Current Issue of PresbyNews

P r esbyNews OnLine
May-June 2016
Bob Battenfield , Editor
New s @Pres b yterySD. Org
P ubl ished fol l ow i ng me eti ngs of Sa n Di ego Presbytery
May 17 Stated Meeting Report
Commissioners to 2016 General Assembly
Receive Presbytery’s Blessing
Trinity Spring Valley’s Dismissal Challenged
by Remedial Complaint, Stay Issued
Two Pastors Retire and a Retired Admiral
Joins Presbytery
Around the Presbytery
Executive Committee’s Strategic Plan to Guide
Vision for Next Decade
“Rosarito Rising” Baja Day Trip Makes its
Point
MUDGETT CALLS FOR WEB ASSIST
Let’s kick up our website a notch
Christ of the Way. Judson Studios Inc., Los Angeles,
produced under direction of Village Community
Presbyterian Church of Rancho Santa Fe.
Photo by Bob Battenfield
May 17 Stated Meeting Report
Gathering at Village Church in Rancho Santa Fe, a smaller than
usual turnout was treated to a traditional worship service and a threecourse meal at the May 18 meeting of the Presbytery of San Diego.
Driving a little farther to get to the meeting was worth it, see?
Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Jack Baca
welcomed the commissioners;
Associate Pastor Rev. Dr. Neal
Presa led communion, and Associate Pastor Rev. Dr. Jan
Farley preached on “Trusting Jesus Together,” drawing upon
Mark 4:35-41. The offering collected during worship
amounted to a donation of $693 to Baja Presbyterian
Missions.
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Commissioners to 2016
General Assembly Receive
Presbytery’s Blessing
Moderator Jack Shelver
administered the commissioning ceremony to those from San
Diego Presbytery who will
attend as voting commissioners
or as representatives of the
presbytery.
From left, Stated Clerk Linda Therien (partially hidden); past GA Moderator Rev. Neal Presa,
Village RSF; Vice Moderator and commissioner Rev. Elizabeth Manahan, Oceanside;
commissioners Rev. Nathan Byrd, Southeast; Cheryl Kosits, San Diego; Frances Lin,
Rancho Bernardo; Young Adult Delegate Jocelyn Fischer, El Cajon; Interim Executive
Presbyter Rev. Michael Mudgett and Featured Preacher Rev. Dr. Jerry Andrews, San Diego
The 222nd General Assembly takes place June 18-25 in Portland, OR. For an update on allthings GA, go to www.pcusa.org/events/24275/222nd-general-assembly-2016/
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Trinity Spring Valley’s Dismissal Challenged by Remedial Complaint, Stay Issued
(Excerpted from Michael Mudgett’s May Missive)
The decision at the April 12 Called Meeting of the Presbytery of San Diego to release Trinity
Presbyterian Church to ECO was challenged by a remedial complaint and a stay has been
issued by the Synod Permanent Judicial Council (SPJC).
The Presbytery task force worked hard for more than a year to develop their report to
Presbytery. We commend them in their good faith effort. Nevertheless some people in the
Presbytery have challenged the results obtained from application of the Presbytery’s Gracious
Dismissal Policy (GDP), and alleged so in the complaint. Obviously, enough members of the
SPJC agreed and issued the stay.
Synod recently issued recommended guidelines for Presbyteries to use in drafting legally
sufficient GDPs in an effort to minimize these types of complaints and the collateral damage that
results. We will review the guidelines and consider our next steps. –Michael Mudgett
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Two Pastors Retire and a Retired Admiral Joins Presbytery
Rev. Tony Wolfe, PhD; Rev. Margaret Walls, and Rev. Gregory Horn,PhD
Two pastors were recognized at the May Meeting of Presbytery as Honorably Retired for their
years of service to the church: Rev. Tony Wolfe, PhD, Westminster Presbyterian Church, San
Diego, who was a pastor for 39 years; and Rev. Margaret Walls, who for the entire 20 years of
her ministry served as Associate Pastor at First Presbyterian Church of San Diego. Well done!
Rev. Dr. Gregory Horn (RAdm, Ch. USN, ret.) was accepted to become a member of
Presbytery. He retired from the US Navy Chaplain Corps (Reserve) in 2013 having served as
Navy or Marine Chaplain at various commands including the Middle East and Washington DC.
