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2020
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We should live in the
present as people who are to be made complete in the future. N.T. Wright 2
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welcome Friends, “A long obedience in the same direction” – that’s how Eugene Peterson described the life of discipleship. In this issue of Journey, we follow that long obedience in the same direction that defines the life of faith. Beginning in the waters of baptism – where we affirm the great truth that God’s love embraces us even before we can receive that love – and reaching our earthly completion in the traditional funeral liturgy, where we give thanks for the deceased, saying “whose baptism is now complete in death.” Throughout our lives, we have the opportunity to continue living our lives in response to God’s love. Our preschool students pray and worship God every day, and gather for collective worship on Wednesdays. As they grow, they cross many milestones on the journey of faith. We teach them about worship, communion, prayer, the Bible, mission, and prepare them to make faithful decisions about every aspect of their lives as they enter Middle School. Entering adolescence and their teenage years, they face many challenges, but they do not face them alone. Our youth group provides sanctuary and a place of unconditional love and acceptance, filling their lives with holy moments and opportunities to grow in faith. Myers Park Presbyterian has an amazing history as a teaching church. Leadership development starts in youth group, and it continues for college-age young adults through CROSS Ministry internships, working with youth who come to Charlotte to serve God in our city through our mission partners. Our new Pastoral Residency provides newly ordained pastors the opportunity to learn more about practical ministry in our church. We also have the opportunity to support newly ordained pastors and the churches they serve through the Louis L. Rose, Jr. Fellowship that covers 50% of a pastor’s benefit costs in their first eight years of ministry. This makes calling a full-time pastor more possible for smaller congregations that have trouble meeting that cost. Considering that long obedience in the same direction, we turn to the grandfather of our new Associate Pastor, John Magnuson. John’s grandfather decided to attend seminary in his 70’s, after a career in radiology – talk about life-long learning! What an inspiration to us all. John challenges us on the journey to keep a question before us: “So what now?” Within the life of our congregation, our Outreach Ministry offers several potential responses to that question. The journey of discipleship, that long obedience in the same direction, covers quite a lot of time. From our baptism to our earthly end, the church’s ministry guides us on the way, serving as an outpost of sorts, providing supplies for the journey. Thanks be to God for the myriad resources made available through the life and ministry of Myers Park Presbyterian Church. What a wonderful celebration of that life-long journey is offered in the pages that follow. In Christ,
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contents 5 SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING “Relying on God’s grace, do you promise to live the Christian faith and to teach that faith to your children?”
6 WORSHIPING WITH OUR WHOLE HEARTS Wednesdays in the Weekday School develop a faithful curiousity about God.
9 GOD SIGHTINGS AT VBS Keeping our eyes open for where we see God’s goodness at work.
10 SEVEN YEARS WITH THE CLASS OF 2020 Julia Ehringhaus Noel just started mentoring a group of sixth graders seven years ago. Now, they’re graduating High School.
13 THE MAGIC OF MONTREAT Glimpses of God from a mountaintop town.
By this everyone will know 14 20 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT CROSS To honor 20 years of CROSS Missions, our new director has 20 things you need to know.
that you are my
disciples, 2
16 EXPLORING THE RESIDENCY PROGRAM Ben Brannan, our newest Resident Pastor, explores ministry at MPPC and a church in Harrisburg, NC.
17 A FELLOWSHIP OF FAITH The new Louis L. Rose, Jr. Fellowship enables small congregations to engage the neighborhoods around them as they shift and change.
18 LIFELONG DISCIPLESHIP John Magnuson on the ever-deepening journey of discipleship.
20 LOCAL OUTREACH Putting our feet to our faith and engaging our neighbors right here in Charlotte.
22 GLOBAL OUTREACH We choose to go beyond our comfort zone and into the world.
if you have
love
25 MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH Few topics bring faith into focus like
for one another
reflecting on the end of life.
27 BEFORE WE GO 3
Q&A
with Patrick & Stacy McFall on their children getting baptized on September 8, 2019
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO HAVE YOUR CHILDREN BAPTIZED?
We both grew up in the church and lived a life surrounded by family and faith. Baptism is such a special experience that we wanted them to grow into. WAS IT A MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCE FOR YOUR FAMILY?
The baptism meant so much to us and our collective families. It’s rare these days to get all sides together being that everyone has their own respective families and we even span across three states. It was never a question that they wouldn’t be present for this very special occasion and it was incredible to share this life affirming experience. WHAT DO YOU HOPE FOR YOUR CHILDREN’S INVOLVEMENT IN THIS CONGREGATION?
We want them to be involved in anything and everything. It’s one of the reasons we wanted to baptize them early and bring them into the church family as soon as we could. We want them to grow up in this church and for it to feel like home where they can both express and give of themselves wherever needed. 4
Since the Very Beginning Rev. Dr. Millie Snyder
At every baptism, the pastor asks parents, “Do you desire that your children be baptized?” and then “Relying on God’s grace, do you promise to live the Christian faith and to teach that faith to your children?”
prayer, encouraging them to know and follow Christ and to be faithful disciples?” It’s a beautiful act of communal covenant among everyone gathered, and that is good news for parents (and all of us) who feel inadequate to teach our children the faith.
