PSL UP2DATE January 24 - Presbytery Newsletter

Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley

"partner with and equip present and emerging

PC(USA) faith communities in central Alabama

to serve Christ and our neighbors"

Transitions: A New World & The Black Church

Black Church Studies Consultation 2022

February 16-18, 2022

Deadline to register: February 14th!

Cost is $25 per person

LPTS students may attend free with promo code (sent in a separate email).

Attend workshops on hybrid church technology, overcoming pandemic challenges, with focus on social justice, mental health, and an in-depth conversation about how the Black Church transitions in a new world.

News from Montreat Conference Center

Articles including Faith and Grief Retreat, Discovering Renewal, and read more...

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Women's Connection

August 12-14, 2022

Gather your groups now for Women's Connection registration opening on February 1! Women's Connection 2022 will be a time for women to ... more information.

Visit our website

Registration opens

February 1, 2022!

Fidelity Event

Fidelity will host a virtual Ask Fidelity event on February 1, and they are inviting members to participate. All pastors and church staff are welcome to attend—you do NOT have to be current 403(b) participants to join the event.

More information

2022 Presbyterian Youth Triennium

Sun July 24-Wed July 25

Indianapolis, Indiana

(Indiana Convention Center and Downtown Hotels)

Will we SEE you at the Youth Triennium?

When we DO SEE you we will be overjoyed! There is a place where you can SEE and be SEEN. Where the church sees YOU and Celebrates YOU. Where God’s people gather to SING, CELEBRATE, EXPLORE and learn to SEE what God is doing! Triennium is a gathering for high school age youth (rising high school freshmen through graduated seniors) from the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. All Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley participants are registered through the Presbytery registrar, Pat Goodman [email protected]. More information about registration, event plans, venue can be found on the Triennium website www.presbyterianyouthtriennium.org

PHFC Thrift Store Monthly Donation day at SVPC

The next collection date is Saturday,

February 5, 2022. Bring your usable discards, gently used clothing, etc., to the Presbyterian Home for Children's reception center in the rear parking lot, below the playground of Shades Valley Presbyterian Church.

Volunteers will be on hand to unload your vehicle and to give you a receipt for your tax-deductible donation. The center will be open from 8 AM - 12 noon. To volunteer or for more information, contact Terry Tingle, 256-339-4030.

Celebrate Self-Development of People Sunday on March 13—A message from SDOP

The Self-Development of People (SDOP) Sunday Worship Resource will serve as a guide for you, mid councils, and congregations to become better familiar with the ways that the SDOP national and mid council committees engage in their work through the church and in communities. It includes a sample sermon, hymns, liturgical materials, and stories about SDOP-funded community partners in communities locally, nationally, and internationally. Also included is other helpful material for congregations to celebrate this special Sunday. We are hopeful that this resource inspires you to support this ongoing work through the One Great Hour of Sharing collected on Easter Sunday.

You are invited to join the struggle is real webinar series on the intersectionality of poverty and varied social justice issues with church and community leaders. Email us for more information or to sign up. If you missed the last couple of webinars, you can find them here.

“Becoming Prayer: Incarnation Makes Mystics of Us All”

The Rev. Dr. Vincent Pizzuto, Presenter

Saturday, March 12, 2022

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Birmingham, AL

9:00 am - 3:00 pm

Rev. Joe Slane's wife, Beverly, is the coordinator and they are both on the Leadership Team for Contemplative Outreach Birmingham - which supports the ministry of Centering Prayer groups in central and north Alabama.

Joe and Beverly are are planners and sponsors (with others!) of the March 12 event described in the attachment.

Joe quotes, "Vincent Pizzuto is an outstanding speaker and author".

"CULTIVATING YOUR OWN OLDER ADULT MINISTRY"

A Winter Cohort -- Mid-Feb. 2022

The Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries Network (POAMN) is pleased to partner with the Presbyterian Mission Agency's Office of Christian Formation to offer an online, coach facilitated cohort focused on strengthening, nurturing, and supporting leaders of older adult ministries. The study group will consist of 5 to 8 people and will meet for six 90-minute sessions. Group members will select their own area of focus and develop individualized goals designed to cultivate their older adult ministry. The coach will guide and facilitate each session, foster a positive environment for exchanges and conversation, and provide feedback for individual projects. Participants are expected to be active partners in learning: supporting, guiding, and resourcing the group.

The cohort is open to POAMN members and non-members who hold leadership roles in older adult ministry.

Dates: Six 90 minute weekly sessions beginning February 24. Orientation February 21.

Registration Fee: $25 contribution to POAMN

Registration: Is now Open and Closes on February 14.

Young adults impress leaders at 2022 College Conference at Montreat

Leaders say they’re ‘blown away’ by the depth of spiritual and theological conversations

Where do we go from here?

