Texas elder supports ministry on the border
By Patrick Cole
Individual Presbyterians in increasing numbers are stepping forward to support mission personnel. One individual has chosen to support a mission worker with a gift over and above her contributions to her congregation.
Carolyn Hartnett, an elder at First Presbyterian Church in Texas City, Texas, learned of the ministry of Chris McReynolds through a letter from Presbyterian World Mission. Chris and his Mexican partners are determined to give children in the border town of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, a better tomorrow. The children live in a world of poverty and drug-related violence. Yet about 120 of them are pointed toward a brighter future every Saturday when they gather at churches to participate in music, art, games and Christian education programs.
The current situation in Nuevo Laredo, where shootings, abductions and roadblocks are commonplace, stands in contrast to Carolyn’s experience growing up on a farm in Michigan near the Canadian border. She remembers her family’s friendships with nearby farm families, and she remembers having no concern about safety when crossing the border into Canada. Moved by the work Chris is doing, Carolyn donated bonds worth more than $100,000 to Presbyterian World Mission.
Editor’s note: Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission personnel assigned to Mexico and along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border still need support as they continue in deployment and discernment. World Mission is committed to continue to answer Christ’s call to serve alongside Mexican Christians in the wake of the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico’s decision to sever ties. World Mission is also discerning new ways to work in Mexico and along the border, and expects to announce suggestions for future ministry in early 2012. Because the issues of poverty among women and children, evangelism and violence have emerged as World Mission’s highest priorities, mission co-workers intend to continue serving. World Mission is also committed to assist Presbyterian Border Ministry’s six local ministry sites and participating presbyteries in a comprehensive, collaborative evaluation of their shared work.
In the meantime, World Mission does not recommend that congregations plan any trips to Mexico for the time being, and giving accounts for projects with the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico will be closed. World Mission is speaking with donors about ways to redirect their gifts.- Download this article as a pdf
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