REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PREPARATION FOR MINISTRY. September 25, 2018

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1 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PREPARATION FOR MINISTRY September 25, 2018 The Committee on Preparation met on August 8, 2018 and submits the following report: FOR INFORMATION: Sustained the annual consultation with the following persons under care: a. Joelly Chiangong, CRE candidate b. Tyler Brinks, Inquirer FOR ACTION OF THE PRESBYTERY 1. Having met with and examined Candidate, Chris Hallam, on August 8, 2018, the CPM recommends that the Presbytery conduct an examination for ordination to the Ordered Ministry of Word and Sacrament. Chris Hallam a candidate Finally Assessed by the Presbytery of Detroit, has met the requirements for ordination in this presbytery, has received a M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and has received a call as Resident Minister at the Kirk in the Hills, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Her biography and Statement of Faith attached. During examination by the Presbytery any question about her Statement of Faith, or in relation to her preparedness for ordained ministry may be asked. 2. Having met with and examined Candidate, Bethany Peerbolte, on November 7, 2017, the CPM recommends that the Presbytery conduct an examination for ordination to the Ordered Ministry of Word and Sacrament. Bethany Peerbolte, a candidate Finally Assessed by the Presbytery of Detroit, has met the requirements for ordination in this presbytery, has received a M.Div. from the Ecumenical Theological Seminary, and has received a call to serve First Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, Michigan. Her biography and Statement of Faith attached. During examination by the Presbytery, any question about her Statement of Faith, or in relation to her preparedness for ordained ministry may be asked. Ordination to ordered ministry of teaching elder is an act of the whole church carried out by the presbytery, setting apart a person to ordered ministry. Such a person shall have fulfilled the ordination requirements of the presbytery of care and received the call of God to service to a congregation or other work in the mission of the church that is acceptable to the candidate and to the presbytery of call. (G2.070) Respectfully submitted, Rev. Mary Bahr Jones Rev. Edward Dunn Co-Moderators

2 Chris Hallam, Statement of Faith In life and in death I belong to God through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. I believe in a boundless, infinite God that surpasses our understanding. But though God is eternal I believe in God because God made God s self known to our spiritual ancestors who wrote about their experience of God in the writing we come to know as Scripture. Their testaments attested to the God of creation, covenant, and incarnation in these scriptures, creating a unique and authoritative witness to the Word of God, Jesus Christ. I believe this witness to the Word of God, though it is a human testament, is sufficient for faith, knowledge, and belief in God eternal. Because of this witness, I believe that God created everything we see with love. In this created order, I believe that God created humanity good and in God s own image. I also believe that humanity has fallen short of God s good creation, rebelled against God s intentions, and declared ourselves masters of our lives. In sin we alienate ourselves from God and from one another. Though we strive to do good, we perpetuate acts of violence. Left on our own, we are unable to stop our own sin or the sin of the systems we participate in. I rest assured in God s providence and love for God s creation, for even in our sinful state, God has striven to be in relationship with us. God chose not to be a distant God but to be involved with creation and humanity, covenanting with us in the particular. God covenanted with Noah, then Abraham and Sarah, and through the centuries of their descendants. God answered the cries and need of God s people in Egypt and through the wilderness. When these people chosen by God struggled to keep the covenant that God gave them, God answered by sending prophets to them for guidance and correction. Ultimately, God chose to be with us in the form of Jesus of Nazareth. Born of human flesh yet still fully God, Jesus lived among us, walked beside us, proclaimed the good news of God s reign, taught us both in words and actions, healed the sick and brokenhearted, befriended the outcast. Our sinful, violent hearts did not understand God with us and we killed Jesus, an execution on the cross. But God showed humanity that death could not confine God, that our sin and brokenness could not restrain God, and that our violence and hate could not have the last word. So Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, bridged the chasm of our sin, and released us from the bondage of sin and reconciling humanity to God. Though Jesus ascended to heaven after the resurrection, he remains with us through the power of the Holy Spirit that continues to nurture and guide humanity in the ways of faith, mercy, and God s love. By the spirit I walk confidently knowing God s love for me and by the spirit I was led to faith. I have learned this story about God, God s love for humanity, and God s salvation through Jesus Christ by the guidance of the Holy Spirit through the witness of scripture taught to me in the church. I believe in the Church as the Body of Christ where believers from all times are knit together as one. I have experienced the church to be a blessing where community is made, where love is shared, and where all people, no matter their differences, belong and are accepted as God s beloved child. But I also know that the church is gift where we have the opportunity to encounter the triune God and learn how God continues to move. This opportunity presents itself through learning to love the difficult people, accepting those that differ from us, depending on one another, and struggling to find unity in strife and disagreements. Though we often fail, God offers these anew each hour of each day. Yet, the Church is not only for its members but is tasked with fostering peace, love, and reconciliation in the world today. We are sent out, as an outworking of our faith, into the world to share God s message of love by both action and word. Where there is hate, we are to respond with love; where there is divisions, reconciliation; where there is hunger and need, food and plenty; where there is despair, hope; and where there is brokenness, healing and acceptance. I believe that in baptism we join with Jesus in his death and burial. Under the water we die to sin and return to the watery chaos of creation. As we emerge from the waters, we join with the raising of Jesus as we begin our new life in the Spirit as a new creation. In this simple action, we are grafted onto Body of Christ, join as members of the church, sealed into the covenant of grace, and are thus adopted into God s family. I believe in that all are welcome at the Lord s Table where we tell the story of Jesus life and remember his self-sacrifice on our behalf for the forgiveness of our sins. The Lord s Supper acts as spiritual nourishment in our journey of faith and units the church together as we receive a foretaste of the kingdom to come. By the Holy Spirit, these two sacraments act not just as symbols and remembrances, but speak to the spiritual reality of our salvation and sanctification though our blessed savior, Jesus the Christ. In life and death, I know that I am claimed by God, united with Jesus, and led by the Spirit. In the church I learned what it meant to be loved and accepted. In scripture I learned what it meant to stand on the faith of those who came before me. In living into God s promise I continue to learn that I have been called by name and are God s beloved child.

