Post on 19-Jan-2020
The Presbytery of Hudson River 655 Scarborough Rd., Scarborough, NY 10510
914.941.2100 http://hudrivpres.org
Contact: Noelle Damico, Hudson River Presbytery Communications 914-‐525-‐7040, noelle@hudrivpres.org For immediate release
The Presbytery of Hudson River calls Ruling Elder Deborah Milcarek as its Next General Presbyter
On Tuesday, September 18, the Presbytery of Hudson River unanimously voted to call Deborah Milcarek as its next General Presbyter. She will begin her position on November 1, 2018. Milcarek comes with twenty-‐three years’ experience working in the PC(USA), thirteen years of which she has served as a middle governing body leader in the Baltimore Presbytery.
“We were impressed with the fact that the programs Deb inherited, expanded and the new initiatives Deb launched took root and flourished,” explained the Rev. Laurie McNeill, chair of the General Presbyter Search Committee for Hudson River Presbytery. “She has a keen eye; she remembers the details of people and conversations in a way that lets you know you were heard. Her spirit of openness resonates with the character of our presbytery.
Milcarek first became interested in working at the presbytery setting while she was completing her MSW where she focused on macro social work; changing systems as opposed to individuals. “In a climate of declining membership and resources, we can do so much more together as congregations than separately,” Milcarek explained.
Figure 1 Deb Milcarek, at left, and Laurie McNeill as Milcarek accepts the post of HRP’s General Presbyter.
After serving 10 years as a Christian Educator in two different congregations, Milcarek was called to the Presbytery of Baltimore as their Associate for Mission and Justice and later as the Associate for Reconciliation. The portfolio that Milcarek carried at the Presbytery of Baltimore changed often during her thirteen years there. Initially guiding the mission and social justice work of the Presbytery, a new vision gave her an opportunity to work with geographic congregational Ministry Groups where she walked through transitions, mergers and closings with pastors and congregations as well as encouraged deep engagement with the communities surrounding each congregation and with each other. Along with that, she guided the Cuba, Guatemala and Dakota partnerships through great growth and expansion, allowing Baltimore congregations to better understand the concept of true partnership around the world. Milcarek was integral in the conception of and launching of The Center, an urban Presbytery mission partnership in Baltimore City that now hosts several hundred visitors each year, teaching neighborhood engagement in partnership with congregations. And for the past several years, Milcarek has engaged the presbytery in issues of racial justice and white privilege. Reflecting on the unique role of presbyteries Milcarek offered, “About eight years ago, the pendulum swung to push everything down to the congregational level and that’s what we’ve been doing in several presbyteries; to flatten out the structure, which it needed because we were very hierarchical. Presbyterians were rightly asking of presbyteries, ‘Why are you there?’ That’s when a lot of presbyteries moved away from doing top-‐down programming.” “But,” she insisted, “there’s still an important role for presbyteries. Congregations can work together with other congregations with whom they have commonalities. The question remains, though, how are they getting together? What is connecting the spokes of the wheel that is the PC(USA)? Besides resourcing and equipping healthy congregations and leaders -‐-‐ the Presbytery becomes the hub in that wheel that connects the spokes. One of the things we lose in this move to flatten the structure is an essential tenant of our faith, to be a connectional church. This is one of the main reasons that I became a Presbyterian. How is that connection happening? That’s the presbytery: the connector, we build community.” Noting that it’s easy to throw around terms, Milcarek asserts that, “the hard work comes in as we define what constitutes ‘healthy vital congregations;’ and I’m sure it is not just a matter of numbers and dollars! Once we do that, and those marks can be different for every presbytery, once we name it, we can go from there. These congregations have the signs of a healthy vital congregation, now, what do they need to thrive?” Milcarek was drawn to Hudson River Presbytery because “social justice is in its DNA; it’s a part of who the presbytery is! I sense a convergence of my love for the church’s mission and social justice as well as my love for congregations that want to thrive and have what they need to go forward.”
Transitional General Presbyter, the Rev. Peter Surgenor affirmed the Presbytery’s readiness explaining, “Hudson River Presbytery’s members engage each other in thoughtful conversation and thought-‐provoking worship, we build community by sharing the reflections of many different ministers and elders through our regular blog, A Curious Faith, and by sharing resources through our active Grants committee that invests in creative, faithful ministry by leaders and of congregations. Deb Milcarek brings a unique set of skills, talents and experiences as she joins this healthy presbytery.” Milcarek will assume her post just prior to the mid-‐term elections. “In a society that is increasingly divided, increasingly lonely, and increasingly looking for hope and grace, we offer the sanctuary of Christ,” Milcarek explained. “We are a community of like-‐minded believers and we really need to re-‐emphasize who we are as Presbyterians; the faith, the love, the witness and the community we hopefully offer to people.” Describing the church as a “big container” Milcarek insists, “We can hold different opinions and, by the grace of God and strong relationships, some amazing changes in hearts and minds can come about. When people truly understand systems of oppression they realize they need to do something about them; it’s not divisive. When congregations know and love their neighbors, their neighborhoods, however they define that, they will thrive. Helping people understand that is our job.”
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