Neal D. Presa
type: channel
description: Pastor | Ecumenist | Theologian | Professor
date: 2025-02-24T05:03:05Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
generator agent: https://wordpress.org/
items: https://nealpresa.com/1247-2
items: A Common Statement of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Moderators & Vice Moderators of General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
items: NDP on Good Morning San Diego
items: https://nealpresa.com/958-2
items: Lord’s Day 42 (Q/A 110-111): STEWARDSHIP OF GENEROSITY
items: Lord’s Day 41 (Q/A 108-109): BEING SINGLE
items: Lord’s Day 40 (Q/A 105-107): DIGNIFYING DIFFERENCE
items: Lord’s Day 39 (Q/A 104): SLAVE TO NO ONE, SERVANT OF CHRIST
items: Lord’s Day 38 (Q/A 103): ALWAYS A PACIFIC GUY
items: Lord’s Day 37 (Q/A 101-102): YOU ARE MY WITNESS

https://nealpresa.com/1247-2
type: item
creator: Neal Presa
date: 2025-02-24T05:03:04Z
subject: Uncategorized
subject: Executive Orders
subject: justice
description: “On Executive Orders” – February 21, 2025 A Pastoral Letter to the Presbytery of San Jose Dear Siblings in the Faith, Colleagues in Ministry, and Friends of the Presbytery of San Jose, Grace and peace in the name of the holy God, revealed in Jesus Christ our Liberator, in the transformative breath of Holy Spirit! … Continue reading ""
encoded: “On Executive Orders” – February 21, 2025 A Pastoral Letter to the Presbytery of San Jose Dear Siblings in the Faith, Colleagues in Ministry, and Friends of the Presbytery of San Jose, Grace and peace in the name of the holy God, revealed in Jesus Christ our Liberator, in the transformative breath of Holy Spirit! This week, specifically February 19th, marks the 83rd year since the fateful signing of and issuance by President Franklin Roosevelt’s of Executive Order 9066. On that day, through the stroke of a pen, the president directed hundreds of thousands of Japanese Americans to be forcibly detained, separated from their homes and families, and imprisoned at a series of internment camps in the Western United States. I have attached here some photos Grace and I took when we visited one of those camps, Manzanar, a couple years back. As many of you know, I grew up in San Bruno. Our family frequented the Tanforan Mall, which was once upon a time a racetrack. Manzanar has an exhibit that described how that same Tanforan racetrack was used as one of several processing centers where Japanese Americans would be registered and then shipped off to any one of a number of internment camps. These fellow citizens were not afforded due process, not regarded with dignity as human beings, and subjected to the suspicion and terror of the federal government, all in the name and under the pretext of “national security” and preserving American interests. This is Day 33 into this new presidential administration. The sheer volume and velocity of executive orders being issued by President Trump and being implemented have created a situation of chaos, fear, and fomented conditions where real lives are being adversely affected, migrant communities are vulnerable more than they were already, LGBTQIA+ persons’ identities have been eviscerated, constitutional checks and balances that provided a semblance of trust in our institutions are now questionable, global alliances are threatened, Americ…

A Common Statement of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Moderators & Vice Moderators of General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
type: item
creator: Neal Presa
date: 2021-03-27T08:02:33Z
subject: Uncategorized
subject: AAPI
subject: Asian
subject: Asian American
subject: Presbyterian
subject: StopAAPIHate
subject: StopHate
description: A STATEMENT FROM THE ASIAN AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLANDER (AAPI) MODERATORS & VICE MODERATORS OF GENERAL ASSEMBLIES OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (U.S.A.) Dear Siblings and Friends of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Grace and peace to you in the name of the One who was born in, crucified at, and risen from the westernmost land of the … Continue reading "A Common Statement of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Moderators & Vice Moderators of General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)"
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NDP on Good Morning San Diego
type: item
creator: mstrlocke
date: 2018-02-14T17:55:39Z
subject: Uncategorized
description: Watch the full interview here: http://www.kusi.com/village-churchs-faith-work-initiative/
encoded: Watch the full interview here: http://www.kusi.com/village-churchs-faith-work-initiative/

