SPDR Web Presbytery Happenings
by Rev. Libby Janes
Director, Synod Partnership for Disaster Recovery
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Palo Duro Presbytery Visit | Commissioned Pastors and Small Church Leaders’ Retreat | Tres Rios Presbytery Meeting | Presbytery of the Pines Meeting
Have I seen you on the road recently? Perhaps so!
Here are highlights from my recent travels:
Palo Duro Presbytery Visit:
I traveled back to Lubbock for the first time in seven years! Covenant Presbyterian Church in Lubbock was my home church from 2015-2019, and then until 2022 over Zoom, through the pandemic. It was very meaningful for me to return again to this place.
I gave a presentation at the FPC Plainview TX Palo Duro Presbytery meeting. I tried to draw Palo Duro Presbytery into the SPDR movement of growing Presbytery Disaster Teams, across the Synod of the Sun. At the meeting I was so glad to see my former pastor, Davis Price, and his wife, Janet!
It was also wonderful to hear the great Dean Margaret Aymer from Austin Seminary, preaching at this meeting. She always inspires me with her preaching.
I
stayed that weekend with my dear friend, Jen Shelton. On Sunday, I preached at my former home church, Covenant Presbyterian Church. My sermon was called “Remembering Old Mercy and Love”, from Exodus 17 and Psalm 25. In this sermon we reflected on Moses returning back to Mt. Horeb, where he was first called by God at the burning bush years ago, and now he returns. Moses has completed what God asked him to return to Egypt to do – free the Israelites – but now walking back to this same mountain, Moses feels different. And the people aren’t glad to be free – they keep grumbling! What is it that Moses should then remember? Can God do new things in old places? (Watch the full sermon here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eClLHw1QfRg)
After church, my friend Jen and I visited my old favorite spots in Lubbock, including the retro Holly Hop Ice Cream Shoppe!
Last week, was a 6-day road trip across the Synod of the Sun!
The Commissioned Pastors and Small Church Leaders’ Retreat at Camp Gilmont – October 5-8th
In my travels around the Synod, I’m grateful to say, ministry is happening – vibrantly – even in context that some people are quick to dismiss as dry bones. At the Synod of the Sun Commissioned Pastors and Small Church Leaders’ Retreat, a group of eager, dedicated Commissioned Pastors – who serve God because they loveGod – gathered at Camp Gilmont. And everyone was so full of joy to be there!
We also gathered during the evenings around the campfire. Some people whittled, some shared stories of missionary adventures from their service in Africa, and Mitch made balloon animals and told funny stories. It is good to be together, in person!
I led two hour-and-a-half workshops, teaching SPDR’s new Adaptable Church Disaster Plan. The participants were eager to learn from this guide, and also shared wonderful stories of their church’s past experiences and memories caring for one another after disasters.
I enjoyed hearing workshops from several colleagues, including Rev. Mitch Miller’s Prayer Beads & “Sermons for Kids – Even if You Only Have One or Two”, and CP Kristy Rodgers’ “Theology of Place” workshops.
I hadn’t been back to Camp Gilmont in eleven years, but I was so moved to see familiar faces from my old beloved communities of long ago. People who kept on ministering in that presbytery, even as God keeps plucking me up and setting me into different places.
I saw Bert Colter, the father of one of my old youth group friends, three times retired and now serving as a commissioned pastor in Dallas. I saw the legendary Christian Educator, Jane Els, someone I don’t think I’ve ever not seen at Gilmont, a veteran of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance from the Hurricane Katrina recovery era, and now this week she preached for me the sermon I needed to hear. She presided and fed all of us bread and juice. And she is serving not one but two churches as a Commissioned Pastor. I am grateful for the bones of our faith, and I am amazed to see what God is doing among us, with old bones that live on.
I’m grateful to see ongoing friendships too – CP Sharon Curry, who carefully and lovingly planned this conference. And my dear friend, Ron Grier, who is currently a student in Austin Seminary’s Certificate in Ministry Program.
How is God calling you? If you are, or are considering, becoming a commissioned pastor, or seeking more resources to support your small church, join us next year! Save the Date – the next Commissioned Pastors and Small Church Leaders Retreat will be September 13-17, 2027.
On the road again I went! I drove to Granbury, and would have been at the Grace Presbytery meeting, except my rental car had trouble the morning of that meeting. I hope y’all had a great time. I got my car moving again after a while, and on I drove to San Angelo, Texas.
Tres Rios Presbytery Meeting – October 8-9th
I was grateful for the opportunity to preach for the Tres Rios Presbytery Meeting, held at St. Paul Presbyterian Church! I preached on Ezekiel 37 “The Valley of Dry Bones.” We reflected on going back to old places. We reflected on gratitude amidst loss - feeling the presence of the old bones that shaped our faith. We also reflected on God’s question – “Mortal – Can these bones live?” We reflected on how we were formed by the bones of our faith, but also God uses us still, here and now, to participate in ministry, and the resurrection of life. God calls us to say to these bones, and to our churches, “God’s spirit will enter you!” and to get moving – engaging the work of new ministries in our Presbyteries and in resurrecting fellowship and love for our neighbor among our congregations.