Stated Clerk explores what ministry looks like after two years of COVID

Returning to his Red Clay Creek roots U.S. Senator Chris Coons helps the church that nurtured him, Red Clay Creek Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware, launch its 300th anniversary celebration

AMCL/ASC Conference

An invitation to lead

The Association of Mid Council Leaders and the Association of Stated Clerks are holding a conference online, the afternoons of February 16 & 17 beginning at 1:00 PM EST. The format will feature workshops instead of a keynote speaker. You are invited to consider leading a workshop. If you are interested, please click here to volunteer.

Greetings Mid Council Leaders,

We want to inform you as soon as possible about some recent decisions made by the Stated Clerk and the Office of the General Assembly related to the 225th General Assembly (2022):

Racial Justice Pilgrimage

Come experience the history of enslavement, civil rights, and the ongoing work of racial justice through a Racial Justice Pilgrimage hosted by the Anti-Racism Committee. The Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley is home to sites that are critical to telling the history of our nation around issues of race. Details are still being planned but the three-day pilgrimage will include visits to sites in Birmingham, Selma, and Montgomery. The dates are March 17-18, 2022. This Racial Justice Pilgrimage will satisfy the mandatory anti-racism training required every three years. Save the dates. More information to follow!

Pandemic Ponderings by:

Rev. Dr. Sue Westfall

Twice a month our General Presbyter, Rev. Dr. Sue Westfall, sends out a meaningful, informative and uplifting blog during these unusual and strange times we are all going through together. Be sure to watch for the email or you may to read her "Ponderings" so far.

Online Training for Pastors Leading in Transitional Settings in Early 2022

Since all ministry is transitional, please spread the word about the list of opportunities available on the website of the Transitional Ministry Education Consortium of the PC(USA).

Here’s more about two coming up soon, for which details are already posted:

Scott Lumsden and Eliana Maxim will lead a 4-day event spread out over four months, the first Monday of February (7th), March (7th), April (4th), and May (2nd). The workshops will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Pacific, with breaks along the way. They’ll cover the basics about leadership, congregational dynamics, and how to lead change (in other words, how to deal with conflict). Check it out here.

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is offering Part 1, The Art of Transitional Ministry:

Reconciliation in God’s New World. Sessions will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Eastern February 24; March 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31; and April 7. Details here.

Matthew 25

Living into the vision: PC(USA) discerns what it means to be a Matthew 25 church

So what does it mean to be a Matthew 25 church – one that lives into Jesus’ teaching from Matthew’s Gospel to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the stranger, the prisoner, those in need? Click the link above to read more.

If your church has recently become a Matthew 25 church, would you please let the Presbytery office know? You may email Tammy to confirm. Also, please register on the Matthew 25 website below and your church will receive a packet of resources from PMA:

https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/matthew-25/become-a-matthew-25-church/

Bulletin Inserts Available

We are now a Matthew 25 congregation!

Click here to read shared stories.

Click here to share your story.

A new video has been released that shares a powerful story about two churches who answered the Matthew 25 invitation to focus on racism and poverty and its impact on their congregational vitality. It models a way to address difficult topics from a place of grace and reconciliation. The video is available to download and use in your journey.

Online Church Services

Several churches in our presbytery have made available live-streaming, Facebook live, or other platforms of their Sunday worship services. We are aware of the following churches (click the link below) that are offering these platforms and will plan to continue services on Sundays so their church members can participate in worship from home. If you are not on the list and would like to be added, please let Tammy know.

Online Church Services

Perry Dallas County Fund

The Perry and Dallas County Fund has been set up to provide aid to mission work in Perry and Dallas Counties. In particular, funds will be provided to a local agency, C.E.T. Ministries. Please consider donating to this fund. Contact Ralls Coston for more information. Read more... View the flyer

Calling All Clergy + Spiritual Leaders

GBM has joined the Jefferson County Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) in preparation for the upcoming World Games 2022 which will be held in Birmingham July 7-17, 2022.

Jefferson/Shelby EMA is assisting the City of Birmingham in preparing to respond in the case of an incidence, such as a shooting, mass casualties, an IED, etc.). Member organizations work together to provide support to impacted people in the aftermath of an event.

In this case, they are working to form an interfaith, multicultural team to provide spiritual care and behavioral health support as part of the disaster/crisis response and recovery. GBM’s role would be to use our presence in the local faith community and our connections through our member faith communities to identify people who have the skill and willingness to volunteer in these capacities.

Training will be offered but is limited to 20 participants. If you are interested in joining GBM's Spiritual Care Team, please email Rev. Carolyn Foster, Faith in Community Coordinator, @ [email protected].