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People

Gyeong Mok Kim, recevied the Doctor of Ministry degree from Columbia Theological Seminary on May 19. He is pastor of the Auburn, Alabama, Korean Presbyterian Church.

After a 2-year search process, the Outreach Mission Unit of the Presbytery of Middle Tennessee has hired the Rev. Philip Beisswenger as Consultant for Hispanic Ministries. He began work on August 1.

Philip is a graduate of Macalester College, in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Vanderbilt Divinity School. Since 1986 his pastorates have included the Fellowship Church in Cowan, Tennessee, and the Methodist Church in Honduras, Central America. Most recently he served as Coordinator of Hispanic Services at the Campus for Human Development in Nashville. His wife, Bacilia, is a native of Honduras.

He is available to assist congregations in the Presbytery of Middle Tennessee in ministering with their Hispanic/Latino neighbors. Some examples of assistance are a presentation called "An Introduction to Hispanic Culture" and a 3-part course on "Survival Spanish." He also will help explore and devise ways to address needs of the Hispanic population and to include Hispanic persons in the life of the church.

Philip may be contacted through the Presbytery office, or at 615-243-0834.

Zoe Sees Change as Step in Faith

"It wasn't just a job, it was a ministry to me. I'm stepping out in faith and trusting that God has something else for me to do," said Zoe Bordes when asked how she felt about leaving The Outreach Foundation to be with her family in Pennsylvania.

Zoe has been with the Foundation since December '97. Originally the Executive Director, Bill Bryant, who previously had been Zoe's pastor at First Presbyterian Nashville, had asked her to assist in the planning and to administer a global evangelism conference (held in September 1998), communicate with donors from projects and missionaries, and develop a system of data management. The conference, called "Christ for the World -- the Urgent Challenge of the 21st Century," had anticipated attendance of 150 – 200 people and wasn't supposed to take up much of her time. As it turned out, the conference took up all of her time and was attended by over 2,000 people.

For the last few years, Zoe has been in charge of communicating with missionaries and projects, drafting updates from them to share with donors and supporters. She developed and created the information needed for the Board to review and approve new projects and drafted the yearly projects book. The Foundation's latest book of mission partnership opportunities has just been published and is available. This will be one more result of the work and dedication that Zoe gives to God and the church.

When asked about some of her fondest Foundation memories, Zoe talked about the inspiration derived from the correspondence from missionaries around the world and her 1999 mission trip to Madagascar with the Foundation. "I had never felt the Holy Spirit move as powerfully as I did during worship services there. The people are so desperately poor materially, but spiritually, they are some of the richest on earth."

-- Andrew Layton

Lynn Shurley Chairs G.A.C.
Congregational Ministries Committee

For the past six years, First Presbyterian Church in Paducah, Kentucky, has been sharing their pastor, Lynn Shurley, with the General Assembly Council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). For the past three of those years, Lynn has been chair of the Council's Congregational Ministries Committee. As he has been involved in the Council's oversight of the division that resources the congregations throughout the denomination, his own congregation and the community in Paducah have benefited from the insights he has gained in this national office.

He has had the opportunity to work with General Assembly staff in the areas of curriculum publishing; theology and worship; conference centers; theological education; Christian education and leader development; youth, young adult and older adult ministries; spiritual formation; stewardship and mission interpretation. Whatever relates to the congregational life of the church, Lynn is concerned with. Curriculum has been in the spotlight recently an the division is involved continuously in developing the best possible curriculum resources for the denomination.

Phone calls, emails, conference calls, meetings and planning related to the Council take a total of about six weeks of Lynn's time in a year. But his own congregation in a beautiful church building in the historic downtown section of the old river city of Paducah remains the focus of his attention. He has been at the church twelve years. His support group there includes DCE Sarah Kennedy, an adult choir director, plus his wife, Elaine, who directs the children's, youth and handbell choirs.

A native of Meridian, Mississippi, Lynn is a graduate of Millsaps College and Columbia Seminary. He received a D.Min. from Columbia in 1995. Previous pastorates include First Presbyterian Church in Sylacauga, Alabama. "I've always been a Southerner," he says, adding, "and I'm grateful to be a Presbyterian." He has always actively served synod and presbytery in numerous capacities.

His term as representative from Western Kentucky Presbytery will end when the General Assembly meets in June of 2002. He sees this experience as "a challenging, rewarding and enriching opportunity."

Lynn Shurley