in need. Mission and ministry takes form in supplying basic necessities, or caring for the environment. Connections have been made via video feed and blankets. Love is supplied via learning how to read and drive-in diapers.

---

Living in Liminal Space returns this Thursday!

Living in Liminal Space: A Conversation Seeking Wisdom on the Way, on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of every month at 10:00 am (CT) via Zoom

The conversation this Thursday, November 9th, will be with Fran Hilton Shelton, founder of Faith & Grief Ministries. The topic will be How is the Diminishing Impact of our Churches and the Death of many Churches Affecting our Presbyteries and Churches Emotionally and Spiritually?

For twenty years, Fran served PC(USA) congregations in Texas, primarily in pastoral care and was affectionately called “Funeral Fran” by the love of her life and last husband, Bob. She has the courage to take deep finesses in duplicate bridge, stamina to be a member of four book clubs and a spirit for life that sparks contagious laughter.

Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/6032633136

---

What Is Living In Liminal Space?

Living in Liminal Space: A Conversation Seeking Wisdom on the Way.
On the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of every month at 10:00 am (CT) via Zoom
The Zoom link for each event can be found on the appropriate day on the Synod Calendar at: https://www.synodsun.org/calendar
These conversations are hosted by Steve Shive, Bridge Synod Leader for the Synod of the Sun. Some of the time there will be conversation around focused questions.

Some of the gatherings, there will be an informed presenter followed by Q&A. This may evolve and it may emerge into something else.

These conversations are for everyone – disciples and seekers of all ages, roles-ministers, elders, and members from the Synod and beyond. There will probably be few definitive answers and more exploration of unknown lands. The conversations will promptly end by 11:00 am (CT).

UPCOMING CONVERSATIONS:

In the News ... "NewsWest 9 kicks off 2023 toy drive"

• Partnering with Salvation Army and United Supermarkets to help gather and distribute toys to children in West Texas

Staff Report
• KWES-TV

BIG SPRING/MIDLAND/ODESSA, TEXAS - NewsWest 9, the Salvation Army and United Supermarkets have once again partnered in 2023 for the annual toy drive.

The toy drive will help gather and distribute toys to children in West Texas to make sure they have a happy Christmas.

Red barrels will be at select locations across Midland, Odessa and Big Spring to collect toys ...

• Read the rest of this KWES report, and find a collection point near you ... 

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

An ordinary simple Christian kneels down to say his prayers. He is trying to get into touch with God. But if he is a Christian he knows that what is prompting him to pray is also God: God, so to speak, inside him. But he also knows that all his real knowledge of God comes through Christ, the Man who was God—that Christ is standing beside him, helping him to pray, praying for him. You see what is happening. God is the thing to which he is praying—the goal he is trying to reach. God is also the thing inside him which is pushing him on—the motive power. God is also the road or bridge along which he is being pushed to that goal. So that the whole threefold life of the three-personal Being is actually going on in that ordinary little bed- room where an ordinary man is saying his prayers. The man is being caught up into the higher kinds of life—what I called Zoe or spiritual life: he is being pulled into God, by God, while still remaining himself.

• From Mere Christianity
• Compiled in A Year with C.s. Lewis

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.

Today in the Mission Yearbook: November 7, 2023

HONEST PATRIOTISM FOR CHRISTIAN CITIZENS - Church and state. Faith and politics. Religion and government. What a charged “and” links these oft-contested realities. Amid such flurried contests of identity, borders, meaning and structure, what do intercessory prayers, active participation and prophetic critique look like? How, when so many institutions — political, cultural and religious — appear to be fraying at the edges, are we to pray, participate, and critique in ways that heal and transform? These are pressing queries that resist simple answers. And yet perhaps a partial answer rests in the realization that there are numerous ways to engage in the life of faith and the civic realm ....

• CLICK HERE to read more.

WAW (almost) Wednesday ... "November 11th Benefit for TWAW"

"The Word at Work is a ministry that mobilizes churches and individuals to answer God's call to minister to those in need," writes Rev. Tim Tam, Spiritual Director of the Amarillo, Texas-based ministry. "Through our relationships, God reveals needs and opportunities for service. As we come along side the poor, new friendships develop and doors for ministry open. As we serve, God provides the resources to supply for the needs he reveals."

