THURSDAY MAILING
November 30, 2023
In this edition . . . . Announcements From the Desk of David Baer, Stated Clerk Tara Spuhler McCabe, Dir. Of Congregational Dev. & Mission Called to Listen and Act: Practicing Community Engagement Beyond Our Church Walls Sponsored by Community Engagement Network of MCC December 3 – hosted by Old Presbyterian Meeting House A Message from the Mission Coordination Committee of National Capital Presbytery Three Commandments for Christians in Politics A webinar with David French f the New York Times Sponsored by the McClendon Scholar Program of NYA Pres Church December 6 Noonday Noels December 6, 13 & 20 – Old Presbyterian Meeting House Handel’s Messiah December 12 –Old Presbyterian Meeting House Concerts from Kirkwood Presents The Commonwealth Brass Quintet December 16 – Kirkwood Presbyterian Church Home for the Holidays Concert December 23 –Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church SAVE THE DATE: NCP’s Annual Continuing Ed and Gathering Retreat “Leading with Imagination: Flexing your Ordination Vows March 11-13, 2024 – Cambridge, Maryland 2023 Daily Advent Devotional Presbyterians for Earth Care Ukrainian Families Need a Sponsor The Pliscko Family The Pashchuk Family
Announcements: Attention Specialized and Member-at-Large Minister Members: It’s that time of year to submit your Annual Report and Housing Allowance Request (if applicable). The deadline is EXTENDED to Friday, December 1, 2023. You should have received an email with the forms from Dina Bickel, NCP’s Administrative Coordinator. If you have not, contact Dina dbickel@thepresbytery.org A parish associate is a specialized teaching elder, at-large, or honorably retired teaching elder member of National Capital Presbytery who wishes to associate with a particular congregation. Does your congregation have one? If so, the parish associate relationship requires approval and/or renewal every year. The form may be found here - https://thepresbytery.org/wpcontent/uploads/2022/02/Parish_Associate_Policy-Form_NCP.pdf Questions? Ask Dina Bickel – dbickel@thepresbtyery.org We reaffirmed that all Clergy and Certified Christian Educators must attend a “Healthy Boundaries” training within one year of being received by the Presbytery and renewed every three years. An Online Healthy Boundary Training through the Convergence Learning Platform FaithLead will be available in an on-demand format by which clergy and educators can access the course 24/7 and complete it at their own pace. To register: Complete the form here. You will receive an automated response saying that I will send a link to register for the course. Once the course is completed, send your certificate to Dina Bickel. Questions? dbickel@thepresbytery.org The Stewardship Committee of NCP is not hosting a planned giving or year-end giving event. GOOD NEWS! We have several offerings on our resource page from previous events. Visit https://thepresbytery.org/resources-for-congregations/stewardship-workshops-webinarsevents/ for a complete list. You can also find all our taped events on NCP’s YouTube Channel National Capital Presbytery - YouTube Hanover Christmas December 8 & 9 https://www.camphanover.org/hanover-christmas/ A candlelit trail winds through the woods, transporting you back in time. Along your journey, meet other travelers, shepherds, kings, and angels. Immerse yourself in the greatest story ever told…Stay overnight and experience Camp Hanover's hospitality, which includes a holiday brunch the following morning.
Winter Camp December 28-30 https://www.camphanover.org/winter-camp/ Sign up your child in grades 5-12 for this exciting two-night minicamp at Camp Hanover. Enjoy favorite camp activities— like archery, climbing wall, and crafts—in the winter. And no Camp Hanover visit is complete without songs around a campfire. Campers will spend most of the camp outside enjoying creation and nature. From cookouts, to hikes, to our annual bonfire, this is a not-to-miss event with a winter twist! Campers will have a cozy place to sleep each night in our heated longhouses. Confirmation Retreat February 23-25 https://www.camphanover.org/confirmation-retreat/ Bring your confirmation class to Camp Hanover for a time of fellowship, fun, and faith at our Confirmation Retreat. Retreat leader Pastor Adam Bowling will guide participants in exploring the theme Imagine, based on Romans 12:9-21, during this exciting event.
