Make Your Covenant With the Presbytery

The year 2020 presented many challenges for us as individuals and as congregations. We are experiencing the effects of a pandemic, the challenges of economic and racial disparity throughout the world, and the stress of not being able to be together with friends and family and our communities of faith.

The Presbytery has met virtually to worship and conduct our regular business. The staff continues to serve remotely. Some congregations continue to worship digitally and for those who are “in person,” mask mandates and physical distancing are practiced.

The challenges of 2020 have revealed a Presbytery of one hundred and one congregations and four New Worshiping Communities who are continuing to be “the church” where God is calling us to be.

We have witnessed resilience and hope. We have stayed connected in new ways. We have celebrated ordinations and baptisms. We have called pastors to serve in our midst. We have served the less fortunate in our outreach ministries. We have grieved the loss of many but celebrated the faithful lives of all the saints who have paved the path in generations past.

A new year will bring challenges of its own, but it will also bring new opportunities for our future together. In Isaiah 43, the prophet proclaims:

“I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
Isaiah 43:19

Our Strategic Planning Team has presented us with a new vision and mission for our Presbytery that we will consider and explore this new year. God has been at work through it all and we thank you for your faithful support, particularly during the pandemic. We invite you to join us in imagining what kind of safe and healthy future God has in store for us.

The 2021 Covenant with the Presbytery of the James is an opportunity for you to tell us how you would specifically like to share in the ministries of the presbytery, the synod, and the General Assembly with your financial support.