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In 2001, the Littles were members of a small group that spent
a week in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), Vietnam, training
pastors of the rapidly growing house church movement. "The
vibrancy of their faith was very inspiring," write the Littles.
"We worked with two of the 21 house-church clusters, which
were composed of 4,000 and 14,000 members respectively."
In a sense, Bryce and Phyllis have been preparing for this ministry
all their lives. Their ministry in Southeast Asia began in 1960
with their appointment as mission workers in Thailand and Singapore
by the United Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This was followed
by a year as missionaries in residence with COEMAR, one of the
predecessor entities of the Worldwide Ministries Division.
After three years doing urban ministry in Seattle, Washington,
in the early 1970s, Bryce began a long career in Presbyterian
middle governing bodies. For 15 years, he was a ministries consultant
on new church development in the presbyteries of Sacramento, San
Joaquin, Stockton, and Nevada (1973 to 1988). Then he was associate
executive for mission development in New Covenant Presbytery in
Houston, Texas. After three years as a mission pastor at First
Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, California, Bryce was executive
presbyter at San Gabriel Presbytery in the Synod of Southern California
and Hawaii, the position from which he retired in June 2001.
Phyllis’ first experience in cross-cultural mission was
as a Presbyterian missionary to Cameroon, West Africa, where she
taught school from 1957 to 1960. When the Littles were appointed
to serve in Thailand, Phyllis gave up teaching to devote her energies
to homemaking and raising the couple’s four children. She
returned to teaching in Sacramento, California, in 1978 as a bilingual
teacher of early childhood education. In Houston, Texas (1988-1991),
Hollywood, California (1991-1993), and Glendale, California (1993-2001),
Phyllis was a bilingual teacher of kindergarten and first grade.
Phyllis holds a bachelor of arts degree from Westmont College
in Santa Barbara, California. She has two master’s of arts
degrees from California State University: in early childhood education
and in bilingual and cross-cultural education.
Bryce holds a BA in business administration from the University
of Washington, an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary,
an MA in church and community from McCormick Theological Seminary,
and a D.Min from San Francisco Theological Seminary. He holds
a diploma from the Ecumenical Institute Graduate School in Celigny,
Switzerland.
Bryce was ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacrament in June
1960 by Seattle Presbytery. He is a minister member of Sacramento
Presbytery. Phyllis is an ordained elder and deacon. Phyllis is
a member of Peace Presbyterian Church in Elk Grove, California,
where the couple attends regularly.
Birthdays:
Bryce -June 28
Phyllis - October 3
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