Baptism is a sacrament, a holy event, in the church. (The other sacrament in the Presbyterian church is the Lord’s Supper, sometimes called communion.) Sacraments are visible signs of invisible grace. God’s love and grace don’t depend on the waters of baptism, but the water is a sign of our immersion in God’s loving presence.
For us, baptism is an act of worship and a commitment of the entire faith family gathered together. It isn’t a private promise between parents and their child or between a family and God. In some traditions, a family chooses godparents for their children. In our tradition, the congregation functions as “godparents” because we all make a promise to help raise our children in faith. Members of the church live out that baptismal promise when they agree to teach Sunday School, to lead activities at Vacation Bible School, to organize a Mission Kids event, to be a confirmation class leader, or to go with our youth on a trip to Montreat. Hundreds of disciples live out our baptismal promises here.
Baptism is a “sign and a seal” that each of us belongs to God. We baptize infants as a sign that God chooses us for a life of faith, discipleship, and salvation; God loves us before we even understand or respond. Parents bring their children for baptism and make a promise to live the faith and to teach that faith to their children. It’s an astounding promise to make. Live the Christian faith? Most days I try, and every day I fail. Teach that faith? I feel inadequate to do that. There’s so much I don’t know or don’t understand.
Whenever we celebrate a baptism, we are invited to remember our own — to remember that God has been with us all along and that God has loved us since the very beginning. It’s a simple act: a handful of water and a communal promise to follow Christ and encourage others to follow too. For the infants, children, or adults receiving this promise, it’s just the beginning of the lifelong process of faith formation. Thanks be to God for that good news!
When we baptize children, the pastor typically says to the parents, “In bringing your children for baptism, you do not stand alone. The church, the body of Christ, stands with you.” Then the congregation gathered for worship is asked, “Do we, as members of the church of Jesus Christ, promise to partner with these parents as together we guide and nurture their children by word and deed, with love and
WHEN YOU MADE A PROMISE TO LIVE THE CHRISTIAN FAITH AND TEACH THAT FAITH TO YOUR CHILDREN, WHAT DO YOU IMAGINE THAT WILL LOOK LIKE IN YOUR FAMILY?
We definitely believe in leading by example. The well-roundedness we want our children to have and experience should come from both their church family and what they experience at home. It’s up to us to reiterate the love and grace they’ll experience each week at MPPC, and to understand that this isn’t something that ends once they leave the sanctuary. WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE TO HAVE THE CONGREGATION ALSO MAKE PROMISES TO YOUR CHILDREN TO GUIDE AND NURTURE, BY WORD AND DEED, WITH LOVE AND PRAYER, ENCOURAGING THEM TO KNOW AND FOLLOW CHRIST?
It means so much to have the support of the church and congregation as our children grow in faith. When we decided to join MPPC, we were looking for a church home, a family of faith that would welcome us and make us all better than we were before we arrived. The future is so bright for our little ones, and having a church community in our corner is something we’re so incredibly grateful for. 5
Worshiping with Our Whole Hearts
Each Wednesday, tiny singing voices float down the hallway of the B-Building. It’s chapel day for the Weekday School, an opportunity to ground our preschool education program in Biblical stories and songs. They gather, listen for God’s word, pray, respond with singing (and dancing!) and go out into the world to love and serve the Lord. It’s a tiny worship service with tiny Christians, full of joy and learning and praise.
In addition to the weekly chapel service, each class goes to Godly Play, an opportunity for children to explore their faith through story and play, gain religious language, and enhance their spiritual experience through wonder and play. These two spiritual components of the Weekday School curriculum help develop a faithful curiosity about God and for our children to learn to be in a community of other curious Christians.
The children are welcomed and led by Jan Scott Farmer, our Godly Play teacher, and joined by a pastor who tells a Bible story with the help of parent volunteers. They sing songs about God’s love and generosity with Lana Moeller, our Music and Movement teacher. “It’s impossible not to smile,” says Jan Scott. “For many of our children, Chapel is their first worship experience where they come together with a larger group, and they have a lot of fun doing it! We are planting seeds of truth and joy in their little hearts, and my guess is that the adults in the room leave feeling just as enriched as the children.”
“Wednesday morning is one of my favorite times during the week,” says Jan Scott. “It is remarkable to look about and see these tiny disciples singing, dancing, listening, and praying with their whole hearts, minds, and bodies. And it is extra special to see the teachers and parents join in and learn from our children how to love God.”
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MILESTONES OF FAITH
Early childhood experiences inform our entire lives, and as children continue their own journey of self-discovery, we are called to live out our baptismal vows by providing for their spiritual growth. At Sunday School, children hear Bible stories and explore their meaning through age-appropriate activities, growing more confident in their importance to God. Throughout the elementary years, children engage in special faith milestones, acquainting them with different aspects of God’s love and faithfulness, and helping them live out God’s call for their lives.