---

WAW Wednesday: "November 11th Benefit for TWAW"

Come support local musicians and The Word at Work for a great evening with live music and information about the ministry of The Word at Work.

---

From Equal Exchange ... "NOVEMBER 8: Avocado Growers Share Their Story"

Equal Exchange's mission is to build long-term trade partnerships that are economically just and environmentally sound, to foster mutually beneficial relationships between farmers and consumers and to demonstrate, through our success, the contribution of worker co-operatives and Fair Trade to a more equitable, democratic and sustainable world.

---

NOVEMBER 8: Avocado Growers Share Their Story

November is Avocado Month and we’re celebrating 10 years working with our avocado farmer partners at Pragor Organic Growers in Michoacán, Mexico. Pragor is a small player in a large, lucrative, and volatile industry. Yet as leaders in the organic avocado movement, the group continues to highlight the essential role and resilience of small farmers in the industry. Joining us from Pragor, Gustavo (President and member) and Roberto (General Manager), will share their reflections on the decade of the Equal Exchange avocado supply chain. We hope you’ll join us!

• Register to Attend ...

• Here's How To Get Started ...

---

Join Us!

We invite you to join our growing community of citizen-consumers who are getting even more deeply involved in Equal Exchange.

We need consumer participation in our organization to build a deeply democratic trade system made up of farmers and their democratic organizations, workers and their democratic organization, and citizen-consumers who now have a democratic space in Equal Exchange as well as their own network. Join us in changing trade, together!

• Learn how YOU can help Equal Exchange ...

Local Equal Exchange partners include Grace Presbyterian Chuch, Midland, TX.

In the News ... "Kick for Kenya 1K/5K/10K"

• All proceeds benefit Midland-based Kenya Widows and Orphans Ministry

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Kick for Kenya 1K/5K/10K has been scheduled for Saturday, November 11, at GCR Church of Christ, 3500 W. Golf Course Road, Midland.

KWO Ministries is proud to welcome you to one of the premier running events in the Permian Basin. Over the last nine years, Kick for Kenya has become one of the largest and longest-running charity races in the area, featuring a 10K-5K-1K format.

The 1K Kids Fun Run will begin at 8:45 a.m. and 5K/10K run will begin at 9 a.m.

All proceeds of this event will go towards KWO (Kenya Widows and Orphans) Ministry. Founded in Midland, their mission is to redeem the lives of Kenyan widows and orphans. KWO is a non-profit ministry that serves 16 orphanages, provides feeding stations, and funds educational opportunities, all while sharing the message of God’s love in Kenya.

To sign up, visit runsignup.com

For more information, visit Tkwoministries.org/kick-for-kenya.

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

Letter to his father: from the Oxford Union Society, Postmark: 30 November 1921

I am afraid that my weakness in yielding to the Colonel’s request for a copy of ‘Optimism’ had reduced the poor man to permanent silence. I must try to get some sort of letter off to him before Christmas…

A dread portent has arisen above our horizon here – an immoratalist, nihilist, determinist, fatalist. What are you to do with a man who denies absolutely everything? The joke is that he’s an army officer on a course. He talks you blind and deaf. The more I see of him the clearer does my mental picture become of his brother officers en masse imploring him to take advantage of a two years course at Oxford – or Cathay or the Moon…

• From Letters of C.S. Lewis

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 Kyler Nixon via Unsplash

Today in the Mission Yearbook: November 6, 2023

PRESBYTERIAN HYMNWRITER PENS ANNIVERSARY HYMNS FOR CONGREGATIONS MARKING MILESTONES - Presbyterian hymnwriter the Rev. Dr. John A. Dalles has completed several new anniversary hymns for congregations marking special milestones — some of them going back centuries ....

• CLICK HERE to read more.

