newsletter hed PTCA
Quick Links
Emerge Logo Little
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 office@ptcaweb.org.
June 1, 2018
  
Presbytery news  
 
Women in presbytery
invited to potluck June 26
Women in the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area "had a wonderful gathering in April and want to keep the conversation going," according to a note from the Rev. Heidi Bolt. Bolt and the Rev. Dr. Karin Craven are inviting women in the presbytery to a potluck at the Craven home on Tuesday, June 26, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The address is 1539 Blackhawk Lake Drive, Eagan, Minnesota. RSVPs are requested to Bolt at bolt.heidi@gmail.com. Those attending are asked to bring a dish to pass.

'Friends, Neighbors Day,' 'Lake2Lake
Bike Tour' set at Clearwater
July 14 will be a busy day at Clearwater Forest. The Presbyterian camp and conference center near Deerwood is celebrating its annual Friends and Neighbors Day and it will also be host to its "Lake2Lake Scenic Bike Tour" lake2laketo raise money to benefit Clearwater Forest camper scholarships. The bike tour features 50-, 30- or 8-mile rides. Those who aren't riding can sponsor a rider. Throughout the day Clearwater Forest will be offering tours of the grounds and buildings, games and activities, and even the opportunity to take part in sailing, paddle boarding, kayaking, high-ropes, and the "bouldering wall." The complete announcement about Friends and Neighbors Day can be found at "A Day at Clearwater." Details about the bike tour are at "Lake2Lake."

Ordination exam readers
sought in presbytery
It is that time of year when the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area needs to elect ordination exam readers for the 2018-2019 cycle. The presbytery will evaluate exams the weeks of Feb. 4-8 and May 6-10.
 
Ordination exams The presbytery has been asked to provide three ruling elders, three teaching elders and one alternate reader.
In the week before reading exams, readers will review general materials about the reading process and resources specific to the exam area they will evaluate. During the weeklong review period, readers will commit 10 to 12 hours for evaluating exams.
 
Reader training and exam evaluation are done online. Reliable internet access and basic familiarity with website utilization is required.
 
Those interested in being a reader or those who have questions about being a reader are invited to contact the Rev. Lisa Johnson at pastorlisaj@gmail.com or the Rev. Luke Roske-Metcalfe at ljroske.metcalfe43@gmail.com.
 
Jeff's Jottings
The shape of things to come
 
By Jeff Japinga
Executive Presbyter
 
Jeff Japinga What do you do when your spouse is an hour later than you expected; when the dog, ever eager to play endless games, is content with the bone you brought him; when you decide the laundry and the dirty dishes and the steps that need vacuuming actually can wait; and you uncharacteristically give yourself the time and space just to sit and think.
 
What do you think about?
 
Last night, this happened to me. For 45 minutes, phone left inside, dog content at my feet, warm and heavy and quiet air broken by the occasional buzz of a mosquito or gnat, I simply sat and thought. And mostly, what I thought about was you. You, our congregations, and you, the leaders of our congregations. About the challenges in ministry you regularly report to me. About aging memberships and dwindling resources, and our crazy-upside-down world of injustice and meanness. About your insistence to bring good news, the Gospel, to the world. How hard that all is. And how fulfilling.
 
The complete Jottings are at "The Shape of Things to Come."
Around the presbytery   
 
Arlington Potluck Arlington Hills Presbyterian
reunion potluck is Sunday
Former members of Arlington Hills Presbyterian Church are planning an reunion potluck gathering Sunday, June 3, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Woodbury. Attendees are asked to bring a salad, side dish, casserole or dessert; sandwiches and beverages will be provided. The announcement can be found at "Reunion Potluck."
 
First Presbyterian in LeRoy
celebrates 150th this Sunday
LeRoy church The 150th anniversary celebration of the First Presbyterian Church of LeRoy, Minnesota, is almost here. Planned Sunday, June 3, the celebration will include worship at 10 a.m., lunch at 11:30 a.m. and a special program at 1 p.m. Past pastors and members will be attending the celebration. Plans are also in the works for an alumni choir. Those who plan to attend the lunch are asked to inform the church at 507.324.5826. A free-will donation is being accepted for the meal.
 