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KINDERGARTEN: WORSHIP
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FIRST GRADE: COMMUNION
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SECOND GRADE: PRAYER
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THIRD GRADE: BIBLE
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FOURTH GRADE: MISSION
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FIFTH GRADE: FAITH AND SEXUALITY
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MIDDLE SCHOOL & HIGH SCHOOL
Why do we do what we do? What elements of worship will we encounter again and again? How do we help children stay engaged in worship? Parents and children both work toward a deeper understanding of worship. Children explore the meaning of the Lord’s Supper with hands-on activities that enrich their understanding of the sacrament of communion. They then have the opportunity to carry the communion bread into all four services on the first Sunday of each month. What is prayer anyway? Is there a right way to do it? Do we expect an answer from God? Second graders explore the world of prayer and try out a variety of creative ways to pray. After spending years immersed in Biblical stories, third graders embark on a four-week curriculum to learn about the Bible. At the end of this class, our church gifts each third grader with their own Bible. Families are equipped to learn the best ways to read the Bible, exploring issues of context, language, and history. Third graders carry the Bible into the 11 a.m. Sanctuary worship service each week. Fourth and Fifth graders are our Mission Kids! Fourth graders and their parents come together to learn about how we are called as Christians to serve as disciples in the world, serving others in love. This milestone is an opportunity to help open up communication around important topics as children approach middle school. The goal is to help frame these and future conversations around puberty, adolescence, and sexuality within the context of faith, knowing that we are made in God’s image. Faith milestones continue through middle and high school, addressing themes of identity, leadership, science and faith, and discerning God’s call.
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God Sightings at VBS The church hallway on the second floor, behind the Sanctuary, is usually pretty quiet. It doesn’t get a whole lot of traffic apart from the early-morning coffee run of a Weekday School teacher. It’s quiet, usually. It’s not quiet, however, when Vacation Bible School kicks off.
the opportunity to adorn his full Pharaoh costume and sharpen his acting chops as God helps Moses convince him to let his people go. The VBS Mission Center offered K-3rd graders the opportunity to learn about our neighbors in Charlotte, Uganda, and Congo. They got to pack snack bags, assemble toiletry kits, and make jewelry for our neighbors and friends around the world.
It started early. Parents walking their children to their classes, buzzing with anticipation. Leaders and youth scurry around to ensure supplies and snacks are in place. Staff run off yet another set of nametags on the copier. A youth helper says “God is good!” and dozens of children from all directions and hallways shout back: “All the time!”
The 4th and 5th graders, our Mission Kids, split up into three groups to take their faith to the streets at Crisis Assistance Ministries, I AM 24/7, and the Haven at Highland Creek. Then, they returned to the church to work with Habitat for Humanity on a shed destined for the back yard of the house the church sponsored and built this fall. Our VBS children have their fingerprints of faith all over the world.
This past year saw a record number of children spend a week learning beloved Bible stories, singing and dancing to joyful songs, playing outdoor games, and worshiping alongside their church family. Over 50 8th-12th graders served as helpers and guides throughout the week. The theme for 2019, Roar, was a curriculum customized by our Children’s Ministry leaders around the big story of Exodus connecting our global partnerships to our life here in Charlotte.
All week, we were reminded to keep our eyes open for where we saw God’s goodness at work. We call these “God-Sightings,” and the children had the opportunity to share these sightings with their classes and in front of everyone at the daily assembly. It was a week focused on God’s goodness, serving our neighbors, and having fun in faith and fellowship.
The Vacation Bible School team has infused the story of Exodus with wild creativity and imaginative activities. The children create, sing, dance, and dig into the Bible through immersive storytelling. They also afforded Joe Clifford
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Seven Years with the Class of 2020 Julia Ehringhaus Noel
Class mentor. Gosh, I guess that means I attend monthly class dinners with youth where we eat, grow in our faith, and deepen our relationships. But there’s so much more packed into that sentence.
together. When I look at that picture of Camden and me, I see amazing memories — like the time at Great Wolf Lodge when we nearly fell off our raft on a speedy water slide he somehow convinced me to go on. When we got to the bottom, we were all laughing so hard I needed help getting out. I look at that picture and see who Camden is: a curious, bright, loving, inclusive person. A loyal friend and incredible brother. An advocate, a believer in truth and kindness. Camden was always these things; we are who we are, after all. However, watching him live into these wonderful aspects of himself has been one of my greatest pleasures.
I started with the class of 2020 when they were in 6th grade. Technically, I met most of them when I was a group leader at the 5th grade Faith and Sexuality weekend – I’m sure they have fond memories of that. My relationships with the youth and the other class mentors – Bobby McKinsey and Scott Whelchel – started at class dinners. We would eat together and do a lot do laughing. Christine Welchel and I learned that it was best to sit back and listen. It is at those dinners that I began to realize that this is how faith develops in young people. It may seem small to sit around a living room playing games and laughing hysterically, but these are my most treasured memories with the youth. We encouraged them to enjoy their time together. So much of life for these amazing young people is measured, graded, evaluated. They are so high achieving, even as middle schoolers, and they often seem beyond their years. By just allowing them to be authentic and relaxed for a while, we were able to see them fully. They started asking questions about God, the kind of questions that stopped me in my tracks and took my breath away. They weren’t just thanking God for the meal and the hands that prepared it. They were asking how God could ever allow for something as terrible as cancer to exist. They prayed for their parents and siblings, their church and their school, their world and their neighbors.