3 Christina Hallam Biographical Statement for Detroit Presbytery September 3, 2018 The stories we tell about ourselves often shape our own self-understanding. I know myself to have various narratives to my life: Chris the artist, Chris the free-spirited traveler, Chris the leader, and Chris the one called by God. Like many others, the story I tell depends on the current context. In recent years I have learned the value in attempting to combine these various narratives into one. I grew up largely in Kansas and was known as imaginative and head-strong. I was never at the center of friend groups but would be often found playing by myself or with one other friend deep in a fantasy world we had contracted. None the less, I was an enthusiastic softball and basketball player who did dance and gymnastics in the off seasons. My spiritual life kicked off at age eight when I asked my mom to be baptized. As I entered middle school I had taken on the image of a punk-rocker with heavy eyeliner and black band shirts. It was this time that I fell in love with the community of the church because the youth group not only welcomed my alternative style but embraced me because of it and lifted up my strengths. By high school I had moved to Michigan and focused most of my attention on going to concerts, making art, and getting involved with every church function I could. I was a key leader in the youth group by my senior year leading the youth council, playing in the praise band, acting as youth liaison to the Mission and Outreach committee, a choir member, and the lead in the church musical. After high school I left for Albion College to study environmental science. After a few plans fell through, I accepted my call to ministry that I had first felt when I was twelve. I spent the rest of my time at Albion studying other religions; spending long hours in the art studio for my art minor; traveling to various other countries; creating new, lgbtqia+ affirming ministries on campus, and working at Camp Westminster in the summers. I graduated from Albion College and immediately began looking for non-ordained ministry positions. After finding that I was underqualified and inexperienced, I decided that I would have to attend seminary in order to gain the qualifications to do the ministry I wanted to. I took a year in discernment, working again at Camp Westminster and Westminster Church of Detroit, and after that year I took off for Princeton Theological Seminary. As I set up shop in Princeton, I hung my artist hat up, registered for my first semester without a studio art class, and focused on how to get my dyslexic brain to memories Hebrew vocabulary. Princeton provided expected and unexpected challenges that helped me confront the reality of my strengths, weaknesses, and the nature of my call. In particular, I interned at Ivyland Presbyterian Church, a church hoping to integrate their art ministry into the life of the congregation, through the Philadelphia Incubator Program, an internship program through the Presbytery aimed at equipping seminarian to do innovative and new ministries. It was there that I realized that my artistic background and creative thinking would not be merely an aspect of my personal life but an integral part of why God has called me to ministry. Since graduation from PTS, I have gotten married, adopted two cats, and moved across the country in order to continue my journey of developing creative, integrated, and new ministries as the first pastoral resident at Kirk in the Hills. Going forward, I hope to be an agent of creativity and innovation in the church as culture and religion continues to evolve around us.

