Gifts to the Peace & Global Witness Offering help stop human trafficking and the exploitation of children

The Peace & Global Witness Offering is unique in that half of it is directed to peacemaking and global witness efforts at the national church level to address critical issues around the world. Twenty-five percent is retained by congregations for local peace and reconciliation work, and 25% goes to mid councils for similar ministries on the regional level.

ENOUGH!

PLAYS TO END GUN VIOLENCE

NOVEMBER 6

FREE but ticket is required

ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence is a nationwide program that calls on teens to confront gun violence by creating new works of theater that will spark critical conversations and inspire meaningful action in communities across the country.

Timeline of Events 5:00pm – Welcome Reception (Reservation Required) First Presbyterian Church of South Bend 333 W Colfax Ave South Bend, IN 46601 6:30pm – March to End Gun Violence through Downtown South Bend 7:00pm – Presentation of Plays at South Bend Civic Theatre’s Wilson Studio Theatre WILSON AUDITORIUM SOUTH BEND CIVIC THEATRE

The PC(USA)’s Call to Worship journal launches a new website with more digital content

‘Go-to resource for planners of worship’ offers discounts for new subscribers

by Beth Waltemath | Presbyterian News Service

The Call to Worship website features an online gallery project called ASSEMBLE, showing work that explores themes related to liturgical theology and ritual studies. (“Lucent Shifts” by Olga Lah, courtesy of the Icehouse Arts Complex in Long Beach, California)

“For more than 50 years, Call to Worship and its precursor journals have fostered deep dialogue among pastors, musicians, and scholars around the theology and practice of worship,” said the Rev. Dr. David Gambrell, associate for worship with the Presbyterian Mission Agency, who sees the new website as an opportunity to expand these conversations in digital spaces and draw in fresh perspectives.

Learn More

The Church and God's Holy Imagination

Tuesday, December 5, 2023 | Holy Wisdom Monastery, Middleton

Join the Wisconsin Council of Churches Annual Meeting. We are happy to return to meeting in physical space this year, and will be meeting at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton. Registration includes the keynote speaker and access to the business session held on the morning of Tuesday, December 5th, lunch and other refreshments through the day, and access to workshops held in the afternoon. Workshops will be hosted by our keynote speaker, WCC staff, and area clergy. If you will be in town the evening before, you are invited to join us for a NEW pre-event that will create space for networking and visiting an interesting venue in Madison. More information coming soon.

soon.

Keynote Presentation by Jay Hulme

Jay Hulme is a poet, speaker, and theologian from Leicester, in the UK. His books for children have been nominated for some of the UK’s oldest and most prestigious writing and illustration awards. His books for adults are published by one of the UK’s leading Christian publishers and are widely reviewed and praised, with his poem ‘Jesus at the Gay Bar’ becoming an international sensation. Jay regularly speaks and preaches at churches, cathedrals, and theological conferences.

Who is invited to WCC’s Annual Meeting?

Everyone is invited and there are two ways to attend.

Each WCC member organization has official delegates who are able to vote and participate in the business meeting and all the events. If you are interested in serving as a delegate, reach out to your judicatory/organizational leaders about joining your delegation.

If you are not serving as a delegation member, you are still welcome and encouraged to join us! Anyone can attend. You will have access to all the events, but for the business meeting, you will only be able to observe. Only delegates have voice and vote for the business session.

For more information about the schedule, workshops, and the meeting, click here.

As you navigate the ever-evolving landscape of ministry, it’s essential to also prioritize your mental, spiritual and emotional well-being. This is especially true for women clergy as our role within the church continues evolving. The challenges and responsibilities we shoulder are mounting, and as we continue serving our communities and congregations, the toll this commitment takes on our mental health is real.

That’s why I would like to extend a heartfelt invitation to the women clergy within your congregation to join CWS’ Restore & Renew program– a one-year clergy cohort specifically tailored for women clergy.

We’re excited to have partnered with two amazing women clergy, who are also licensed professional clinical counselors. Each counselor is offering a self-care group of up to 12 women, where together they can prioritize their mental and emotional health. The program begins aboard a cruise ship on January 11, 2024.

