Living Our Calling

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Dear friends,

It is with great sadness, humility, gratitude and hope that we write to tell you that this will be our last Mission Connections letter. As per recent decisions made by the Interim Unified Agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the World Mission ministry area will be sunsetting at the end of March. This means that by the end of the month all mission co-worker positions (including ours) will be terminated. As of the end of March, we will no longer be living into our calling in the same way, nor will we be relating with you as we always have. 

However, please hear us when we also say this: the story of God’s mission in the world through and with Presbyterians does not end here. This is not the end of Presbyterian presence in the world. This is not the end of Presbyterians doing mission in partnership around the world. And, this most certainly is not the end of us (Jenny and Jed) sharing the Good News of God’s Love in Jesus Christ throughout the world. Something new is coming! And, this gives us great hope! 

But, until that day arrives, now is a time to remember the road we have travelled together – with you and with partners – and to give thanks to God for the immense privilege it has been to serve as mission co-workers of the PC(USA) and to witness gospel inspired transformation.

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Together, over the years, we have:

• Walked with 40 Young Adult Volunteers (both from the U.S. and Peru) whose year-long, transformative experiences with partners and host families have shaped their vocational callings.
• Hosted nearly 50 solidarity trips (and well over 500 Presbyterians) for week-long experiences of learning and serving alongside partners and the communities they work with.
• Facilitated the resourcing of dozens of communities (and hundreds of families) recovering from climate-related extreme weather events.
• Helped feed thousands of people who were without access to food and water in the early days of the global pandemic.
• Stood alongside the courageous people of La Oroya, Peru – one of the most contaminated places in the world – in the face of great threats to life and livelihood due to the power of the extractive industry and corrupt governments.
• Advocated for federal policy reform in Peru that will provide access to specialized human and environmental health care for 11 million people at risk from heavy metal contamination.
• Spoke up and organized for U.S. foreign policy changes to protect the rights of indigenous peoples and the lands they occupy both in Peru and the United States.
• And above all and through all, we prayed with and for one another, across great distance and divide, in the hope of living into a world rooted in mutual respect and harmony with all of life. 

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All this is but a mere sketch of the countless ways that God has worked through us in the co-creating of a world fit for all of God’s children. Indeed, there is so much more to share and give thanks for! In fact, to honor our shared experiences of God’s love made known through partnership and accompaniment in Peru, we would love to hear from you! In the weeks and months ahead, we will be collecting stories (your stories!) that bear witness to the impacts of this gospel ministry we have shared with you. How were you impacted? How was your church transformed? How has God’s love been made known? Please feel free to write us (at our PC(USA) email addresses) with your prayerful testimonies.

In the meantime, we ask you to remain patient, prayerful, hopeful and supportive of the changes coming to the Presbyterian Church’s global ministry of presence in partnership. Without question we are facing immense challenges in the church and in the world, and now is the time to address them with innovation, courage, wisdom, and humility. We look forward with great anticipation to seeing how God might be calling us now for such a time as this! 

With immense gratitude,

Jenny and Jed