Message from the Moderator

Friends in Christ,

I write this as I settle in for my year as moderator of the Synod of the Pacific.  I knew we were big and diverse but I had no idea…the work that the Mission Partnership Committee and the Synod Office are doing to create a brochure gave me a clue.  The Synod of the Pacific consists of 11 presbyteries, 481 churches, and over 116,000 members.  Those are large numbers.  And the geographic diversity – ocean front to mountains to desert to farm land to suburban to urban – almost beyond imagination.  I’m planning to attend presbytery meetings and worship in as many presbyteries as possible during this year and it’s a daunting prospect.

As you can imagine, there are almost endless possibilities and many needs in this large and varied synod.  One of the most pressing needs is outreach to the poor.  At our meeting in Las Vegas in October, we had planned to split up and a few of us visit one of several mission projects around the city.  For various reasons the trips fell through.  What happened next was truly wonderful, however.  Folks from several mission projects were invited and representatives from four ministries visited us.  It was an inspiring evening – we heard from an Hispanic ministry, a ministry to the homeless, a Thai ministry, and a Hungarian ministry.  Each one spoke of how their ministry began and how it’s going now.

Amazing Grace Ministries, this homeless ministry is itself homeless – it uses churches and other venues throughout the city for worship and to host meals.  A huge number of volunteers make all this possible.  And things often just show up when they are needed, for example, two paper bags of stuffed toys arrived just as a number of children needed them.

The Free Hungarian Reformed Fellowship opens its doors to Hungarians as well as others who may have lived in the Las Vegas since the building of Hoover Dam. Some Hungarians have worshipped in the United States for as long as 100 years. In addition to Hungarian speaking Americans this fellowship ministers to Romanians and Roma, as well.  They have a Roma band that plays at worship sometimes and sounds like it’s worth going to hear.The Thai Presbyterian Fellowship also works with Hmong, Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian folks.  Their minister commutes from Coronado, California, a distance of 363 miles, for Sunday worship.Iglesia Presbiteriana ministry is led by Antonio and Evangelina Zambrano, their story is amazing.  Twice they’ve sold everything and moved to work with immigrants in need.  They are currently housed in Westminster Church and work with people drawn to the many service jobs available in Las Vegas.The stories we heard were inspiring – there was a willingness to answer God’s call, wherever it led, that awed me.  There was a determination to do as much as possible with what was at hand that was genuinely inspiring.   No one there was waiting for “their ship to come in” before getting started. At the end of our time we prayed together and closed with the Lord’s Prayer, said in each one’s own language.  It was a sound I won’t soon forget.The experience we had in Las Vegas would be easy to recreate in your community – simply get together with some other churches that share a common interest in mission and invite folks from local ministries to come and tell you what they do and what they need.  Listen to them, learn from them, pray with them and decide how to help.  Be prepared to hear examples of response to God’s call reminiscent to that of St. Stephen and the first deacons.  Be prepared to have your complacency shaken up a bit. I know mine was. I’d like to recommend you do this on a regular basis.  Start some sort of a coordinating group that carries on the dialogue with the various agencies in your area.  We all have so much to learn from one another and this is a perfect opportunity to start.

Peace,Bob Justman

Moderator of the Synod of the Pacific