4 Statement of Faith Bethany Peerbolte I believe in the Holy Trinity who offers grace and love to all of humanity. I believe that God created the world, has been active in the world, and is still working today. I believe in God s special providence which includes the sending of Jesus Christ, who is God s begotten Son incarnate in human flesh. I live daily with Jesus Christ as my savior and trust that He came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). While we were still sinners Jesus came to proclaim God s love to all nations (John 10:16). Through Jesus life, death, and resurrection we can be assured of our eternal life through God s grace. I believe in the Holy Spirit to be my constant guide, counselor, renewer of hope, and coach. The same Spirit equips everyone with the gifts and talents needed to be fulfilled in the call which God has set for them. Out of thankfulness and joy that we are forgiven we work for God in every task knowing the Holy Spirit is aiding us the whole way. I believe the proof of the Spirits efforts are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22). I believe that the Bible is the inspired and proclaimed word of God. I believe the Scriptures were given to humanity by God to point us back to God throughout all of time and in any place. Through scripture we learn of God s covenant with us, grace, love, and salvation through Jesus Christ. The Bible is meant to guide us through trouble, encourage us in our calling, redirect behavior that is troubling to God (2 Timothy 2:24-26), and ensure us of God s love for everyone. I believe the overarching interaction of God and humanity can be summed up in this: humanity s propensity is to turn away from God, but God s endless mercy and grace seeks to bring people back to God. I believe humanity continues to sin, but I also believe that even as we rebel against God s will and turn towards our own desires, God continually calls us back into community with each other and God. I believe God builds the church to be a community of believers. I believe God s word in scripture, the life of Jesus, and the Spirit s revelation calls the church to be a voice for the outcast, to work for justice, to speak for peace, and to build affirming communities. Because of God s continuing care, Jesus s redeeming sacrifice, and the Spirit s coaching we worship with exhilaration and gratitude. We worship as a community through song, prayer, proclamation of the word, administering sacraments, offering, and other ways that awaken us to God s presence and declare the wonder and gratitude we feel for God. We also worship personally through our lives, Bible study, prayer, meditation, serving others, and other practices that bring us into a closer relationship with God. I believe baptism is a recognition that we have been cleansed of our sin (1 Peter 3:21) by the sacrificial death of Jesus and that we too are resurrected (Colossians 2:12) with Christ to a new life of communion with God. Baptism is not just for the individual being baptized but is a reminder to the whole community of their own baptism and their responsibility to the newly baptized to teach and support them in life and faith (Matthew 28: 19-20). I believe the Lord s Supper is the triumphant celebration of the reconciliation of humanity with God. Jesus Christ Himself gave this meal to the church, and it is through the breaking of bread that eyes are opened (Luke 24:31) to who Jesus is. By eating the bread and drinking from the cup the community is nourished in Spirit and renewed to their call so that when they go back out into the world they are assured of their forgiveness and God s favor. With faith, believers live day to day to bring about the kingdom of God and watch for a new life begun by Christ.

5 Autobiographical Statement Bethany Peerbolte I was raised in a small suburban town in southeastern Michigan. My parents had me later in life, at the time my brothers were graduating high school. This family format taught me to relate to people of different generations. I often served as the moderator and interpreter between people of different ages. My family have always been great listeners when I have problems. They offer advice without trying to solve my problems and I often turn to them when something is weighing heavy on my mind. My family also loves to spend time celebrating together. Birthdays, holidays, and personal successes are always acknowledged with a gathering filled with laughter. The area I grew up in had little racial diversity but was very economically diverse. I went to school with peers who lived in million-dollar homes, and other peers who were experiencing homelessness. I lived in a middle-class home which placed me between the extremes. I found myself surrounded by friends in vastly different social circles, and often was the connection point between groups. My extroverted nature facilitated making friends which came easily to me. I value time spent with people and have developed a sense that all people are worth engaging in conversation. This engagement with people is beneficial to balance in my life because being in groups refuels my battery and inspires me. I spent the first decade of my life in various performing arts. Performing in groups was a large part of my teenage years. In high school my teachers began singling me out to attend leadership conferences and taking leadership roles in the groups with which I was involved. While leading my peers I found my performing background helpful. It gave me confidence in front of a crowd and an ability to think quickly on my feet. This experience of leadership contributed to the joy I find when serving others and a conviction to lead by example. I was raised in a church which shined when it came to showing love and had an incredible ability to hold up a person or family in crisis. It was this interaction with community that made me seek out a church when I went to college. In college I joined a church community that was led by a wonderful pastor who could see people s gifts and put them into ministries where they would be most useful. I began to see my gifts as useful to the church s mission and enjoyed engaging my community in spiritual growth. My personal understanding of my vocational call is to serve youth. I believe the teenage years are a crucial point in spiritual development. As a theologically trained teacher I hope to help them sort through doctrine, scripture, practice, and their faith so that a relationship with God is a life long commitment. I strive to show them the church is a place to belong even in their darkest hours, and a place to realize their greatest capacity. I want to aid the church in being the place people turn to when they feel called to make a difference, knowing the church will work with them and help them fulfill their calling.