GOOD NEWS

from the

Presbytery of Great Rivers

We are called to share Christ's love by partnering in service, 

uniting in worship, and risking in ministry.

December 15, 2023

Announcements

Presbytery Closures for the Holidays 

PGR offices will be closed and staff will be on vacation for Christmas, beginning Friday, Dec. 22, 2023, through Monday, Jan. 1, 2024.  

From the Lead Presbyter 

At Christmas, we celebrate the incarnation—God showing up “in the flesh” in Jesus. With this expression of embodied love, “the Word became flesh and lived among us . . . full of grace and truth” (John 1.14), or as The Message says: “The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood,” forever changing God’s relationship to humanity and humanity’s relationship to the divine.

Because of Jesus, we can see, hear, and know God in ways never before possible. God, in Jesus, chose to bridge the distance, to relate to us on terms we can understand, by living with us in the midst of every conceivable condition—in human weakness, suffering, pain, grief, hunger, poverty, alienation, doubt, fear, and frustration, as well as in our loving, hoping, seeking, connecting, creating, and forgiving.

The incarnation cannot save us from broken bones or heartbreak, aging or death—or any of the painful experiences of being in our bodies in this world. But the word that we hear from the manger, whispered in love, is that we can forever trust that God is with us from our first breath to our last.

Beloved people of God, I wish you all the blessings of Christmas.

Grace and peace, 

Rev. Ann Schwartz

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89888670557

Meeting ID: 898 8867 0557

PGR Newsletter Schedule

Newsletters go out the 2nd and 4th Friday of the month. Please send any articles for publication to Crystal by Tuesdays at 5 pm.

Electronic Giving Is Now Available 

The Presbytery of Great Rivers can now accept electronic payments from individuals for Assembly offerings, lunches, and Presbytery Mission Giving.

There is a $500 limit for online giving. Churches should still issue checks or have payment sent from their online bank service for per capita and mission giving. 

Prayers of the Presbytery

"O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;

cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today.

We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;

O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!"

From: "O Little Town of Bethlehem"

We pray today for:

• Bobbie Furr, spouse of Rev. Wayne Furr, College Avenue Presbyterian Church, Aledo
• Terry Moore, RE, Sugar Tree Grove Church, and spouse of CLP Pam Moore
• Rev. Debra Avery (Peoria, United Presbyterian Church)
• Cathy Strawbridge, spouse of Treasurer Bill Strawbridge
• Sarah Peterman, daughter of Arie Van Proyen, Chatham PC Treasurer
• Martha Van Proyen, mother of Arie Van Proyen, Chatham PC Treasurer

Clerk's Corner



It is finally Annual Statistical Reporting time! I hope you are as excited as I am! The goal is to send out all of the documents by email, so if you are a new clerk and you haven't told me, please do let me know! Please send me an email at pastorebailey@gmail.com. Sending forms out through email instead of paper mail saves the presbytery about $200 or more. The clerk portal is open. If you know your church's ID number and password, you can go ahead and start looking at the portal but there isn't anything you can submit until after your session votes approval after the first of the year.

There are several other documents. Please take time to look through them. Some of the other documents you will be able to fill out and send in earlier if you would like. As always, send me an email if you have a question.

The presbytery virtual office will be closed from December 22nd through January 1st. If you need something, please send me an email. I will be checking emails once or twice. Once the new year begins, I will be continuing my Stated Clerk office hours Monday through Thursday from 7:30 am to 3 pm. I will be continuing my internship and working on Fridays and the evenings.

Rev. Elissa Bailey

Presbytery of Great Rivers Stated Clerk

Thank You from the Nominating Committee!

"Thank you from the Nominating Committee to all those who served on our presbytery committees in 2023. Thank you to the congregations who supported that work. Thank you for all the prayers, ideas, and conversations that have helped the Nominating Committee do our work. We appreciate your partnership in ministry. In Christ's service, Gary Terpstra, Cheyanna Losey, Gary Davis, and Julio Garcia." 

Support the Christmas Joy Offering

During the season of Advent, we remember and reflect on God’s perfect gift, Jesus Christ. This child, the Word made flesh, became one of us. Through the Christmas Joy Offering, we honor this amazing gift by supporting leaders among us—past, present, and future. The Christmas Joy Offering supports retired ministers and church workers and their families through the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions and students in Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color as they pursue education and prepare to use their gifts in service to the church and world. Resources for interpretation of the Offering can be found here. Videos for Christmas Joy and other Special Offerings can be found here.

From Your Finance Team

Churches,

Looking ahead as we race towards the fiscal end of 2023 - hold on it’s coming fast. 😲 Please be sure to cut & mail your check to PGR by Thurs 12/21/2023.

The PGR offices will be closed beginning Fri 12/22/23 thru Mon 1/1/24. Mail received during this will be credited to 2023 giving.

Anything received afterwards will show on your 2024 statements -- However, it can be applied against 2023 remaining balances.

We now have 54 of our 85 churches who have paid their 2023 Per Capita dues in full. Thank you to all those who have paid!

If you haven’t paid it yet there’s still time!!