At the Presbytery meeting, I also encouraged people in Tres Rios to join a Zoom meeting on October 22, at 1pm, to connect together, share resources, and let the Spirit move us towards our next disaster preparation initiative. On January 9th and 10th, Tres Rios will intergenerationally gather in Big Spring to build a disaster preparedness center to serve their Presbytery! In Tres Rios Presbytery, the Holy Spirit is certainly resurrecting new life amongst old bones.
During the meeting my wonderful Tres Rios SPDR liaison, and Concho Valley COAD leader, Mike Burnett, shared with Tres Rios updates from his work in San Angelo, following the July 4, 2025 floods that devastated the Concho Valley area of Texas.
On that day, amidst simultaneous severe tragedies in Kerr County, San Angelo accumulated 14 inches of rain in one day, and suffered terrible flooding as well. Over 2,200 households were affected by the regional flooding, leading to housing loss and displacement, financial strain, and emotional trauma that still impacts the community today. Mike Burnett’s group, the Concho Valley COAD, has been a central source of support and community organizing in the immediate and long-term recovery of their community. In the first year, 506 neighbors received immediate assistance. 240 home repairs have been completed, and 92 homes continue to be assisted by construction recovery teams.
Grants from Tres Rios Presbytery and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, with collaboration with the Synod Partnership for Disaster Recovery, have helped the Concho Valley COAD remain active in their recovery work. Deployments from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance have provided much-needed emotional-spiritual care for devastated community members, which is notable in a West Texas community that has historically been characterized by the Southern mentality of stoicism, when it comes to asking for outside mental health help.
A new National Recovery Grant from PDA is also supporting the construction of a “tiny-home”, constructed by a local Mennonite relief organization, to provide transitional housing for families awaiting their home reconstruction.
At the close of the meeting, Mike showed us around St. Paul Presbyterian Church of San Angelow’s outreach ministry, called “The Oasis.”
In 2018, a local San Angelo emergency shelter closed, so the local homeless outreach coalition researched other communities to find out how this need could next be met.
St. Paul Presbyterian Church had an unused gymnasium, and a heart for this outreach opportunity. So after researching programs in other areas, the church opened The Oasis. “The neighbors said – ‘Y’all are the Oasis!’ – and we embraced it,” Mike Burnett reflected.
The program is open Monday through Thursday, from 1:30-3:30pm. Four volunteers staff the program at a time, with about twelve volunteers involved in total. During COVID, the Oasis offered a drive-through food pick-up service, and the food distribution program continues on, offering frozen meat, fresh produce, and other staples, as well as snacks. Mike told us this program moves 18 tons of food every 24 hours!
What is unique about this program is that it serves both homeless neighbors, as well as local high school students looking for a safe, comfortable place to gather. “This is a safe place for them. Often times, they will be out in the garden, or gathered together here. What helped draw the high school kids into community with the homeless community, is that the homeless bring their pets, and the young people like to visit the animals!”
Their cook provides a hot meal from donated food provided through their partnership with the San Angelo Food Bank. “She cannot plan her food in advance because she doesn’t know what food will come! So once the food arrives, our cook makes a plan, and she and her four helpers cook for anyone who comes here, to the Oasis.”
Another local Presbyterian church-supported program, Project Dignidad, also helps relieve the great food access needs of their community, by offering daily meals. “Oh, we make tamales all the time,” one Project Dignidad volunteer at the Presbytery meeting said, her smile beaming.
The Oasis offers a variety of services, including tote storage for safe stowing of belongings, a community-supported clothing closet, and washer and dryer access. The San Angelo Chief of Police is on the homeless coalition board and instills empathetic policing, and supports the church program to keep it a safe place to be. A local nonprofit partner, Showers of Blessing, visits the church once per week, and hooks up to the church water supply to provide showers. Mike Burnett reports that over a thousand people pass through the program each month.
What new ministries is the Holy Spirit inspiring in your church community? Contact SPDR Director, Rev. Libby Janes (libby.janes@synodsun.org) to share your church’s story!
Presbytery of the Pines Meeting – Oct 10
The next day, I found myself at the First Presbyterian Church of Shreveport, in Louisiana!
At the Presbytery of the Pines meeting held here, I had the privilege of co-presiding at the Lord’s Table with CP Lane Thompson, who became certified for his upcoming installation as a Minister of Word & Sacrament, at the church he continues to serve in New Iona Presbyterian Church. His message was inspiring, and his answers to the Presbytery’s questioning were deeply thoughtful. His church and the Presbytery of the Pines are blessed to receive his ministry, and I’m grateful to be his colleague.
I did not know before this presbytery meeting that I would also experience a 30-minute Boundaries Training, hosted by Rev. Brent Anderson – but would you believe that I was incredibly grateful that I did?
Rev. Brent Anderson is the interim pastor at FPC Shreveport, and an absolute wealth of resources and wisdom. He has many, many wonderful resources on his website (https://www.revba.org/) – go check them out, seriously. But also, as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I can say his Boundaries Training was the most helpful framework for church leaders to navigate ethically sticky situations. He taught the Presbytery of the Pines how to identify boundary crossings vs. boundary violations, and healthy boundaries vs. unnecessary boundaries. He asked us to always consider when evaluating questionable interactions – Who has the power? Who is benefitting from this interaction? Can each person safely and comfortably say ‘no’?
What resources have you learned about recently that were helpful to you? Let me know, libby.janes@synodsun.org, and I’d be glad to share them across the Synod of the Sun!
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