We Lift Up In Prayer

Ordination and Commissioning Anniversaries:



Rev. Andrew Miller (4/4) - Pastor of Mt. Pleasant-First

Rev. Dong Won Park (4/15) - Honorably Retired

Elder Jon Baker (4/26) - Commissioned Ruling Elder of Rosebush

Rev. Hoon Koo Lee (4/27) - Member-At-Large

Rev. Katrina Pekich-Bundy (5/1) - 15 Years - Pastor of Alma-First

Rev. Ed Borycz (5/12) - Honorably Retired

Rev. Kim Strunz (5/16) - 5 Years - Member-At-Large

Rev. Dale Swihart (5/16) - Honorably Retired

Rev. Dr. Daniel Ahn (5/18) - Honorably Retired and Pastor Emeritus of Saginaw-Michigan Nanum

Rev. Bruce Cunningham (5/18) - Honorably Retired

Additional contact information for anyone on this list

may be obtained by replying to this email.

New Series of Articles:

What Is The Presbytery

One of the items that came out of the initial discussions of the Listening and Discovery Team established by Council was an interest in sharing information about "What Is The Presbytery?". The Rev. Robbie Carnes (Pastor of Fenton-First, member of COMMP and member of the Listening and Discovery Team) has composed a series of articles that will be featured in the next few Bi-Weekly Briefs. Here is the first one.

What Is The Presbytery? Part 2: Aspirational Aspects to the Presbytery’s Calling

In investigating what the Book of Order has to say about the Presbytery, I found that there are theological, aspirational and practical descriptions and concerns for the Presbytery.  This week we are briefly looking at the aspirational aspects of the Book of Order’s words about the Presbytery.

The last section that the Presbytery needs to ‘keep before it’ is found in F-1.0304. This is the great ends of the church which are: 1. the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind; 2. the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God; 3. the maintenance of divine worship; 4. the preservation of the truth; 5. the promotion of social righteousness; 6. and the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world. This is the section that I called aspirational in that we fulfill these ends now as the church temporal engages in Christ’s Mission and in that we will continue to live out these ends (with slight variation) eternally. 

As Churches there is a lot to live up to in the Great Ends of the Church. The poetic language is inspiring and provides us with virtuous goals to strive for. They are lofty and are rarely lived out in full. The beauty of the Reformed tradition is that: 1. We know we are always reforming so we don’t expect to be perfect until Christ comes again and 2. We are connectional and so we work together at all levels of the institutional church to work out these ends within our spiritual lives together. In short, the Presbytery is tasked with helping local churches to strive toward these ends.

The theological and aspirational aspects of the Presbytery are shared by its member churches. There is not one thing in these categories that the Presbytery should be doing that the Churches should not be doing, representing, and/or aspiring to. This points to the leadership roles of the Presbytery, but not to the functional roles. The local church should be involved in expressing all of the great ends of the church, proclaiming the Word, administering the sacraments, nurturing the community, and understanding and working for the catholicity of the church. As local churches we should not expect the Presbytery to do these things in place of the local church. This is where the Presbytery can nurture, equip, and encourage the local churches, but it cannot act in place of the local churches.  

To Be Continued...

Croswell-First

The Presbyterian Women Association of the First Presbyterian Church in Croswell is very active for the size of the church and the women’s group. As with many churches in “The Thumb” of the Presbytery, our church and PW group are small, but able to accomplish a considerable amount of goodwill both globally and locally. Major funding for all projects is raised by hosting a Marketplace (Church Bazaar) and luncheon every October.

Locally:

• Provide personal care items and clothing to the local schools’ Care Closets
• Provide financial help to local families in need
• Deliver hot meals to those in the congregation that are alone or unable to get out, averaging 24 meals each month
• Coordinate Friendship Hour after church every week, providing time for socialization for the church members
• Provide high school graduates with scholarships
• Send care packages to college students
• Provide funeral dinners with request

Globally:

• Support a mission project in Haiti – Bethlehem Ministries
• Participate in Blanket Sunday
• Participate and coordinate Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse

The Presbyterian Women of the First Presbyterian Church of Croswell will continue to contribute and help with missions both globally and local in the future. 