https://nealpresa.com/958-2
type: item
creator: Neal Presa
date: 2017-08-29T01:01:32Z
subject: Uncategorized
description: Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Friends, Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer and Reconciler. We write to you as former Moderators of the General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its predecessor churches, as disciples of Jesus Christ committed to the Gospel’s witness and … Continue reading ""
encoded: Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Friends, Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer and Reconciler. We write to you as former Moderators of the General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its predecessor churches, as disciples of Jesus Christ committed to the Gospel’s witness and promise of reconciliation, and as agents of God’s transformative justice in the church and in the world. The brazen march of white nationalist supremacist groups in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 11 and 12, 2017, and President Donald Trump’s subsequent responses that equivocated on clearly identifying, denouncing and condemning those same groups as instigators of hatred and violence brought the spotlight upon the deeply embedded and pernicious poison of racism and white supremacy so endemic in society and, we dare say, in the church. We are increasingly alarmed when notions of nationalism and racial superiority are masked and clothed in terms of the Christian faith, or confused with the Gospel, or somehow supersede the clear exhortation of sacred Scripture to love your neighbor as Christ loved the Church, or when the Christian faith is used to inspire and organize hatred and bigotry. We are wisely instructed by the struggles of our faith forebearers when fascism in the form of Nazism was on the rise in the 1930s, resulting in the Theological Declaration of Barmen, which categorically and emphatically denounced the effects of Nazism in the church and in society: “. . .we may and must speak with one voice in this matter today. Precisely because we want to be and to remain faithful to our various Confessions, we may not keep silent, since we believe that we have been given a common message to utter in a time of common need and temptation.” Then again, nearly four decades ago, our South African sisters and brothers stood courageously against the white governmental policy of apartheid and the theologies that undergirded an…

Lord’s Day 42 (Q/A 110-111): STEWARDSHIP OF GENEROSITY
type: item
creator: gracenote1230
date: 2014-05-15T05:48:54Z
subject: Heidelberg
description: 110 Q. What does God forbid in the eighth commandment? A. God forbids not only outright theft^1 and robbery,^2 punishable by law. But in God’s sight theft also includes all scheming and swindling in order to get our neighbor’s goods for ourselves, whether by force or means that appear legitimate,^3 such as inaccurate measurements of weight,^4 … Continue reading "Lord’s Day 42 (Q/A 110-111): STEWARDSHIP OF GENEROSITY"
encoded: 110 Q. What does God forbid in the eighth commandment? A. God forbids not only outright theft^1 and robbery,^2 punishable by law. But in God’s sight theft also includes all scheming and swindling in order to get our neighbor’s goods for ourselves, whether by force or means that appear legitimate,^3 such as inaccurate measurements of weight,^4 size, or volume;^5 fraudulent merchandising; counterfeit money;^6 excessive interest; or any other means forbidden by God. In addition God forbids all greed^7 and pointless squandering of his gifts.^8 ^1 1 Cor. 6:10 ^2 1 Cor. 5:10 ^3 Luke 3:14; 1Thess. 4:6 ^4 Prov. 11:1; 16:11 ^5 Ezek. 45:9[-11]; Deut. 25:13[-16] ^6 Ps. 15:5; Luke 6:35 ^7 1 Cor. 6:10 ^8 Prov. 5:16 111 Q. What does God require of you in this commandment?That I do whatever I can A. That I do whatever I can for my neighbor’s good, that I treat others as I would like them to treat me,^1 and that I work faithfully so that I may share with those in need.^2 ^1 Matt. 7:12 ^2Eph. 4:28 LORD’S DAY 42 (Q/A 110-111) “Stewardship of Generosity” It is true that we can feel overwhelmed with the enormous amount of need, feeling like we must do everything to help, and we end up scrambling to do anything that we end up doing nothing. A generous spirit doesn’t assess the quantifiable; a generous spirit just gives. This is not reckless abandonment; we are to be wise with our resources. Yet when we are conditioned to take, to stand up for our rights, to seek that which we feel we are entitled to or what we are told we are entitled to, we miss out on opportunities to share in that which God supplies. Why share? Yes, because God desires for us to give what we have freely received. Yes, because if you have that which your neighbor needs you have a moral responsibility to assist in his/her need. And yes, our mothers and grandmothers are right…stealing is just plain bad, giving is just plain good. But lest we all of a sudden become generous philanthropists (which would be great) for char…