Kids Camp at Spirit of Life
Spirit of Life Apple Valley scheduled June 25-29
Spirit of Life Presbyterian Church in Apple Valley is planning Kids Camp early in the summer season -- the week of June 25-29. Open to all area children, the week-long day camp will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for children in grades K-5 and from 9 a.m. to noon for preschoolers. Lunch will be provided for full-day participants. Trained summer camp staff from Clearwater Forest Camp and Retreat Center will lead the camp, while local adults and teens will assist. The complete announcement is at "Kids Camp."
Resources, conferences ... 

 

Registration runs through June 6
for 'Face-to-Face' sessions
Registration for Face-to-Face, a program that connects search committees, mid-council staff, and church professionals, is open now through June 6. The groups engage in conversation beyond the Personal Information Forms (PIFs) and the Ministry Information Forms (MIFs), discerning calls to vocation and ministry. Face-to-Face takes place Friday, June 15, through Tuesday, June 19, at General Assembly in St. Louis. Details and registration are at "Face-to-Face."
 
Applications now accepted for Native American Leadership Fund awards
One-time awards for Native American leadership development are available in 2018 through the Native American Leadership Fund, created by action of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board. The designated funds are to be used for education or leadership development of Native American Presbyterian leaders or in Native American Presbyterian organizations and communities. Tim McCallister, Associate for Mission Program Grants & Racial Ethnic Schools and Colleges, said, "These grants are being offered by the Presbyterian Mission Agency to encourage pioneers, risk-takers and trailblazers." The complete Presbyterian News Service story by Gail Strange is available at "Native American Leadership."
 
Options available for engaging
in 'just immigration'
Immigration Logo Immigration issues are a growing and continuing concern for Presbyterians. And there are a variety of resources to engage in the conversations and work around the social justice concerns of immigration. Presbyterians for Just Immigration note, "People of faith are joining together and calling for immigration reform and the full recognition of immigrants' rights. They are doing this, in big and small ways, because of a shared faith in Jesus Christ who spent his ministry at the margins of society and because of the call to remember that they were once strangers/immigrants in Egypt." Here are just a few of the ways to get started. A current issue of the newsletter is at "Just Immigration." The website dealing with immigration issues and including a number of resources is at "Immigration Ministries." And the sign-up page at "PFJI Sign-up."
 
Relationships, power: Reflections
NEXT new logo on community organizing
Participants in NEXT Church's Certificate in Community Organizing and Congregational Leadership offered five reflections on the theology of power and how organizing has impacted the way they do ministry. Those reflections can be found in a recent newsletter from NEXT Church at "Community Organizing."
 
Washington Island Forum
planned June 25-29 in Wisconsin
anna carter florence The 2018 Washington Island Forum, a 40-year tradition sponsored by the Wisconsin Council of Churches and The Christian Century magazine, features Anna Carter Florence, a former convocation speaker at the Synod of Lakes and Prairies' Synod School, as its primary speaker. Florence, who will speak on the theme, "Reading the Verbs: Finding the Script in the Scripture," is professor of preaching at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.  The Forum takes place Monday through Friday, June 25-29, on Washington Island, just north of Door County, Wisconsin. Details are at "Washington Island Forum."
 
Wild Goose Festival planned
in July in North Carolina
wild goose The Wild Goose Festival, a music, art and story-driven transformational experience grounded in faith-inspired social justice, is planned July 12-15 in Hot Springs, North Carolina. The festival invites participants to grow together by co-creating art, music, story, theater and spectacle, and by engaging in robust and respectful conversation with each other and with thought leaders and artists. Details can be found at "Wild Goose Festival."
 
Synod School: Classes, worship,  play,
family, friends, a whole lot more
2018 Synod School Those who are thinking about attending Synod School this summer should spend a little time looking through the midsummer ministry's catalog. This year more than 70 classes are offered in a wide variety of subjects. Celebrating its 65th year, Synod School typically draws more than 600 people to the weeklong event of learning and personal enrichment on the campus of Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. This year's event runs Sunday through Friday, July 22-27. The catalog, and a link to online registration, can be found at "Synod School."
 
