Stories of Hope from the Synod and General Assembly

At our March Presbytery meeting we continue our theme of Stories of Hope…The Broader Church.

We will hear stories from the Rev. Dr. Alonzo Johnson, Coordinator for the Presbyterian Committee of the Self-Development of People Program (SDOP).  Members of the Presbyterian Church of Morristown will share their story of the Undoing Racism Partnership with a congregation in NYC and how this came to be through the connectional work of the Synod of the Northeast.  Robin Curras will tell the story of the connections recently made by a delegation from the Synod to the Presbyteries of Cuba.

Self Development of People

Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP) is a ministry that affirms God’s concern for humankind.    SDOP is Presbyterians and ecumenical partners dissatisfied with poverty and oppression, united in faith and action through sharing, confronting, and enabling by participating in the empowerment of economically poor, oppressed, and disadvantaged people, seeking to change the structures that perpetuate poverty, oppression and injustice.

The Core Strategies for SDOP are to promote justice, build stronger communities and to seek economic equity.

Synod of the Northeast and Presbytery of Cuba Partnership

Last fall the Presbyterian Church of Cuba invited the Synod of the Northeast to join them in a conversation about partnering for the future. A delegation from Synod traveled to Cuba in November.

Undoing Racism – Congregations Partnering Together

In 2016  the Synod of the Northeast partnered with two very different congregations in a project we called “Undoing Racism.” The original partners were the Rendall Memorial Presbyterian Church, an historic a African American congregation in Harlem, New York, and First Presbyterian Church in Morristown, NJ, an historic, majority white congregation. Recently this initiative has included the First Presbyterian Church in Rutherford, NJ as well.

These congregations have made deep and lasting covenants to learn, worship, and fellowship together in order to undo the bonds of racism.