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The Presbytery of New Hope
North Carolina
Yolanda and her students enjoy a joint VBS held at Covenant Presbyterian Church.
Covenant Presbyterian Church (CPC), a century-old African American congregation, and the Iglesia Presbiteriana Hispania de Durham-Chapel Hill Fellowship co-sponsored a one-week vacation Bible school. Covenant moved to a new neighborhood upon building a new church plant. Hispania worships at Northgate Presbyterian in Durham. Many of the members are from Guatemala; the pastor, the Rev. Julio Ramirez-Eve, is from the Dominican Republic. They have a very active music ministry with five gospel bands.
During VBS, members of all ages from both congregations attended classes and enjoyed arts and crafts and music. Both pastors, the Rev. Jimmie R. Hawkins and Rev. Ramirez-Eve, led classes. Barbara Blue, a Covenant member, served as the director and organized the week’s activities. Rev. Ramirez-Eve taught the adult class in both English and Spanish.
The relationship has continued with several of the Hispania youth participating in Covenant’s summer camp, Camp Covenant. Together the pastors walked through a neighborhood and distributed Spanish-language pamphlets to Hispanic residents with information on congregational ministries, including the summer ministries. Pastor Hawkins drove two of the boys to camp each morning. Each week there was a different theme and focus: music week, computer/multimedia week, and drama week.
One of Hispania’s five bands has helped to lead worship at CPC, and the band played spiritual music during morning worship. The music was enthusiastically received and followed by a standing ovation.
The Presbytery of New Hope is home to 134 churches with 32,546 members.
Presbytery Staff
Barbara Campbell Davis, executive presbyter/stated clerk
Chuck Noonan, associate, executive/finance/NCD
Marilyn E. Hein, associate, executive/education/missions
Gun Ho Lee, associate for multicultural ministries
Julio Ramirez-Eve, associate for
Hispanic ministries
Jeff Sockwell, coordinator communications
Jerrod Lowry, associate for multicultural ministries
Patricia Donofrio, administrative assistant/office manager
Patricia O’Neal, bookkeeper
René Baker, administrative assistant/resource center
Terence Burke, administrative assistant/committee on ministry/committee on preparation for ministry
Robert Vodra, camp director,
Camp Albemarle
PC(USA) General Assembly Staff
Ann Logan, GAMC
Patricia Longfellow, GAMC
Elder Lisa Longo, FDN
Dear God, we come before you in humility and grace. We acknowledge our common humanity and the fact that we are brothers and sisters in Christ. We come before you, with hands open, hands in all the colors of your human rainbow. May we be led by the children of this world who play together without regard to race, class, or status. Bless us with your peace. In the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Ps. 89:1–18, 147:1–11 Ps. 1, 33
1 Sam. 20:1–23
Acts 12:18–25; Mark 2:13–22
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