Welcome to the Presbytery of San Francisco
General Assembly in the Air at November Presbytery Meeting
Our November 8 gathering at Old First Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, while featuring a fair amount of customary attention to local opportunities and responsibilities, also reminded us that we belong to a church that ministers all across the nation. One reminder came in the form of a first reading of three early overtures to the 220th General Assembly next summer in Pittsburgh, PA, with more expected by the time we meet again in January. Another came with nominations for the election of eight commissioners to that assembly, including five nominations from the floor.
The warmest reminder of all was the presence of G.A. Moderator Cynthia Bolbach, who preached in our evening worship hour on “Breaking Through” (Mark 2:1-5). She urged us to be like the four men who broke through a roof and lowered a paralyzed man so he could see Jesus, and see what Jesus might do to make him whole. She observed that our national church seems in some ways close to paralysis, in serious need of men and women to work together the same way those men did. Were they friends? Did they know the sick man? Did they even know each other? What really matters is that they did what needed to be done for Jesus to be clearly seen and powerfully do his work. The Moderator called us all to do the same in every way we can.
We welcomed Rev. Ed Choa as a Member at Large, coming to us from the Presbytery of the Pacific. Of Chinese descent, he grew up in the Philippines and he has served churches in Taiwan and Canada. We also approved the ordination of Lisa Robechek, and her installation as pastor of Lincoln Park PC in San Francisco.
As the Presbytery continues the search for a Presbytery Elder for Leadership and Vision, we affirmed the continuing work into 2012 of Stated Clerk Rev. Kathy Runyeon and support staff members Rev. Bruce Der-McLeod, Myrdell Dybdal, Erika Glisson, Dvorah Miller, and Joan Toole. We also thanked Peter Endow for a decade of faithful service as Director of Operations and Services, from which he will leave at the end of December.
Our day of diligent work concluded with analysis, agreement, and finally approval of the preliminary budget for the Presbytery’s mission and ecclesiastical ministries in 2012. Included in that budget, of course, is the Per Capita, which we share beyond ourselves in support of the Synod of the Pacific and the General Assembly.
The next meeting of the Presbytery of San Francisco is on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 hosted by Grace Presbyterian Church, Walnut Creek.
Searching for our Presbytery Pastor/Elder
We have opened a call and a search for an individual who feels called to minister to the Presbytery of San Francisco in a unique way. We are looking for a leader who will hold and communicate the vision of Presbytery, facilitate, connect, collaborate, dream, heal, and help lead our Presbytery into a healthy future. A collaborative spirit is key for the leader to possess in order to lead us in living into what Christ is calling us to be.
Download the CIF part 1 :: Download the CIF part 2
Detox Project Team’s Reports
Read the transcripts from the Detox Project Team’s reports from:
September 13 Presbytery Meeting
November 8 Presbytery Meeting
Collaborative Ministries Blog
Posted on December 1st, 2011 by Website Administrator
In the winter of 2010, the Partnership Working Group made a strong commitment to two important goals:
- To build relationships with all of our Presbytery’s churches;
- To strategize with them about how partnerships could enhance each church’s mission involvement and outreach.
Their initial strategy included sending a simply five-question survey to all mission elders/pastors in the Presbytery, inviting them to list their church’s local and foreign mission involvement and how they believed a partnership would be helpful. Since that time, every member of the Partnership Working Group has chosen to engage personally with mission leadership/pastor contacts…
- Which are close geographically, or…
- With whom they already have a relationship, or…
- With whom they are seeking to build a relationship.
Partnership Chair, Rev. George Gilchrist, reports that group members realized several months ago that they lacked representation from our many ethnic congregations. In short time they succeeded in diversifying the team by adding three new members:
- Daniel Beteta, pastor at Latinos Unidos en Cristos, San Mateo
- Jenny Kim, member at Park Boulevard P.C., Oakland
- Jackie Kwan, member at Christ United P.C., San Francisco
Other Partnership members include:
- Karen Thistlethwaite, minister of education at St. John’s P.C., Berkeley
- Bill Campbell, Elder at Old First Church, San Francisco
- Paul Watermulder, pastor at First P.C., Burlingame
- Katie Freeman, candidate for ordination from Centerpointe P.C., Pleasanton
- Jake Kim, liaison to the Alpha Course in northern California
- George Gilchrist, interim/transitional pastor at Park Boulevard P.C., Oakland
In August 2011, three members of the Partnership Working Group met with the Compassion Team of St. John’s P.C. in San Francisco (Evelyn Ho, Jonathan Howe, Judd Anderson). The Compassion Team wanted insight about encouraging their congregation towards short-term overseas mission involvements. It was a most engaging evening, since…
- Bill Campbell has extensive experience in local mission through Old First Church’s community outreach;
- Jake Kim’s work with Alpha involves numerous church traditions in a variety of social settings;
- George Gilchrist has led many short-term mission teams to serve with Protestant congregations in six European countries through Alongside Ministries International.
The Partnership Working Group is eager to hear from you about how they might help your church fulfill its vision for mission. Their chairperson George Gilchrist can be reached at
georgeglchrst@gmail.com or 510-520-5311.
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Announcements
Posted on December 29th, 2011 by Communications Workgoup
Posted on December 7th, 2011 by Website Administrator
The 2012 Per Capita assessment will be $32.00 per member.
More announcements...
