Be the Leaves

In the summer of 2020, while immersed in his doctoral work on moderating compassion-based civil discourse, Rev. Dr. Kristopher D. Schondelmeyer came across an article about the PC(USA) Special Committee on Racism, Truth, and Reconciliation. Its co-moderator, Marta Pumroy (now the Rev. Marta Pumroy-Cordero), spoke about the challenges of holding space for hard conversations. Intrigued, Kris reached out, and their first conversation left a lasting impression. He was struck by Marta’s jovial spirit and compassionate energy, and he was inspired by her conviction that in difficult dialogue, one must “listen to the heart of the person.” That insight, which was rooted in Marta's work as a middle school teacher, became a cornerstone in Kris’s framework for his doctoral dissertation titled "Compassionate Conversations: A Compassion-Based Framework for Moderating Civil Discourse in the Intersection of Religion and Public Policy in the Presbyterian Church (USA)."

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A few years later, their lives intersected again in the Presbytery of East Iowa. Kris accepted the call to serve as Pastor and Head of Staff at First Presbyterian Church of Davenport, Iowa. As he became more involved in the presbytery, he learned that Marta, originally a Ruling Elder at the church in Marion, Iowa, was also under care of the same presbytery. She had left her career as a teacher, gone to seminary at Austin, and was now preparing for ordination. Kris served as Co-Moderator of the Commission on Ministry and Vitality and helped approve Marta’s request for validated ministry, opening the way for her ordination. Today, Kris still humbly serves as Pastor and Head of Staff at First Presbyterian of Davenport, and Marta is privileged to serve as Border Ministry Coordinator for the Tres Rios Presbytery Border Foundation in El Paso, Texas.

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Then came election night 2024. After hearing the tentative results, Kris went to sleep that night concerned what this might mean for immigrants and those who are most vulnerable in our nation. He awoke in the middle of the night from a vivid dream. In it, he and Marta stood side by side, hand in hand, serving as a united voice of compassion in a time of deep polarization and upheaval. Their call was to be ambassadors of engaged compassion, listening to the hearts of God’s people, offering healing to a broken world. For months, he prayed over the dream before sharing it with Marta—expecting a polite but firm dismissal. Instead, she responded with openness and a shared sense of call.

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​​​​​​​​​​At the end of January 2025, Kris and Marta covenanted together to begin meeting regularly for prayer and discernment about what this partnership might become. Was it to partner in a more local or regional initiative? Was it to stand together as Co-Moderators at a future General Assembly? They anchored their discernment in one of Kris’s favorite passages from scripture, Revelation 22:1–5, reflecting on the river of life and what it might mean to “be the leaves” in a world longing for healing. This was several months before they even knew that the theme of the 227th General Assembly would itself echo that very image from Revelation 22—“for the healing of the nations.”

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Marta’s fiancé (now husband) shared a Spanish dicho (saying): “Cuando el río suena, agua lleva”—“When the river makes noise, it carries water.” This saying became a reminder to pay attention to signs and to trust the movement of the Spirit. They began watching for more signs—and saw rainbows breaking through the clouds on mostly sunny days. Coincidence...perhaps. But also reminders of covenant and hope.

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Together, Kris and Marta sought wisdom from former Co-Moderators and other colleagues who have shaped their ministries. They expected (and perhaps prayed) that these colleagues would dissuade them from standing for Co-Moderator. But they did not. Though they received great wisdom about the roles and expectations of being Co-Moderators, their sense of call continued to be affirmed by each person they spoke with. The river was indeed making noise.

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​​​​​​​​​For them, the river is a powerful image. Marta serves along the Río Grande, which too often runs silent and low, while Kris ministers on the banks of the Mighty Mississippi, which too often floods with destructive force; both the effects of climate change. Yet the river of life in Revelation flows steady with God’s love and grace—neither dry nor destructive, but nourishing all creation. That is the vision they share for the church today.

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Their call to stand together is about inviting the denomination into a posture of engaged compassion in a polarized world, to listen to the hearts of God’s people, and to encourage faithful saints across the PC(USA) to "be the leaves" of the tree of life for the healing of the nations. Now, the Rev. Marta Pumroy-Cordero and the Rev. Dr. Kristopher D. Schondelmeyer await the discernment of their fellow commissioners. They have discerned a "call to stand"—but they will leave it to the commissioners and to the Spirit of God to determine whether they are "called to serve" as the next Co-Moderators, to be elected at the 227th General Assembly.