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Pastor's
Office Hours: Monday-Thursday, 9:00am to1pm. Contact: 867-5718 or
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Rev.
Elizabeth Lyman
 The Session of Las Placitas Presbyterian Church and its Interim Pastor
Search Committee is pleased to announce the hiring of the Rev.
Elizabeth Lyman, a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and a
specialist in transition ministry to be our “Transitional” Pastor.
Elizabeth will begin work on January 15, 2008, and will preach for the first time
on January 20.
Please note the subtle shift in terminology from Interim
to Transition. This is a time
of change for our congregation and, as Jane pointed out at the time of
her retirement, should not be hastened or taken lightly. It is a time of
discernment for all of us, a time to explore who we are as a
congregation, what we want to be in light of God’s word to us and the
changes going on in the community around us—and how we hope to get
there.
As you will discover from Rev Lyman’s letter of introduction to the
congregation (below), she is a highly trained and experienced leader,
ideally equipped to help us through this process so that we will know
more clearly our identity and mission We should expect that Elizabeth
will be with us at Las Placitas Church for at least 18 months to 2 years
as this process of self-study and search is completed. ALL of us will be
involved as much as we want to be in
working with her in developing an effective transition plan for our
future.
Let’s welcome Elizabeth and help her in any way we can as she transitions into our community and
then leads us in the transition of our congregation!
Click
here to see photos of Pastor
Elizabeth's first service at LPPC 1/20/2008.
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Children's
Sermon 1/27/08 "Fishing"
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LETTER FROM ELIZABETH
LYMAN, Nov 2007
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Dear Las Placitas friends,
I am very excited that Session and the
Committee on Ministry have called me to be your minister for this time
of transition. While I will spend much time speaking to you about what
transitional ministry entails further on, but I thought it might help to
give you some background on who I am.
I grew up in a Presbyterian home in NJ,
the youngest of six children. My mother was the first woman to be
ordained as an elder in the state of NJ and the first woman to serve as
a moderator of Newton Presbytery in NJ. My brother, Jim is also a
Presbyterian minister. It would be easy to say that I fell into the
Presbyterian track from the beginning, but there were many detours along
the way. The truth is that my loving God never let go, despite the times
I tried to turn away.
I was an extremely rebellious young woman
who did leave the church and her Christian upbringing behind. I needed
to hit a physical, mental and spiritual bottom before God could do much
with me. But, through the grace of God and the love of Jesus, I did, as
it says in the prodigal son story, “come to my senses” and begin the
journey home. That journey included exploring a variety of religious
expressions before choosing to be Presbyterian again. My journey has
included both a marriage and the birth of a beautiful son who is now a
sophomore in college. It also includes sadly, a divorce.
When I turned 40, I started at Princeton
Theological Seminary, planning to become a pastoral counselor. I was
then given the life-changing experience of an internship at St. Andrew’s
PCEA in Nairobi, Kenya in the spring/summer of 1997. That internship
totally changed my ministry. I knew that I wanted to be in a church as a
pastor. I have never changed my mind or heart as to the nature of my
calling.
I have served in both installed and
transitional pastorates. My passion and training is in transformation
and transitioning of congregations. I am a certified
interim/transitional pastor and have taken additional training in
dealing with congregations in crisis. I served as the director of the
Shenandoah Transformation and Redevelopment Network in Shenandoah
Presbytery for 4 years and as the chair of Committee on Church
Development for 3 years. I coordinated a Synod wide workshop on multi-culturalism
and diversity for churches and have attended the Multi-Cultural
Institute at Ghost Ranch. My own learning edge is in congregational
systems theory; I am a facilitator for Peter Steinke’s Healthy
Congregations workshops. This year, I had the opportunity to become a
congregational conflict mediator. I believe this will further enrich my
ministry.
Two years ago, I had the unique
opportunity to assist Presbyterian Disaster Assistance with setting up
the Volunteer Villages in Louisiana and Mississippi and serving as the
temporary Village Coordinator for all eight Villages. This past year, I
served as transitional co-pastor at St. Mark’s in Tucson, a 450 member
church with strong social justice programs. Las Placitas will be my
fourth transitional ministry.
The story of accomplishments is never all
a person is. I am a mother of a college-age son, a poet, a gardener, a
lover of music and books. I am very excited about God calling me to
continue in transitional ministry at Las Placitas. I see our work (and
play) at Las Placitas to be about honoring your rich past, strengthening
your vital present and listening to that still, small voice of God about
your exciting future.
Grace and Peace to you all,
Elizabeth Lyman
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From the Pastor’s
Study—Visions, August 17, 2008
“…for I was
hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me
something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was
naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of
me, I was in prison and you visited me…Truly I tell you, just as
you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my
family, you did it to me.”
—Matthew 25:35ff
Over 70 of you stayed after church for
Coffee and Conversation on June 8th. We sat and talked and looked
for ways that the Holy Spirit is opening doors for us to carry out
the words of Jesus. All sorts of ideas came up, ways to reach out
locally and globally.
We began ‘to dream dreams and to see
visions’—visions of how we are being called into more hands-on
local mission than we have been before. In a time when it would be
very easy to justify ‘circling the wagons’ and waiting until
better economic times, LPPC members were reaffirming their faith
in the abundance of God’s economy, rather than the scarcity of the
secular world.
This is an extraordinarily
countercultural move. The stuff that is the mark of true faith.
Since that meeting, many things have
happened. The ‘pink house’ has been renamed Casa Rosa and
is just about ready to open as our
food pantry. This is only
the first step to developing a comprehensive local
outreach/mission. Our Casa Rosa oversight team, led by Ellen B,
met with local residents and representatives of Empowering Our
Communities in New Mexico and Sandoval Circles of Care,
to truly begin to craft programs that are needed here in Placitas.
