It’s Time to Schedule PC(USA) Mission Co-workers Itinerating in Iowa

The Stewardship and Mission Interpretation (SMI) Committee of the Des Moines Presbytery will be hosting two missionaries in the next couple of months:

The Rev. Douglas and Dr. Elizabeth Searles have served since 1997 in international ministries in India, China and now Central Europe. They are jointly appointed by Global Ministries and Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and supported by three denominations: United Church of Christ, Christian Church/Disciples of Christ, and PC(USA). The Searles live in Lodz, Poland and their call is to walk with Kosciol Ewangelicko-Reformowany (KER), the Evangelical-Reformed Church of Poland, a minority and marginalized church. They work to support initiatives of evangelism, church growth, and ecumenical relations. A new area of outreach work supports Roma people – formerly known as Gypsies – residents of Europe for over 500 years. Stigmatized, loathed and persecuted, Sinti/Lovari/Roma face severe human rights challenges. The Searles have begun to build relations encouraging capacity-building, advocacy and other ecumenical efforts towards acceptance, access and inclusion for Roma. Their final itinerary dates with the Des Moines Presbytery are Sept. 26-Oct. 5. If you are interested in inviting the Searles to your church, contact SMI Committee Moderator Sandy Wagener or 515-964-3762.
The Rev. Cobbie Palm has served since 1989 with Presbyterian World Mission in the Philippines. He is currently director of spiritual formation at the Divinity School at Silliman University. Silliman University was founded by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in 1901, and has evolved into a premier academic institution under the auspices of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP). In this ministry, Cobbie designs and facilitates spiritual retreats and workshops, which are incorporated into the semester for each class, the faculty, and the whole seminary community. “I truly enjoy this ministry,” Cobbie writes, “we sing and perform, pray, reflect, and worship with such enthusiasm and joy knowing that for a refreshing change performance is not a grade point average.” As part of the annual 2011 Mission Connections Live!, Cobbie will be here in south central Iowa from October 1-5. If you are interested in having him meet with your church members, contact SMI Committee Moderator Sandy Wagener or 515-964-3762.

HOSTING IS EASY: Keep arrangements and meals simple. There is no need for fancy meals or lodging. Once you’ve established a specific date with the coordinator, it’s good to develop a 4-person team:

1. Advance liaison to let them know the entire “plan”
2. Presentation liaison for audio-visual and other set-up arrangements in the meeting space 
3. Host and transportation liaison for housing, meals, etc. 
4. Onsite event assistant to greet the guest at the site, help set-up and staff a display table, count heads, gather email addresses and contact info, clean-up and get stuff to the car, and generally help out.