Volume 136/March 5, 2026

The Presbyark Update

Connecting & Informing the Presbytery of Arkansas

March 5, 2026

Presbytery Business

Registration Deadline is 3/10 at 12:00 noon!


The 161st meeting of the Presbytery of Arkansas!

March 13-14, 2026

The University of the Ozarks at Clarksville


Be sure to register for the Friday evening dinner and workshops!


The Main Packet will be available Friday, 3/6 here.


Due to some remodeling issues and a big sports tournament, hotel space is limited in Clarksville, so book your rooms ASAP using the information and discount codes in the host packet below.


Meeting Deadlines:

  • Meeting Reports Past due
  • Dinner & Lunch registration by noon, Tuesday, March 10
  • Slides/Videos due to Blake by Wednesday, March 11
  • Requests for Display Tables due to Blake by Thursday noon, March 12

New Policy for Using the Presbytery Zoom Account Recent Zoom updates now place all participants in a waiting room until the account’s designated host logs in and admits them. As you can imagine, this creates significant challenges for committees and other groups using the Presbytery's account.


To address this issue, all Zoom meetings must now be scheduled through a staff member.


If you need to schedule a meeting, please contact Kim at kim@presbyark.org, or ask your committee’s staff representative to arrange the meeting for you. A Zoom invitation will then be provided for you to share with your committee.


Who is Over Education in Your Church?

We are updating our presbytery list of those who oversee Christian education in our congregations, whether staff or volunteer, and for any age group. Keeping this information current helps us make sure you stay connected and well resourced.


Kristi Button, moderator of the Presbytery Resource Team and our presbytery’s connection to Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE), asks that you review the current list. If no one is listed for your church, or if the information is incorrect, please email Julie Price at julietannerprice@gmail.com so we can update our records.


You will also have the opportunity to review and update this information at the upcoming Presbytery meeting at the U of O.

Progress at Providence Park, a planned community for chronically homeless neighbors being built in Little Rock. Phase 1 includes 100 tiny homes, Harmony Hall, a medical clinic, garden, orchard, dog park, chapel and labyrinth. Public transportation, social and medical services are provided as well as job training and income opportunities. The Presbytery has provided $50,000 from the Gary Gault Fund for one house and $46,000 toward the $50,000 for a second house to be called "Presby House." If you would like more information (providenceparkhome.org), a tour, or can help us complete the funding for Presby House, contact David Gill (dgill@ferncliff.org).

The Presbytery of Arkansas Honduras Mission team will be traveling to Honduras March 21-28, 2026. Click here to read an update on what is all planned and how you can still help with their work. Click here to donate. Consider using this Tourist Pilgrim Reflection Devotions as a bulletin insert, as a reflection from the pulpit, and/or social media post. 

Opportunities

Presbytery of Arkansas Women are invited to gather for the PW Spring 2026 Gathering, April 17–18, 2026, in Hot Springs. Centered on the theme “Living Waters,” this two-day event will offer worship, fellowship, learning, and renewal at First Presbyterian Church and Westminster Presbyterian Church.


Participants may also register for optional Friday afternoon outings. Registration is $25, or $20 with early bird payment before April 1, and includes four meals. Scholarships are available.



Come be refreshed in faith, strengthened in friendship, and renewed for service as we share Christ’s living waters together.

Montreat Youth Conference 2026

June 13-20, 2026

Where: Montreat Youth Conference in Black Mountain, NC

For: High School Youth [those who have completed 8th-12th grade by the summer of 2026] & adult leaders who will serve as chaperones.

Deadline: March 1 (spots are limited)

 

(**the conference takes place June 14-20, however, we are building in a day on the front end for a travel stay overnight on our way there)



The Presbytery of Arkansas is headed to the mountains of North Carolina to Montreat Camp and Conference Center for Montreat Youth Conference, Week 2! We will travel together by bus and stay overnight along the way. We will be digging deeper into our faith through music, worship, keynotes, and small groups. We’ll participate in recreation events all week and spend time connecting as a Presbytery. Our senior high youth will meet youth from around the country and learn more about what it means to be a beloved child of God. Spots are limited, so please register by the deadline!


Spots are limited, so please register by March 15, 2026.

Montreat Middle School Conference 2026

July 15-19, 2026

Where: Montreat Middle School Conference (in Maryville, TN)

For: Junior High / Middle School Youth [those who have completed 5th-8th grade by the summer of 2026] & Adult leaders who will serve as chaperones.

Deadline: March 1, 2026 (spots are limited)


We are excited to return to Montreat Middle School Conference with our junior high /middle school youth! We will travel to Maryville, TN where we will connect with other youth, participate in small groups, recreation, engaging music, keynotes, and worship. This is a middle school conference held at Maryville College and gives our junior high and middle schoolers an opportunity to deepen their faith while connecting to the larger church.


Spots are limited, so please register by March 15, 2026.

Synod Youth Workshop 2026 will take place July 13-18 at the University of Tulsa. The workshop is open to all youth who have completed the 8th grade through graduating seniors in 2026. Registration end June 26.  

Solar Under the Sun is a covenant partner of the Synod of the Sun and the outreach in Honduras and other countries and is supported by many Presbyterian churches. Solar Under the Sun is an organization that trains people in the United States and foreign countries how to work together in partnerships to alleviate energy poverty, using solar power. We believe that Jesus Christ is the light of the world and envision a reality where every person on the planet has the right to clean, sustainable, life-changing energy.