Reach out to Sabrina at smcgrath@greatriverspby.org or 309-683-6981 to find out what remaining balance you have

Always remember to submit a fully completed remittance form with any check you send to the presbytery. We've still been receiving checks with no remittance form. The completed form helps ensure that we apply your payment as you intend. If sending from your bank online, you can email your remittance form to smcgrath@greatriverspby.org.

2024 Per Capita will be $37.25, an increase of $1. The annual Per Capita mailing was sent to the mailing address we have for your church. Packets were mailed to the attention of your clerk of session. Please watch for this. If for some reason you don't receive it, please let us know.

We’ve already had 4 churches pay their 2024 per capita in full. Thank you to Clayton, Divernon, Reynolds – Hamlet Perryton & Greenview!

Thanks,

Sabrina McGrath - Bookkeeper

Bill Strawbridge - Treasurer

Please click on the blocks below to follow the links:

Paid Leave for All Workers Act

Starting January 1, 2024, the Paid Leave for All Workers (PLAW) Act will take effect in Illinois. This act mandates that all workers, irrespective of their status as full-time or part-time, are entitled to earn and use up to 40 hours of paid leave time each year. The legislation provides that paid leave shall accrue at the rate of one hour for every 40 hours worked. Employees will be paid their full wage while on leave and tipped workers will be paid the minimum wage in their respective locale. An employer cannot require an employee to find their replacement for the leave.

The Illinois Department of Labor is in the process of preparing guidance and other resources and materials to educate employees and assist employers with compliance. If you have any questions or comments to inform their outreach and compliance assistance efforts, you may do so by emailing: DOL.PaidLeave@illinois.gov

Below are a few links that give more information on the PLAW Act.

The PLAWA pdf is at the bottom of the Financial Page of the website. The financial page is the middle link above.

Presbyterian Hymnals Available

College Avenue Presbyterian Church has about 100 copies of the blue Presbyterian Hymnal available. Contact Lorine Etheridge at 309-582-2182 for more information.

Public Domain Hymn Project

The first Christmastide videos of the Presbytery's Public Domain Hymn project are available!

While many congregations have been without regular musicians for years, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the problem. To ease this burden, the Presbytery of Plains and Peaks in Colorado has embarked on a project to bring all of the Public Domain hymns in our denominational hymnal, Glory to God, to congregations for a small donation.

They started with the hymns for Christmas and will move on to the other public domain hymns in the new year. Working with a church musician, hymns were recorded in MIDI format and then imported into editing software so that lyrics and backgrounds could be provided. Each hymn is available with white lyrics on a black background, or with white lyrics on a colored background.

The hymns are available for a nominal donation of $3 per hymn (whether black & white or with a colored background) to help offset the cost of producing the videos.

Full information is available via their website: https://sites.google.com/a/plainsandpeaks.org/presbytery-of-plains-and-peaks/public-domain-hymn-project

Special Days and Emphasis Sundays

Listed below are the special days and emphasis Sundays through mid-February. If a date below is not hyperlinked to available resources, please visit the Special Days and Emphasis Sundays site for ongoing updates.

December

Christmas Joy Offering (Dec. 24, 2023)

January

New Year’s Day (Jan. 1, 2024)

Human Trafficking Awareness Day (Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024)

Matthew 25: Dismantle Structural Racism Sunday (Jan. 14, 2024)

Racial & Intercultural Justice/Presbyterians Affirm Black Lives Matter (Jan. 14, 2024)

Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday (Jan. 15, 2024)

Ecumenical Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins (Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024)

Per Capita Sunday (Jan. 21, 2024)

February

World Interfaith Harmony Week begins (Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024)

Remember Our Chaplains — Presbyterian Federal Chaplaincies (Feb. 4, 2024)

Presbyterian Media Sunday (Feb. 4, 2024)

Souper Bowl of Caring (Feb. 4, 2024)

Thursdays in Black (Feb. 8, 2024)

Camp and Retreat Sunday (Feb. 11, 2024)

Click on the image above to subscribe to their newsletter!

Presbytery of Great Rivers Virtual Office

Virtual Office Assistant Crystal Goforth 309-683-6980 Email: office@greatriverspby.org

Crystal works remotely from South Carolina (Eastern Time) and is available until 4 pm CST Monday thru Wednesday and Friday, and 1:45 pm EST on Thursdays. Please leave her a message & she will return your call.

Bookkeeper Sabrina McGrath 309-683-6981 Email: smcgrath@greatriverspby.org

Sabrina works from Peoria IL.

Her regular schedule is Tues & Thurs between 8am-3pm (Central Time)

Lead Presbyter Ann Schwartz 309-683-6983 Email: aschwartz@greatriverspby.org

Ann's Sabbath Day is Friday.

Stated Clerk Elissa Bailey 309-371-2511  Email: pastorebailey@gmail.com

My regular office hours are Monday through Thursday from 7:30 am - 3 pm.(Central Time) If you have an emergency, please call or text me at 309-371-2511.

Get Connected!

Be sure to encourage your congregations, sessions, and even your church newsletter editorial staff and volunteers to be sure to sign up for our presbytery newsletter and follow our Facebook page so you don't miss out on what is going on in our community of churches!

Have you liked our "Presbytery of Great Rivers" Facebook page?