Sunspots

Libby Janes views her role as SPDR Director as a call to ministry. When she preaches, she hopes to meet people where they are, hold communities' experiences of grief with gentleness, and point to the presence of God with us, through every moment of our lives.

This sermon "Take Courage" on Haggai 1:15b-2:9 tells the story of the people of Jerusalem, who have returned from exile in Babylon 18 years before. The...

On this episode of Sunspots, Kathy Lee Cornell interview Rev. Philip Blackburn about his work with the Town Square Collaborative, a program at the University of the Ozarks that supports rural congregations, pastors, and communities. 

Blackburn shares his journey from urban ministry to focusing on rural churches, highlighting the isolation these congregations often feel and the lack of tailored resources for them. 

Funded through mult...

Episode 5 of 5 in the Welcoming the Stranger series

Immigration affects ALL of us: our individual and communal histories, as well as our current realities. Scripture is clear on our responsibilities to welcome the stranger(s) because we have all been strangers. In this final episode of this series, Rev. Marta Pumroy and Kristy Rodgers talk about what’s happening at the border now and what we, as individuals and communities of faith ...

Episode 4 of 5 in the Welcoming the Stranger series

As a student at Lyon College, Allison Mundy went to El Paso for a Border Encounter as part of the Synod’s Imagine event in 2019. A few years later, as she prepared to graduate from Med school, Allison talked with Kristy Rodgers about that experience and the ways it has shaped her life and ministry since. Be encouraged and inspired!

This series was brought forward by the Synod Netwo...

Episode 3 of 5 in the Welcoming the Stranger series

The largest part of the US-Mexico border (1254 miles) lies in the state of Texas. In this episode, Rev. Tim Blodgett, Rev. Lynne Hargrove, and Rev. Charlie Smith, presbytery leaders in our Synod, talk with Kristy Rodgers about their visits to the border and if/how immigration issues affect congregations and presbytery ministry in their areas.

This series was brought forward by the ...

Episode 2 of 5 in the Welcoming the Stranger series

As a young girl, Lynn Hargrove grew up in El Paso, Texas, long before she became the general presbyter for The Presbytery of New Covenant.  Listen in on this conversation with Border Ministry Coordinator Marta Pumroy about what she remembers of the past as we compare it to the current situation on the US/Mexico border.

This series was brought forward by the Synod Network for Disman...

Episode 1 of 5 in the Welcoming the Stranger series

Tres Rios Border Foundation partner liaison, John Nelsen, shares the history behind border ministry in the El Paso/Juarez region. In this conversation with Border Ministry Coordinator Marta Pumroy, John shares the current work that Tres Rios does in partnership with hospitality sites in the area focusing on changes that have happened in 2025. 

This series was brought forward by the...

Hill Country Flooding Update with Kathy Lee-Cornell, Bobby Musengwa, Laurie Palmer, and Kathy Riley

SPDR continues to coordinate with and support all those involved with the Texas Hill Country Flooding relief efforts. Leaders from Mission Presbytery, First Presbyterian Church in Kerrville, and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance offer the following updates and resources. 

Tim Hutchon, President and CEO of Mo Ranch has also provided the ...

FPC/Kerrville Flooding Response Update with Jasiel Hernandez Garcia

SPDR continues to coordinate with and support all those involved with the Texas Hill Country Flooding relief efforts. Leaders from Mission Presbytery, First Presbyterian Church in Kerrville, and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance offer the following updates and resources. 

Tim Hutchon, President and CEO of Mo Ranch has also provided the following update - Click HERE fo...

Emotional Spiritual Care - Texas Hill Country Flooding with Kathy Riley and John Cheek

SPDR continues to coordinate with and support all those involved with the Texas Hill Country Flooding relief efforts. Leaders from Mission Presbytery, First Presbyterian Church in Kerrville, and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance offer the following updates and resources. 

Tim Hutchon, President and CEO of Mo Ranch has also provided the following upd...

On this episode of Sunspots, we meet Tammy Stepka. Tammy is known by the folks at Grace Presbytery as the Office & Ministry Coordinator. In the Synod of the Sun we are getting to know Tammy as our new Interim Administrative Assistant. Tammy has served on the staff of Grace Presbytery since 2017 and joined our staff in January of this year. Tammy has a B.A. in Organizational Leadership and is a member of First Presbyterian Churc...

On this episode of Sunspots, we talk with Elizabeth Brinegar, Teaching Elder from the Presbytery of Arkansas and the returning Director of Operations for Solar Under the Sun.
Elizabeth is a familiar face in the Synod, having served six years as a Commissioner, was elected Moderator for 2019, was the Coordinating Team Chair, and served on the Search Committee for the Synod Leader.

Elizabeth discusses the mission and ministry of S...

On this episode of Sunspots, we talk with Lisa Almon, Co-Moderator of the Hispanic Mission Ministry Network and hear about the Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders Today workshops. Lisa talks about how there was a need for training Commissioned Pastors and other Lay Leaders in Hispanic congregations and how the Holy Spirit guided some key leaders to create this series of six workshops.

Lisa describes the first five in-person training event...

On this episode of Sunspots, we talk with Lindsay Freeman-McCarthy, Communications Contractor for the Synod. Lindsay is a 12th generation Presbyterian and daughter to two Presbyterian ministers. She’s an ordained Presbyterian Deacon and Ruling Elder, former camp counselor at Ferncliff, and was an active youth and young adult in the church.

While on a study trip to Spain and walking the Camino de Santiago with her mother, she meets a...

On this episode of Sunspots, we talk with Kristy Rodgers, who is a Commissioned Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Bartlesville Director of Family Ministry. Moderator 2022 and Coordinating Team Chair 2023. Also with us is Rev. Jennifer Grantham, minister at large in Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery.

Kristy and Jennifer are leading a study in their Soul Training series called What Does the Bible Say About Immigration? Using the Women ...

On today’s episode, we have a conversation with Neil McKown, Director of Student Ministry at Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church in Austin, TX and the self-appointed Commissioner for the Souperbowl of Caring Smackdown in Mission Presbytery. 

Now in its seventh year, the Smackdown is a competition among almost two dozen churches in Mission Presbytery to see who can donate the most non-perishable food items and funds to the agen...

Today's episode features two Ruling Elders from Tres Rios Presbytery. If you are not familiar with Tres Rios Presbytery, it is a group of congregations and ministries located in the westernmost portion of Texas, and it’s known as Tres Rios because the presbytery is marked by three rivers: the Concho, Pecos, and Rio Grande.

In our disaster work, we actually don’t hear a lot coming out of Tres Rios Presbytery, because historicall...

This is a recording of a Hurricane Preparedness Webinar and Table Top exercise that the Synod hosted on July 11, 2024, just four days after Hurricane Beryl made landfall on the coast of Texas. Earlier this year, many forecasters predicted that this years’ Atlantic hurricane season will be more active than usual, with as many as 25 named storms to form from now through November. And as we have just witnessed, Hurricane Beryl is the ...

Our latest Sunspot’s Disaster Partnership Conversation podcast features a three-part series, highlighting the tornado recovery efforts across the Presbytery of Arkansas. On March 31, 2023, a high-end EF3 tornado hit Central Arkansas, damaging areas of Little Rock, North Little Rock, Sherwood, and Jacksonville. In that same storm system, another EF3 tornado swept through Wynne, Arkansas. Five lives were lost as a result of these sto...