Connecting & Informing the Presbytery of Arkansas
November 17, 2022
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The Presbytery office
will be closed from noon on
Wednesday, 11/23
through
Friday, 11/25
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Presbytery Profile:
Stated Clerk, Blake Brinegar
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MWS Blake Brinegar has officially been the new Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of Arkansas since October first. We thought it was time we got to know a little more about him besides the basic facts that he serves at First, Searcy, is married to MWS Elizabeth Brinegar, and he knows a lot about Presbyterian polity.
We asked Blake to write a brief bio for us. Click here to see what he shared, both written and in photos.
Blake's contact information can be found both in the directory and on the staff page of our website.
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Presbytery Online Worship Service
for Christmas Day
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The Presbytery recognizes the fact that we have many small congregations without pastoral leadership. That will make it especially hard finding someone to lead a Christmas Day worship service.
The Presbytery staff is offering the gift of an online Christmas day service for all of our congregations that we will drop on our youtube channel & link on Presbyark Connect a few days before Christmas. Carol Clark will offer a sermon and there will be special music as well as carols for congregational singing. Congregations can gather together in their sanctuaries to participate or people can watch individually in their homes.
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Correction: please note on the graphic below, that the first date for the Advent study is incorrect. The date of the first meeting will be Monday, November 28.
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Let's Welcome MWS Yvonne Thurmond |
Yvonne has been called to serve First Presbyterian in Yellville. Here is her brief bio.
I moved to Yellville, AR on November 3 from Griffin, GA with two cats – Shadow and Missy. Griffin is a medium sized town about 40 miles south of Atlanta. I was called to seminary later in life (actually God probably called me a long time before I was in a position to hear him).
I retired from The Home Depot in June of 2007 after 25 years of service, mostly in the Finance Accounting Division, and enrolled in Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. Upon graduation I worked as a hospital chaplain for one year and then received a call to pastor a small congregation in Morganton, NC. I was in that location for eight years.
I love learning and so in 2019 I decided to extend my education by enrolling in the doctoral program of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, PA. I completed that degree in May of 2021. I am a life-long Presbyterian and am excited to see what God will teach me and the congregation of Yellville as we worship, study, and serve together for many years to come.
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Westminster Presbyterian Church in Hot Springs turned on its new sign. Located on a busy highway, the sign is a great way to make the church more visible and to invite people to their events. The purchase of the sign was partially supported by a Future of the Church grant. |
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Westover Hills in Little Rock recently hosted an Alternative Christmas Market featuring local, national and world wide ministries that will benefit from Christmas gifts given to honor loved ones. Pictured here are Pastor Robert Lowry and Nancy Pasini, member and one of their many hard workers who made the market possible.
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Support The Vera Lloyd Youth |
Every year, generous churches and donors help Vera Lloyd create an unforgettable Christmas for the vulnerable, traumatized youth who call Vera Lloyd home. For many, this is the first time they have ever been asked "What do you want for Christmas?"
This Christmas, partner with Vera Lloyd to bring some magic into the lives of their youth.
Find gifts for the VL Youth & Homes on the Amazon gift registry by clicking here.
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Synod of The Sun, Valerie Young
Accepts New Position
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To the Fabulous & Faithful of the Synod of the Sun,
Recently, I shared with the Synod Coordinating Team of a new call for my life. I will serve out the remainder of my contract up to December 31, 2022. On January 16, 2023, I will begin serving as Synod Executive & Stated Clerk of the Synod of South Atlantic.
There could be no better time for a change such as this in the synod. Thomas Riggs, Director of Communications and Administration, has and will continue to manage the Communications Services Plan and the 20+ partners with grace, creativity, and efficiency. He is the best at what he does and has been a friend and colleague to me and many others along the way. Read more...
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The following is a blog post for Practical Resources for Churches (PRC) by Rochelle A. Stackhouse of Partners for Sacred Places:
Many clergy have a love/hate relationship with their church buildings. They have fond memories of special services or life-changing moments in small groups, but they hate the amount of money spent just to keep the place maintained, let alone do larger projects. At the same time, many parishioners have a deep love for their church buildings, and especially worship spaces. While this love can result in funds made available for that maintenance, it can also impede any kind of change in the look or use of the space. It can be tempting to call this love “idolatry,” and preach against this love of wood and stone as sinful. Which, of course, makes people angry and changes little.
Balancing an understanding of the sacred nature of our church spaces and our emotional responses to our memories of them with an understanding that the building, too, has a mission begins with acknowledging the power that space has in our lives. Dismissing this emotion as “idolatry” does not do justice to the work that God and the great cloud of witnesses past and present have done in and through these spaces.
Change in sacred places of any significant kind often engenders grief, sadness and sometimes anger. We have to begin by acknowledging these emotions and dealing with them as one would with a person grieving any other kind of significant loss. We need to move through celebrating the past to acknowledging the realities of the present to seeing the opportunities in the future. That last piece is critical because if congregants only see loss, then they are likely to impede the kinds of changes needed. If they only see loss in any potential change in building use, then magical thinking occurs and a congregation simply waits until the money is gone before taking steps toward transition, thus removing options. Those options may include the possibility of continuing to remain in the space while sharing it with another congregation or organization. When a congregation can see that there are options for a building to continue to serve the mission and vision of all the cloud of witnesses, past and present, then movement into a new future is possible.
PRC Recorded Webinars and Resources:
Leader - Rev. Dr. Rochelle A. Stackhouse, Partners for Sacred Spaces
Leader - Steve Jones
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- Wednesday 11/23 12:00pm Office closed for Thanksgiving - Friday
- Tuesday 11/29 10:00am Staff Meeting
- Thursday 12/1 2:00pm Administration Committee
- Friday 12/2 1:30pm COM Retreat - Saturday
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Presbytery of Arkansas
9221 N. Rodney Parham Road
Little Rock, AR 72227
501-663-2424
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