We continued with dinners, youth group gatherings, trips to El Salvador, Montreat, Cuba. I began to see that the youth understand something about faith that we as adults often struggle with: that God commands us to do some things that make us uncomfortable. Being a follower of Christ isn’t always neat and tidy. These young people show me that living the way Jesus did is hard — that showing up for church in the right outfit and being a generally nice person who gives a dollar to a homeless person when you have the cash just doesn’t cut it. To our youth, God doesn’t just dwell inside the walls of Myers Park Presbyterian Church, God dwells in every neighborhood of Charlotte, even in the dark corners of the city that are so easy to avoid. Our youth walk into those places, often glancing back for a little reassurance. It has been my pleasure to be that reassurance. Over the past seven years, I have watched our youth put in the tough work of living as God asks us to. When I praise them, they look at me strangely and say things like, “I just sat down and started talking, I didn’t do anything big.” But when the table you sit down at is filled with people who haven’t had a hot meal in days, when the shoulder you squeeze and the hand you shake is one that no one dares to touch, when the high five you give is with a child who has never been a part of anything, it is a very big deal. In those moments I see glimpses of God.
One Sunday, the girls got to meet Christine’s newborn baby, Reagan. They crowded around Christine as she cradled her precious baby. They held her tiny hand and took turns feeding her a bottle. When she made the smallest cry, they bounced her and caressed her cheek. These youth were living out their baptismal promise to nurture and care for the children of God. It was pure love that they were showing to their sister in Christ.
It is always hard for me when seniors leave the youth group and go off to begin their lives elsewhere. It will be particularly hard to say goodbye to this group of seniors. Those once fifth-graders represent all the time I have spent with our amazing youth. All the pizza eaten, all the floors slept on, all the miles traveled. I am so grateful to them for trusting me, for letting me into their lives.
At the youth kick-off last August, I pulled up a picture from that 6th-grade year. It was a little blurry, as we had yet to perfect the ‘selfie.’ Camden Thomas Bush has changed so much since we first met, but he still has the loving heart he had back then. We were in Arkansas on our first trip 10
Choosing a Life of Faith Each spring, sometime after the Super Bowl and before graduation, a bunch of eighthgraders stand at the front of the church and are confirmed as full, active members of the congregation. Confirmation is a hugely important step in the faith journey of our young people. The entirety of the eighth grade is invited to claim the vows that were made to them at baptism by their parents, pastors, and congregation and make them their own. We believe in the bedrock concept that God loves us despite any virtue of our own. Long before we have the opportunity to love God, God loves us. We’re the ones that stray, and confirmation is an opportunity to accept God’s love and let it guide our lives. Beginning in the fall, confirmands study together and learn deeper truths about God and about themselves. They dive into the scriptures and learn about the practices of the faith. They’re mentored by our pastors and tackle tough questions about faith. By the end of the process, confirmands write a short statement about what they understand about God and the Christian faith.
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No matter how big the challenge or situation, remembering God’s love can help you overcome it. God’s with you through it.
Zach Turner
Life isn’t just about giving love to others.
You have to love yourself and let others love you. Parker Hanley The emotional support that we have for each other is huge. I know I have this group that’s always here to back me up.
William Chesney 12
The Magic of Montreat Josh Richard
“This is like, a Bob Ross painting,” says SK through deep breaths. A group of us are on Lookout Rock in Montreat for sunrise, and it’s becoming more worth the 5:30 a.m. departure by the minute as oranges and blues mix with the clouds to cap the green, happy trees. It’s the first day of a week filled with laughter and vulnerability and ice cream and hammocks and deep questions about our faith. This is the magic of Montreat.
mostly youth, served communion to a thousand of their peers. Rosa, one of our youth ministry interns, lent her beautiful voice to the Spanish-language songs of praise. All of us danced and sang and prayed and were moved by captivating participation in the worship of God. Our culture trains us to live life all the way to the margins, filling every moment with school, sports, SAT prep, resume builders, and professional development. Michelle and Nick, along with Jerry Cannon, our preacher for the week, have pushed us to challenge that idea and make space to notice God in the quiet, small moments of the present. To that end, we took a sabbath morning to re-orient ourselves, making more space to notice God’s presence, whether it be a morning hike, yoga, prayer, or an extra hour of sleep.
Our environment has a lot to do with how we think and how we feel. Here, just a few hours from Charlotte, we’re surrounded by forests and streams and mountains and, more importantly, several hundred young people of faith from all over the country. The pastoral leadership this week encourages us to let love lead in all that we do and in all that we are, defining ourselves through the relational love embodied by Jesus Christ.
