Second Presbyterian Makes Major Gift to the PC(USA) Native American and Native Alaskan Peoples Church Building Fund

While participating in the 2023 Presbyterian Peacemaking Travel Study Seminar, Native Lands of the Southwest: The Doctrine of Discovery and its Legacy Today, Dan Ream and Lucretia McCulley of our congregation visited 7 indigenous Presbyterian churches and learned about several needs within their congregations, especially critical repairs for their church buildings. There are 95 indigenous churches in the PCUSA and according to a recent inventory, most of them need new roofs, new HVAC systems, new plumbing and many other improvements. The inventory report listed improvements totaling nearly 6 million dollars.

On September 19th, the Session approved a motion from the Mission and Advocacy Council to make a one-time gift of $10,000 from the Memorial Gifts fund to the PCUSA’s Native American and Native Alaskan Peoples Church Building Fund. As a Matthew 25 congregation, we are dedicated to eradicating systemic poverty, dismantling structural racism and building congregational vitality.  Our gift to renovate Native American churches will address all of these tenets, especially dismantling structural racism.  By supporting this Fund, we will be assisting with dismantling the legacy of indigenous peoples losing their land, culture and language.