By Marj Carpenter

The question might be better put: What do Presbyterians not do? Because they do more good things than you can count. It sounds boastful, and they're certainly not the only ones in the business of doing good things. But there is no way to measure how many stewpot programs, clothing banks, and food pantries come out of Presbyterian churches for street people and others in need.

There is no way to count all of the youth groups and work camps that go to the Mexican border to help with projects there or go to Jamaica, Haiti, Chile and other locations. One church group from Santa Ana, Calif., even flew to Bombay and went on to the southern part of India, where they helped build homes for former leprosy patients, using the very stones that had been the foundation of the leprosy hospital many years ago.

A Presbyterian church in northern Arkansas is developing an ecumenical project to help the working poor--those who work hard but never have enough funds for medical care. It is a cooperative arrangement between churches and local physicians.

A church in New York City ministers to former prison inmates and their families.

More and more Presbyterian congregations are addressing the ignorance that surrounds the AIDS issue and offering services to people with AIDS and their families. An organization on the West Coast offers information, research and organizational help about AIDS to more than 100 Presbyterian churches.

A large number of churches have Mother's Day Out programs, after-school care, Meals-on-Wheels ministries, and special programs for the elderly--in addition to women's work, Sunday school special events, youth retreats, special music programs, and all the other usual things churches do.

Presbyterian churches are involved in programs with other denominations and other faiths, including those that have to do with relationships between Christians and Jews and between Christians and Muslims.

Whenever you see a Habitat for Humanity project, there are probably Presbyterians among those who are involved. Wherever you see a group working to enroll more voters, you are apt to find Presbyterians among them.

Churches have caring ministries with people in crisis and during life changes, such as special ministries for singles and divorced persons, and for nursing home patients.

Many synods and presbyteries oversee campgrounds, plan youth conferences, contribute to institutions of higher education, take work groups to Central America or the Caribbean area or Africa.

Nationally the Presbyterian Church is involved in evangelism, new church development, preparing church school literature, publishing magazines and newspapers, trying to help in issues of peace and justice, and watchdogging such concerns as racism and sexism.

With a renewed interest in global mission, more than 500 Presbyterian missionaries are serving in nearly 90 countries where the church is involved, in cooperation with partner churches in many of the countries. The kinds of work are diverse: evangelism, education and medicine--often thought of as the three basic components--but also the work of engineers and agriculturalists, pharmacists, computer experts, and airplane pilots.

Local churches help with overseas projects as well. A group from a congregation in the state of Washington went to Cameroon to build a roof for a school. A group from Kansas quietly built an entire new church in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Presbyterians answer when there is a call for help after a disaster: they assist with community health services such as giving flu shots or taking blood pressure. They learn and teach first aid. They hold blood drives. They host exercise classes. They are concerned about the environment. They recycle cans, bottles and paper.

If "faith without works is dead," Presbyterians' faith "ain't dead yet."