Lord’s Day 41 (Q/A 108-109): BEING SINGLE
type: item
creator: gracenote1230
date: 2014-04-19T05:43:29Z
subject: Heidelberg
description: 108 Q. What does the seventh commandment teach us? A. That God condemns all unchastity,^1 and that therefore we should thoroughly detest it^2 and live decent and chaste lives,^3 within or outside of the holy state of marriage.^4 ^1 Lev. 18:27-28 ^2 Jude 23 ^3 1 Thess. 4:3-5 ^4 Heb. 13:4; 1 Cor. 7 109 Q. … Continue reading "Lord’s Day 41 (Q/A 108-109): BEING SINGLE"
encoded: 108 Q. What does the seventh commandment teach us? A. That God condemns all unchastity,^1 and that therefore we should thoroughly detest it^2 and live decent and chaste lives,^3 within or outside of the holy state of marriage.^4 ^1 Lev. 18:27-28 ^2 Jude 23 ^3 1 Thess. 4:3-5 ^4 Heb. 13:4; 1 Cor. 7 109 Q. Does God, in this commandment, forbid only such scandalous sins as adultery? A. We are temples of the Holy Spirit, body and soul, and God wants both to be kept clean and holy. That is why God forbids all unchaste actions, looks, talk,^1 thoughts, or desires,^2 and whatever may incite someone to them.^3 ^1 Eph. 5:3-4; 1 Cor. 6:18-20 ^2 Matt. 5:[27-28] ^3 Eph. 5:18; 1 Cor. 15:33 LORD’S DAY 41 (Q/A 108-109) “Being Single” This isn’t a reflection to extol living a single life as a bachelor, nor is it a reflection to extol being married; I commend both, as one who was a bachelor and as who is married with children. I was blessed as a bachelor, and I am blessed as a married guy. Being single is not for everyone, as is being married is not for everyone. Both are gifts from God, and, as such, are to be treasured, honored, and received with thanksgiving. Both also share a common trait: both are callings/vocations, and, as such, are intended to strengthen and deepen our relationship with God. In this upward sense, whether as a bachelor/bachelorette, widow, widower, divorced, or (re-)married, is your particular relational vocation glorifying God, and, enabling you a greater delight in your relationship with God; in short, is your mind, heart, and body singularly focused on God and delighting in God? Q/A 108 and 109 discuss the seventh commandment’s prohibition on committing adultery. As the Decalogue, in each and in toto, is an expression of God’s character, the seventh commandment expresses the jealousy of God, the singular focus that God has upon us, God’s desire to be worshipped and glorified by God’s creation, not because of a divine narcissism or a divine necessity, but ou…

Lord’s Day 40 (Q/A 105-107): DIGNIFYING DIFFERENCE
type: item
creator: gracenote1230
date: 2014-04-19T05:37:06Z
subject: Heidelberg
description: 105 Q. What is God’s will for you in the sixth commandment? A. I am not to belittle, hate, insult, or kill my neighbor— not by my thoughts, my words, my look or gesture, and certainly not by actual deeds—^1 and I am not to be party to this in others; rather, I am to put … Continue reading "Lord’s Day 40 (Q/A 105-107): DIGNIFYING DIFFERENCE"
encoded: 105 Q. What is God’s will for you in the sixth commandment? A. I am not to belittle, hate, insult, or kill my neighbor— not by my thoughts, my words, my look or gesture, and certainly not by actual deeds—^1 and I am not to be party to this in others; rather, I am to put away all desire for revenge.^2 I am not to harm or recklessly endanger myself either. ^3 Prevention of murder is also why government is armed with the sword.^4 ^1 Matt. 5:21-22;Gen. 9:6; Matt. 26:52 ^2 Eph. 4:26; Rom. 12:19; Matt. 5:25; 18:35 ^3 Rom. 13:14; Col. 2:23; Sirach 3:27*; Matt. 4:7 ^4 Gen. 9:6; Exod. 21:14; Matt. 26:52; Rom. 13:4 *Sirach is a deutero-canonical book, treated with respect but not as canonical by the 16th century reformers. 106 Q. Does this commandment refer only to murder? A. By forbidding murder God teaches us that he hates the root of murder: envy,^1 hatred,^2 anger,^3 vindictiveness. In God’s sight all such are disguised forms of murder.^4 ^1 Rom. 1:29 ^2 1 John 2:9,11 ^3 James 2:[13]; 1:20; Gal. 5:20 ^4 1 John 3:15 107 Q. Is it enough then that we do not murder our neighbor in any such way? A. No. By condemning envy, hatred, and anger God wants us to love our neighbors as ourselves,^1 to be patient, peace-loving, gentle,^2 merciful,^3 and friendly toward them,^4 to protect them from harm as much as we can,^5 and to do good even to our enemies.^6 ^1 Matt. 22:39; 7:12 ^2 Eph. 4:2; Gal. 6:1-2; Matt. 5:9; Rom. 12:18 ^3 Matt. 5:7; Luke 6:36 ^4 Rom. 12:10 ^5 Exod. 23:5 ^6 Matt. 5:44-45; Rom. 12:20-21 LORD’S DAY 40 (Q/A 105-107) “Dignifying Difference” Following the tragic events of the 9/11 attacks, the wise insights of the former Chief Rabbi of London, Sir Jonathan Sacks, provided a faith-based, robust framework to engage difference. In his book The Dignity of Difference: How to Avoid a Clash of Civilizations, Sacks prescribed that we as a human race must move beyond mere toleration of differences of beliefs and perspectives, and move towards dignifying difference. What it bec…