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

On Feeling

I think the thrill of the Pagan stories and of romance may be due to the fact that they are mere beginnings—the first, faint whisper of the wind from beyond the world—while Christianity is the thing itself: and no thing, when you have really started on it, can have for you then and there just the same thrill as the first hint. For example, the experience of being married and bringing up a family cannot have the old bittersweet of first falling in love. But it is futile (and, I think, wicked) to go on trying to get the old thrill again: you must go forward and not backward. Any real advance will in its turn be ushered in by a new thrill, different from the old: doomed in its turn to disappear and to become in its turn a temptation to retrogression. Delight is a bell that rings as you set your foot on the first step of a new flight of stairs leading upwards. Once you have started climbing you will notice only the hard work: it is when you have reached the landing and catch sight of the new stair that you may expect the bell again. This is only an idea, and may be all rot: but it seems to fit in pretty well with the general law (thrills also must die to live) of autumn & spring, sleep and waking, death and resurrection, and “Whosoever loseth his life, shall save it.”

• From The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis
• Compiled in Words to Live By

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 courtesy of Westminster Presbyterian Church

Today in the Mission Yearbook: November 5, 2023

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH USES HUNGER ACTION WORK TO ADDRESS COST OF LIVING ISSUES IN MADISON - SIn a Midwestern city where the cost of housing can affect residents’ ability to thrive, Westminster Presbyterian Church of Madison, Wisconsin, is helping residents to make ends meet through various efforts to feed people in the community.

In recent years, Westminster has helped to provide snacks and other food for students, assisted homeless shelters, helped fill local food pantry shelves and held forums on important issues ....

• CLICK HERE to read more.

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

No one will believe this who has not lived long and looked hard, so that he knows how suddenly a passion for which has for years been wrapped round the whole of the heart will dry up and wither. Perhaps in the soul, as in the soil, those growths that show the brightest colours and put forth the most overpowering smell have not always the deepest root. Or perhaps it’s age that does it.

• From Till We have Faces

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 courtesy of Carole Givens

Today in the Mission Yearbook: November 4, 2023

SENATOBIA PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CELEBRATES 175 YEARS - Senatobia Presbyterian Church in Senatobia, Mississippi, is celebrating its 175th anniversary in 2023.

This spring, the congregation held a special Sunday worship service marking its demisemiseptcentennial ....

• CLICK HERE to read more.

In the News ... "C.S. Lewis On Stage: Further Up & Further In ... this weekend"

• Sunday, November 5 at Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center

Staff Report
• Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center

ODESSA/MIDLAND, TEXAS - From the producers of The Screwtape Letters comes a dazzling, new theatrical experience that takes you further up and further into the spiritual journey of C.S. Lewis.

Sunday, November 5, 2023
Event Starts: 3:00PM
Doors Open: 2:00 PM

Using Lewis’ own words within a vividly immersive, multimedia experience, award-winning actor Max McLean takes you Further Up & Further In the mind and heart of one of the most imaginative and gifted writers in history.

 • More information, and ticket purchases ...

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

Have we any reason to suppose that total self-knowledge, if it were given to us, would be for our good? Children and fools, we are told, should never look at half-done work; and we are not yet, I trust, even half-done. You and I wouldn’t, at all stages, think it wise to tell a pupil exactly what we thought of his quality. It is much more important that he should know what to do next.

• From Letters to Malcolm

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.

Today in the Mission Yearbook: November 3, 2023

WORLD COMMUNITY DAY - World Community Day began in 1943 as a day for church women across denominations to study peace. After World War II, leaders of denominations felt that they should set aside a day for prayer and ecumenical study ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

On Fasting

The problem about avoiding our own pain admits a similar solution. Some ascetics have used self-torture. As a layman, I offer no opinion on the prudence of such a regimen; but I insist that, whatever its merits, self-torture is quite a different thing from tribulation sent by God. Everyone knows that fasting is a different experience from missing your dinner by accident or through poverty. Fasting asserts the will against the appetite—the reward being self-mastery and the danger pride: involuntary hunger subjects appetites and will together to the Divine will, furnishing an occasion for submission and exposing us to the danger of rebellion. But the redemptive effect of suffering lies chiefly in its tendency to reduce the rebel will. Ascetic practices, which in themselves strengthen the will, are only useful in so far as they enable the will to put its own house (the passions) in order, as a preparation for offering the whole man to God. They are necessary as a means; as an end, they would be abominable, for in substituting will for appetite and there stopping, they would merely exchange the animal self for the diabolical self.

