By Betsy Gross, Clerk of Session

In the late evening of Sunday, December 28, 2025, during a blizzard, a call came from Cerro Gordo County Emergency Management to Mason City First, of travelers needing emergency shelter. We sheltered 35 travelers.

Donna Lee Olson wrote, in a FaceBook post, “With the interstate closed, hotels full and Clear Lake Churches helping, the DOT still had more people to place after rescuing them from ditched and snow bound cars and trucks… Families took rooms for privacy and slept on the carpeting. Our enclosed courtyard gave the two dogs a safe place to run outside… and quickly come back in.”

David and Laura Little took the first overnight shift. David did a food run to Kwik Star. Laura, a master quilter, brought her stash from home. Rev. Kip Murphy and members Jackie Wendt, Donna Lee Olson, Yvonne Addis, Jean and Lloyd Vollmers, and Bill Jellema came on Monday to assist as needed. There may have been others I’m unaware of. By Monday evening, there were only 3 travelers left to shelter.

Donna Lee Olson writes, “The travelers were a snapshot of America: from Minneapolis en route to Des Moines, Ohio, East Indian, Somali, Amish from Eureka, Montana who had traveled by train to St. Paul then were being driven by a van to visit family in Central Missouri.”

Of note, Mason City First had cancelled services Sunday morning due to the blizzard. The members able to respond Sunday evening live within a few blocks of the church in Mason City. As Pastor Kip says “I love seeing the church be the church! Our congregation hosted 35 motorists who were stranded in the blizzard. A huge thank you to everyone who is helping out and for the coordination provided by Cerro Gordo County Emergency Management!”

The Mission and Ministry Committee is pleased to be able to offer Mission Partnership Grants for 2026. These grants are intended to equip churches and congregants to display Christ’s love. Grants are available for up to $2,000 and applications are limited to 2 per church. We encourage you to think deeply about how this grant could encourage the people of your church to become more involved in the mission of God! Also, in 2026 the Mission and Ministry Committee will be using other discretionary funds to support the college ministries at ISU and UNI.  If your church regularly applies on behalf of those ministries, we encourage you to apply for a different local mission.

The deadline for submission of grant applications is January 31, 2026.

2026 Mission Partnership Grant Application

Ten Iowa Presbyterians (and a young Californian) spent the week of November 15-21 in Agua Prieta, Mexico learning about discipleship and borders with the Presbyterian border ministry Frontera de Cristo. First on our schedule was Sunday worship with the Presbyterian congregation in Agua Prieta, Lirio de los Valles, a guided prayer walk along US/Mexico border, and then dinner with Cynthia and Sam Pendergrast, volunteers with FDC  and with Iowa roots.

Throughout the trip, we studies parts of the Gospel According to Mark – where Jesus crosses “to the other side” of several cultural, political, and other human-made barriers and borders (3:8, 4:35, 5:1, 5:21, 6:45, 7:31, 8:13).

Monday we trekked to the border wall in the Sonoran wilderness to get a “taste” of what migrants encounter in their efforts to reach a safe and secure life. We then met with a few of the border ministries associated with Frontera de Cristo. On Tuesday we participated in the weekly Healing Our Borders Prayer Vigil, where we laid crosses bearing the names of some of the thousands of men and women who died fleeing victimization and poverty, seeking a better life. Along the busy street leading to the border crossing, we bore witness to those who have died, proclaiming their names when known, and recognizing the lives of those as of yet unidentified.

On Wednesday, we visited New Hope Community Center – a collaboration between Frontera de Cristo and the Nuevo Progreso Community. The community center works to improve the quality of life in Agua Prieta by providing educational, cultural, and development activities for the community. In addition, the community center provides after school and summer programming for students struggling academically. Here, volunteer teachers not only help students with their homework, but they work to meet their most basic needs by providing food, school supplies, exercise, love, and support in a safe and welcoming environment. We then visited Centro de Atención al Migrante (CAME), a ministry of the Catholic Church in Agua Prieta. CAME welcomes recently deported migrants – providing shelter and meals. CAME is a place where migrants know they are safe and cared for while they decide what to do next.

On Thursday morning, we met with a U.S. Border Patrol officer, and then had lunch with a retired U.S. Border Patrol officer. They both shared about the challenging nature of their work and its emotional toll on border staff. We then visited Café Justo – a coffee farmer-owned cooperative based in southern Chiapas Mexico, formed to address the poverty and migration from Mexico to the U.S.

On Thursday night, the delegation gave thanks for the faithful service of mission co-workers Miriam Escobar and Mark Adams during a hybrid service of “Thanksgiving and Remembrance.” Miriam and Mark have served the border ministry for 41 combined years. With the changes in World Mission, they will no longer be employed by PCUSA, but will be funded by two local Presbyteries. As Amgad Beblawi shared, “Mark and Miriam’s ministry is one of the most outstanding I have seen. Their witness is nothing less than Christ in community.” The delegation prays our Presbyteries and churches will continue to support them in their vital ministry as in Miriam’s words, “We can’t do anything alone.” We are indeed called to serve together the ones who are rejected and vulnerable.