GLOBAL MINISTRIES: New Wellshire/PCUSA Mission Co-Workers & CLOCKS !
On February 10, 2010, Global Service Ministries of Wellshire made a commmitment of prayer, education and support to two additional PCUSA mission co-workers (former Wellshire mission co-workers have retired from active field service). This will broaden our current PCUSA mission partnerships that now includes Al and Ellen Smith of Moscow, Russia.
Drs. Les and Cindy Morgan have served the Presbyterian church as physicians in Bangladesh since 1989. Amanda Craft began her mission service in Guatemala in 2009, focused upon women's leadership development and education. Biographical information, and photos, are available for viewing on Wellshire's web site, www.wpcdenver.org, on the Christian Service bulletin board near the Adult Education Suite, and in future SPOTLIGHTS on SERVICE. Please visit www.pcusa.org for letters and fascinating information pertaining to our mission co-workers and the countries and communties with whom they partner in ministry. Additional questions? Please contact George Scheuernstuhl, Chair of Global Ministries (gbscheue@ix.netcom.com) or Pattie Kitchen, Assoc. Pastor for Mission & Outreach (pkitchen@wpcdenver.org).
To celebrate these new global relationships (and in support of our youth who will travel to Guatemala and meet Ms. Craft in June), we have installed FOUR CLOCKS near the Reception Desk, each bearing the TIME of the country served by our Wellshire mission co-workers (Denver, Guatemala, Moscow and Bangladesh). We praise God for these extraordinary servants of Christ who represent the Presbyterian Church on soil far from home.
Seeking Common Ground E-Newsletter
GLOBAL SERVICE
Dear Friends and Guests…
We often say at Wellshire that we attempt to be, at all times, a thoughtful and thought-provoking congregation. We seek to honor honest questions of faith and mission as we venture out of the walls of Wellshire to serve Christ - so often found in the unexpected guise of a stranger. So we pray, and meet, we travel and read and explore. We stumble and help one another up. We hammer and cook and laugh until it hurts. We offer and receive grace in abundance. If you would like to join us in this journey of exploration and service, please call, write or stop by. It would be my pleasure to share a cup of coffee (Fair Trade coffee from our Fair Shake Shoppe!) with you.
GUATEMALA CELEBRATION JUNE 7
Greg Allen-Pickett
Ted Griffith
Ray Johnson
Rachel Wildrick
MINISTRIES OF SERVICE
The following are some of the hands-on ministries of service of Wellshire. If one piques your interest, please contact Rev. Pattie Kitchen, Associate Pastor for Mission & Outreach (pkitchen@wpcdenver.org; 303.758.2233):
* Hunger Task Force & Food Bank of the Rockies (food ministries, engaged year-round, in the midst of a lively, hospitable group of volunteers!)
* Lomagundi Medical Clinic in Chihoyi,Zimbabwe (Presbytery of Denver partnership)
* Wellshire’s Fair Shake Shoppe (volunteer to help support local and global crafts, coffees and foods through the sale of fairly trade products each week at WPC)
* Beyond Borders (literacy) & Haiti Nursing School in Leogone, Haiti
* Russian Ministries (partner with Moscow congregation & PCUSA mission co-worker)
* Seeking Common Ground/Building Bridges for Peace (Israeli-Palestinian-US youth)
* Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity (January, 2009)
* Guatemala Habitat & Healing Waters of the World, Intl. (March, 2009)
* 2009-2010 All-Wellshire Habitat for Humanity Denver Project
* MetroCareRing (needs assessment; organization of pantry; encouragement of clients; Share the Harvest Food Drive)
* Operation Christmas Child (gift boxes packed for international children)
* Annual Alternative Christmas Market
* The Gathering Place (resource center for women & children, art studio, clothing pantry)
* Schmitt Elementary School Reading, Spanish, Math, Music & Sports Volunteers
* New Genesis Shelter (meals served and fellowship enjoyed at a downtown shelter)
* New Garments Always (annual new clothing collection for Denver children)
* Family Homestead (apartment preparation & support for homeless families)
* Denver Road Home Homeless Initiative (mentoring homeless families in transition)
* Interfaith Hospitality Network (food, fellowship and support of homeless families)
AND….interested in ecology, conservation or environmental advocacy? Wellshire’s Green Group welcomes your interest and insights with our Solar Panel project and other innovative ministries!
