Room to grow
Small but growing El Paso church could use just one more wall
by Erin Dunigan
Special to Presbyterian News Service
EL PASO, Texas — Divine Savior Presbyterian Church is small. But that doesn’t mean its pastor doesn’t have a big vision.
Linda Martinez was called to be the Commissioned Lay Pastor for Divine Savior in August 2006.
“For my first sermon, there were 17 people in the pews,” she said. [Read more]
Rural South Carolina churches find strength in numbers
By Edward Terry
Reprinted from The Layman, January 5, 2010
CLINTON, S.C. – A group of 15 Presbyterian churches in rural South Carolina have learned, as the old saying goes, there is strength in numbers.
Begun nearly 20 years ago, the Greater Laurens County Cluster of Churches (GLC3) has helped the group of small congregations pool their resources for the greater good in their community and the Kingdom.
“The key is having a vision that reaches beyond yourself and is bigger than any one of the participating congregations,” said the Rev. Herb Codington of Bethany Presbyterian Church in Clinton, S.C. “Some of our small churches would say that the cluster has re-energized them. People started dreaming again at some of our churches.”
[Read more]
Presbyterians engaged with congregational-based community organizing
by Phil Tom
Members of Grace Memorial Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, Pa. Photo courtesy of Grace Memorial. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been engaged with community organizing/congregational-based organizing work for more than 50 years. There are many PC(USA) congregations across the country that are engaged with their local congregation-based community organizations working faithfully to transform their congregations and communities. Montview Boulevard. Presbyterian Church in Denver is a member of Metro Organizations for People that is working to make healthcare more accessible and affordable. First Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Illinois, and First Presbyterian Church in Normal, Illinois, are members of the Central Illinois Organizing Project that is working to reform bank lending practices. Church of the Pilgrims and New York Ave. Presbyterian Church are members of the Washington (D.C.) Interfaith Network that is working to end high usury rates for credit cards. Immanuel Presbyterian Church is working with ONE-LA to address the issue of affordable housing in Metro Los Angeles. Grace Memorial Presbyterian Church is a member of the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network and is working to rebuild and transform their community.
Check out the newspaper article about Grace Memorial ministry and partnership with PIIN’s Holy Ground Project to address neighborhood issues like abandoned properties and public safety.
Beyond the walls
Kids enjoy an inflatable slide at Westminster’s block party. Photo by the Rev. Devon Ducheneau.Small West Virginia churches look outward to surrounding communities
STATESVILLE, N.C. — The Rev. Devon Ducheneau knew that in order to survive, today’s churches need to turn their focus outward and embrace the community around them rather than continue as secluded islands.
The part that would take some work was convincing the members of her two small churches, Southpark and Westminster Presbyterian churches in Charleston, W. Va., that this was the path they needed to take. Read more.
Artful wonders
After-school program revitalizes small Alabama town, 8-member church
by Toni Montgomery
Special to Presbyterian News Service
Geneva Presbyterian Church’s Artful Wonders program supplies art classes and supplies to local children. STATESVILLE, N.C. — What do you get when you cross a small church in a small town with a crumbling economy? The surprising answer is opportunity. As in opportunity for growth on both a personal and church level, opportunity for service, opportunity to fulfill a need, and not least of all, the opportunity to lift spirits.
Geneva Presbyterian Church, in the small town of Geneva, Ala., had only eight members when Dee Koza took over as commissioned lay pastor in February 2008, but what the church lacked in size, it made up for in enthusiasm and eagerness to be involved in the community. [Read more]
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