All this work and practice has been showing up in our group, too. Each night we gather as a youth group to decompress from the day, have some snacks, and talk about what we’ve experienced.
The schedule says we worship each evening, but that’s not really true. We’re worshiping God all kinds of ways this week, from morning keynote sessions with Michelle Thomas-Bush and Nick Carson, to small break-out groups that tackle scripture through games, drama, and a discussion practice known as “mutual invitation” where everyone is given space to speak from their heart and receive the gift of active listening from the rest of the group.
You couldn’t put a price on this. It’s a week so full of intangible glimpses of God that we’d like everyone to know about. We’ve been equipped to go out from this place knowing that no matter where we are, we’re a part of each other’s stories. No matter where we are, we can open ourselves up to be moved to do great things. No matter where we are, we can partner with God in the unbinding of systems that have hurt us. No matter where we are, we can be people who lead with love.
The conference allows us to be immersed in worship. For us this week, worship isn’t a presentation we merely attend, it’s an action word. Seven elders and deacons,
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20 Things to Know About CROSS Rev. Erika Funk, CROSS Director
This year, our CROSS Missions program celebrates 20 years of ministry in Charlotte. Since 1999, the CROSS (Charlotte Regional Outreach, Spirituality, and Study) program has gathered groups from around the country to serve Charlotte nonprofit agencies and programs. CROSS is Myers Park Presbyterian Church’s unique urban outreach ministry. Over the past 20 years, more than 10,000 people from 270 churches, colleges, and schools in 19 states have served. To honor 20 years of ministry, here are 20 things we want you to know about CROSS:
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CROSS Missions is a different ministry than CrossRoads Corporation, another important ministry partner.
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The farthest a group has traveled to come to CROSS was Covenant Presbyterian Church from Oklahoma City.
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Every Myers Park Pres youth goes through a CROSS experience as part of their Confirmation process
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In 2015 CROSS was given The President’s Volunteer Service Award. Thanks, Obama.
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ev. Peter Henry, Myers Park Presbyterian’s R Associate Pastor for Mission, led a trip to Oregon in 1999 that would become the impetus for CROSS.
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Twice a month, September through April, we host groups for a weekend service retreat.
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Our big goal for 2020 is to create new and engaging College Alternative Break programs. We’ll use our 20 years of connection to bring in speakers, community leaders, and activists to nurture young people into becoming changemakers in their communities.
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he CROSS board meets several times a T year and is currently composed of 10 church members.
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The CROSS office is located in the Outreach department on the second floor. We have a fish named Spencer.
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This past summer his niece, Emily Petersen, was a CROSS intern.
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CROSS runs all year round.
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One youth group leader has been here 18 times in 20 years.
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his summer alone CROSS youth served at 46 T different sites.
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Participants served 9,540 hours this past summer.
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I n 20 years, CROSS has welcomed over 10,000 people from 19 different states.
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We depend on MPPC members to host groups for dinner once a week in the summer.
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The Assistant Director, Genie Richards, is a Queen’s graduate. She was also Homecoming Queen.
Cameron Moore, Coordinator of Contemporary Worship & the Arts, found his way to MPPC by being a CROSS intern in 2015.
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Freddie Sherrill, the Facilities Set-Up Coordinator at Myers Park Pres, shares a weekly devotion each summer based on his story of addiction and recovery.
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Summer interns live on the church campus from May-August. They receive $325 a week.
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Exploring Ministry through the Residency Program
“This church is BIG! I have appreciated how MPPC claims their size, not as something to brag about but as a reminder of the abundant ways the church can bless those we serve. And with a big church comes many resources. There is so much going on here at MPPC, I love the energy and pace.”
Myers Park Presbyterian has an established legacy as a teaching church, developing young pastors to lead our denomination in the future. Our two-year residency program is for seminary graduates who hold promise as pastors and wish to develop their ministerial skills serving alongside our clergy and staff.
Resident Pastors also explore ministry in a smaller church setting in the Charlotte area in order to gain experience that will help in discerning a call. Ben’s participation in the life and ministry of a church in Harrisburg, NC provide reallife insights into the various ways pastors go about their work of ministry in a different context. He’ll participate in worship leadership, preaching, session, and service.
Resident Pastors have ongoing opportunities for worship leadership and for pastoral care, as well as focused times serving in faith formation, administration, and outreach. Ben Brannan, our latest Resident Pastor, began his ministry with us in July. “My experience has been one of welcome and wander and wonder,” says Ben. “I have felt nothing but welcome from the congregation, my residency committee, the staff, and the clergy, and everyone has been warm to me and my wife as we transitioned from Virginia and as we continue to get settled in Charlotte. I have aimfully ‘wandered’ around this church, getting a feel for the buildings and the ministries of Myers Park — both being a fun challenge. This experience so far has also involved much wondering. This is the exciting unknown of what the future holds.”
The program is directed by Millie Snyder, our Executive Pastor, who facilitates opportunities to explore all of these aspects of ministry, guiding residents to establish their own pastoral identity and clarifying their gifts and call. “I think residency provides an opportunity to try things and fail; with the support and guidance of clergy, residency creates unique learning opportunities,” says Ben. “I can already imagine looking back at this chapter of my life and seeing how valuable this program was for my ministerial identity.”
