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This story and photo may be seen here: http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2007/07547.htm
A tale of two sisters
Younger sibling champions cause of sister's ecumenical calling
by Emily Enders Odom Associate, Mission Communications
LOUISVILLE, KY - When the Rev. Kathy Reeves answered the call 14 years ago to serve here as associate for ecumenical and mission partnerships for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), little did she imagine that one of the lives which would be transformed through her ministry would be that of her own sister, Lynn Sydney.
Sydney, a soon-to-be "empty nester" and a member of First Presbyterian Church, Annapolis, MD, enrolled last fall as one of eighteen participants in the Geneva Seminar for Clergy and Laity, for which Reeves serves as coordinator. The Geneva Seminar is designed to engage clergy and laity in dialogue with representatives of key ecumenical organizations, such as the World Council of Churches and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.
"Thinking that this might be Kathy's last time leading the seminar, I jumped at the opportunity to see her in action," Sydney said. "I wanted to gain perspective on the international ecumenical community while getting a glimpse of my older sister at work."
As the children and grandchildren of mission workers, Sydney, Reeves and their two younger brothers, already had a lifelong appreciation of the Presbyterian Church's historic ecumenical commitment. Yet Sydney was unprepared for what the seminar would reveal to her firsthand.
"Coming from a mission background myself, I was nevertheless amazed at the breadth of our Presbyterian involvement," Sydney said. "I was impressed with how we work together with different agencies to respond to the needs of developing countries."
In Geneva, Sydney also came to see her sister in a different light. "I was very impressed with her leadership, and with her knowledge of all of the ecumenical programs and organizations," she said. "Even though there are so many different bodies housed in Geneva, they all knew Kathy by name, who she was, and what she did, and vice versa. That is why it is so important that her ministry there continue."
Recently, Reeves has answered a very personal call to continue to utilize her many gifts by serving as the PC(USA)'s regional liaison to Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
The focus of this new position, to be funded through the Mission Initiative: Joining Hearts & Hands (MIJHH), will be to provide needed continuity for the very programmatic presence that Lynn Sydney has herself witnessed and described.
"If we don't continue this kind of ecumenical outreach, we close ourselves down," Sydney said. "We shut down the resources that we have worked so hard to keep alive through the centuries. We will cease to be a viable ecumenical outreach in the world. Do we want to be a church unable to maintain a world perspective?"
Emboldened by her sister's support, Reeves is newly energized to pursue her calling. "The resources of our partner churches in this region of Europe are being stretched just as ours are at home, and yet the needs of God's people around the world are not abating," Reeves explained. "Therefore, part of the ministry of the liaison position will be to promote dialogue and learning, to assess the stewardship of our collective engagement and to find ways to work together with greater efficiency and effectiveness on such global issues as disaster relief, poverty and hunger, HIV/AIDS, and human rights."
The projected cost of Reeves's three-year term is estimated at $262,000, for which she and the MIJHH national staff team are currently fundraising. MIJHH is the five-year campaign of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to raise $40 million for new international mission personnel and for church development in the U.S., particularly racial ethnic and immigrant congregations.
"We need to let the ecumenical community know that they are important, and that together we can reach people in the name of Christ," Sydney said. "Without a physical presence out there, we will lose the connections we have worked so hard to build up."
To make a gift or pledge to Joining Hearts & Hands on behalf of Kathy Reeves, visit the Joining Hearts & Hands Web site (http://www.pcusa.org/joiningheartsandhands/mission-coworke rs-give.htm) or call (888) 728-7228 x5611. Contributions for Kathy Reeves, account number MI910079, can also be sent by mail to: Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Individual Remittance Processing, PO Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700.
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