Top-Three Intersections for Ministries of Compassion, Peace, and Justice

MINNEAPOLIS—“I feel at times like I’m at a stove with ten pots on it, and all are boiling over at the same time.” That’s how Sara Lisherness described her experience as Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) program director for Compassion, Peace, and Justice for the last year or so. At another point she described her work as attempting to put the wheels on a bus will driving it. Lisherness was in Minneapolis, conferring with the Mission Responsibility Through Investment committee (MRTI) at its April 17–18 meeting.

With a newly reorganized and yet reorganizing department, and with several extra hats to wear while open positions remain unfilled, Lisherness has had a hectic year. Yet, she radiates enthusiasm, professionalism, and intelligence as she pursues her work. She told MRTI about no less than six rounds of searching for a director of relief and development, for instance, and still coming up empty handed. And so she reorganized that department a different way, and now is looking for a second-in-command to take some of her administrative load. She treats such challenges as a joy rather than a burden.

“We’re trying to build a learning organization where we give voice to common concerns and common ministries,” she explains about her entire ministry that encompasses many avenues of social witness. Many of those ministries, such as Peacemaking and the Washington Office, have been controversial in years past. Lisherness appears to be working to lower some of the adversarial nature of the ministries and to open many more doors for conversation and collaboration. One wishes her well in an intent that has already shown some buds of the fruit to come.

Three Main Intersections of Interest
In her report to MRTI, Lisherness focused on three “intersections,” where the interests of the various entities for which she bears responsibility merge in larger issues:

• The Environment. “The biggest issue has to do with caring for God’s creation,” she noted. “There is such an intersection between climate change and hunger,” for instance. “Because of climate change,” she contends, “we’re not going to be able to feed the people of the world.” This large concern occupies the interest of many of her colleagues’ groups.

  “We know about the rapidly rising cost of food,” MRTI member Bill Saint pointed out. Saint brings particular expertise from his work around the globe with the World Bank. But it was his understanding that “not much of the rise in cost is caused by climate change.” That may be coming, he said, but right now the price increase is linked mostly to rising petroleum costs for transportation of food, and also to the competing demand for agricultural products not for the table but to be used as biofuels.

  Lisherness acknowledged these realities. “However,” she explained, “in some parts of world—North Korea, for instance, with severe droughts and flooding—there is a very serious crisis that’s an intersection of climate change and….” She paused, searching for just the right way to say it. “Just, uh, not enough resources.” It sounded as if Lisherness wanted to talk about the repressive communist system in North Korea, but couldn’t quite find the words. She’s been there, she said. “The countryside is deforested and largely rendered unusable. It is much more complicated because of political issues.”

• Human trafficking. A second intersection involves horrific issues of human trafficking, not only of women and children for the sex trade, but also of indentured laborers in other work. It also involves the intersection of migration, immigration, and social justice. Lisnerness mentioned that some mission personnel were detecting the impact of apparent climate change on the movement of people groups in various places. She believes that some of the expected impact of alleged global warming has already begun to affect crops and the viability of some lands.
• The Middle East. As Lisherness put it, the third intersection is “the continuing dynamics revolving around the Middle East.” As an example, she gave the “serious concern of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance” for refugee ministries in the Middle East—primarily Iraqis in Jordan. She also mentioned “the acute crisis in the Gaza Strip.” However, even when touching on such a contested subject, Lisherness stuck with muted comments, refraining from pushing further toward the divisive language of a partisan zealot.

Further Lisherness Tidbits
The division head is looking for a few good associates. She needs someone to be coordinator of the Presbyterian Hunger Program. Likewise, she could use a coordinator for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. Down the road, following an as-yet-to-coalesce study of the needs of the Washington Office, Lisherness will probably be looking for a new director there, too. In the meantime, she needs someone to head the group to reevaluate the Washington Office ministry, and then people to serve on it.

In the off year between General Assemblies, Lisherness and her office are planning a combined conference of many ministries. The June 10–13, 2009, event in Atlanta—with the informal name “The Big 10” for now—will involve constituents of 10 groups, such as peacemaking, evangelism, multicultural ministries, the Presbyterian Health, Education, and Welfare Association, and so on. Each group will meet individually, and then persons involved in any one group will be able to cross-register for seminars with the others, and there will be joint worship and celebrations.

Lisherness shows great enthusiasm for this new cluster event. However, one wonders what it could be like if it were truly opened up to the broader church, beyond those who typically cluster in the denominational social-witness sphere. What if Presbyterians Pro-Life or Presbyterian Action or One By One could pitch their tents among the rest at this festival? Each of these groups has a constituency that perhaps represents Presbyterians with greater consistency and reach than many or most of the groups officially under the compassion, peace, and justice umbrella.

“I love the Presbyterian Church,” gushed Lisherness in response to a question from an MRTI member. “One of our greatest assets is our local congregations, but how do we help mobilize them? We are a people of the Word—sometimes many words! And sometimes our words substitute for giving our people hands-on opportunities for service.”

Give Lisherness a little longer, and she’ll probably come up with some more of those hands-on opportunities. Fill some of the positions around her, and watch out! There’s something contagious about her enthusiasm and gracious about her approach. That’s to be appreciated, even by those who might disagree with Lisherness at a number of points.