The Presbytery of Redstone
Pennsylvania
The congregations of Redstone Presbytery are seeking to respond to God’s call to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God through their partnership with the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC).
A recent visit by ten members of the presbytery to Sudan has made congregations much more aware of the need for Presbyterians to stand by their sisters and brothers in Sudan as they work for justice and basic human rights in an environment that has often proven to be hostile to the followers of Jesus Christ. The partnership has provided abundant opportunities for congregations to truly love the kindness their partners have allowed them to show. Congregations have worked to provide financial support for the women’s ministries of the SPEC as it reaches out through a health clinic, prison ministry, and evangelism and self-development projects in the Khartoum area. Those who have had the privilege of traveling to Sudan and sharing in the life of the Sudanese church have found themselves humbled by that experience and in those relationships have known the nearness of God as they walked with their sisters and brothers in Christ.
A photo of Debbie Hepler standing with a Sudanese Christian who shares her name, a woman who has lived with her children for more than twenty years in an Internally Displaced Persons camp, has been widely shared across the presbytery. (It appears on page 34 of this edition of the yearbook.) As a result, the bond the two Deborahs felt at that moment has been multiplied many times as the story has been shared throughout the Presbytery of Redstone.
Her plight, her needs, and her oneness with these followers of Jesus Christ have served to intensify their commitment to the words of Micah 6:8 through their partnership with the SPEC.
The Presbytery of Redstone serves 15,847 members in 85 churches.
Presbytery Staff
Gary G. Close, stated clerk
Susan A. Blank, congregational support coordinator
Cheryl A. Croushore, Christian education coordinator
Carole Isley Corey, associate for pastoral care
Roberta R. Shaffor, administrative assistant
Barbara A. Moyer, bookkeeper
PC(USA) General Assembly Staff
Rev. Elizabeth Beckhusen, FDN
Joy Begley, GAMC
Elder Morton Bell, OGA
Gracious God, we give thanks for the privilege of partnerships with sisters and brothers in Christ in the Sudan, for the blessings such partnerships are for us all as we share in the work of the kingdom. Amen.
Ps. 51, 148 Ps. 142, 65
Isa. 42:(1–9) 10–17
Eph. 3:1–13; Mark 2:13–22
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