Resident Pastors have opportunities to learn from all of the pastors and senior staff of Myers Park Presbyterian Church. “I was surprised at all the moving parts,” says Ben.
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A FELLOWSHIP OF FAITH
SMALL CHURCHES ARE INTEGRAL TO THE HEALTH OF THE BODY OF CHRIST. THESE COMMUNITIES OF FAITH ARE OFTEN THE HEARTBEAT OF SMALL TOWNS AND NEIGHBORHOODS, ENGAGING WITH THE WORLD AROUND THEM AS THEY SHIFT AND CHANGE. In fact, 80% of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations are considered ‘small,’ and many find it financially difficult to call a full-time, seminary-trained pastor.
We believe in the vitality of churches like Amity Presbyterian and those that God calls to leadership roles within them. We have cultivated partnerships with Union Seminary, Charlotte, Presbytery, and the Board of Pensions (the benefits provider for PC(USA) pastors) to identify and support driven pastors at work in God-inspired congregations. There is currently funding in place for two additional multi-year grants.
The Louis L. Rose, Jr. Fellowship program, newly established and funded through our church endowment, provides support for small churches and pastors in the Charlotte Presbytery. The first recipient of this fellowship is Amity Presbyterian Church and their pastor, Rev. Megan Argabrite.
“I feel fiercely called into the work of small church transformation,” says Megan. “I believe churches like Amity deserve the chance to follow Jesus into the beautiful unknown with qualified, passionate pastoral leadership. From Amity’s point of view, this fellowship program is encouragement and validation that our presence in the Body matters, one we are deeply grateful for.”
“Amity is a church of holy possibility,” says Megan. “It’s a congregation of faithful, loving folks who have the desire to engage more deeply with a neighborhood that has changed around them. So often, we hear this story of the aging, dwindling church that buries its head in the sand until the doors close for good. Amity has chosen to let God write a new chapter in their story – one of resurrection and transformation.”
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Watching my grandpa’s life change over the years helped me realize the joy of being a lifelong disciple.
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The Journey of Lifelong Discipleship Rev. John Magnuson
One of the greatest mentors in my life is my grandpa, Dan Foster. Growing up, my grandpa taught me so many things: how to fly fish, how to drive a tractor, how to enjoy smoked oysters, and so much about life. One of the greatest lessons that my grandpa taught me, however, was how to be a lifelong learner.
just for learning’s sake, to consume more knowledge, or to gather up information. Our learning is always for the sake of discipleship, for the sake of following where Christ is leading. So much of our learning as lifelong disciples is about asking how is God present in this place, through these people, and how is God calling us to respond.
As a child, I remember my grandpa’s retirement party as he stepped back from a long career as a radiologist. Both of my grandparents loved to travel, so retirement could have looked like one trip after another, and it started out that way. But one trip, a medical mission journey to El Salvador, changed his life forever. His time there inspired trips to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina and a long-lasting relationship (and many miles flown) with a church in Sudan. Traveling as a tourist wasn’t enough for my grandpa: He was interested in knowing people, their stories, and what God was up to in their lives.
As we continue in our journey of lifelong discipleship together as a church community I hope to always ask the question, “So what now?” So what does it mean that we are learning about God’s narrative through scripture, where is God calling us to respond to that narrative? So what does it mean that we hear a dynamic speaker on racial injustice, where is God calling us to enter into that injustice in our community? So what does it mean that we travel to one of our global mission partners, where is God calling us to respond in relationship? So what does it mean to glean some nuggets of wisdom from a sermon, where is God calling us to follow as faithful disciples?
As my grandpa’s travels slowed down, his questions about God’s presence in our lives only continued to multiply. After many conversations with his pastor, he was encouraged and convinced to go to seminary in his 70’s. At the same time, I had been responding to my own sense of call and was also enrolled in seminary. A gift that I will never forget is not only that my grandpa and I were in seminary at the same time, but we were enrolled in the same seminary together. While my grandpa’s course schedule of one class at a time didn’t sync up with my full-time schedule, I did have the joy of conversations over coffee and lunches together between class. While deep in discernment and seminary education, I learned so much by watching my grandpa learn and live out his faith in dynamic ways.
Being a disciple of Christ, is not just about learning and it’s not just about doing. Being a faithful disciple is doing something in response to what we have learned and learning from what we have done, all through the gift of the Spirit. This cycle has no beginning and no end. Some will enter as doers others will enter as learners, but wherever you are I encourage you to follow where the Spirit leads. If you are currently engaged in a Sunday School class, be the one to raise that question: How is God calling us to respond to what we are learning? If you are serving as a literacy tutor at Billingsville-Cotswold, be the one to raise the question, what is God calling me to learn about myself and my neighbors through this experience? Watching my grandpa’s life change over the years helped me realize the joy of being a lifelong disciple. I have come to recognize that being a disciple is a job never complete, for it is an ever-deepening relationship. God is calling us into this relationship, to learn more about who God is, who we are, and how we are to faithfully respond to God’s calling in the world.