• From The Problem of Pain
• Compiled in Words to Live By

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 Rich Copley

Today in the Mission Yearbook: November 2, 2023

MINNEAPOLIS CCURCHY USING PC(USA)'S MATTHEW 25 INVITATION TO BRING HEALING TO NEIGHBORHOOD - Liberty Community Church is the only African American-led PC(USA) church in the state of Minnesota. Located in North Minneapolis in one of the city’s poorest ZIP codes and situated between major interstates which make the area a prime spot for sex trafficking and illegal drug trading, this Matthew 25 congregation revitalized the spaces of two Presbyterian churches that closed in the last 30 years and transformed them into healing spaces for the neighborhood ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

In the News ... "Tom’s Coats kicks-off"

• Donation locations in Odessa and Midland

By Lauren Munt, Reporter
• KOSA-TV

ODESSA/MIDLAND, TEXAS - As the temperatures drop, many West Texans are struggling to stay warm, that’s why Chief Meteorologist, Tom Teffertiller is hosting a coat drive.

We’re looking for gently-used or new jackets or sweaters for the drive.

You can donate jackets and coats at the sites listed below.

• Frost Bank - 2 Midland locations

4101 Midland Dr.
800 W. Wadley Ave.

• Frost Bank - 2 Odessa locations

3501 Faudree Rd.
2710 N. Grandview Ave.

• Odessa College

Saulsbury Campus Center, 201 W University Blvd.

• CBS7 Studios at the Music City Mall

4101 E. 42nd St., Suite J-7

• All American Chevrolet of Odessa

5020 John Ben Shepperd Pkwy.

In the News ... "H-E-B Feast of Sharing event happens Friday in Midland"

MRT Photo by Mercedes Cordero

• Information about event, and volunteer opportunities

By Ben Shaffer
• Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - H-E-B will hold its Feast of Sharing event at the Horseshoe Pavilion on Nov. 3.

This year, H-E-B’s mobile kitchens will serve traditional Texas-style meals. Each event includes music, activities for families and a variety of free services like health and wellness screenings and flu shots, according to H-E-B. ...

 • Read the rest of this MRT report ...

 • Sign-up To Volunteer Through West Texas Food Bank

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

TO PHOEBE HESKETH: On how sorrow seems to isolate; and on how hard it is to forgive. Lewis reveals that Joy’s physician had failed to diagnose her cancer at a stage when it could have been treated successfully.

14 June 1960

The most mischievous—and painful—by-product of any sorrow is the illusion that it isolates one, that one is kicked out alone for this from an otherwise cheerful, bustling, ‘normal’ world. How much better to realise that one is just doing one’s turn in the line like all the rest of the ragged and tired human regiment! Yours is a very terrible bit of it. But I’d sooner be you...than the doctor (one of the closest friends) who could and should have diagnosed Joy’s trouble when she went to him about the symptoms years ago before we were married. The real trouble about the duty of forgiveness is that you do it with all your might on Monday and then find on Wednesday that it hasn’t stayed put and all has to be done over again.

Yes, we will pray for one another.

• From The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis
• Compiled in Yours, Jack

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: November 1, 2023

PEACE & GLOBAL WITNESS OFFERING - As a mere child herself, Rose had already married, given birth to — and lost — a child by the time she was 15 years old.

Upon discovering that she was pregnant just four months after her traditional Malagasy wedding, Rose’s joy at the birth of her son quickly turned to sorrow.

“My baby was dead after 10 days,” she said.

One agonizing month later, Rose’s in-laws demanded that she move out of their home and file for separation from their son. Because — according to their belief system and the prevailing customs in their native Madagascar — if a baby dies before it is 1 month old, it doesn’t have a good mother.

“Even the chicken can take care of their kids beyond one month,” Rose recalled. “That means I am not even as bright as a chicken.”

Overwhelmed and despondent at having lost everything, Rose turned to the bright lights of Madagascar’s nightclub and discotheque scene.

“I do not like this life,” she said. “I am like a prostitute; but I needed to run away from my sadness.”

It was there that the Rev. Helivao Poget found her ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.