A message from Rev. Neill D. McKay

Friends and Family

It's OCTOBER, which means Pastor Neill gets to pull out my Halloween decorations and begin prepping for my personal favorite holiday of the year! The day when kids gather in small packs of merrymakers, all dressed up, knocking on total strangers' doors — who, with equal joy, give out sweets, treats, and other inventive treasures. One of my tricks in Alaska was to pass out little slips of scripture and a church invitation along with the candy — a simple way to reclaim and spread the Word of God on a day too many associate with paganism.

October 11th BBQ Fundraiser

Hopewell Presbyterian Church · 5–7 PM

On Sunday, October 11th, I will be hosting an Eastern North Carolina BBQ fundraiser at Hopewell Presbyterian Church to support my upcoming November mission trip to the Middle East. No tickets to buy; just come, bring friends, and give as God leads. The total cost of the trip will be $6,000. God will provide. Now this is Eastern North Carolina pulled pork, vinegar-based BBQ — not Texas brisket, certainly not South Carolina mustard-based — served buffet style with my special baked beans, Hopewell's prized coleslaw, and a dessert bake sale. Everything we do is outreach and community building.

The Mission Trip

This mission is an unapologetic focus on the suffering of Palestinian Christians, and not anti-Jewish. The approximately 1,200 Israelis killed during the cowardly October 7, 2023 Hamas attack were real people, and their grief is real. And yet the death toll since stands at nearly 75,000 Palestinians to approximately 2,000 Israelis — a 37 to 1 ratio that mirrors the historical pattern of this conflict. Israel controls all imports of food, fuel, and medicine into both Gaza and the West Bank which brings its own sense of oppression and insecurity. The call of the Gospel has always been to go where suffering is greatest, and voices are least heard. That is where we are going. Not to fight, denounce, or argue with anyone, but to let fellow Christians know they are seen.

For clarity, Gaza was controlled by Hamas, which launched the October 7 attack. Hamas does not control the West Bank, which has been administered by the Palestinian Authority for decades — it is a different territory, a different government, and a different reality. The West Bank, with its rise in Jewish Settler Violence, is where we are going.

Why Palestinian Christians?

Palestinian Christians are descendants of the original followers of Jesus Christ — connected to this land since his birth, ministry, death, and resurrection, and they have never left. Today, like so many dispossessed peoples, they are struggling and slowly dying out. Our mission is simple: to go and be present. To let them know they are seen, not forgotten, and beloved children of God.

“There is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female — for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Galatians 3:28

Peace in Christ,
Rev. Neill D. McKay