Lord’s Day 39 (Q/A 104): SLAVE TO NO ONE, SERVANT OF CHRIST
type: item
creator: admin
date: 2014-04-18T20:45:29Z
subject: Heidelberg
description: 104 Q. What is God’s will for you in the fifth commandment? A. That I honor, love, and be loyal to my father and mother and all those in authority over me;^1 that I submit myself with proper obedience to all their good teaching and discipline; and also … Continue reading "Lord’s Day 39 (Q/A 104): SLAVE TO NO ONE, SERVANT OF CHRIST"
encoded: 104 Q. What is God’s will for you in the fifth commandment? A. That I honor, love, and be loyal to my father and mother and all those in authority over me;^1 that I submit myself with proper obedience to all their good teaching and discipline; and also that I be patient with their failings—^2 for through them God chooses to rule us.^3 ^1 Eph. 6:1[-9]; Col. 3:18, 20-24; Eph. 5:22; Prov. 1:8; 4:1; 15:20; 20:20; Exod. 21:17; Rom. 13:[1-5] ^2 Prov. 23:22; Gen. 9:25; 1 Pet. 2:18 ^3 Eph. 6:4,9; Col. 3:19, 21; Rom. 13:[1-5]; Matt. 22:21 LORD’S DAY 39 (Q/A 104) “Slave to No One, Servant of Christ” This Q/A, and several of the Scriptural proof-texts attached to Q/A 104, have been abused by slaveholders/slavemasters to oppress and dehumanize their subjects; it’s been used to subjugate whole nations; it’s been misused to rationalize abusive relationships and domestic violence. Lord Acton’s apt observation holds true: “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In human hands and in the human will, we take God’s good gifts and twist it for our own ends and our own purposes; by dehumanizing our neighbor, we dehumanize ourselves, and become monstrous savages who commodify people, who monetize our relationships for our own ends. Despite the misuses and abuses of the fifth commandment, Q/A 104’s explication of it, and the Scriptural proof-texts appended therein, there is great value in what is being said. Do we honor our parents (or those whom we regard as our parents), whether they are living or dead, in what we do, in what we say. Would they be proud of your action or your speech? There’s a delight I have in seeing how my sons give me so many chances to throw a baseball or football, like as if we were playing for the first time. As my sons mature and grow in their strength and accuracy, they’ve already come to know what I’ve lived with all my life – I’m not a Babe Ruth, nor am I a Joe Montana. And with them, that’s ok. They give me the chance to throw yet another ball –…