Summary of the 314th Stated Mee�ng of Na�onal Capital Presbytery Na�onal Capital Presbytery held a stated mee�ng via Zoom teleconference on November 14. The Moderator, the Rev. Dr. Chris Deacon, convened the mee�ng and invited Elder Mark Stunder, a member of the Budget and Finance Commitee, to offer the opening devo�on. The presbytery received the Necrology Report, giving thanks for the lives and service of the ruling elders and ministers who had died during the last year. During the business por�on of the mee�ng, the presbytery: •
Recognized transi�ons in our community: o The Rev. Mat Baker, who recently began his service as Pastor at Providence. o The Rev. Ruth Everhart, newly re�red, as of June 1. o The Rev. Jo Ann Staebler, newly re�red, as of September 19.
•
Elected Commissioners to the 226th General Assembly: o Ruling Elders: Lou Durden (Northminster), Mark Eakin (Warner Memorial), Jesy Litlejohn (Oaklands), Alternate: Madison Kloster (Lewinsville) o Ministers of Word and Sacrament: Chris Deacon (Northwood), Dean McDonald (Honorably Re�red), Bernice Parker Jones (Faith), Alternate: Catherine Taylor (Specialized Ministry/Burke) o Young Adult Advisory Delegate: Jackie Hager (Lewinsville)
•
Adopted a $1,153,473.92 opera�ng budget and a $982,507.59 mission budget for 2024. The per capita rate for the opera�ng budget will be $37.61 (NCP), $1.15 (Synod), and $9.80 (General Assembly), for a total of $48.56 per ac�ve member.
The NCP Leadership Council has adopted the following schedule for upcoming stated mee�ngs: • • • • •
January 23, 2024 – virtual, via Zoom March 19, 2024 – virtual, via Zoom May 21, 2024 – in person September 24, 2024 – in person November 19, 2024 – virtual, via Zoom
Grace and Peace, David Baer, Stated Clerk
November 30, 2023
Greetings People, Have you been curious about connecting with others in your community? When your church took the CAT, was one of your three priorities to build stronger bonds with others? The Community Engagement Network is hosting just the gift for you to meet these curiosities and priorities! December 3rd, at Old Presbyterian Meeting House, a key training for community engagement is FREE for you. Please note the flyer and registration link in this Thursday Mail. We will be practicing what we preach through some best practices learned through Rev. Ashley Goff and local organizer James Pearlstien at VOICE. There are currently nine NCP congregations who have been able to pray and respond to key needs in their communities thanks to this training and other Ecumenical partnerships. You can join the IMPACT! This opportunity is from your contributions to Unified Mission through the Mission Coordination Committee. PEACE and Courage, Rev. Tara Spuhler McCabe
The National Capital Presbytery's new Community Engagement Network invites you to come meet and learn with other Presbyterians seeking to build relationships within our communities. Action-based listening is a spiritual discipline that calls us to listen deeply to others whose lives are different than ours and build new relationships around a shared desire for justice and equity. Our teachers for this learning and training experience are: Rev. Ashley Goff, pastor of Arlington Presbyterian Church. She will share both the theological basis for this listening discipline and her church's lessons learned centering their mission in community engagement. James Pearlstein, co-lead organizer with Virginians Organized in Interfaith Community Engagement, (VOICE). He has trained volunteer leaders across Northern Virginia how to move from listening into action campaigns that produced important wins for behavioral health and housing. Arlington Presbyterian uses these inspiring words to call us all into a discipline of action-based listening: • Listening: We want to listen well, listen broadly and listen with love. We listen to both the words and the silence behind the words. We listen to the whole of the story. • Meeting needs: We ask what the needs are and seek to meet those needs, rather than the needs we simply assume to exist. We look for clarity about what meeting needs looks like. • Liberation: We believe in sharing and building power, rather than hoarding it and meting it out on our terms. This is how we will disrupt systems of inequity in our community. To register for this special training opportunity, register here through National Capital Presbytery. For questions: contact Kate Theisen, Old Presbyterian Meeting House (cetuva@yahoo.com) or John McKey, Clifton Presbyterian Church Uohn.mckey@gmail.com), who are co-moderators of the Community Engagement Network. The event will be in Heritage Hall at the Old Presbyterian Meeting House, 323 S. Fairfax, Alexandria, VA. The Community Engagement Network was established in 2022 among the nine Presbyterian congregations in relationship with VOICE. CEN welcomes people across National Capital Presbytery to join this network as we learn together and support each other in community engagement.