We believe that training people to help put solar energy into those communities in the developing world which lack reliable or affordable electrical power enhances education, health, and economic opportunity. In addition to enabling groups from churches that already have a mission team or mission partner, we also facilitate mission trips for individuals and small groups who have completed Solar School. Under the guidance of one of our trained team leaders, these Solar Direct trips allow people to create relationships and get hands-on experience working on a solar installation in the developing world. 

Leaders just got back from Honduras scouting our next location. 


We are planning our next Solar Direct trip there in August. Now is the time to mobilize a team. Our next Solar School is June 4-7th (Thursday – Sunday morning) at Central Presbyterian Church Fort Smith.



The (soft) deadline for enrollment is May 4th, so early registration is encouraged. It is best if churches send at least two people since there are two tracks which run concurrently,

Solar 1: which focuses on leadership, partnership development, and surveying, and

Solar 2: which focuses on system design, installation, and equipping partners.

Register for Lead(HER) 2026: Empowering Female Clergy, happening April 20-22, 2026, at Resurrection, a United Methodist Church in Leawood, Kansas.


Lead(HER) brings together female clergy from across denominations for two and a half days of worship, practical skill-building, and authentic community. The expanded 2026 format includes Monday evening through Wednesday afternoon programming, responding to attendee feedback emphasizing the importance of connecting and networking among clergywomen.



"For women, by women. Celebrating women. Healing women. Strengthening and encouraging women in their leadership, their ministry, and their lives,” organizers said of Lead(HER).

All Commissioned Ruling Elders and small church leaders are invited to attend this Synod conference at Camp Gilmont in Gilmer Texas on April 6-10. This will be an opportunity for us to gather with others throughout the Synod of the Sun in similar roles. It will also be a chance to refresh and renew and experience the glory of God following the busy Easter and Lenten seasons.


2026 Older Adult Ministry Conference sponsored by POAMN (Presbyterian Older Adult Ministry Network) will take place September 16-17 in Knoxville, TN. This annual conference will be an inspiring gathering focused on spiritual depth, resilience, and continued fruitfulness—themes that matter deeply for leaders walking alongside older adults through seasons of transition.

Grants, Scholarships, Apprenticeships

Mission Initiative Grants - The deadline for this year's first of three rounds of MOC grants is April15. Dream big about the mission work your church/Presbyterian organization might undertake this year and let the MOC help you realize your dream by awarding you a grant of up to $1,500.


Click below for information about registering. Direct questions to committee moderator, Peg Falls-Corbitt and click below to learn more and apply for the grant by the April 15 deadline!

Faith Formation Resource Grants - The first of two 2026 grants are now available from your Presbytery Resource Team! The purpose of these grants are to provide seed money to support Presbytery of Arkansas congregations and ministries in creatively engaging their faith community in practices of faith formation, Christian education, spiritual growth, and discipleship. 


These grants of up to $500 are to help you create a new Faith Formational program in your church or community that you otherwise would not have been able to afford to do. Look at the needs around you. Is there a need for a Grief-care or Divorce-care program in your community? Maybe you feel your church would rally around a new men's, women's, or intergenerational program or event. Maybe your church doesn't have children, but it has the man-power to sponsor a community VBS.


Pray, dream, then click below and for a Faith Formation Resource Grant by the March 30th deadline!

Mission Trip Scholarships are available from the Mission of the Church committee. These scholarships are available to applicants who are affiliated with a church or ministry of AR Presbytery/PCUSA. 

Grants for NWCs - Eligible new worshiping communities in our network are encouraged to apply for available grant funding from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which has invested funds for innovative new ministry projects for generations. Our grants team reviews applications on a rolling basis, typically four times per year.

1001 New Worshiping Communities offers several different training and support mechanisms to support current and emerging new worshiping community leaders. One of these programs is the 1001 NWC Apprenticeship, which, over the years, has welcomed over 200 leaders into the program. Apprentices receive a stipend for five hours per week of study totaling $3600 over the nine-month program (Sept - May), an ICF-certified coach in the network, a leadership retreat, and weekly, expert-led cohorts with other apprentices. Priority submission deadline is April 1, 2026.

Around The Presbytery

Multi-Presbytery Confirmation Retreat Recap - The Presbytery of Arkansas and Presbytery of the Pines joined forces for a multi-Presbytery Confirmation Retreat at Ferncliff, February 12-14, 2026. We were able to offer this retreat free of charge because of a continued ministry partnership with Ferncliff. Eight youth from five different congregations (this time spanning both the Pines and Arkansas Presbyteries!) gathered for a weekend of theology, games, big questions, prayer, communal meals, and lots of snacks. We are grateful for this partnership and look forward to joining together with the Pines in the future!

Resources

The Quarterly Resource Preview from the PC(USA) just came out. Click here to learn about resources, conferences, and webinars within the denomination.

Upcoming PRC webinars you don't want to miss! Remember, PRC webinars are always available on demand once they have taken place.


Tuesday, March 24, 2026, 1:00 PM





Tuesday, 3/10, 10:00 AM Staff Meeting

Friday-Saturday, 3/13-14, 161st Meeting of the Presbytery of Arkansas



Click here to see the entire Presbytery calendar.

The next Update will be published March 5.

Send information for that publication to Julie Price by Tuesday, March 3.

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Presbytery of Arkansas
9221 N. Rodney Parham Road
Little Rock, AR 72227
501-663-2424