Rachel’s Reflections
He is risen! He is risen, indeed!
Grace and peace to you this Easter season from our newly renamed Presbyterian Life & Witness.
Last month, I had the privilege of introducing you to my fellow US-GEL, Cindy Corell, and sharing her ministry alongside our Haitian siblings in Springfield, Ohio. As a follow-up, I encourage you to register for the Presbyterian Hunger Program’s April 14 event Solidarity Hour—From Haiti to Springfield: Faith, Resilience, and Belonging.
Today I would like to introduce you to Joseph Russ, the US-GEL with the Synods of the Pacific, Rocky Mountains, Southern California & Hawaii, and the Southwest.
Joseph brings a deep well of experience shaped by his time as a mission co-worker in El Salvador. He has also faithfully coordinated the Mesoamerica Migration and Mission Network (MMMN), a call that emerged from the 223rd GA when the Presbytery of the Pacific and Reformed Calvinist Church of El Salvador came together to call for justice for migrants throughout the region. Together, partners share a prophetic word of justice, advocate for respecting human rights, and connecting people with services and communities of faith wherever they find themselves on their journey.
We are grateful that Joseph continues to offer his leadership and witness through the MMMN in his current role. As Cindy reminded us last month, our solidarity with immigrant siblings—indeed, with our global majority siblings—carries a renewed urgency in this season. The church of our ever-journeying Lord will not turn away from this call.
To learn more about Joseph’s ministry and vision, I invite you to explore the following resources:
New PC(USA) Mission Network Begins Work in Earnest (May 2024) which highlights the origins of the network, its partnerships, and Joseph’s theological grounding and vision.
In Civil Society Organizations Review a Global Compact on Migration Latin America and the Caribbean (May 2025), you will encounter Joseph’s work in an ecumenical and global context.
Next month, you will meet our fourth synod-based US-GEL, Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri.
If you are beginning to notice a common thread among our US-GELs, you are not mistaken. Be it from apprehensively wandering through God’s Kingdom/Kin-dom, to fearfully storing our treasures where moths and vermin destroy, to harmfully separating ourselves from creation and each other, to… (each heart can fill in the blank), we US GELs seek to walk with you, resource you, and learn from you as together we proclaim loving God and neighbor while living abundantly in a hurting world.
In the months ahead, we will continue exploring these themes, while also looking at the evolving structure and ministry of Presbyterian Life & Witness. In the meantime, you know how to reach me (see below).
In Christ, Rev. Rachel Anderson