A graduate of Fuller Seminary, Horn is an ordained Presbyterian Church (USA) minister. He
served as pastor and head of staff at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Bakersfield, from 1988
to 2015.
Executive Committee’s Strategic Plan to Guide Vision for Next Decade
Rev. Dr. Mike McClenahan, past moderator and chair of the Executive Council, gave a
summary of what the strategic planning group
has done to date, beginning with a retreat at the
beginning of the year. The strategic plan is to
guide the Presbytery’s vision as it moves into the
next decade.
Coffee Brothers -- Executive Committee Chair Mike
McClenahan (left) has high hopes for the Presbyery of
San Diego because of the effective witness for Christ
by young ordained pastors like Nate Landis, (center)
director of Urban Youth Collaborative, and Marcos
Mojica of Grace Presbyterian Church in Vista.
“Rosarito Rising” Baja Day Trip Makes its Point
By Bob Battenfield, Editor
Start with a mission church on a wind-swept hill east of Rosarito, end with a visit to an
established church serving the Otay/Universidad area in East Tijuana. That was the story told
by the experience of this year’s Baja Day Trip conducted by Baja Presbyterian Missions in
partnership with Pueblos Hermanos’ Salud y Vida Health Clinic and the Presbytery of the
Northwest Border of the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico.
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The 15th Annual journey south of the border carried the theme, “Rosarito Rising.” And some 40
folks, mission-minded members of churches within San Diego Presbytery, rose early to carpool
from Escondido, El Cajon and points in between to gather by 8:30 am at Chula Vista
Presbyterian Church to caravan across the border into Baja California. Represented on the trip
were these churches: El Cajon, Fletcher Hills, Graham Coronado, Iglesia Emmanuel, La Jolla,
Rancho Bernardo, and Westminister Escondido.
In support of the mission, a neighborhood health clinic was
underway staffed by nurses trained and certified by Salud y
Vida, an outreach program of Pueblos Hermanos directed by
Martha Gonzales Rojas. Also in progress was a cement block
retaining wall. Pastor Davis Pardo, a recent graduate of the
Mexican Presbyterian Seminary in Mexicali, has an office and
classrooms in a wood-walled trailer on the hilltop double lot in
the middle of the 750-home planned community for low-income
families.
Nurse Martha Gonzales Rojas and her husband
Nicassio Rojas. Nicassio guided the tour vans.
Pastor Davis Pardo at Mision Real de Rosarito
Pastor Devir Perez at Dios Con Nosotros
After a freshly prepared buffet lunch at Ortega's Restaurant in Rosarito, the group headed to
Tijuana to visit Iglesia Dios Con Nosotros, also funded in part by Baja Presbyterian Missions.
Pastor Devir Perez expressed his gratitude for the support of churches in San Diego so
emphatically that the interpreter, Martha Charlotte, added her own tearful thanks and praise to
the Lord of life and salvation we share.
Edie Becker, a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Escondido, reflects in this way:
“When the music started, our interpreter, Martha, joined in but soon became overwhelmed and
began to cry. She later told us she was so sorry but the thought of so many young people in
their community needing the word of God but knowing nothing of His love and grace made her
sad. It was both humbling and powerfull to see these two congregations working hard and
pressing on in the name of our Lord.”
For information about how you can support these mission projects in Baja California,
go to www.bajapresbyterianmissions.org or call 619-465-8305.
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MUDGETT CALLS FOR WEB ASSIST: I’d like to kick up our Presbytery website a notch —
not by redoing the infrastructure, but by adding family friendly content that tells the story of what
we’re doing as a Presbytery family.
Some of you are going to Africa on missions, some to the inner city. Others are working to help
this person or that group — much of which is off the radar. I’d like to put it “on our radar” so we
all can be inspired and encouraged. Telling stories is important. We can add good content and
pictures from the field to our website but … I need some volunteers with website capability to
add content.
Can you recommend anyone near our Presbytery office in Point Loma?
-- Michael Mudgett
Presbytery of San Diego, 3707 Udall Street, San Diego CA 92107
619-224-2490 www.presbyterysd.org
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Chancel decor, Village Church
PresbyNews OnLine photography by Ed Piper and Bob Battenfield
Upcoming Stated Presbytery Meetings 2016
Tuesday - September 20 - 4 pm – Grace Presbyterian Church, Vista
Tuesday - November 15 – 4 pm – Mt. Soledad Presbyterian Church, La Jolla
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