Hi First Presbyterian,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! Today I want to let you know about an opportunity coming up in a couple weeks.

Over the summer, Rev. Carol Anne Strawbridge, Rev. Rod Frohman, Rev. Mack Smith, and I helped to facilitate an 8-week conversation on the topic of racism. As the word “conversation” implies, those 8 weeks were not designed as lectures or studies but were an opportunity for people in the conversation group to talk with each other. As the 8-week conversation came to an end, there was a clear desire from the group to see our conversation develop into action, specifically to try to form relationships with black churches and neighborhoods in Rochester. Rev. Mack Smith is going to help us create a strategy to make that happen.

Mack is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, and his 30+ years of experience in intercity and black churches enables him to lead our strategizing. He will be leading an initial strategizing meeting with us over Zoom on Sunday, October 11 from 7-9pm. He will be using the books of Deuteronomy and Joshua to lead us through a workshop he’s titled, “It's Time to Move from the Pews of Praise and Worship to the Neighborhood.” The focus of the workshop is to help us (with scripture as our basis) to think about strategies to form partnerships with other churches and neighborhoods in Rochester, specifically black churches and neighborhoods.

This workshop on October 11 will not be the only meeting of its kind, but, as the initial meeting, I encourage you to attend to check out the ideas that will be discussed. Please let me know if you would like to be a part of this important effort, and I’ll make sure you get the Zoom link.

Peace to you,

Pastor Aaron