Gracious God,
grant us the humility
and strength to follow your call
wherever it may lead,
whether close to home
or on distant shores.
Amen.
|
|
We Lift Up In Prayer...
Ongoing:
The Rev. Robert (Bob) Lakey, Honorably Retired,
is now under hospice care at the Cartwright Center in Saginaw. Brief visits are welcome.
The Rev. Dr. Tom Schacher, Pastor of Midland-Memorial and his family and congregation
as they deal with his recent diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease.
Pam Brackbill and the Rev. Tom Brackbill, Pastor of Alma-First as they deal with all that encompasses Pam's diagnosis of Younger Onset Alzheimer's Disease. Pam is under the care of Masonic Pathways.
Mission Co-Workers:
The Rev. Cathy Chang and family who are serving in the Philippines.
Michael and Rachel Ludwig
,
our Mission Co-Workers
who are serving in Niger.
For those Teaching Elders (Ministers of Word and Sacrament) and Commissioned Ruling Elders (CREs) who are celebrating Ordination or Commissioning Anniversaries in July and August:
The Rev. David Blackburn (7/1) - 45 years -
Honorably Retired
The Rev. Annie Duncan (7/27)
- Temporary Supply of Swartz Creek-Mundy
The Rev. Ken Hetzel (8/16) - 30 years - Pastor of Croswell-First
The Rev. Charles Marquardt (8/29) - Member-At-Large
|
Our Stated Clerk, the Rev. Ted McCulloch, is our guest writer for this edition of the Lion's Den column.
School's out for summer.
It's not only the main hook from a so-so 70s rock song (sorry, Alice Cooper fans) - it's the excited utterance of students everywhere (though I suspect teachers are just as ready for it after a loonnggg school year).
But it's also something I never said growing up. Not because I didn't want school to be out for the summer - I did. I never said "School's out for summer" because, growing up, I went to school all year round. My school district in Illinois was on a 45-15 plan, where you were in school for 45 days and then off for 15 (or nine weeks on and three weeks off if that's your preference). Part of this was because my school district grew so fast, they couldn't build schools fast enough for all of us. This way ΒΌ of the students were always out of school.
While kids in other school districts always thought it was horrible that we went to school in the summer, they were just as jealous when they realized we got time off in the fall, the winter, and the spring too.
While at the time, I wasn't sure I liked not having the whole summer off, looking back on it now, I have to say I actually really liked going to school all year round. Part of it was it kept me from getting bored which my parents, my wife, and too many others would tell you is a very good thing. Part of it was I got to keep learning about things which I enjoyed. Part of it was I never lost everything I had just learned the last year.
As I give Dan a little summer vacation from this edition of the Bi-weekly Brief, I thought of my old way of going to school and how it can kind of be how we live out our faith. Living out our faith is something we have to work on all year round. We can't just show up on Sundays and not think about our faith the other six days of the week. We can't just exercise our faith at Christmas and Easter and never do anything with it the rest of the year.
Having been part of this Presbytery since 1989 (man, that's a long time!), I've been blessed to see many different ways that we seek to live out our faith. It is fascinating to me that even after all these years, I continue to see and hear about new ministries, new ways of being "the church," new opportunities to live for Christ. Just in the last week or so, I heard about the youth outreach one of our smaller churches engages in and how it makes a huge difference in their community. In another congregation, a new way of worshipping was tried (and no one complained!). In another, people rallied around a family in their community and provided them with meals during a time of grief.
Faith is something we have to be involved with all the time. When we do so, we find that our faith will continue to grow and we become deeper in knowledge and understanding, just as I did in going to school all year round. And when we continue to deepen our knowledge and love of Jesus, we will find that faith is never, ever boring. In fact, living in Christ is the most exciting, interesting way to live, period. Life is better, the world is brighter, and we are closer, when we stay close in Christ.
Plus, the more we engage Christ and make him a real part of our lives, we find that we really like being alive in this faith all year round and not just a few times here or there. In other words, the more we experience and live in Christ, the more it becomes part of who we are and it becomes impossible to ever really lose what we've learned through the love of Christ.
That's something we can enjoy going to all year round, every year. So maybe church - faith - isn't out for summer. Instead may we enjoy being part of faith all year around. That's what living in Christ is all about.
Yours in Christ,
Ted McCulloch, Stated Clerk and very, very occasional contributor to the Biweekly Brief.
|
Organist/A
ccompanist Needed
Fenton-First is searching for a part-time organist/accompanist to begin in mid-August/September. Please
click here for complete details including how to apply.
|
Latest News From The Ludwigs
Thank you for your faithful prayers.
We can't thank you enough. Your prayers make a difference. In addition to continuing to pray for the evangelists, would you be willing to include the pastors in Diffa in your prayers? There are more Christians in the area due to NGO's, soldiers, and refugees coming into the area. The pastors are stretched thin and it is a dangerous place to live.