•• •• • •
National Capital
PRESBYTERY
MISSIONAL • PASTORAL • PROPHETIC
What does the Lord require of me but to do justice to love kindness and to walk humbly with God. (Micah 6:8)
Most of us understand justice and kindness. But it can be difficult to know what it means to walk humbly with God. Even so, this concept of accompaniment, of “walking alongside of” can be a powerful way of experiencing God. Recently, the Mission Coordination Committee of National Capital Presbytery approved a small grant to help Capitol Hill Presbyterian support a refugee family. The church, along with ecumenical partners and individuals in the community have already done much of the heavy lifting to secure visas, help with jobs and housing and truly accompany a family fleeing injustice and working for a better life. Of course, all of this would not be possible without the hard work and commitment to succeed of the family themselves. The Mission Coordination Committee approved a small grant to help the eldest three children to access community college. It is our prayer that this small effort to accompany this family will be an example and an invitation to other churches and community groups that want to lend a hand. If you would like to learn more about the work of the National Capital Presbytery or how your church can connect with others in mission, visit thepresbytery.org.
Noonday Noëls
Wednesdays December 6, 13, and 20 12:05 PM
Handel's
Messiah Sunday, December 12 3:00 PM
CONCERTS FROM KIRKWOOD PRESENTS
THE COMMONWEALTH BRASS QUINTET Chuck Seipp (Trumpet), Gil Hoffer (Trumpet), Rick Lee (French Horn), Greg Hammond, (Trombone), and Jon Voth (Tuba) performing a program of Christmas music
DECEMBER
16
3 PM
KIRKWOOD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH @REALLYGREATSITE 8336 CARRLEIGH PARKWAY SPRINGFIELD, VA 22152 WWW.KIRKWOODPRES.COM
FREE ADMISSION, DONATIONS APPRECIATED
)&3&
Ukrainian Family Needs a Sponsor to Apply for Two-year US Refugee Visa – An Opportunity for Hands-On Ministry This Ukrainian family needs a US sponsor to be able to receive temporary refugee status and work in the United States under the United for Ukraine program (UforU). If you’re a US citizen and consider helping a hard-working couple from Ukraine, please consider this request.
Pliscko Family Mykola and Olena Pliscko and three children are from the Odesa region, which was massively bombed for the past 5 months. The Plisckos are active members of a local Baptist church in Odesa. Wherever they can find sponsorship and legally come to the US, they would go to Philadelphia/East Greenville, PA area where their best friends live and work (that family also came to the US with the UforU program over a year ago). The Ukrainian family in the Philadelphia area would help the Plisckos find work and housing, and there is a Ukrainian church in the area as well. The Plisckos have basic English abilities. Mykola is a professional construction contractor, and Olena is a music teacher. Mykola has a driver’s license and could start making money with Uber or take construction jobs. They also have savings to purchase a car in the US. The couple is very committed to their country, but recent circumstances have forced them to seek safety abroad. The family is ready to cover their flight tickets costs. Also, Mykola can legally leave Ukraine. The expectation from potential sponsors would be to file a I-134a form on USCIS website and if possible, to provide accommodation, and occasional help with food and transportation for the first 2-2 1/2 months while the family gets all the paperwork to be temporary residents: work permits, social security numbers, health insurance, and US driver’s licenses. The community in East Greenville will be able to help with the transition tasks. In terms of housing, some sponsors have been willing to host a family in their own home for these few months while they help the sponsored family finding place to rent. Other sponsors have assisted from the beginning to help the family rent an apartment, so there are alternative ways to address the housing need.
To rent a place, a sponsor may be asked to co-sign the lease, as landlords often require income and credit history statements. Sometimes although one sponsor completes the UforU form and is designated the official sponsor, friends or fellow church members will gather as a team to help a refugee family. Normally the UforU program tries to help with interpreters, but this ability to help varies with the region of the country where the sponsor lives. The friends of the Plisckos in East Greenville indicate there are numerous people in the local Ukrainian community who can help with interpreting and help the potential sponsor with completing the I-134a form. NOTE: Supporters in the US have offered to contribute to the transition expense the family will incur and to organize and administer a site such as “GoFundMe.” The supporters will assist the sponsor with completing the I-134a form and navigating through the process. They will also determine with the potential sponsor the degree of assistance needed for the family. The main requirement for the family to qualify for the two-year temporary refugee status and benefits is to find a US sponsor. United for Ukraine The United for Ukraine program, announced by President Biden for Ukrainians over a year ago, and implemented by US Department of Homeland Security provides a pathway for displaced Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members who are outside the United States to come to the United States and stay temporarily for up to two years. This program quickly grants Ukrainians a legal status, work permits, health insurance, and some benefits like food stamps. The process is straightforward, there are about 13 pages in the application, but the application only takes …. The turnaround time for the application review is not long. The potential sponsor must qualify, then the family receives visas and permission to travel to the US within a period of time after approval. The official website of the program is: https://www.dhs.gov/ukraine .
