PC(USA) Guests – A Warm Welcome to Taiwan - The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) prepares to extend the hand of fellowship to the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA) 218th General Assembly on his first international trip during the days 13-17 February 2009. Moderator, Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, his spouse Robin Pugh and their three daughters Evelyn, Abigail and Analise, together with colleagues, Ms Nancy Eng MacNeill – PC(USA) Associate for Peacemaking and Rev. David L Hudson – PC(USA) Area Coordinator Asia and Pacific, arrive Taiwan on Friday afternoon, 13 February to spend a “packed” three days visiting various churches and institutions to learn about the mission and ministries of PCT and the current Taiwan issues. On Sunday, Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow is invited to preach at the Dong-Ning Presbyterian Church, in Tainan while his young family will speak to Sunday School students. Also Rev. David Hudson is invited to preach at the Min-Chu-Lu Presbyterian Church. The Moderator and delegation will visit other partner churches in the region prior and following their stop in Taiwan, namely four days in the Philippines and two days in Hong Kong retuning to the USA on 19th February. Let us pray for Moderator Bruce, his family and colleagues during this busy schedule and especially pray their visit will be one of mutual blessing and nurturing to our respective churches.
Get to know our Guests!
Moderator Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow is an ordained minister since 1995, this 39 years old California native is the founding pastor of Mission Bay Community Church. Bruce's formative years were spent in Sacramento and Stockton where he was truly raised by a family and church village. The grandson of Filipino and Chinese immigrants, Bruce's home church is Trinity Presbyterian Church in Stockton where he was taught the importance of tradition and heritage, service and social justice and the imperative to live one life with a deep sense of gratitude for the reconciling nature of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
He graduated from San Francisco State University with a special major in Asian American Studies, Sociology, and Religion in 1990 and from San Francisco Theological Seminary in 1995. Bruce has served the Presbyterian Church (USA) at all levels over the years as a preacher, worship leader and keynoter. As the main speaker / preacher / talking head at MBCC, Bruce believes that a good message is one that is relevant, compelling, and creates an emotional and intellectual connection between life and faith. He is firmly convicted that life is chaotic and that the key to finding security amidst the chaos is not to put life in a rigidly controlled box, but to embrace and claim God's presence in the ambiguity--a difficult way to live, but a way that honors the authenticity of our lives and strengthens our relationship with God.
As Bruce engages in this journey as Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA) he believes that his experience bridging generations, worldviews and church cultures will uniquely enable him to facilitate conversations that may lead to substantive individual and corporate transformation. At least he hopes so. Bruce has lived in San Francisco since 1989 after growing up in Sacramento and Stockton. He now lives in the Sunnyside district of San Francisco with his wife since 1990, Elder Robin Pugh; and three daughters, Evelyn, Abigail, and Analise. His free time is filled with hanging out in cafes, cheering on those awesome Oakland Athletics, riding his motorcycle whenever he gets a chance and he has been known to blog and hang out on Facebook on occasion.
Ms Robin Pugh is a full time instructor in the Business Department at San Francisco City College, where she has been teaching for the last five years. Robin has an extensive background working with the non-profit world, including organizations funding sustainable international development. Her recent consulting in the field has been with the Homeless Prenatal Program in San Francisco, a multi-service organization that assists parents and their children with housing, food, and job skills.
Robin has also been involved in the work of the Presbyterian Church (USA) at every level. She has served as a session member of her local congregation, on Presbytery committees for Representation and Christian Education and as a delegate to Presbytery. She recently completed a ten year term serving as President of the Board of Directors for the Edge Campus Ministry at San Francisco State University. In 1990 she was also a delegate for the PC(USA) to the World Council of Churches gathering for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation in Seoul, Korea. She served a term on the Advocacy Committee for Women's Concerns in the mid-1990s. She is currently a Co-Director of the Montreat Youth Conferences for the Summer of 2009.
Robin has received a Bachelors Degrees in French and Chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley, and a teaching credential from San Francisco State University. She and her husband, Bruce Reyes-Chow reside in San Francisco, California with their three daughters, Evelyn (12), Abigail (7) and Analise (5).
Ms. Nancy Eng MacNeill serves as the Associate for Peacemaking Conferences for the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A). Nancy coordinates the work of the annual Intergenerational Peacemaking Conference of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), leads workshops , plans and resources various programs and events as deployed staff working from her home in California. She is also a trainer for the Kaleidoscope Institute- building skills for competent leadership in a diverse and changing world.
Prior to joining the Peacemaking Program, she served as the Hunger Action, Peacemaking and Restoring Creation Enabler for Sacramento Presbytery and has served as a Director of Youth Ministries in congregations in Washington, Maryland and California. Nancy has also served as a member of the Ghost Ranch Conference and Retreat Center Governing Board, the General Assembly Council, the former Women’s Ministry Unit, and the Peacemaking Advisory and Women Employed by the Church Committees. Nancy received her master’s degree in Christian Education from Union Theological Seminary and the Presbyterian School of Christian Education (Richmond, VA) and a bachelor’s degree in Religion from Whitworth College (Spokane, WA). A third generation Chinese American, Nancy and her husband Bruce, have a daugther, Kelsey (age 17) and a son Christopher (age 14).
Rev. David L. Hudson was recently appointed (2008-09) as the PC(USA) Area Coordinator for Asia and the Pacific to work with international partners, mission personnel, mission networks and other Presbyterians directly involved in mission in this area.
In addition to their most recent assignment in South Asia as a PC(USA) regional liaison based in India, Hudson and his wife, Susan, have served as PC(USA) mission workers in Pakistan and Korea. They were co-pastors of Bethesda Presbyterian Church in Aberdeen, N.C., before returning to mission service in 2007. David Hudson also has been pastor of Troy (N.C.) Presbyterian Church, interim general presbyter of Peace River Presbytery in Florida, and director of an international exchange program in Atlanta. David earned a B.A. degree from Wake Forest University, an M.Div. and Th.M. from Princeton Theological Seminary and a D.Min. from Columbia T |