February Gathering Learning Conversations
February 22, 2024 from 3:00-3:50PM
First Presbyterian Church of Fullerton
Mourning with Those Who Mourn – The Body of Christ at work in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon while Missiles Fly
The news has been filled with the horrors that unfolded on October 7, 2023 and since then; horrors that impact Israelis, Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians, and Iraqis. Facilitated by Tim McCalmont, our PC (USA) Regional Liaisons, Doug Dicks and Elmarie Parker, will join by Zoom and share with us how they are witnessing Christ’s church and other partners at work in the midst of tremendous loss of life, destruction, and grief. This one-hour gathering will include time for questions and conversation.
Mr. Doug Dicks connects PC(USA) congregations and councils with indigenous Christians in Israel and Palestine through facilitating education for justice and peacemaking. Through photography and information-sharing, Doug shepherds congregations and councils through the process of preparing for pilgrimages and other study trips. Doug’s work enables the larger PC(USA) community to advocate for peace and justice in Israel and Palestine.
Rev. Dr. Elmarie Parker accompanies colleagues teaching at the Evangelical Theological Seminary of Cairo. The heartbeat of her work is to help deepen and strengthen the relational ties between the church in her region and the church in the United States and to develop the practical ministries that are birthed from these relationships.
Rev. Tim McCalmont is a retired Presbyterian pastor with over 45 years in the parish ministry, a current member of Los Ranchos Presbytery and serves at Shepherds Grove Presbyterian Church in Irvine. For the past ten years he has served as moderator and member of the Syria-Lebanon Partnership Network and has made four visits to the region.
Living Waters for the World: Clean Water Ministry in Peru
Facilitators: Leslie Reese, member of the Grace First Water Team and moderator of the Living Waters of the World Peru Network and Rev. Jonas Hayes
Living Waters for the World (LWW) is an international non-profit organization that trains and supports volunteers in forming global, clean-water mission partnerships. The organization connects a church or community group in the US with communities in the developing world that lack access to safe drinking water. These mission partnerships empower communities to install and sustain water purification systems and conduct health education programs that transform lives.
Beginning in 2019, Grace First Presbyterian Church in Long Beach created a Water Team, sent the members to LWW for training, and started working with members of a highland community in Huanuco, Peru. In this session, we will share our experiences in this exciting, relational ministry and hope to connect with other congregations or individuals in the Presbytery who might be interested in collaborating with us in this clean water ministry.