To volunteer as a sponsor for a family or ask questions, please contact Nadiia Khomaziuk from the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council at ‘nkhomaziuk@usubc.org’.
Ukrainian Family Needs a Sponsor to Apply for Two-year US Refugee Visa – An Opportunity for Hands-On Ministry This Ukrainian family needs a US sponsor to be able to receive temporary refugee status and work in the United States under the United for Ukraine program (UforU). If you’re a US citizen and are willing to consider helping a hard-working couple from Ukraine escape from war, please consider this request.
Pashchuk Family Serhiy and Anna (“Ania”) Pashchuk with two daughters, who usually reside in Kyiv, are staying with parents in nearby Zdolbuniv (Western part of Ukraine which is safer than Kyiv). The parents commute to Kyiv to work or work remotely when possible. In spring, Ania Pashchuk was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a successful surgery and recently received a very optimistic postsurgery test results and prognosis that allowed her to return to work part time. Her diagnosis played a key role in the family’s decision to consider applying for UforU on account of the good health insurance the program provides. She also wants to let their kids have normal school experience, without spending time in the bomb shelters or learning remotely as was the case for most of last winter. The Pashchuks attend an Orthodox church in their hometown. Should they find a sponsor in the Washington, DC area, the family has close friends who would be willing to assist with paperwork and other logistics if needed. The Pashchuks have intermediate English abilities. They have visited US several years ago as tourists. Serhiy is an entrepreneur, he has experience in retail, works with Amazon, has a driver’s license and could start making money with Uber or take construction jobs. Ania works in online marketing. The couple is very committed to their country, but recent circumstances have forced them to seek safety abroad. The family is ready to cover their flight tickets costs. Serhiy can legally leave Ukraine. The expectation from potential sponsors would be to file a I-134a form on USCIS website and if possible, to provide accommodation, and occasional help with food and transportation for the first 2-2 1/2 months while the family gets all the paperwork to be temporary residents: work permits, social security numbers, health insurance, and US driver’s licenses. In terms of housing, some sponsors have been willing to host a family in their own home for these few months while they help the sponsored family finding place to rent. Other sponsors have assisted from the beginning to help the family rent an apartment, so there are alternative ways to address the housing need. To rent a place, a sponsor may be asked to co-sign the lease, as landlords often require income and credit history statements. Sometimes although one sponsor completes the UforU I-134a form and is designated the
official sponsor, friends or fellow church members will gather as a team to help a refugee family with other needs. NOTE: Supporters in the US have offered to contribute to the transition expense the family will incur and to organize and administer a site such as “GoFundMe.” The supporters will assist the sponsor with completing the I-134a form and navigating through the process. They will also determine with the potential sponsor the degree of assistance needed for the family. The main requirement for the family to qualify for the two-year temporary refugee status and benefits is to find a US sponsor. United for Ukraine The United for Ukraine program, announced by President Biden for Ukrainians over a year ago, and implemented by US Department of Homeland Security provides a pathway for displaced Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members who are outside the United States to come to the United States and stay temporarily for up to two years. This program quickly grants Ukrainians a legal status, work permits, health insurance, and some benefits like food stamps. The process is straightforward, there are about 13 pages in the application, but the application only takes …., and a volunteer has offered to help with the application. The turnaround time for the application review is not long. The potential sponsor must qualify, then the family receives visas and permission to travel to the US within a period of time after approval. The official website of the program is: https://www.dhs.gov/ukraine .
To volunteer as a sponsor for a family or ask questions, please contact Nadiia Khomaziuk from the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council at ‘nkhomaziuk@usubc.org’.