EMerge is a newsletter of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area. Through most of the year it is published weekly and distributed to congregations, teaching elders, ruling elders, church members, committees and friends of the presbytery. Please send submissions and address corrections to [email protected].
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Presbytery plans mission
celebration in October
'Teaching Fish to Walk,' a Peter
Steinke workshop, set in November
Today's culture offers us both great challenges and opportunities for ministry. Easy answers won't cut it; we need to change and adapt. That's hard work. But  there are people who can guide us. "Teaching Fish to Walk: Church Systems and Adaptive Challenge," will draw on the deep and long experience of Dr. Peter L. Steinke, author and internationally respected church consultant. The workshop will begin with lunch at noon, Monday, Nov. 13, and conclude at noon, Tuesday, Nov. 14, at Mt. Olivet Conference and Retreat Center near Farmington, Minn. Sponsors include the Presbytery of Twin Cities Area, through its committees on Ministry and Congregational Vitality, and the Omaha Presbyterian Seminary Foundation. Seats will likely be limited. The complete announcement is at "Teaching Fish to Walk." Registration can be completed at "Going to Teaching Fish."
Presbyterian Women plan fall
gathering at Church of the Apostles
The latest edition of Connection, the newsletter of Presbyterian Women in the Presbytery of the Twin  Cities Area, contains information about the organization's fall gathering Oct. 7 at Presbyterian Church of the Apostles in Burnsville. Sadia Tarannum, director of interfaith outreach and community building for the Northwest Islamic Community Center in Plymouth, will be the gathering's keynote speaker. Registration opens at 9 a.m. and the event runs to 3 p.m. Gathering details and the complete newsletter can be found at "Connection."
Jeff's Jottings
A collection of commentary
 Jeff Japinga
Executive Presbyter
We all collect things. Coins, stones, bobble heads. I collect articles, because there are so many people out there able to say important things in ways I have not considered and could not speak.
So Jottings this week is three links to commentary on key issues facing church and society today. It's hardly the be-all and end-all to the discussions in these areas, but each made me think, and perhaps they will you too. And for that I am grateful.
The complete Jottings can be found at "Commentary."
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Art is the theme to United classes,
workshops, gallery appearances
 From explorations of modern art to art and faith formation, United Seminary of the Twin Cities is sponsoring events this fall. Wilson Yates and Jennifer Awes Freeman will lead "Visual Theology: Spiritual Explorations of Modern Art" beginning Oct. 5 and running Thursday afternoons through Nov. 9. The art of Jimmy Reagan will be in the United gallery through Nov. 30, and a reception and program featuring
Jeff Anderson, Peg Reagan and Jann Cather is planned Oct. 9 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Melissa Miller, children's ministry director at River Hills United Methodist Church, will lead a workshop, "Art and Faith Formation," from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 10. Details on the visual theology class are at "Spiritual Explorations." Details on the Reagan exhibition are at "Conversations," and information about the art and faith formation workshop are at "Art and Faith."
South of the River CROP
Hunger Walk steps off Oct. 8
It's not too late to form a team, decide to participate as an individual or sponsor a walker in the fifth  annual South of the River CROP Hunger Walk. The walk is scheduled Sunday, Oct. 8, with registration beginning at 1 p.m. at St. John's Lutheran Church, 20165 Heath Ave., Lakeville. The walk steps off at 2 p.m. CROP Hunger Walks are community education and fundraising events for Church World Service. One quarter of the funds raised by each walk goes to local hunger-fighting agencies.
Spirit of Life Presbyterian Church in Apple Valley, Presbyterian Church of the Apostles in Burnsville, and Oak Grove Presbyterian Church in Bloomington are among the congregations participating in the walk. Additional details are available at "Hunger Walk."
ConNext Summit is slated
in October in Buffalo
 ConNext, an ecumenical summit for progressive Christian faith formation leaders of children, youth and families, is planned Oct. 15-18 at Christ the King Conference Center in Buffalo. The summit is designed to offer a space for leaders to learn, reflect together, form networks, and cultivate innovative and sustainable ministries. Danielle Shroyer, the summit's keynote speaker, will invite participants to consider the idea that "the origin of humankind is not about original sin, it turns out, but original blessing." The Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area is supporting the work of the summit. Registration can be completed at "ConNext." Questions can be addressed to Presbyterian representatives Wendy Griffin at [email protected], and Mary Koon at [email protected].
VA offers 1-day veteran awareness
 for clergy in Rochester
The U.S. Veterans Administration is offering a free day-long clergy training event Oct. 19 at the Canadian Honker Events complex at the Kahler Apache in Rochester, Minn. The training, intended to equip and train community clergy to be a knowledgeable resource to military and their families as they deal with numerous issues resulting from deployments, post-traumatic stress disorder and moral injury. The training is free and open to all faith groups. Additional information is available at "Veteran Awareness." Registration can be completed at "Training Registration."
