A Call to Hope-full Living

                I spent Monday with pastor Georges. Georges is the pastor of the Middle Eastern Presbyterian Fellowship in Tucson, a beautiful soul with a heart full of the Lord. I came to know Georges first as a colleague, then as a friend, and now it is a privilege to call him brother. Georges is a Syrian refugee.

            I spent Tuesday listening to pastor Daniel, a teaching elder from a sister denomination in an African country, as he told the harrowing tale of the assassination attempt on his life following his refusal to help throw a national election in his home country. Daniel is a refugee (country of origin withheld to protect his identity) who will, God and the Presbytery be willing, transfer his membership into the PCUSA.

            Many of you know Georges or Daniel, or perhaps pastor Estawri from Iraq who is leading the new worshipping community that meets at Bethany in Phoenix. Or one of the Burundi, or one of the Congolese, or one of the Rwandans who meet at one of the three Presbyterian churches in Arizona that have ministries with refugees, seeking to enfold them into their koinonia: Northminster Tucson, Heritage Phoenix, and Orangewood Phoenix.

            These are the faces of refugees.

            As most of us encounter from afar the global refugee crisis, a crisis whose enormity has not been witnessed since World War II, I ask you to imagine sitting down to coffee with Georges and his wife Mary to hear their perspective. Imagine the rich, dark aroma of the especially potent (for Americans) brew, and imagine the exquisite taste of Mary’s baklava (the best I’ve ever had). Imagine listening to their journey, their longings for safety for their family that led them to leave their homeland. Imagine having your own faith emboldened as you hear them bear witness to God’s providence in leading them to a new home, a new life, a new ministry.

            Now imagine saying to George and Mary what you have posted on Facebook.Imagine speaking to them with the same tone you used in discussing world news with your friends. Would your words change? Would your tone be softened? How might your heart be made new encountering a refugee in the flesh rather than merely from the digital distance of our TVs and computers?

            It is tempting to give into narratives of fear, but our faith calls us to live into the promise of hope. Such hope, according to everything we have ever been taught, beginning in the earliest lessons in Sunday School, is that God’s hope is not be hoarded but to be shared with all.  Deuteronomy 24: 17 says, “Do not deprive the alien…of justice. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.”

            Interesting word there: command. Jesus, who was a refugee first to Earth and then to Egypt, the Son of Man who had nowhere to lay his head, used the same word in Matthew 28:20, “…teach them to obey everything I have commanded….”  Did Jesus command anything related to the welcome of foreigners, such as people like the Samaritans? Did Jesus command anything related to living the gospel even if one must take up one’s cross so to live? Did Jesus command us to open our tables to those found on the “highways and crossroads” so that his Father’s house may be full? In your own reading of the Gospels, does Jesus seem to advocate for radical hospitality and openness to others or lean more toward promoting safety and security above all else?

Is letting go of narratives of fear to grab hold of promises of hope, a calling we have or a command we must obey? Does it really matter?

Grace and peace,

Brad Munroe

P.S. Click here for a special, educational event on ministry on the border through Frontera de Cristo: (Carolyn, please add link)

P.P.S. Click here to read what Gradye Parsons, the stated clerk of General Assembly, wrote about the refugee crisis: http://www.pcusa.org/news/2015/11/17/choose-welcome-not-fear/

Presbytery in Review: A Watershed Moment for Grand Canyon?

Last week in Pinetop the Presbytery of Grand Canyon met for what was, arguably, a defining moment in our journey toward becoming a reconciled and reconciling presbytery. With apologies to Charles Dickens, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, but at all times God in Jesus Christ was present, and the Holy Spirit led the presbytery toward momentous change.

It was the best of times… Friday witnessed a moving worship service led by the Rev. Tom Berry preaching on Acts 2:42-47 in which we were reminded that our unity is found around the Table of our Lord Jesus Christ. Friday also witnessed the examination of three candidates for ordination, each unique and each gifted: Robert Felix, Jennifer Fraser and Kelsey Woodruff. All three candidates spoke eloquently regarding their understanding and commitment to the Reformed faith and were unanimously approved for ordination.