Learn more and Register Here

Why Did Jesus Die

A Book review from Rev. David Crowley, Chaplain at Peabody Retirement Community

I am embarrassed that I was unaware of Fred Anderson’s, Why Did Jesus Die, until the Center for Theological Inquiry launched an interview with him. In retirement, he wrote a study of the issue of atonement. Over the years in the pastorate, he found himself troubled by the view that Christ died in a divine plan to ease criminal punishment to assuage the divine honor and sense of justice, penal substitution as it is called. Like many who struggle with the issue, he wonders if our view of God is consonant with the entire biblical corpus. He is extraordinarily well-read, but he writes in an accessible manner.

His work is quite helpful in its discussion of sacrifice. He goes back to its sense of a holy offering. Look at Leviticus (everyone’s favorite Biblical book) 2 and 3; its offerings have nothing to do with sin but with sought communion with God in thanksgiving. Second, he notices how utterly consumed with propitiation of sin are so many hymns, especially in more evangelical circles. On the other hand, our wonderful set of eucharistic prayers in the Book of Common Worship offer a full range of images to grasp the depth of the Lord’s Supper.

The final chapters offer a Pauline alternative to a singular focus on criminal penalty. He urges us to recapture a sense of being part of god’s new creation. Then, he asks that we recapture an old emphasis on union with Christ, so that atonement is about at-one-ment with Christ. Here he sharpens the deep meaning of baptism throughout one’s life as realized in Christian life.

Records Review Time

and we've added another date and location!

Dear clerks of session and moderators of sessions:

It is time to prepare for records reviews. This year we will be covering year 2022.

There will be both in-person and virtual options to select from.

Please click here to register for one of the options below:

~~In-Person: Wednesday, October 25, 2023, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (ET)/ 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (CT) at Winamac First Presbyterian Church, 77 E. 50 N. Winamac~~
In-Person: Tuesday, November 14, 2023, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (ET)/9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. (CT) at Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 140 W US Highway 30, Schererville
In-Person: Saturday, December 2, 2023, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (ET)/ 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (CT) Kokomo Faith Presbyterian Church, 1608 Kirk Row, Kokomo
Virtual: Tuesday, January 9, 2024, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.(ET)/6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. (CT)

The virtual meeting will be via Zoom, so you can stay home and not travel. It will require all clerks of sessions to have shared minutes with a peer clerk of session in advance of the meeting date. Further instructions will be emailed in early December giving all ample opportunity to share minutes by email and return your check sheets to me for further processing.

Check sheets can be found at the following link https://ourpresbytery.org/resources/clerks-of-session/ and scroll down to Records Review Check list and click on View File.

While the meeting is scheduled for two hours we will adjourn early if time dictates such. I do suggest one should be fairly comfortable with technology, but I will be happy to help anyone who wants to give this option a try.

We will take some time for some statistical report training, a question-and-answer time for anything you, as the clerk of session, would like to cover and/or any concerns you might have. Should there be a request to hold a virtual meeting earlier in the day one can be scheduled as long as we try to have an even number of attendees for sharing minutes purposes.

Marjorie Reinsch

Stated Clerk

Fall back on November 5, at 2:00 am or set your clocks back Saturday night before bed!

2023 BOUNDARY TRAINING FINAL OPTION

One last in-person option if you need to attend Boundary & Ethics Training to stay in compliance for 2023.

NEW DATE

November 18 (Saturday) 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.(ET)/9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. (CT)

Community Presbyterian Church, 530 Jefferson St., Rochester, IN 46975

(Presbytery of Wabash Valley) REGISTER HERE

Other accepted training Finally, if another recognized Boundary and Ethics course has been taken from place of employment or a professional organization outside the church simply submit proof such as a certificate to the Presbytery of Wabash Valley and its Commission on Ministry (COM) at info@ourpresbytery.org

OPEN SEARCHES FOR PASTORAL LEADERSHIP

Wabash Presbyterian Church, Wabash MORE INFORMATION

Westminster Presbyterian Church, Munster MORE INFORMATION

Korean Presbyterian Church, West Lafayette MORE INFORMATION

Prayers of the Presbytery

God of all ages, we thank you for all stages of our faith and lives. Open us, we beg, to serving and welcoming all your people. This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, who met strangers and friends and who gives us new life. Amen.

Prayer from the Presbyterian Mission Yearbook

We pray today

for the ministry and service of Auburn Presbyterian Church;
for RE Arlene Quinn, Lebanon First PC and PWV Nominating Committee member as she recovers from a back procedure;
for those who face daily chronic health concerns;
for our hurting world;
for PEACE.