Presentation of 'Body & Sold'
planned
at Trinity in Woodbury
 Trinity Presbyterian Church in Woodbury will be host to a documentary play about juvenile sex trafficking on Friday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. "Body & Sold," an effort of Chain Reaction Theatre Project, is based on interviews with sex trafficking survivors in five major U.S. cities, including those of Twin Cities' youth, giving voice to victims, and inspiring discussion and action. Other performances are slated Oct. 14 through Nov. 2 throughout the Twin Cities. Details can be found in a complete announcement at "Body & Sold." Additional information, including tickets, can be found at "Chain Reaction."
St. Catherine University plans hope through spiritual direction workshop
The spiritual director certificate program at St. Catherine University of St. Paul turns 20 years old this year and to celebrate the university is offering a free, one-day event, open to the public and focused on spiritual practices to support people in troubled times. The event, planned Saturday, Oct. 28, from 1 to 5 p.m., features well-known Catholic sister Elizabeth Liebert. Details can be found at "Nourishing Hope through Spiritual Direction."
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Resources, conferences ...
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BOP posts Employer News, notes
deadline for employer agreements
According to the September edition of Employer News, a newsletter of the Board of Pensions of the  Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Oct. 13 is the deadline when all employers must review, update and submit their employer agreements for 2018. Annual enrollment in in the BOP plan will run Oct. 30 through Nov. 17. The complete Employer News can be found at "BOP News."
Faith formation conference
planned
in October in Kansas City
 Jason Brian Santos, mission coordinator for Christian formation for the Presbyterian Mission Agency, will be the keynote speaker at the 2017 Christian Education Renovation -- Faith Formation Conference -- planned Oct. 22-24 in Kansas City. The conference is billed as an E-4 -- a conference that educates, empowers, engergizes and engages participants. Details can be found at "Faith Formation."
Love Welcome Conference
planned in New York City in October
 Called the Love Welcome Conference, born out of a resolution adopted by the 221st General Assembly ofthe Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the faith-based forum slated Friday and Saturday, Oct. 21-22, at First Presbyterian Church in New York City will examine a variety of ways in which congregations can support LGBTQ refugees and asylum seekers. The General Assembly resolution encouraged Presbyterians to hold in prayer vulnerable LGBTQ persons around the world and consider how they can provide support. Details can be found at "Love Welcome."
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Lesson from Stewardship Kaleidoscope: Stewardship as pastoral care
Non-profits are doing a better job than most churches of compelling people to support their work, said Adam Copeland, a noted stewardship expert and a  member of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area. He believes churches need to work harder at telling the stories of their work and the ways the church impacts lives, and ensure church members make the spiritual connection to giving. Acknowledging churches have competition for charitable giving dollars was part of Copeland's plenary presentation at Stewardship Kaleidoscope, the annual Presbyterian stewardship conference. The complete Presbyterian News Service story by Robyn Davis Sekula can be found at "Stewardship."
Plans begin to take shape for 223rd General Assembly in St. Louis
When the 538 commissioners and 183 advisory delegates to the 223rd General Assembly convene on  June 16 it will mark the 16th time the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s top gathering has been held in the "Gateway City" of St. Louis. "We are 268 days out," the Office of the General Assembly's Director of Assembly Operations Tom Hay, told the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly at its Sept. 19-21 meeting in Louisville. The theme of GA223 is "Renewing the Vision: Kindom Building for the 21st Century." The complete story by Jerry Van Marter of the Office of the General Assembly can be found at "GA 223."
PC(USA) signs on to amicus
brief opposing travel ban
Via amicus briefs, faith partners are often invited to respond to cases brought to the U.S. Supreme Court since they offer specific perspectives of  morality and faith in potential decisions made by the judicial body. Earlier this month the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II, stated clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), signed an amicus brief in Trump v. IRAP, et al, and Trump v. State of Hawaii, et al, before the Supreme Court. Nelson, along with other interfaith religious institutions and other organizations, opposes the president's executive order that was intended to stop all refugees from entering the United States as well as the nationals of six predominantly Muslim countries. The complete announcement from the Office of the General Assembly can be found at "In Opposition."
Unbound magazine publishes first
issue after 6-month hiatus
After a brief hiatus, Unbound, an interactive journal of Christian social justice, published its first edition since the hire of new managing editor Henry Koenig Stone. The current installment, "Defending the Common Good," covers diverse issues such as defending truth in media, sanctuary churches, human trafficking, an ecumenical call to good ecological stewardship, and the role of faith communities in resisting white supremacy. The award-winning journal is sponsored by the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP), which is part of the Presbyterian Mission Agency's Compassion, Peace, and Justice ministries. The complete Presbyterian News Service story by Scott O'Neill can be found at "
Unbound
."
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Mission Celebration 2017 is coming in October, following the theme "Concerns of God's Heart." Organized by the Mission and Witness Committee of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area, the event is planned Saturday, Oct. 14, from 9 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. at