Women gathering Presbyterian Women plan  national  gathering
in August
The church-wide gathering of Presbyterian Women is planned Aug. 2-5 in Louisville, Kentucky, with the theme "Arise, shine, your light has come!" Participants will engage in workshops, tours, forums and resource gathering, plenary sessions, worship and more. Information about the gathering can be found at "National Gathering."
 
Addiction, faith conference planned
in September in Bloomington
addiction faith An addiction and faith conference, designed to help congregations, clergy and care givers address the opioid addiction crisis, is planned Sept. 28-30 at the DoubleTree Hilton in Bloomington. The conference features keynoters Nadia Bolz-Weber, Omar Manegwala and Anne Wilson Shaef. Details about the conference can be found at "Addiction and Faith."
In search of ...
 
Trinity Presbyterian Church in Woodbury is seeking a wheelchair in good condition and asking anyone who might have a wheelchair no longer in use to consider donating the wheelchair to the church. For information, contact the church at 651.738.0045.
News of the wider churh  

 

Increase in GA per capita rate scaled back
A request for a sizable increase in General Assembly per capita in 2019 and 2020 is being scaled back,  Office of General Assembly having encountered significant opposition at the grass roots of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for being more than congregations financially can bear. J. Herbert Nelson, stated clerk of the PC(USA), issued an announcement May 30 that he will recommend a reduction in the proposed per capita increase. Nelson said he will request a 10 percent increase in both 2019 and 2020 -- from $7.73 per member in 2018 to $8.50 in 2019 and $9.35 in 2020. The complete story by Leslie Scanlon of The Presbyterian Outlook can be found at "Scaling Back."
 
Discerning: How decisions
get made at General Assembly
Jerry Van Marter, longtime coordinator of the Presbyterian News Service and now filling in as the communications director in the Office of the General  General Assembly 223 Assembly, wrote a piece for Presbyterians Today magazine regarding General Assemblies. He writes, "This summer's 223rd General Assembly will be my 41st. My first was in Portland, Oregon, in 1967 when, as a college student and cradle Presbyterian, I wanted to see firsthand the debate on the Confession of 1967. Since then, I have missed very few General Assemblies. Yes, I am a 'GA junkie.' But why am I a GA junkie? The Book of Order, G-3.0501, speaks for me: 'The General Assembly constitutes the bond of union, community and mission among all its congregations and councils, to the end that the whole church becomes a community of faith, hope, love and witness.'" Van Marter's complete column is at "Discerning at General Assembly."
 
Synod hears presentation on church vitality, plans to keep per capita steady
When the Synod of Lakes and Prairies met several weeks ago, commissioners heard the synod's Program Coordination Committee suggest no per capita  hardwick increase for 2019, and they listened to Chip Hardwick speak about faithfulness and sustainability. Hardwick, who spent six years in the national offices of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) finally as director of theology, formation and evangelism, said churches need to balance sustainability with faithfulness. Regarding per capita, the synod's share this year is $5.40, a figure that will stay the same for 2019 if the synod accepts at its meeting this fall the recommendation of its Program Coordination Committee. A recap of the synod meeting can be found at "Synod Summary."
 
Teen offers perspective on gun control
In 2016, when I was 12 years old, I read an article about a boy half my age named King Carter who was  Presbyterians Today magazine gunned down less than a mile from my home in Miami Shores, Florida. King was walking to a convenience store to buy candy when he was killed in the crossfire between two drug-dealing gangs. After reading about his tragic story, I didn't understand why he had to die. I wrote a letter to Sen. Bill Nelson, asking him to do something to stop the bloodshed in his state of Florida. While my focus was on the unimaginable death of a child, I also asked Nelson to support banning AR-15-style assault rifles because they were the weapon of choice for so many mass shootings. The complete column by Andrew Weaver, which was published in Presbyterians Today magazine, can be found at "Teen Speaks Out."