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Presbytery of New Covenant

Announcements and Events

Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Happy birthday, America!

This week's image is found here.

Our offices are closed today for the Fourth of July holiday.

How does your congregation celebrate America?

Join the conversation at ncconnect.org

How well do you know your neighborhood? Demographic studies for congregations

using Mission Insite can be accessed here.

View as Webpage

Call to the July 15 Stated Meeting of the Presbytery of New Covenant

Spring Branch Presbyterian Church, 1215 Campbell Rd. in Houston, is our host for the July 15 meeting. Rev. Ted Foote will be the preacher for the worship service. Meeting materials should be ready by Tuesday, July 11. The registration link will be sent to Clerks of Session and minister members this week, and in Tuesday Connect next week. One workshop is listed below. There are others planned, including one from Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston on Immigration and Refugee Services, and another on Intergenerational Worship Services.

Using Mission Insite

MissionInsite is a proprietary cloud-based technology platform that is designed specifically for church, faith-based, and non-profit leaders. It bridges the gap between raw demographic data and actionable information by helping answer the "where" and "what about" questions for your organization and community. It provides the same kind of professional-grade deep-dive demographic data that major corporations use when trying to assess the "market" in a particular location.

The key thing to remember is that the reports DO NOT tell you what to do for ministry and mission (M&M), but, by "asking questions" of the data, ministry and mission opportunities pretty much leap off the page. For example, if the reports indicate a high percentage of senior citizens in the radius, that might be a good programmatic or engagement with the community initiative. Similarly, if the data shows a high percentage of single mothers, or parent with young children that can inform M&M.

The MissionInsite tool is FREE to use for members of Presbytery of New Covenant and you can run as many reports as desired. For example, you might run a 2 1/2 mile radius to get a general picture of the area around your church, or a 1 mile radius centered around a large apartment complex. The link is in the box at the top of this email.

If a congregation desires presbytery to bring a free onsite workshop to the congregation, pastor and leadership team, please contact Dave Coles to talk about getting together. A very high-level workshop can be done in about an hour, and a full-blown deep-dive workshop is generally a half day.

Seeking Vendors for Market Day at John Knox

The congregation of John Knox Presbyterian Church seeks vendors for their:

Oktoberfest and Market Day at John Knox

2525 N. Gessner Rd., Houston, TX 77080

Saturday, October 14, 2023

1:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Benefitting the Spring Branch Color Run and the Mission of Yahweh

Vendors may sign up online at www.johnknoxhouston.org

Items for sale do not need to be home/handmade. For franchise type seller, the first one that signs up/pays is the one that gets the spot. It should be a great day under the oak trees at JKPC!

Building Healthy Teams Workshop - July 15

The Congregational Resourcing Team is eager to fulfill our call to resource New Covenant congregations in relevant and helpful ways. We are hosting a workshop immediately before the July 15 Presbytery meeting at Spring Branch Presbyterian Church, from 9 to 9:45 am.

Saying yes to leading a committee or ministry team can be daunting. When so many are so busy, how does a leader build a healthy team of volunteers that work effectively together and are motivated to get things done? Ruling Elder Connie Nyquist has been facilitating ministry teams and committees at various levels of the PC(USA) for many years. She is a wizard at building strong teams and will offer her insight and some best practices for leading a team well.

Pastors and Stated Clerks, we would be delighted if you invited your lay leaders to attend this workshop, whether or not they are not Presbytery commissioners. And carve out the time to come – maybe you’ll learn a new trick to add to your leadership tool kit!

Need Round Tables?

Faith Presbyterian Church, Baytown, has seven laminated, round tables, seating 8-9 people, in good condition, with a cart on wheels to hold the tables. If you are interested, please contact Ann Reilly at 281-787-9171 (text is acceptable) or gfgareilly@earthlink.net.

Seeking Commissioners for GA 226 in

Salt Lake City!

The next General Assembly is a year away to be held in Salt Lake City, June 25-July 4, 2024. Committees will meet online for their work (June 25-27), and then the commissioners will meet in person for plenary (June 29-July 4). The Presbytery of New Covenant sends 4 commissioners, two Ruling Elders, and two Teaching Elders (Ministers of Word and Sacrament). Please consider how God might be calling you into this work. Applications are due by July 31 for consideration by the Nominating Committee. Click here for Ruling Elders, click here for Teaching Elders. Please return completed application forms to Helen DeLeon and Lynn Hargrove.