Lord’s Day 38 (Q/A 103): ALWAYS A PACIFIC GUY
type: item
creator: gracenote1230
date: 2014-03-18T04:14:33Z
subject: Heidelberg
subject: Uncategorized
description: 103 Q. What is God’s will for you in the fourth commandment? A. First, that the gospel ministry and education for it be maintained,^1 and that, especially on the festive day of rest, I diligently attend the assembly of God’s people^2 to learn what God’s Word teaches,^3 to participate in the sacraments,^4 to pray to … Continue reading "Lord’s Day 38 (Q/A 103): ALWAYS A PACIFIC GUY"
encoded: 103 Q. What is God’s will for you in the fourth commandment? A. First, that the gospel ministry and education for it be maintained,^1 and that, especially on the festive day of rest, I diligently attend the assembly of God’s people^2 to learn what God’s Word teaches,^3 to participate in the sacraments,^4 to pray to God publicly,^5 and to bring Christian offerings for the poor.^6 Second, that every day of my life I rest from my evil ways, let the Lord work in me through his Spirit, and so begin in this life the eternal Sabbath.^7 ^1 Titus 1:5; 1 Tim. 3[:1]; 4:13; 5:17; 1 Cor. 9:11, 13-14; 2 Tim. 2:2; 3:15 ^2 Ps. 68:27; 40:10-11; Acts [2]:42, 46 ^3 1 Cor. 14:19, 29, 31 ^4 1 Cor. 11:33 ^5 1 Tim. 2:1-3,8-9; 1 Cor. 14:16 ^6 1 Cor. 16:2 ^7 Isa. 66:23 LORD’S DAY 38 (Q/A 103) “Always a Pacific Guy” In an ordination service for a teaching elder/minister of Word and Sacrament, there is a moment where there is a giving of the symbols of office (the so-called traditio symboli instrumentorum). This time involves immediate family members or a close friend giving the newly ordained minister a liturgical stole, a cross, a Bible, and, almost always, a liturgical robe. The investing of these symbols of office collectively express that the ordinand is now ready to function as teaching elder, carrying with her the blessing and prayers of the community, and expressing upon him the community’s confirmation of God’s calling. On the occasion of my ordination, my parents and parents in-law placed a black Genevan gown on me. This was then followed by words from a dear friend of mine and a ministry colleague who exhorted me to never forget that underneath my ministerial garb and the trappings of the ordained office, I am a man, a Pacific guy, a boy from the islands. (I was born in Guam if you didn’t know) His was a necessary reminder then, and everyday since then, that my core identity is as a child of God who entered this world at that little island in the Pacific. When I reflect upon Q/A 10…

Lord’s Day 37 (Q/A 101-102): YOU ARE MY WITNESS
type: item
creator: gracenote1230
date: 2014-03-18T04:04:55Z
subject: Heidelberg
subject: Uncategorized
description: 101 Q. But may we swear an oath in God’s name if we do it reverently? A. Yes, when the government demands it, or when necessity requires it, in order to maintain and promote truth and trustworthiness for God’s glory and our neighbor’s good. Such oaths are grounded in God’s Word^1 and were rightly used … Continue reading "Lord’s Day 37 (Q/A 101-102): YOU ARE MY WITNESS"
encoded: 101 Q. But may we swear an oath in God’s name if we do it reverently? A. Yes, when the government demands it, or when necessity requires it, in order to maintain and promote truth and trustworthiness for God’s glory and our neighbor’s good. Such oaths are grounded in God’s Word^1 and were rightly used by the people of God in the Old and New Testaments.^2 ^1 Deut. 6:13; 10:20; Isa. 48:1; Heb. 6:16 ^2 Gen. 21:24; 31:53; Josh. 9:15, 19; 1 Sam.24:[21-22]; 2 Sam. 3:35; 1 Kings 1:29; Rom. 1:9; 2 Cor. 1:23 102 Q. May we also swear by saints or other creatures? A. No. A legitimate oath means calling upon God as the only one who knows my heart to witness to my truthfulness and to punish me if I swear falsely.^1 No creature is worthy of such honor.^2 ^1 2Cor. 1:23 ^2 Matt. 5:34-36; James 5:12 LORD’S DAY 37 (Q/A 101-102) “You are my witness” Read the story of the patriarch Jacob (Abraham’s son) and how he labored many years to win the hand of Rachel, Laban’s daughter. I’m struck by how Jacob toiled beyond the agreed upon time, with no textual indication that he resisted or justified himself towards Laban. Only after Laban cheats him for the Nth time does Jacob tell Laban how terrible he had been treated. (Genesis 31:1-8ff) Fast forward to Jacob’s son, Joseph, the one sold to Midianite traders. Upon being entrusted in a leadership post in Potiphar’s (a captain of Pharaoh’s guard) household, Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph. Joseph resisted but Potiphar’s wife falsely accused Joseph and he was summarily imprisoned. The text said, “But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love” (Genesis 39:21a) We cast our common lot with politicians in wanting to self-justify ourselves and try our best to protect our integrity and reputation. Having a well-documented paper-trail is a key to corporate risk management; in other words, make sure your butt is covered at all times and in every way. Q/A 101-102 speaks to us about keeping our word, living lives of integrity when othe…