WELLSHIRE TRAVEL TEAMS
“The church is viewed as the people of God and, by implication then, as a pilgrim church. In contemporary Protestantism, this idea first surfaced clearly in the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer…the biblical archetype here is that of the wandering people of God, which is so prominent in the letter to the Hebrews. The church is a pilgrim not simply for the practical reason that in the modern age it no longer calls the tune and is everywhere finding itself in a diaspora situation; rather, to be a pilgrim in the world…is to be ‘called out’ of the world, and ‘sent back’ into the world…God’s pilgrim people need only two things: support for the road, and a destination at the end of it.” Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, David J. Bosch, p.373-374)
If you have interest in a particular culture or country or region of the world, please let us know. Wellshire is in the midst of sending and receiving individuals and teams of curious and humble people as we seek to know and to respect one another as a global village of faith and myriad traditions. Most recently we have sent and received friends from the following countries:* China, * Egypt, * Haiti, *Santa Fe-Habitat, * Guatemala, *Zimbabwe and *Russia.
The Rev. Dr. Patricia M.B. Kitchen
Associate Pastor for Mission & Outreach
pkitchen@wpcdenver.org
303.758.2233 x. 223
GLOBAL MINISTRIES TRAVEL
Recent ‘Wellshire Ambassador’ Missions
EGYPT January 20 – February 3, 2008
Objectives: Come to know our partners in ministry and learn from them; assess current needs and future strategic and business plans of our partners’ health institutions and schools.
PC(USA)’s Egyptian partner: The Synod of the Nile of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Egypt (founded 1854 by Presbyterian missionaries) and The Evangelical Theological Seminary of Cairo
Wellshire connection: Wellshire partners with MBF which, along with PC(USA) staff, did the evaluations on this trip.
Official to whom Wellshire’s greetings were delivered: The Rev. Emile Zaki, General Secretary of the Synod of the Nile. .
Mission co-workers interviewed: The Rev. Dr.s Darren and Elisabeth Kennedy on the faculty of Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo and
Magda Iskander, MD, community health consultant to CEOSS (Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services)
PC(USA) staff on the trip: Victor Makari, PhD, area coordinator for Europe, the Middle East, Asia Minor, and the Jinishian Memorial Program;
Bob Ellis, coordinator of International Health Ministries
Accomplished: We were greatly edified and enriched by the faith of our partners and co-workers. Multiple hospitals, clinics, senior centers, orphanages and the like were evaluated to assess their suitability and that of their business/strategic plans for further partnership.
Potential opportunity for future Wellshire partnerships: There are abundant possibilities in Egypt for Wellshire members to work alongside our partners there in a safe and supportive environment. The journey is long, but well worth it!
Wellshire trip participants: Jim Kitchen, MD (ret. cardiologist; former MBF treasurer and trustee)
HAITI January 7 – 12, 2009
Objectives: Meet our partners in ministry and learn from them; assess the current needs and future strategic and business plans of our partners’ health institutions and literacy and human rights advocacy programs.
PC(USA)’s Haitian partner: The Epispocal Diocese of Haiti
Wellshire Connection: In 2008, Wellshire supported both MBF (the nursing school at Leogone, Haiti ) and Beyond Borders (literacy programs; campaign to end child slavery). The grant to Beyond Borders was given in honor of Betty Fairbanks by the leadership of Wellshire’s English as a Second Language (ESL) program when, with the blessing of Christian Service Life, ESL switched their focus from Denver to Haiti.
Official to whom Wellshire’s greetings were delivered: The Rt. Rev. Jean Zache Duracin, Episcopal Bishop of Haiti
Mission co-workers interviewed: Pix Mahler, PC(USA)’s Haiti partnership facilitator
PC(USA) staff on the trip: Joann Saunders, International Health Ministries
Accomplished: Celebrated graduation of the first 14 baccalaureate nurses in the history of Haiti; assessed construction in progress for expansion of the nursing school; toured Hospital Ste. Croix (currently closed – discussed plans for re-opening); evaluated Beyond Borders’ literacy programs and program for abused women.
Potential opportunity for future Wellshire partnerships: Haiti is a conveniently short plane ride from Miami, and there are multiple possibilities for service by Wellshire members.
It is entirely feasible to organize a small group to visit and stay in Haitian homes while coming to understand first hand the incredible challenges our sisters and brothers in Christ face there every day.