As I consider my own life and how it has been shaped by my grandpa, I can’t imagine it as one where I ever stop learning. There is always a new book to read, an article to browse, and new information that I have yet to understand. When we take the posture of lifelong learning and are intentional about what we are seeking to learn, our lives are changed. As Christians, our learning is not
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Opportunities to Serve and Learn: Local Outreach Myers Park Presbyterian Church is a congregation called by God to serve as both a missional church and a teaching church, all while deepening our understanding about God and ourselves.
love builds up a home.
“It’s not just about learning and it’s not just about doing. But being a faithful disciple is doing something in response to what we have learned and learning from what we have done, all through the gift of the Spirit.” – John Magnuson
According to the 2018 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, there were approximately 1,700 people experiencing homelessness in Charlotte. Two of the biggest factors contributing to the housing crisis are lack of employment and lack of affordable housing.
One of the clearest ways we live out our calling as disciples is by responding to Jesus’ invitation, his mandate, given in John 13:34-35 “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.”
A number of our mission partners are at work every day addressing issues of housing and family stability: Charlotte Rescue Mission, Crisis Assistance Ministry, Friendship Trays, Habitat for Humanity, the Harvest Center, Hope Haven, Urban Ministry Center, Samaritan House, and Supportive Housing Communities.
In the early church, as the community struggled to understand how best to live out their lives as followers of Jesus, Paul reminds them in the midst of a dispute that “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (I Corinthians 8:1). So with the Biblical mandate to live out a life of sacrificial love and appreciating our legacy of both service to and growth as a community, our outreach efforts can be characterized and guided by Love Builds Up… a Child, a Home, a Neighborhood, and the World.
love builds up a child. By age 3, economically disadvantaged children have been exposed to 30 million fewer words than their more affluent peers based on their language experience and family settings. Each year, nearly 5,000 CMS students experience homelessness or are at-risk of experiencing homelessness. Engage with our mission partners to build up the lives of children in our community: The Learning Collaborative, Charlotte Family Housing, and Loaves & Fishes. Charlotte ranked 50th out of 50 cities in the potential for upward mobility for children living in poverty. 50% of local children live in poverty.
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love builds up a neighborhood. Primarily through our partnership with CrossRoads, our church has been ministering in the Grier Heights neighborhood with the hope that it will be transformed residentially and economically. In October 2018, the Session voted unanimously to join CrossRoads, Antioch Baptist Church, and Grier Heights Presbyterian Church in making a zero-interest loan of just under $1 million to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Housing Partnership to acquire a parcel of land in Grier Heights to develop truly affordable housing. Join residents and stakeholders in the Grier Heights neighborhood as they focus on justice, education, and empowerment: CrossRoads Corporation for Affordable Housing and Community Development, I AM 24/7, and Billingsville-Cotswold Elementary School.
myersparkpres.org/affordablehousing
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Opportunities to Serve and Learn: Global Outreach The Democratic Republic of Congo
love builds up a world.
Since sending our first mission team to the region in 1950, we have remained active in establishing educational institutions, economic infrastructure, and accessible health care to the Congolese people in the Kasai region. Through various partnerships, we seek to help improve the quality and sustainability of life, particularly through the construction and sustenance of new schools and support of ongoing higher-education initiatives.
Myers Park Presbyterian has six global partners in five countries:
Cuba Our partnerships in Cuba focus on building Christ-centered relationships with staff and members of churches in Remedios, Cardenas, Luyano, and Havana. We also support the development and education of new pastors at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Matanzas.
“IT WAS ONE OF THOSE ‘IF YOU WANT TO WALK ON WATER YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF THE BOAT’ MOMENTS, AND I AM SO THANKFUL THAT I DID.” – Anne Wright (Congo team member)
“NEVER STOP DOING THIS. THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO LET EACH OTHER KNOW THAT WE EXIST AND CAN LOVE EACH OTHER.” – Josmel (translator and partner at the seminary in Matanzas)
love builds up a child.
