Save the Date!

The next stated Presbytery meeting will be

Saturday, August 22, 2026 | Start Time – TBD

This meeting will be held at

First Presbyterian Church,

400 Lakeview Road, Mexico, MO.

Stay tuned for registration details!

Evelyn Bedell Nominations

Now Being Accepted

Each year Missouri Union Presbytery recognizes the contribution of older adults to its work and ministry by presenting Evelyn Bedell awards to outstanding older adults. Individuals are honored for their faithfulness in a congregation or for Presbytery-wide service. The award is named for Evelyn Bedell, who demonstrated the energy, imagination, intelligence and love with which a person of any age can serve the church. Evelyn came out of retirement to attend San Francisco Theological Seminary and at the age 72 was ordained by Missouri Union Presbytery as the "Tentmaker Pastor" for Bellflower Presbyterian Church.

Please note, parameters for nominations have been revised. Only one nomination per church will be accepted with all recommendations coming through session. 

Please click below to submit your nominations. Nominations must be received

no later than July 16, 2026.

Missouri Union Presbytery plans to honor all Evelyn Bedell award recipients at the August 22nd Presbytery meeting at First Presbyterian Church in Mexico.

227th General Assembly of the PC USA

This month, the 227th General Assembly of the PCUSA meets in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Rev. Dr. Kati Collins (FPC-Columbia) and Elder Sami Shirk (FPC-Kirksville) are the two commissioners from Missouri Union Presbytery.

They have already spent hours in training and orientation sessions in preparation for their work at the assembly. They will be attending committee meetings via Zoom from June 22 to June 24 and attending meetings in Milwaukee, June 27 – July 2.

It’s an arduous, but extremely important service to the church. As they prepare and embark on this journey, please keep them and the Assembly in your prayers.

For those of you not familiar with this process, here’s how it works –

1. Our Presbyterian Polity is designed to be governed by representative councils made up of Ruling Elders and Ministers of the Word and Sacrament.
2. The session is the ruling body of a congregation, made up of elders elected by a congregation. It usually meets monthly. Session votes one of its members to attend and vote at Presbytery meetings.
3. The presbytery is the ruling body of a specific geographic area of the country, made up of all Ministers of the Word and elder commissioners elected by each session. It usually meets quarterly. Presbytery votes for four people to represent them at Synod meetings. Presbytery also votes for three people to represent them at General Assembly meetings every two years.
4. The synod is a supporting rather than a ruling body, the purpose of which is to resource a geographic grouping of presbyteries. It is made up of minister and elder commissioners from each presbytery within its bounds. It meets twice a year.
5. The General Assembly is made up of ministers and elder commissioners from every presbytery in the PCUSA, including Puerto Rico. It meets every other year. “We” are GA.

Updated One Mission Giving Remittance Form

In case you didn’t receive correspondence from PC USA or our earlier correspondence to clerks and treasurers, as of January 1st changes were made to some of their Special Offerings -

1. The Pentecost Offering will no longer be received. If you submit a gift for the Pentecost offering, it will be recorded as a gift to Christmas Joy.
2. The Peace & Global Witness offering will also no longer be received and has been replaced with a new offering - World Communion Offering. If gifts are remitted for the Peace & Global Witness Offering or its predecessor, the Peacemaking Offering, those offerings will be received as a gift for the World Communion Offering.
3. The One Great Hour of Sharing offering remains the same.

Due to these changes, a revised One Mission Giving Remittance Form was created earlier this year and sent to all clerks and treasurers. Please be sure to share the attached form with the appropriate person to ensure the correct form and offerings are being used.

July 2026 Prayer Circle

Holy One, Creator of all that is, Lord and Savior of us all and sweet Spirit of grace, comfort and guidance,



We pray for our presbytery, Missouri Union. We are so blessed with faithful, gracious and dedicated people in our congregations. They serve you with grateful hearts often making a huge difference in their communities and beyond. Continue to help us thrive, to deepen our faith, to continue to reach out to all those Jesus loves, especially when they are abandoned, ignored or ridiculed by others. Bless us with good leadership, with the emergence of younger leaders to walk with us in faith and service to you. Especially listen and respond to the congregations who are looking for pastoral leadership. We know you will answer each one’s prayer. Amen.

Save the Dates:

Elder & Deacon Training

October 22 and 29 via Zoom

6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Plan to attend both sessions!

Zoom link will be provided closer to training dates.

Training for all elders and deacons currently serving in our congregations and those who are considering serving again or for the first time.

Note to Nominating Committees: If you have people who are not sure about saying yes to God's call to be a church officer, this is the perfect place to send them to clarify what they would be doing and what it means to become an officer of the church.

There will be great information, tricks of the trade, funny stories, laughter, deep prayers, scripture, good use of the Book of Order, and significant discussions.

If you are a church member within the boundaries of Missouri Union Presbytery and want to join us, please plan to attend!

Theological Education Discussion

PLEASE NOTE DATE CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS NEWSLETTER!

Saturday, August 8 – 6:00 p.m.

First Presbyterian Church, 400 Lakeview Rd., Mexico, MO

The need for pastoral leadership is undeniable. There are 49 churches in our Presbytery. At our last Presbytery meeting, Elder Chalfant reminded us that in our Presbytery, we have:

5 churches with called and installed PC USA pastors

8 churches with PC USA part time or interim pastors

4 churches with part time/interim non-PCUSA pastors

10 churches with pastors who are fully commissioned CREs

4 churches with elders serving as worship leaders

19 congregations with no pastor (use a rotation of pastors or are using internet resources to fill their pulpits

9 (soon to be 10) have Pastor Nominating Committees working

In order to have pastoral leadership, theological education is necessary. Please, please, please come hear Rev. Dr. Andrew Pomerville, President of Louisville Theological Presbyterian Seminary, speak about the need and how we can help address it. 

Dr. Pomerville will host an open event at First Presbyterian Church, 400 Lakeview Road, in Mexico, MO on Saturday, August 8 at 6 p.m. (Light snacks provided.) He will also preach at Mexico on Sunday, August 9^th at 9 a.m. This is a fantastic opportunity for our Presbytery to be on the ground floor of helping in this vital matter of church leadership.

If you can RSVP to office@mexicofpc.com, great. But if you don't get your RSVP submitted in time, come on by anyway. We'll make extra snacks!

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