NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER | 2023

Dear friends throughout the Synod of Lincoln Trails,

In this month of Thanksgiving, I am so thankful for the good and faithful work being done throughout the synod. I am thankful that Synod Executive Sara Dingman was granted a two-month sabbatical. (And, I am thankful that she is returning to us later this month!). I am thankful for the creative ministry happening throughout our presbyteries (see below for two new connectional endeavors from the Presbytery of Great Rivers).

I'm thankful for the new Oasis grants — meant to spark joy in pastors in active ministry. (The first round of applications will be reviewed starting on Nov. 15, so apply now if you haven't yet!)

SOLT wishes Rev. Alan Thames abundant blessings in his retirement! After 15 years as Executive Presbyter in Whitewater Valley, Alan is retiring. Read below for a blessing and a charge from him as he calls us to love the world!

Blessings to you this month. May you witness the Creator's beauty in the cooler temperatures and changing colors of fall and experience the grace of Christ and the gifts of the Spirit today. Please reach out if you have news or ideas to share - or if the synod can support you in the good work you are doing.

Grace + peace,

Jana Blazek

Director of Connectional Relationships

Matthew 25 Idea

Lauren Rogers, the PC(USA) Ministry Engagement Advisor for our synod, has a suggestion for how congregations can start talking about Matthew 25: Movie night!

Click here to learn about how to do this and get free resources from the Presbyterian Mission Agency.

Benediction from Alan Thames

After 15 years as Executive Presbyter of Whitewater Valley Presbytery in Indiana, Rev. Alan Thames is preparing to enter retirement. Last Wednesday was his final Assembly Meeting with the presbytery. Here is the conclusion of the sermon he preached at that gathering.

Alan, we wish you blessings, rest, joy, and vitality in your retirement!

As I conclude my 15 years as the Executive Presbyter of Whitewater Valley Presbytery, I have pondered how we make a difference in our world. And here is what I believe we are called to do.

We begin with building relationships. We begin by preparing ourselves to love deeper and longer and broader and stronger than ever. We are called to love the hell out of the world, because too many in our world are convinced that we are already in hell, that there is no God, there is no force of love to change the course of this world that seems hellbent. We are to love the hell out of the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the sick, the stranger, the imprisoned. We are to love the hell out of the bored, the suicidal, the sexually confused. We are to love the hell out of the sad, the confused, the stuck and abused, the end-of-your-rope, the worn out and broke, the go-it-alone, the running from home, the righteously angry, the forsaken by family, the anxious and depressed (from Spencer LaJoye’s “Plowshare Prayer”).

We are to love as if the person standing in front of us is Jesus…and here’s the deal, Jesus has already said that it is He! Because when we love the world like Jesus loves the world, when we love the world like we love Jesus, then hell has no power over us or over the world that is embraced in such love.

And what will that look like? The passage from Revelation 7 on this All Saints’ Day captures it so beautifully that it almost takes my breath away: “Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve God day and night within the temple; and the One who sits upon the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

This then IS the GOOD NEWS! So here is my final word to this presbytery: GET OUT THERE AND LOVE THE HELL OUT OF THIS WORLD! In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

PGR on the Road!

Peoria-area Presbyterians gathered for coffee and fellowship recently for the first PGR on the Road adventure. Several new pastors to Great Rivers had the chance to meet colleagues, and Ruling Elders and Teaching Elders who have been around for a while were able to catch up.

Presbytery leadership has been seeking opportunities to connect with churches. With only four stated assemblies each year—all hybrid, and Zoom meetings for most committees, we don’t often find ourselves in the same room together. Leadership decided to visit a coffee shop every other month or so in one of the five regions of the Presbytery and invite pastors, clerks, commissioners, treasurers, and members to join us. They can come if they have specific questions and concerns or if they would simply like to spend time with the folks they usually only talk to on the phone.

In the coming months, the PGR Treasurer, Stated Clerk, CRE Coordinator, Moderator, Vice Moderator, and Lead Presbyter will be in or near Springfield, Rock Island-East Moline, Galesburg, and Bloomington-Normal.

— Rev. Ann Schwartz

Lead Presbyter, Presbytery of Great Rivers

Presbytery Trivia

The Presbytery of Great Rivers just had our first Trivia Night Fundraiser! Our presbytery leadership has been brainstorming ways to come together and help our communities, but in a geographically broad presbytery it can be hard to focus. Each trivia team played for a local mission close to their heart, and shared information about their ministry throughout the evening.

— Rev. Katie Styrt

Moderator, Presbytery of Great Rivers

Altar Fly Fishing Retreat

Commissioner of the Month!

Laura Reason

Presbytery of Great Rivers

Laura is a retired pastor living in Peoria, IL, where she serves as moderator of COM.

She says she likes serving SOLT because: "A blessing of serving in the Synod to help develop, nurture and support leaders is finding oneself being transformed and encouraged in all areas of my own ministries."

Newsletter Submissions

Have an announcement? Job opening? A good story to share?

Put it in the Synod E-News!

Click here to submit your news.

Denominational News

Pyoca Camp and Retreat Center (in the Presbytery of Ohio Valley) received a grant from the Strengthening Youth Programs in Indiana initiative to launch a day camp. Click here to read more.

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