I promised an ongoing series about the aspects of my job at MPC that will change when I get ordained. And one of these changes has already started – but as we go on, I know the process will continue and accelerate. That is my responsibility for participating in the wider ministry of the church, and particularly in the Presbytery of San Francisco.
I began attending presbytery meetings earlier this year, and to those of you who don’t speak all the lingo yet, “presbytery” is the regional gathering of elders – both Teaching Elders (TE’s, in wide variety but mostly including pastors, chaplains, and other professional ministers), and Ruling Elders (RE’s, our session members and those who are called to ministry on a non-professional basis). Presbytery meets about 5 times a year for fellowship and worship and business. They are both a community of support, and a set of accountability partners who hold us to our responsibilities to God’s call in our area, and to the wider church. You may know that our friend the Rev. Vince Mok is now the vice-moderator of SF Presbytery, so he is in the midst of it all.
I know there will be a lot to do as I become more active in Presbytery. What I have done already is to attend a presbytery training called “Gracious Leadership,” which took place over the last 5 weeks of Wednesday mornings, and finished today. It was a wonderful class and I will in turn become an enthusiastic recruiter, recommending YOU take it, if you have the opportunity, when it returns this fall. It is helpful for anyone working or hoping to work in multi-cultural ministry, and if you want to know more, you can borrow my copy of the book “The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb” by Eric Law.
One of the principles of our training was the concept of the “Cycle of Gospel Living.” Too often the Christian message is reduced to a simple message: “You humans are proud and sinful, and need to humble yourself before God.” This can be helpful in certain cases, but it neglects the other side of the story: the God who, as the Psalmist says, “raises the poor from the ash heap and sets them with princes” (Ps 113:7-8). Those who have power need to become humble, and those who have been humiliated need to be empowered. But once being empowered, they will need to become humble again in new situations, and then empowered, and so on, in a cycle.
Our training brought together traditionally powerful people and those who have been disempowered. I was actually recruited because they needed more white people! The native English speakers were narrowly outnumbered by native Spanish speakers in our group, many of whom come from the church we are partnering with to care for the Ordoñez family, PIPH (Primera Iglesia Presbiteriana Hispana). We had a lot of talented interpreters, and we used non-verbal communication in some ways as well. Using different tools, we studied scripture together, talked about culture, shared life stories, and worked to become more empowered or more humble, and to keep that cycle moving.
As I become more active in the work of our presbytery, I hope to share in more trainings like this, and to partner with the excellent work being done in other congregations. It is my hope that doing so will enrich and instruct what we do at MPC as well.
Every Blessing,
Talitha