New Church New Way: February 2024 E-News

Leaning in and through community is a hallmark of the 1001 movement.  The stories each of us carries can become a catalyst for transformation in our neighborhoods and for our neighbors when we are open with and open to one another.  This month’s New Way newsletter brings you voices of emerging leaders, community organizers, advocates for justice and peace and invites you to join with us as we imagine new ways of being church together.  Read on and find your way into the story with us.

Nikki Collins, Director Office of 1001 New Worshiping Communities

God in the Mountains

Read more about how new worshiping communities are impacting Denver and the Denver Presbytery in this article in the Denver Post.

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The Church Has Left the Building

Listen to this two-part interview with the Rev. Deb Swift, pastor of South Presbyterian Church in Rochester, NY, who talks about how the selling of their building in 2014 set in motion a process that reinvigorated the ministry of the church and the faith of its members.

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Apprentice Applications Due

We are once again so excited to have our TENTH apprenticeship cohort of new worshiping community leaders among us! Here’s a glimpse of this beautiful group, which meets each Thursday with the Rev. Sara Hayden for prayer, mutual support and dialogical learning. Each member also receives an ICF-trained coach from the 1001 network for the duration of this cohort. The goal of this flagship program is to recognize and support new worshiping community leaders with the tools they need to thrive in this calling. Do you know someone for our next cohort?  Priority deadline is March 15, and the 2024–25 cohort launches late summer.

Apply Here

Join the Conversation: Upcoming Webinars

Learn about the challenges facing Christians in Palestine with Chad Collins and the Friends of Sabeel North America. All are welcome for this online seminar Tuesday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. (EST).

Register for Webinar

Upcoming Webinar on white Christian Nationalism

What is white Christian nationalism and how are people of faith and conscience organizing to confront its influence? Learn with 1001 leaders from our friends at the Freedom Church of the Poor on Saturday, March 9. Learn more and register here:

Register Here

Can we join you on a Pathway to Flourishing?

A new program, "1001 Pathways to Flourishing (P2F)," is set to launch in April in several presbyteries, including San Diego, Heartland, Olympia, Los Ranchos, San Fernando, Northwest Coast (and a couple of others to be named soon!). This initiative aims to foster connection and provide resources for New Worshiping Communities and to generate hope, excitement and systems of sustainability across the presbytery. Presbyteries engaged in Pathways to Flourishing will benefit from presbytery-level cohorts and coaching, along with contextual resourcing

Northwest Coast and Olympia Presbyteries gather to begin their Pathways to Flourishing in January.

with our 1001 programs and materials.  The next round of cohort presbyteries for P2F is scheduled to begin in October. For those interested in learning more about P2F, reach out to your regional associate and join us for one of the “Ask Me Anything Pathways to Flourishing Sessions” on Thursday, Feb. 29.

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Upcoming AMAs:

1001 AMA Pathways to Flourishing (East) Time: 9 a.m. Central Time (U.S. and Canada) Thursday, Feb. 29. Join Zoom Meeting: Click Here Meeting ID: 833 3397 3442 Passcode: 947604 1001 AMA Pathways to Flourishing (West) Time: Noon Central Time (U.S. and Canada) Thursday, Feb. 29. Join Zoom Meeting: Click Here Meeting ID: 821 4088 4895 Passcode: 799330

Presbyterian Mission Agency, 100 Witherspoon Street, Lousiville, KY

1001 New Worshiping Communities News - July 2023

Scientists tell us that one in every three bites of food we eat is because of the work of pollinators.  They are what makes our world fruitful — and vital. I’m thinking about those little critters a lot this summer — as I watch them in my garden — and as I think about what is emerging in the 1001 movement in this season.  There is pollination going on everywhere!

Last month, NWC leaders traveled to Ghost Ranch for a retreat and to Puerto Rico to serve alongside Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.  They shared insight from their ministries with new friends and returned with inspiration and wisdom from distant places.  This newsletter will share some of the stories and images from our work in hopes that you’ll pick up a new idea, a fresh perspective, a little yellow dust that leads to sweet new fruit in your garden.   Don’t click away until you’ve read the article below about Tim McCallister, the man behind the funding that has led to all of these new worshiping communities at work among us.  We are wishing Tim well in his well-earned retirement and are grateful for all of the fruits of his labors!

Nikki Collins, Director Office of 1001 New Worshiping Communities

Focus on a NWC: Commonwealth of Oakland

Meet the leaders of a new worshiping community in Oakland, Pa., as they describe how to create community for people who have been hurt by religion and institutions.

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Tim McCallister retires after supporting New Worshiping Communities for 10 years with nearly $15M

We celebrate that 42 NWC’s have received $761,715 in grants in 2023. That makes almost $15 million in ten years. We give thanks for the commitment of Tim McCallister, Coordinator for Mission Program Grants, who has worked for the PC(USA)’s various mission agencies for 36 years!

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Renewal through Relationships

Jeff Eddings, Associate for Coaching and Spiritual Formation, led a trip of 1001 New Worshiping Community leaders on a service and learning trip to Puerto Rico with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. View their travelogue to better learn how spiritual formation happens when serving and partnering with others.

Watch Video

A New Season of New Way podcast

Rev. Sara Hayden, Associate for Apprenticeships and Residencies, has launched a new season of the New Way podcast. Six episodes have dropped so far, featuring innovators like Reverends Mindie Moore, Liz Edman and Pepa Paniagua.

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Spreading the Vision of Matthew 25 across the Church

The PC(USA) believes that we are called to serve Jesus by contributing to the well-being of the most vulnerable in all societies — rural and urban, small and large, young and not-so-young. From affordable housing to community gardens to equitable educational and employment opportunities to healing from addiction and mental illness to enacting policy change — there is not just one way to be a part of the Matthew 25 movement.

Click Here To Join

Presbyterian Mission Agency, 100 Witherspoon Street, Lousiville, KY