The Presbytery, the Strategic Plan and You Summer Series
From the General Presbyter
In our previous episodes, we recognized the importance of justice for all, and aiming toward loving inclusive community. Now we get to talk about where the “rubber meets the road.”

Today I want to focus on the first word in this value: prioritizing. One of Webster’s definitions of priority reads “something given or meriting attention before competing alternatives.” If churches and leaders are a priority, what are some of the competing alternatives a presbytery could have? Some might say the status quo, or money or an identity formed in 1953. Next question, who may have set these competing alternatives? The answer is church and leaders, because you are the Presbytery! This value emerged from Cabinet and our surveys in 2023 because we realize and believe that one purpose of our institution called the Presbytery is to recognize where ministry is happening and that is in the local congregation.
The challenge for us after recognizing and celebrating this value is to assert that every church and leader is a priority, not just the struggling ones. An article from the folks at Holy Cow Consulting invites us to ask, “what is our commitment for support for all of our congregations at all stages of their lives?” Like justice and inclusion, each and every church and leader is important, and the goal is for folks to have no doubt of their value to our Presbytery community. This means we resource the large church and the small church, BIPOC congregations and rural congregations and on and on. We do this with equity as we realize each person and church has a different need.
We will talk more about “thriving” in a future column. Until then, you matter!
– Jackie