Tentmakers are helping at the Big Tent

June 13, 2009

This Big Tent is not made of your typical materials of fabric and wood stakes, it's more of a combination of people together working to spread the Good News about Christ and a lot of juggling. One person from our Presbytery is serving as a resource person at the invitation of the New Immigrant Fellowship Conference. And he happens to be working at a variety of things all at the same time.

The Rev. Ross Blount led a workshop on Tentmaking while he was here in Atlanta. Ross has been a bi-vocational pastor at the Allerton United Presbyterian Church since 1981 and is representing the Association of Presbyterian Tentmakers while here at the Big Tent. A group of pastors who divide their work between two or more vocations – at least one of which is a ministry validated by presbytery and at least one of which is a secular vocation.

Besides working as a pastor in Allerton, Ross is also a farmer, instructor and past mission worker with the PC(USA). Ross, along with his wife Lorena, enjoy volunteering and helping in our Presbytery. Lorena even serves with our Presbyterian Womens group.

By the invitation of the New Immigrant Ministries Coordinator Rev. Angel Suárez-Valera, Ross found that the pastors and lay leaders of new immigrant Bible study/fellowships in the U.S. can relat to the denomination's tentmakers. Groups from Africa, South Asian (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh), Portuguese speaking countries, and the French and English Caribbean have out of necessity needed to have more that one vocation to remain in the states. An excerpt from Angel's coorespondence with Ross indicates why tentmakers and immigrants have mutual concerns:

"Dear brother Ross,

Thanks for your call last week. It presents an opportunity to be addressed by this office because of the significant number of new immigrant Presbyterian leaders doing ministry as "tentmakers". But, the nature and motivation to be a tentmaker in PC(USA) sharply differs from that among new immigrants. In our situation, it's basically forced by economics.

The intention to provide a decent salary for full time pastors is hindered by

• Most of the new immigrant church membership are low income workers
• Instability of church membership due to mobility of people searching for job opportunities;
• Contrast between the minimum salary approved by a Presbytery for an ordained minister and the media income of the membership served;
• Limited or no financial resources in most Presbyteries to support new immigrant ministries."

After a good day of networking and face-to-face meetings, the 1,500 participants of the Big Tent headed to Centinnial Park in downtown Atlanta, Ga., for a celebration complete with entertainment and cake! All in honor of the 26th anniversary celebration of Presbyterian reunion, which occurred here in 1983. Even Presbyterian Church founder, John Calvin was on hand!