Too important to miss...The Niger Network Meeting has been scheduled! Some of you may think this isn't something you are interested in, so I would like to highlight one part of this meeting that I believe every church and every person will find applicable. Wednesday, July 26th 8:30-9:45 am Devotions by Dave Carver - qualities and value of partnerships and networks. This outward focus and friendship is an essential element of growth for any church and individual.
Peace,
Michael and Rachel Ludwig
If you would like to follow their adventures and their mission work in Niger, please contact Staci Percy at
[email protected]
or 989-799-7481 x2 for their blog address. (They have asked that the link to it not be published online.)
|
2017 Stewardship Kaleidoscope Registration
The early registration deadline is August 1st - act now to reserve your spot for the conference that will give you real tools for real ministry! The focus is stewardship, explored in its many dimensions, through plenary speakers, workshops, and worship. The setting is the Tradewinds Resort at beautiful St. Pete Beach, Florida. The benefits are countless! Whether you are looking to expand your repertoire for year-round stewardship initiatives, to deepen your congregation's practices of generosity, or to network with colleagues who care about the church - you will find it here. The conference takes place September 25-27, 2017.
Learn about the plenary and workshop leaders, ponder which workshops could fuel your ministry this year, and complete your registration process, either on-line or through the mail. Register by August 1st to take advantage of our lower registration fee!
For complete information, follow this link:
2017 Stewardship Kaleidoscope Conference.
Scholarships are available. Check their website for details.
|
Here are links to articles that we hope you will enjoy and perhaps spend some time discussing them with others. Click on the title to read the entire article.
Every church, regardless of size, needs volunteers. Volunteers make Sunday services possible by providing childcare, greeting people as they arrive, running lighting and sound, and much more.
The challenge is in getting more people to serve on a regular basis. You may have tried several approaches to bridge that gap including announcements from the stage, videos, emails, asking people individually, and volunteer "job fairs."
Those methods can work. However, it's best to first consider how the approach you decide to use will come across to potential volunteers.
Here's what potential volunteers want to know
.
..
continue reading.
|
Newsletters are a great way to keep members in the know about current events and happenings in the church. At Design Pickle, we mail a printed newsletter out to our community every month with letters from our founder, features of a stellar designer, pickle-themed recipes and fun, unique graphics throughout. This keeps our members engaged in what's going on with us so they'll be more inclined to tell us what's going on with
them.
The key to a great newsletter is to engage members with realness. Create content that matters and keep them reading with creative design. Whether you send out a printed newsletter or an email newsletter, below are five ways to create one that your entire ministry will
want
to read
..
..
continue reading
.
|
Part of your social media strategy should include the use of a social media policy. This can be a controversial move for many people, but it can be incredibly useful to not only protect the church, but also to help align everyone with your mission. And more importantly, align the public's perception with your vision and goals.
A social media policy is a written document of guidelines and policies that can either be suggested or enforced, depending on what is needed and acceptable within your organization. The most common objection I hear to social media policies like this is that your employer, even a church, can't control what I do or post on my own personal channels or on my own personal time. First Amendment rights and all that. While that's legally true (it's actually a gray area, but I'm no lawyer), it doesn't mean the church can't provide some direction on what the best biblical behavior should be.
.
..
continue reading
.
|
NOTE: The articles listed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of or intended to be an endorsement by the Presbytery of Lake Huron but are shared to encourage discussion of various topics.
|
|
Connect With Other Churches In The Lake Huron Presbytery
There are so many wonderful things going on in all of our congregations. Several of our churches have set up Facebook pages to help spread the good news not only to their members but to all who may be interested. Liking other church Facebook pages is a great way to connect with others in the presbytery and to share ideas with each other. Here are some of the churches that have Facebook pages:
|
'Like' Us On Facebook
The presbytery has a Facebook page and would like you to join us. Get updates and information faster. Connect with others to share ideas and to post information about events happening in your congregation. Join us today!
|
| Staci Percy Communications Manager/Recording Clerk [email protected] 989-799-7481 x2 |
|
|
|
About the
Bi-Weekly Brief
Hundreds of elders, educators, and church leaders read the Presbytery of Lake Huron's email sent out every other week.
You can reissue or modify this content for your own church bulletin or newsletter, without crediting the Bi-Weekly Brief, but please credit any organizations, photographers, etc, that we credited.
NOTE: The Presbytery of Lake Huron retains permission to modify submissions for clarity and length. Inclusion of an item in the Bi-Weekly Brief means that we think it's interesting and/or important, and does not constitute an endorsement of its point of view or its journalistic accuracy.
|
Commission on Ministry - Outreach and Administration Team
July 26
11:00 am
Coordinating Team
August 9
10:00 am
Commission on Preparation for Ministry
August 16
10:00 am
Commission on Ministry - Full Team
August 24
11:00 am
Personnel Team
August 28
10:00 am
|
|
Details on these meetings can be found on the presbytery's website on the calendar.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
