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New Castle Presbytery
Delaware, Maryland
Part of the mission and ministry of the New Castle Presbytery has been to respond to the needs of those greatly impacted by hurricanes and other natural disasters, especially those affected by Hurricane Katrina. Together with the presbyteries of Baltimore and National Capital, New Castle Presbytery now employs a presbytery disaster recovery coordinator, Bob Schminkey. The goal is to send 100 work teams to the Gulf Coast. Over the last year, New Castle Presbytery contributed $30,000 and thousands of hours of volunteer labor to the ongoing recovery efforts of the Presbytery of South Louisiana. The volunteers have helped in completing renovations on 300 homes and moving 300 families into new houses.
The Rev. Sara Holben, who co-led one of the presbytery-sponsored mission trips to the Gulf Coast, and her husband, Bob Schminkey, write, “We were in New Orleans in January with team members from three churches in the presbytery: Easton, Chestertown, and Milford. Our team stayed at the Olive Tree Village (a PDA camp) and members of the team worked on two different houses. One half of our team helped with some of the finishing work on a home that was nearly completed. The other half worked on a house at the beginning stages of reconstruction. We were privileged to attend a dedication service for one of the houses that had been completed through Project Homecoming of the Presbytery of South Louisiana. It was a moving experience for us to be a part of such a service for a home. It takes a long time to rebuild a home and many volunteers only get to see one small part of the process. It was an honor to represent in a small way all the volunteers and the months of work that it had taken to rebuild that one home.”
Other congregations in the presbytery participated in mission trips, including Westminster Church, Wilmington, which sponsored two trips to the Gulf Coast and a New Orleans-style dinner to raise money for ongoing disaster relief. Elkton, St. Andrews, and Trinity Presbyterian also teamed up with Mennonite Disaster Service to assist in the Gulf Coast recovery process.
New Castle Presbytery serves 55 churches and 11,390 members in Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
Prebytery Staff
James L. Moseley, executive presbyter
Jacqueline E. Taylor, associate executive, Speer Trust director
Reid K. Beveridge, stated clerk
Donna Scully, administrative assistant
Michelle Woodson, administrative assistant for communications and leadership
PC(USA) General Assembly Staff
Samuel Locke, GAMC
Rev. Helen Locklear, BOP
Praise the Lord for our many blessings and our opportunity to share God’s grace with so many in need of hope in all the chaos still around them. Amen.
Ps. 42, 146 Ps. 102, 133
1 Sam. 19:1–18 (19–24)
Acts 12:1–17; Mark 2:1–12
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