Four new “Along the Road” podcast episodes were released in October, two from the “Encounter” series for mid council and church leaders and two “Nourish” episodes for deacons and ruling elders.
Listen to all Along the Road episodes directly from the Mid Council Ministries section of pcusa.org or from popular streaming services. Access sample clips below.
Nourish: Polity Nugget - Presbyterian Identity (17 minutes)
Acting Stated Clerk the Rev. Bronwen Boswell talks with Nourish host Martha Miller about “who we are as Presbyterians.”
In this first Nourish “polity nugget,” Boswell discusses the distinctive ways Presbyterians organize and govern through councils, including the General Assembly.
“We believe that our relationship with God and the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ … brings us to the table,” Boswell says. “I have met a number of people through my work as a clerk who like our Presbyterian system because there is accountability.”
She explains how the General Assembly connects to congregations through commissioners and advisory delegates, and how overtures and special committees serve the accountability function at the GA level in much the way sessions do at churches —including times when Presbyterians need to work through differences.
Nourish: The Impact of Our Stories (11 minutes)
Director of Communications Kristen Gaydos and Reference and Outreach Archivist Sonia Prescott from the Presbyterian Historical Society share the story of the Presbyterian church origins of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, and how that story and others like it are preserved and shared by the national archives of the PC(USA).
Gaydos recounts the Trick-or-Treat program’s connection to First Presbyterian Church in the Bridesburg neighborhood of Philadelphia. Prescott gives an archivist’s perspective on the work PHS does to collect church records from active and inactive congregations like Bridesburg, from mid councils and from national church offices.
Taken together with materials gathered via PHS’s special collecting initiatives, church records show Presbyterians engaging with their communities going back centuries.
Encounter: Our Shared Responsibility; Responding to the Movement of All God’s People (40 minutes)
The Office of Immigration Issues plays a crucial role in supporting and assisting mid councils, congregations, ministers and religious workers from other countries who are called to serve in the United States.
Teresa Waggener, Assistant Stated Clerk, Manager of Legal Services and Immigration Attorney, joins Encounter host Manuel Silva-Esterrich to talk about navigating the complexities of immigration law to ensure that ministers and immigrant communities, and the whole people of God, receive the support they need to flourish.
As with most Encounter episodes, the conversation relates back to the Book of Order, including section F-1.0301’s call for the PC(USA) to be “a community of witness, pointing beyond itself through word and work to the good news of God’s transforming grace in Christ Jesus its Lord.”
Silva-Esterrich and Waggener discuss religious worker visas and other challenges faced by immigrants in Presbyterian communities. They also look at ways General Assembly advocacy for immigrants and immigrant families responds to the nation’s immigration policies. Waggener urges listeners to ask questions about these policies, including why the United States has created a system where people can remain here for only five years but are told they will not have access to a Green Card for eight to 10 years.
Learn more about the work of the Office of Immigration Issues by contacting Teresa Waggener or Amanda Craft, Assistant Stated Clerk, Manager, Immigration Advocacy.
Encounter: Embracing Antiracism; Going Forth as Agents of God’s Mission in the World (52 minutes)
Encounter hosts valerie izumi and Silva-Esterrich speak with Ruling Elder Willye Bryan and Prince Solace, Director of Community Outreach, Lansing First Presbyterian Church in the Presbytery of Lake Michigan, about the work and ministry of the Justice League of Greater Lansing.
Dr. Bryan’s antiracism work and science career were recently featured in the Regarding Ruling Elders series. “In 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic was in full force, Bryan … found herself reflecting on how Black communities were disproportionally impacted,” izumi writes. “This reality, as well as the murder of George Floyd, raised questions and concerns from the white members of her church community. In response, Bryan held adult education for the majority white congregation about the history of Black people and the full spectrum of who Black Americans are in America.”
Bryan founded the Justice League of Greater Lansing to tell the story of the history of Black people in America and the history of racial inequities that continue to impact Black communities to this day. During the Encounter conversation, she and Solace describe how the Justice League uses antiracism resources in white spaces, including "On Offering an Apology to African Americans for the Sin of Slavery and Its Legacy" (RGJ-08, an overture submitted by Giddings-Lovejoy Presbytery and approved by the 225th General Assembly in 2022). They discuss starting antiracism dialogues at different congregations and mid councils and putting resources like the Apology into action “in opening people’s hearts and minds.”
Learn more about the Apology and previous assembly actions at www.pc-biz.org.
Access new Along the Road episodes each week, including November’s first Encounter conversation, “The Diversity Advantage: Voices of YAADs and TSADs” (42 minutes). Megan Acedo (Youth Advisory Delegate, 2003), Anwi Fomukong (Young Adult Advisory Delegate, 2022) and Marta Pumroy (Theological Student Advisory Delegate, 2022) share how they came to serve at the assembly and how being an advisory delegate has lastingly impacted their lives.
Next week’s Nourish episode will feature scripture-inspired conversation with the Rev. Dr. Bruce Grady, executive presbyter of the Presbytery of New Hope.