It was the worst of times… Friday also witnessed the dissolution of the Alpine congregation and the dismissal to ECO of the Springerville congregation. The Administrative Commission (AC) reports from George Prohaska and Ed Spence detailed a long history of disconnected relationship between these congregations and the presbytery that led to the feeling by both the AC and the congregations that a parting of the ways was needed. Yet even this action, which caused me sadness even though I agreed it was the right thing for us to do, was seasoned with God’s grace, as leaders from both congregations acknowledged their own sadness as well as thanked the AC and the presbytery for their gracious and generous terms of dissolution.

It was the best of times… Saturday morning saw vigorous conversation in small groups regarding the question of how the presbytery might best create a leadership initiative aimed at congregational renewal. The Leadership Team is applying to the General Assembly for a Presbytery Transformation Grant and six topics were suggested for conversation – evangelism, missional ministry, leading through change, multi-cultural ministry, ministry to millennials, and initiating congregational renewal – with opinions and recommendations solicited from all present. This leadership initiative points us toward a reconciled and reconciling future in which we may learn the ways of theological friendship through support and encouragement of one another in the sharing of best practices for ministry.

It was the worst of times… Saturday morning also saw the successful approval of the new Gracious Dismissal Policy, which will be needed in the coming year as we walk with seven churches through the discernment process that may lead to dismissal. Yet even in this action, the guiding hand of God was known. In March, I publicly set a goal of 80% approval for the revision of the Gracious Dismissal Policy, a goal that was met overwhelmingly by a vote of 85-1. My interpretation of this vote is that there is broad recognition that (a) though we wish our cultural and congregational contexts were different, the reality is that some of our congregations will be dismissed in the next year to pursue ministry among a different denomination, (b) this reality, though eliciting sadness and grief from folks both within these congregations and throughout the presbytery, will require a commitment to exemplify the best values of living in Christ to which we can aspire, and (c) this road we are traveling is at once difficult, necessary and yet open to God’s grace.

It will be the best of times… My prayer is that we will be surprised by God in ways we cannot today imagine as we journey together, even a journey which will lead to our departing from one another. As Tom Berry so eloquently reminded us, around the Lord’s Table we discover a unity that makes us the family of God. What this means in specific detail is anyone’s guess; that it means our God, who is Sovereign in love, will somehow win the day is my abiding confidence.

Grace to you today and always,

Brad Munroe

Engaging the PCUSA: On Being Part of the Solution

Heath Rada, the Moderator of the General Assembly, has put forward a “Call to Conversation” regarding the future of the denomination, especially at the General Assembly level. Having traveled extensively throughout the denomination, (and by extensively I mean approximately 27 days a month!), Moderator Rada has come to the conclusion that the different, diverse, disparate and (often) desperate parts of our denomination must begin an in-depth dialogue about the future of our life together.

            Toward the goal of engaging the people in the pews, the grassroots, the people who actually make up the PCUSA, in other words, you, Moderator Rada is seeking your input. Yes…you! He wants to know what you think, believe and feel; what your priorities are for the ministry and mission of Jesus Christ; how you see the best possibilities for our future; how you envision the PCUSA being its best self in a world where, too often, our spiritual gift seems to be either shooting ourselves in the foot or hiding our light under a bushel. It is time to let your voice be heard in Louisville!

            The Call to Conversation can be found as a brief, online survey at:

·         http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/2376025/Join-the-Conversation

To participate, click the above link and answer the survey questions. I let my voice be heard in about twelve minutes. Some of you will be quicker, no doubt, but others of you may wax poetic and take a while longer. Either way, this is an important moment in the life of our denomination and a wonderful way to make a difference in the direction we will journey together.

            To put Moderator Rada’s Call to Conversation in context, he also testifies that he has found much to like in his travels. He bears witness that God is not done with us yet! Indeed, he tells tales of spiritual vitality, missional engagement, evangelistic zeal, and theological depth breaking out all over the denomination. We live in troubled times, perhaps even in a kind of cultural exile (c.f. Jeremiah 29:4-11), yet stand firm, Christian, for God is in the redemption business. To hear from and meet Moderator Rada personally, mark your calendar for the combined presbyteries meeting in Casa Grande, January 29-30, where he will be our keynote speaker.

Grace to you today and always,

Brad Munroe