Wellshire trip participants: Jim Kitchen
Recent Wellshire ‘Mission Team’ Missions
SANTA FE, NM January 21 – 25, 2009 (A Habitat for Humanity work trip)
Objectives: to assist in the construction of Habitat for Humanity houses, and to work alongside the new Habitat home owners and Habitat Santa Fe staff in this endeavor.
Accomplished: Twenty-two persons did framing, landscaping, and other tasks at the construction site as well as installation of ceilings at the Habitat for Humanity office. Workers lodged at PC(USA)’s Ghost Ranch facility in Santa Fe. In addition to the service and fellowship, participants worshiped and connected with pastoral staff at the beautiful First Presbyterian Church in Santa Fe – the oldest protestant church in New Mexico.
Official to whom Wellshire’s greetings were delivered: The Rev. David Wiseman, interim pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Santa Fe and former PC(USA) mission co-worker in Guatemala
Trip Participants: Tom and Mary Rogers;, Ed and Pat Van Bramer; Ted and Kris Griffith; Bob and Jackie Gates; Martha Turner; Sandy Anderson; Bill Porter; George and Billie Mae Scheuernstuhl; Glen and Mary Burbridge; Brian and Sue Bell; Donna Herrington; Jim and Pattie Kitchen; Jon and Sondra Plochy.
Wellshire Staff: The Rev. Dr. Pattie Kitchen, Associate Pastor for Mission and Outreach
ANTIGUA and CHIMALTENANGO , GUATEMALA
March 21 – 28, 2009
Objectives:
…to meet and be with our Guatemalan sisters and brothers in a spirit of humble
expectation and service.
…to join them in a water purification project through partnership with Healing Waters International (HWI)
…to work with them to build a Habitat for Humanity house, and come to
know and work every day alongside Esther Castellanos Lara, who will live in that house with her daughters.
…to seek to identify, as encouraged by Wellshire’s Global Service Ministries, a mission co- worker, preferably from Colorado, with whom we might have an ongoing mutually beneficial relationship.
…to acquire through seminars here and in Guatemala a basic working
knowledge of Guatemalan history and culture, Latin American Spanish,
contemporary liberation theology, and current missiology in Latin America.
PC(USA)’s former Guatemalan partner:
The National Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Guatemala (IENPG)
PC(USA)’s current Guatemalan partner:
The Evangelical Center for Pastoral Studies in Central America (CEDEPCA),
and the Latin American Biblical University(UBL).
Wellshire Connection: Wellshire has interfaced with HWI and supported Habitat in the past, and individuals from Wellshire have traveled to Guatemala with HWI and worked on Habitat projects. The connection with CEDEPCA is new.
Officials to whom Wellshire’s greetings were delivered:
The Rev. Dr. Karla Koll of the PC(USA), The Rev. Everildo Pichiya of the Church of Christ.
Mission co-worker interviewed: The Rev. Dr. Karla Koll.
Dr. Koll, a native of Colorado Springs, is a noted missiologist and a mission co-worker who has served in the region for over 20 years. She is currently professor of history, mission, and religions at the Latin American Biblical University. A member of Pueblo Presbytery, she is friends with The Rev. Amy Mendez of the Presbytery of Denver staff. Dr. Koll conducted a brief tutorial and dined with the travel team in Antigua.
Preparation
Members of the Wellshire mission team attended a series of six seminars on Guatemalan language, history, and culture, each two hours in length, taught at Wellshire on Sunday afternoons by Greg Allen-Pickett, Director of Field
Operations for HWI. Each seminar session came with its own syllabus (and homework!)
Accomplished: All objectives were met or exceeded!
Observation of note: The intergenerational (participants aged 16 – 66!) nature of this trip, the presence in the group of several fluent Spanish speakers, and the extensive pre-trip preparation all contributed to the unique nature of this trip experience and its success.
Potential opportunity for future Wellshire partnerships: Habitat Guatemala and its Global Village program are ready and would be delighted to welcome
Wellshire youth on a trip in the summer of 2010 (contact: Casey Leo)
Trip Participants: Julie, Jim, Brian, and Natalie Lays; Janie, Ray, Graham, and Hannah Johnson; Greg and Jessica Allen-Pickett; Jay Allen; Linda Lucas; Pattie and Jim Kitchen; Ted Griffith; Rachel Wildrick; Vicki Brooks; Lindsay Herrera; Terri Kipple.
Wellshire Staff: The Rev. Dr. Pattie Kitchen, Associate Pastor for Mission and Outreach
