PL&W breakfast offers 'glimpses of God's wholeness'

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MILWAUKEE — Before the business of the Assembly on Monday morning, GA227 participants gathered in the Hilton’s Crystal Ballroom to enjoy breakfast and fellowship and to learn more about Presbyterian Life & Witness’ vision, purpose and work. In her greeting, the Rev. Jihyun Oh, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly and Executive Director of PL&W, invited attendees to witness “glimpses of God’s wholeness” through testimonies from several ministries.

Oh referenced Exodus 33, in which Moses asks to see God’s full glory, and God explains that no one can look directly upon God’s face and live. Instead, God says to Moses, “See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen."

In the same way, Oh explained, we are invited to catch glimpses of the wholeness of God through ministries where God’s Spirit is alive and at work. At Monday's breakfast, these glimpses were offered through the stories of Self-Development of People’s partnerships in Panama, faithful innovation in Foothills Presbytery in South Carolina and long-term recovery efforts from devastating wildfires in California.

The event began with greetings and an opening prayer from the Moderators of the 226th General Assembly, the Rev. CeCe Armstrong and the Rev. Tony Larson. Larson acknowledged the “journey of transition” that led to the current agency known as Presbyterian Life & Witness, naming the former Office of the General Assembly and Presbyterian Mission Agency, which together became the Interim Unified Agency during the unification process, and praising the ongoing ministry work that continued throughout the process.

Armstrong offered a prayer for those in leadership to be guided in their work and for “those considered the least of these” to be remembered and cared for. 

Dr. Corey Schlosser-Hall, a senior director in PL&W, then gave an overview of the gathering’s agenda and encouraged people to look at resources available on their tables, including a new organizational chart for the agency and a brochure summarizing the agency’s aspirational purpose, values and priorities. He invited attendees to share their own “glimpses of God’s wholeness,” affirming that such glimpses are key to the purpose of PL&W. 

In naming the work of the church as offering glimpses of God’s wholeness, Oh described that wholeness as “not just peace or justice … but a just peace.” She went on to lift up equitable, repaired, and reconciled relationships, the transformation of weapons into tools, neighbors who come together and share in their differences and commonalities, immigrants free from fear of raids, and the LGBTQIA+ community given access to affirming healthcare. She voiced hope that the denomination would continue to work together toward that wholeness. 

“Thank you for being leadership in this denomination,” she said in closing. 

Schlosser-Hall then invited Armstrong and the Rev. Dr. Alonzo Johnson, director of the Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People, to share about its partnerships in Panama over the past seven years. Johnson shared a six-minute excerpt from the 30-minute documentary “Providence,” which detailed the process of working with communities in Panama to complete 50 different projects to date, each according to the individual communities’ own identification of what was needed. 

Next, the Rev. Debbie Foster, presbytery leader and stated clerk of Foothills Presbytery, shared about its “Faithful Innovation Lead Collective” — a think tank that has helped the presbytery faithfully confront four central paradigm shifts: a wave of church property transitions, pastoral leadership, courageous conversations, and stewardship and funding. The Foothills presentation also included a short video about Re:Center GVL, its first New Worshiping Community, which intentionally cares for and connects with those who have been harmed by the church, including queer and trans people among others. Foster also shared copies of the think tank’s May 2026 report for the benefit of other presbyteries. 

Finally, a trio of presbytery leaders from California took the stage to speak to their experiences with long-term recovery efforts from the wildfires that ravaged their state in January 2025. The Rev. Linda Culbertson of the Presbytery of the Pacific, the Rev. Dr. Juan Sarmiento of the Presbytery of San Fernando, and the Rev. Lisa Hanson of the Presbytery of San Gabriel each shared efforts by their presbyteries to address ongoing needs in their communities, including a disaster case management program, support for mobile park residents in Malibu, a resiliency hub in Maui, and dedicated support for impacted immigrant and refugee families. The Synod of Southern California and Hawaii also supported leaders in all three presbyteries in their ministry efforts. 

As the breakfast drew to a close and participants prepared to gather for worship and plenary work, they were offered a closing prayer from the Rev. Philip Vinod Peacock, general secretary of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. Peacock’s prayer called for a series of uncommon blessings from God, including discomfort with easy answers, anger at injustice, tears for those who suffer and foolishness to believe we can make a difference in this world, "so that we can do what others claim cannot be done: to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the world. Amen.”