¹   O LORD my God, in you I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,
²   or like a lion they will tear me apart;
they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.

³   O LORD my God, if I have done this,
if there is wrong in my hands,
⁴   if I have repaid my ally with harm
or plundered my foe without cause,
⁵   then let the enemy pursue and overtake me,
trample my life to the ground,
and lay my soul in the dust. Selah

⁶   Rise up, O LORD, in your anger;
lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
awake, O my God; you have appointed a judgment.
⁷   Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you,
and over it take your seat on high.
⁸   The LORD judges the peoples;
judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness
and according to the integrity that is in me.

⁹   O let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous,
you who test the minds and hearts,
O righteous God.
¹⁰  God is my shield,
who saves the upright in heart.
¹¹  God is a righteous judge,
and a God who has indignation every day.

¹²  If one does not repent, God will whet his sword;
he has bent and strung his bow;
¹³  he has prepared his deadly weapons,
making his arrows fiery shafts.
¹⁴  See how they conceive evil,
and are pregnant with mischief,
and bring forth lies.
¹⁵  They make a pit, digging it out,
and fall into the hole that they have made.
¹⁶  Their mischief returns upon their own heads,
and on their own heads their violence descends.

¹⁷   I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness,
and sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.

From The Mission Year Book

After the first day of the Vital Congregations virtual facilitator training, the Rev. Neil Ricketts spoke with elders at the church he serves.

“I told them that we — our church — and denomination are in good hands,” he said. “How we had heard from God and were implementing a plan for a healthy vital church.”

Ricketts, pastor at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Apopka, Florida, was one of more than 40 people being trained to help facilitate the two-year Vital Congregations Initiative in their respective presbyteries.

The initiative helps congregations build authentic relationships of faith as they work together on Seven Marks of Congregational Vitality. As congregations assess both their strengths and areas that need work, they begin to discern what God’s Spirit is calling them to do — and faithfully join Christ in the new thing, or change, that’s taking place.

Ricketts said the seven marks are core values for healthy congregations. As he heard more about how Vital Congregations is tied to the PC(USA)’s Matthew 25 invitation for churches to strengthen congregational vitality and reduce racism and poverty, he got even more hopeful about the future of the PC(USA).

“We can address these issues that are troubling the world and our country. We’ve studied the Word and heard from the Spirit,” he said. “God loves justice.”

The Rev. Carla Jones Brown, pastor and head of staff at Arch Street Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, was impressed with how well the facilitator training went. She especially liked getting into small groups — and doing a case study of a church around one of the seven marks.

“It made you feel like you weren’t lost on the screen all day,” she said. “It was so practical and nice to have different geographical perspectives on how one might lead them — and what questions they’d ask.”

The Rev. Tamara Leonard Lara of Nuevo Camino at Beth-El in the Presbytery of Tampa Bay appreciated that the facilitator training lifted up voices traditionally not listened to and recognized the diversity of gifts in a faithful community. Nuevo Camino, a new worshiping community in Wimauma, Florida, is made up of migrant agricultural workers and immigrants who have a deep need to access materials in Spanish and English to support leadership training for all church members.

“The VC process is providing me helpful tools to use,” she said. “I am hopeful about leaders within my presbytery meeting together to share what we are learning within our own congregations and ministry sites.”

The Rev. Kymberley Clemons-Jones, pastor of Valley Stream Presbyterian Church in Valley Stream, New York, said she feels better equipped after the two-day training to engage congregations in taking a deep look at themselves as the church, discerning God’s plan for their lives as a community of faith.

Hearing what it takes to engage the adult learner from Dr. Phyllis Sanders was extremely helpful for Clemons-Jones — Especially when the Vital Congregations coordinator for Trinity Presbytery said that “adult learners want to use what they hear.”

“That was eye-opening for me,” Clemons-Jones said. “In all my years of teaching I never learned specifically how to teach adults.”

She too finds herself hopeful of what the VC process will help churches accomplish. She said the many resources and the supportive staff leave her feeling like she can work at her best.

As Brown participated in Zoom worship during the training, she said she realized how much she missed worshiping — without having to lead it. As she facilitates VC training in her presbytery, she plans to provide pastors with the same opportunity that she received — to be in worship together without the responsibilities of leadership.

“We didn’t do this over the two days of training, but I just love that Vital Congregations sends out coloring books around the seven marks,” she said. “To just play with different colors helps my brain out — to be open, to let the Spirit in and try to not control.”

Ricketts said that Vital Congregations is addressing the denomination’s membership decline by getting back to the values of the early church: discipleship, evangelism and outreach, and the raising up of Christ-centered disciples.

“I can’t think of anything more valuable to give my life to,” he said.

Paul Seebeck, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Today’s Focus:  Vital Congregations

Let us join in prayer for: 

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff

Omar Chan, Office of the General Assembly
Cathy Chang and Juan Lopez, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray:

Christ, we thank you for being the Word made Flesh. As you ministered to those around you through touch, sight and sound, teach us to make use of our whole selves — body, mind and spirit — to do your work. Give us the courage to take action and the grace to welcome all with a loving spirit. Amen.