I just wrapped up 10 amazing days filling in for Rev. Joey Chang with our partners at Kake Memorial Presbyterian Church in Alaska. It has given me much to think about, but for today I want to reflect on the value of partnerships like the one we have with Kake Memorial, which is a part of the body of Christ we really need.

Yes, the congregation in Kake needs congregations like ours for things like work teams to take on facility issues or provide VBS or, as I did, to give their pastor a break, but I think we need them, too. The First Pres vision is to be “Spirit-empowered disciples mobilized to engage our neighbors with Christ,” and the congregation in Kake models this. They have a van ministry that picks up people for worship. Lay folks run huge parts of worship, and all of it when their pastor is out of town. They even have a mission that stretches far beyond themselves having sent folks to Siberia multiple times.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, so I really do hope we will continue to partner with them, and I am exploring what it would take to take a team there next summer. If you are interested, let me know.

– Pastor Jon