Out of what we learned in that
meeting, we are looking at ways to add basic health services, some
educational programs, a ride-sharing program and a
resource/communication center for local residents. A team of
dedicated LPPC volunteers has been sprucing up Casa Rosa and
placing the donated food on the shelves. We will dedicate
Casa Rosa on August 30th
at 9:30 am. Please come and join us.
The LPPC
Mission Committee is looking very seriously at all the input
from that June meeting and finding ways to implement many of your
suggestions, while at the same time carrying on our ongoing
commitment to Storehouse West, Habitat for Humanity, Just Coffee,
Haven House and others.
Membership
is finding ways to share this good news of the wonderful things
happening at LPPC with a larger number of people. We have
reconnected in many positive ways with Mom’s Day out, including
hosting a successful preschool Vacation Bible School for our
children and those from MDO.
Our
Stewardship Dream Team is finding ways to celebrate the
extraordinary commitments of all our members to the work of God
from activities at LPPC to the rest of the world. Look for more
Coffee and Conversation opportunities so we get everyone’s sense
of calling for LPPC.
Christian
Education for Youth and Children did some great events this
summer and has a strong program planned for the fall, including
the reincorporation of a Jr/Sr high youth program to take place
the first Sunday of each month. Plans include a mission trip for
those involved in First Sunday in the spring.
To accomplish these visionary
ministries requires that we be working together as efficiently as
possible. A task force is looking at church structure to see if
there are places where our current committees overlap and will
make recommendations on how we can better carry out the work God
has called us to do.
The Adult
Education and Faith Development committee also has been busy
this summer. A strong series of Adult forum programs for Sunday
morning is already planned, as is an exciting retreat on personal
spiritual direction for November. Ten people spent most Wednesdays
of the summer in an in-depth study of the Gospel of Matthew. It
was a lot of fun.
And don’t forget, there is a new
commercial refrigerator in our
kitchen, the floors have been redone and a new hand washing sink
is going in this month!
It is a truly exciting time for LPPC—the
church that has always had a strong heart and strong hands for the
work of God.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor
Elizabeth |
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From Pastor Elizabeth at the General Assembly
in San Jose, 6/23/08: |
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"To do justice, to love kindness, and
to walk humbly with God" is the theme of this year's General
Assembly. It has a far more missional feel than many others I
have been to, and that is a very good thing.
I have attended meals and worship
events, business meetings and small discussions. I have met up
with old friends and discovered new ways that I can help LPPC as
it moves forward.
But, the moments of grace are what stay
in my mind. The award to Rev. Ann Hayman for her ministry of over
28 years as the founder of the Mary Magdalene Project - a place of
safety and renewal and rebirth for prostitutes in LA. The stories
she tells of lives changed and hope recovered.
Witnessing the marriage of a gay couple
during one of the dinners here. A couple that could finally
legalize the blessing ceremony they had 18 years ago. Rejoicing in
that impromptu wedding feast.
Watching the excitement as Bruce Reyes
- Chow was elected Moderator. A 39 year -old pastor of a new
church development in San Francisco. He was so honest and yet so
full of compassion during the interviews before the vote - that
folks on both sides of many issues were excited at his election.
The extraordinary worship service on
Sunday that united over 7000 Presbyterians in prayer and praise to
God. Communion with so many - the movement of the Holy Spirit in
that diverse group - where we celebrate that which binds us
together, so we may in love discuss that which has the potential
to divide.
Today, I have spent the day
volunteering for the Covenant Network. I am sitting in the
tracking room for that organization and helping the overture
advocates stay on top of the constantly moving series of overtures
and resolutions that come before General Assembly. The work I am
doing is being done by 100s of volunteers out all over San Jose.
One begins to get a realization of the intricate nature of a
gathering such as this.
At lunch today, I went to the gathering
of the National Association of Presbyterian Clergywomen. Rev.
Harriet Nelson, former moderator of GA, told a story of going back
to her home church - and after all the hype and 'we're so proud of
you' conversations, one of the matriarchs of the church approached
her and asked quietly, "Harriet, how is it with your soul?"
Harriet replied that her soul was fine and returned the question.
The matriarch replied quietly, "My soul is somewhere between,
"Lord, have mercy! and Thank-you, Jesus!""
As it is for all of us, sister. As it
is for all of us.
Grace and Peace to my LPPC family,
Elizabeth |
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| From
the Pastor’s Study—On Water
June, 2008: |
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. . . for I give water in the
wilderness, rivers in the desert, drink to my people.
—Isaiah 43:20
Water is always a key concern for all
who live in the desert. We are keenly aware of water rights and
the effect of increased population on water availability. Yet, the
problem is not just about how we conserve water here in Placitas,
but what is going to happen to the supplies of clean water (or any
water) globally over the next decade. Water wars in the future may
make the current oil wars seem like a neighborhood scuffle.
Consider these current realities
described on the June WaterAid website:
• 1.1 billion people worldwide do
not have access to safe water—roughly one-sixth (17%) of the
world’s population.
• 2.6 billion people do not have
access to adequate sanitation—about two-fifths (40%) of the
world’s population.
• 1.8 million children die every
year as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor
sanitation—this amounts to around 5,000 deaths a day.
How do we respond as people of faith to
this looming crisis? During July, we will explore water and
justice themes in scripture, looking at ways we can respond to
make a difference. Please join us for worship on Sundays at 9:15.
. . . for I will pour water on the
thirsty land and streams upon the dry ground.
—Isaiah 44:3
Blessings,
Elizabeth |
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