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El Salvador: Habitat for Humanity In partnership with Habitat for Humanity, we work to strengthen Gethsemani and surrounding communities by improving the living conditions of families through a holistic development project which includes housing, basic preventative and curative community health, microentrepreneurship, education, and leadership development. “SO MANY SAY THEY WILL COME BACK, AND THEY RARELY DO. YOUR TEAM DID.” – Gethsemani community leader
El Salvador: World Vision Through World Vision, we seek to engage the hearts, minds, and energies of the children and youth of the El-Alfarero region. Myers Park Pres has supported the implementation of a Culture of Peace project, a peace-building curriculum based on Biblical concepts to improve the well-being of children and their families. “THE PEOPLE OF EL ALFARERO ARE A LOVELY, GRATEFUL, PRAYERFUL COMMUNITY WHOSE FAITH IS AMAZING. IT IS A PRIVILEGE TO HELP SERVE THEM.” – Virginia LaFar (World Vision team member)
Hungary We have been in partnership with the Debrecen Reformed Great Church, Hungary’s largest Protestant church, since the early 2000s, initially to focus on post-communism challenges that many in Hungary still face. This partnership has grown and evolved to focus on joint outreach projects addressing education disparities and homelessness issues facing the elderly, mentally and physically disabled, and Roma populations in both Hungary and Ukraine. “I LOVE MOVING BEYOND REGIONAL, CULTURAL, AND DEMOGRAPHIC DIFFERENCES TOGETHER, FOCUSING ON SHARING A LOVE THAT ONLY GOD CAN PROVIDE.” – Cameron Moore (Coordinator for Contemporary Worship and Arts and Hungary team member)
Uganda Our newest partnership with the Bududa Learning Center teaches vocational skills to young adults, provides social services for orphaned children, and supports a micro-loan initiative for women entrepreneurs. “MY MEMORIES ARE OF ALL OF US TOGETHER, ARMS INTERTWINED, SHARING A MOMENT AS BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST, STRIVING TO UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, TO CARE FOR EACH OTHER, TO LEARN FROM ONE ANOTHER.” – Kathleen Price (Uganda team member)
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Matters of Life and Death Marina Luckhoo, RN; Faith Community Nurse
We have a conversation starter kit available to you for free. Contact care@myersparkpres.org.
Few topics bring faith into focus like reflecting on the end of life. There is often a reluctance to engage when mortality is discussed, and there is a feeling that there will be time for that later (hopefully much later). We acknowledge that it is essential, yet the option to postpone these discussions is standard. It can be difficult to imagine that life will go on without us. It can be painful to look to a future where we do not have a say or a presence in the lives of our loved ones. Paul walked this difficult path and found eternal hope, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). Even as we avert our gaze from death, faith meets us with abiding assurance.
Making decisions about where to live and the prospect of moving can be overwhelming and oftentimes delayed, sometimes until health changes dictate that action is needed. Taking time to explore options around downsizing or right-sizing before there is a pressing need provides choices and control of the process. These first steps help to prepare and clarify wants and needs without time pressures. Perhaps the most difficult conversation of all is the options for funeral and obituary planning as a final act of remembrance. Stating personal preferences and traditions can be a comfort and relief for families. Those who have had these conversations usually offer an acknowledged reluctance, “I’m here because I should be here,” or, “I can’t keep putting this off.” A sense that venturing into these difficult areas can be a burden, yet can meet the need to take care of business. We all have a to-do list, and for some, these matters of life and death are on the list, but way, way down. There are always more pressing or attractive matters at hand — like going on vacation or even getting the flu shot — almost anything else!
Over the summer, we tackled “Matters of Life and Death” as a congregation through a sermon series, guest speakers, and classes that helped us to prepare for what is to come. We engaged our future hopes and spiritual wellbeing. We explored end of life health options, such as the differences between palliative care for symptom management and hospice care when a doctor has determined life expectancy of six months of less. We discussed healthcare options towards improving quality of life.
Wherever you are on life’s journey, knowing that your church is with you, that you do not travel alone, can be a source of hope and peace. As your Faith Community Nurse, I am here to walk with you as you consider life and health, one step of faith at a time. Trusting that no matter what lies ahead, nothing will separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
With so many unknowns when illness is encountered, finding ways of asking questions and gathering information can both inform and empower individuals and families to honor their loved ones and care for them through their final stages of life. Making your wishes known about medical interventions helps loved ones follow your directives for care, taking the form of a living will or medical power of attorney for healthcare for example. The first step in making these wishes known is by having a conversation with your loved ones about your preferences for care. The Conversation Project is one way that we addressed the process of reflection, working through steps towards starting a dialogue and focusing on what matters most to you when end of life intentions is considered.
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before we go Why do we do this? Why do we commit not just a season of our life, but the entirety of our lives to discipleship? Throughout the ages and in different traditions this question has been answered differently. For some, the disciplines of following Christ are an assurance of heavenly security, for others it is a gaining of knowledge, and for some fear keeps us moving forward one step at a time. Is this really why we do what we do? As Joe said at the beginning of this issue of Journey, in death our baptism is complete. That still is not where our story ends. For just as we were submerged (or sprinkled) in the waters of baptism to come out gasping in new life, so too we have died with Christ to be raised with him in new life as well. N.T. Wright, in his book Surprised by Hope, focuses on the future of God’s kingdom. So much around what happens after we die is unknown to us. But, from what we read in scripture, we see images of a bodily resurrection and a redeemed city. For Wright, the promise that there will be bodies and cities in God’s kingdom has a lot to do with our bodies and cities now. To this end, Wright says, “We should live in the present as people who are to be made complete in the future.” In other words, our discipleship now is a joyful dress rehearsal, a sneak peek if you like, of the future fellowship with God and one another in which we will live. So again, why do we do this? We follow Christ in the joy of the promise that this is what we will spend not just the rest of our lives doing, but all of eternity. Let the journey begin, for it has no end. Rev. John Magnuson Associate Pastor for Discipleship
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