From Our Board of Pensions Representative, Luke Choi

Greetings,

By now, you’ve probably received an invitation to the Benefits Regional Summit events held in various cities across the country from the Board of Pensions. Since none of these locations are within a reasonable driving distance from you, I’ve decided to host our own condensed version of the Benefits Regional Summit virtually in partnership with the Presbyteries of Lake Huron and Mackinac.

So, join us for this informative virtual town hall, through which I hope to provide important updates and insights into the Benefits Plan of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and related programs offered by the Board of Pensions to you the pastoral leaders and the congregational benefits decision-makers.

Title: 2026 Virtual Benefits Summit for Lake Huron & Mackinac

Date/Time: Monday, April 20, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM (EST)

Please Register in advance for this meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/ds9o6TwvS8W7RWfswiisBA

(After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.)

Among the topics you will hear about are:

• Medical Plan cost trends and changes in the healthcare system
• Dues package subsidies that would ease financial burdens for congregations, pastors, and their families
• Plans and programs that support those who serve the Church, including Assistance Program enhancements such as the new Child Care Support

You will also have the opportunity to ask questions.

Wishing God’s best for you,

Rev. Luke Choi

Church Consultant for the Synod of the Covenant, Western New York presbyteries, Korean American presbyteries, and KPCA



최정석 목사

언약대회, 서부 뉴욕, 한미 노회 및 해외한인장로교회 담당 연금국 컨설턴트, 한어권교회 관계 총괄

Synod of the Covenant Cultivating the Gift of Preaching Initiative

The Cultivating the Gift of Preaching Initiative (CGPI) is now recruiting participants to be part of our third year of training emerging lay preachers! The application can be found on the Synod of the Covenant’s webpage.

CGPI is a ministry in the Synod focused on training lay preachers. It is funded by a $1.25m Lilly Compelling Preaching Grant. The goal of CGPI is to strengthen the witness of the Church to the good news of Jesus Christ, by identifying, training, and providing ongoing support to emerging preachers.

We welcome applications from any member of a PC(USA) congregation withing the bounds of the Synod off the Covenant who has a call to preach. We also welcome applications from CREs who desire more formation in preaching.

CGPI is an 18-month, cohort model program. Participants are placed in a cohort of 5-8 participants and are led by a preaching mentor (an experienced Teaching Elder from the Synod with extensive experience regularly preaching in a congregational setting). Participants meet monthly online. In addition, there are four in person meetings, twice with everyone in CGPI at the Alma Conference each June, and twice with just your cohort.

This year, the program begins with a 5-day conference at Alma College in Alma, MI. This year that conference is June 4-8 (Thursday evening – Monday morning).

The cost of the program is $1,250; $250 to be paid by the individual and $1000 by your home church and/or presbytery. Scholarships are available as well as payment plans for the churches. The actual total cost is $11,000 per participant, the grant pays for the remainder. All travel and housing expenses, books, etc. are paid for by the grant.

Applications are due by April 15th, but we will continue to process applications on a rolling basis as long as there are open slots

If you have any questions, please contact the CGPI program director, Matt Aragon Bruce at

matt@synodofthecovenant.org / 609-712-4258. 

Save The Date

Synod of the Covenant Presbyterian Women Annual Gathering

Theme for 2026 is: Unity and Love in the Body of Christ

Scripture inspiration is: Psalm 133:1

July 24-25, 2026

Southminister Presbyterian Church in Dayton, Ohio

Any questions? Contact Anita Betts, 517-993-7000 or busybeemom50@yahoo.com

We Are a Virtual Office

The Presbytery Office is a virtual office. Our business hours are still Monday through Thursday. Please note that all staff members are part time and hours vary from person to person. Click the link below for contact information for each of us. (Our email and phone numbers remain the same.)

All mail should still be sent to our post box. You can continue to pay for things (per capita, calendars, etc.) via check. If you prefer, you may also pay online.

Presbytery of Lake Huron | www.presbylh.org