Dear Friends,

Happy New Year! Thank you all for your kindness and cooperation throughout the past year! Thank you also for your Christmas cards. I guarantee you none of you got one from us, since we are bad about that. Our excuses. Nevertheless I trust you know Carolyn and I wish you all the best for 2018, more joy where there is joy, relief where there is pain, companionship where there is loneliness, and hope where there is lack of it.

With the arrival of Rola, Parkview is now complete in its resident capacity. So one will interview the another below. Both Rola and Chelsea are eager to hear your feedback about their tasks. Please continue to support them in their ministry to you and the community in the next year. May God continue to bless our ministry. –Aart

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Rola Al Ashkar is a graduate of the Princeton Theological Seminary and Near East School of Theology in Beirut. She is a member of the Presbyterian Church in Lebanon and the Presbyterian Synod of Syria and Lebanon, as well as an inquirer for ordained ministry in the PCUSA. Rola has served churches in Alabama and the youth ministry of the Presbyterian Church camp in Lebanon. In addition to serving Parkview, she will be working for the Presbytery of Sacramento doing refugee ministry.

Chelsea: Hi Rola! We’re so excited to have you join our ministry team as our long-awaited pastoral resident from Princeton and Lebanon. First things first, can you tell us about your family?

Rola: I come from a family of five, which has expanded in the past three years to nine!
I have two brothers, both married and with two wonderful kids: Rafael born to my older brother, and Marilyn, my younger brother’s girl. We all lived together in one house during the past six months, and the seven-month-old babies made all of our lives a lot brighter since they came in.

Chelsea: What are some of your favorite things?

Rola: The beach in summertime is my number one pleasure. I love singing and enjoy dancing. For the past seven years, I was part of a folk dance/entertainment group; it gave me the chance to do both singing and dancing performances. I have come to develop a new favorite hobby in the past couple years which is karaoke singing. I even won a competition once! I also have a passion for preaching. It always amazes me how God can use my words to make a difference for someone out there. Lastly, one of my favorite things is going on trips to foreign countries and learning about cultures.

Chelsea: I know that this congregation has been in touch with you for a long time. Can you tell us what drew you to Parkview?

Rola: God has led me here, and signs couldn’t have been any clearer. First, I met with Pastor Aart for the first time on April 4th 2016, at the end of an exhausting year in Princeton, and I was looking forward to going back home and wasn’t sure about staying for another year in the States. But then I randomly submitted the application after the submission deadline had already passed, so I included a “for future reference” note, thinking to myself it would never happen. But guess what? The deadline was magically extended, and I was selected! And since then, I have hesitated multiple times during this 18 months process, and honestly there came times when I thought “I am definitely not going to California,” but couldn’t find a way to say it after all that was done. And then the administration changed, and chances the visa would be approved became harder. I challenged God one last time, saying, if you want me to go, let them approve the visa. And here I am!

Chelsea: What are you most looking forward to about this new call?

Rola: I am looking forward to learning about the Far East cultures, which I haven’t been exposed to before. I am also thinking of my time at Parkview as a time of discernment. I have always wanted to pursue my PhD in Theology/religions, and this is a time for me to discover whether I want to be doing church ministry along with my scholarly work in the future.

Chelsea: As people get to know you, what do you think will surprise them the most?

Rola: People are sometimes hit by my boldness and directness! I also think my energy is contagious but sometimes unanticipated. So I hope people will be pleasantly surprised by these aspects of my personality.

Chelsea: I’m sure they will. Thanks, Rola! Welcome to Parkview.