Congo Mission Network

Save the Date for the 2024 Conference

“Education for Transformation: Equipping Congolese Youth for the Future” is the theme of the 2024 Conference. Save the date, March 14-16, 2024, for this dynamic get-together. Click here for a Save the Date flyer in English, and here for French.

THE PRESBYTERIAN PROMISE

An $80,000 Scholarship over 4 years for all students who are Presbyterian.*

The Presbyterian Promise Scholarship is a commitment by Presbyterian College (PC) to recognize students for their merit and affiliation with the Presbyterian Church. PC seeks to develop students academically and spiritually in this signature scholarship. Students who are of members of Presbyterian churches, or who attend Presbyterian/Reformed secondary schools, will receive a scholarship for a minimum of $20,000 per year for up to four years—that’s an $80,000 commitment to you.

Exploring the Legacies and Lessons of the Civil Rights Movement in the US South: 

A Pilgrimage to Birmingham, Montgomery, Selma, Jackson, the Mississippi Delta and Memphis / May 28 – June 6, 2024

The events of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, occurring largely in the U.S. South, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, profoundly changed the course of our nation’s history, leading to the abolishment of legalized racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement. Through the non-violent, peaceful means of marches, protests, walk-outs, sit-ins, boycotts and demonstrations, citizens and movement leaders resisted continuing oppression and engaged in a hard-fought struggle to expand civil rights and dismantle the structural racism of their time.

Spreading Hope for Children

GBM's Christmas Drive is underway. With your help, we are working to assist 100 low-income families to provide for their children ages 4-12 years old. We are accepting donations of toys, gift cards, and new clothing. For a detailed list of donated items that are needed, click the button below or email [email protected].

Pro Ecclesia 2024 Conference

https://www.pro-ecclesia.org/

Click on the registration link below for all the conference details

We are excited to announce the details of our next annual conference, “One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic? Championing the Marks of the Church in an Age of Polarization and Ecclesial Confusion,” to be held here in Birmingham, June 10-12, 2024. We hope you will join us!

Please register and book a room by clicking on the button below and following the instructions we have laid out for you. We look forward to welcoming you. We promise you will you have a good time of learning and fellowship in service of the church.

Rev. Ed Hurley will be leading the final prayer at the end of the conference.

Exploring the Legacies and Lessons of the Civil Rights Movement in the US South: 

A Pilgrimage to Birmingham, Montgomery, Selma, Jackson, the Mississippi Delta and Memphis / May 28 – June 6, 2024

The events of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, occurring largely in the U.S. South, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, profoundly changed the course of our nation’s history, leading to the abolishment of legalized racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement. Through the non-violent, peaceful means of marches, protests, walk-outs, sit-ins, boycotts and demonstrations, citizens and movement leaders resisted continuing oppression and engaged in a hard-fought struggle to expand civil rights and dismantle the structural racism of their time.

Spreading Hope for Children

GBM's Christmas Drive is underway. With your help, we are working to assist 100 low-income families to provide for their children ages 4-12 years old. We are accepting donations of toys, gift cards, and new clothing. For a detailed list of donated items that are needed, click the button below or email [email protected].

Pro Ecclesia 2024 Conference

https://www.pro-ecclesia.org/

Click on the registration link below for all the conference details

We are excited to announce the details of our next annual conference, “One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic? Championing the Marks of the Church in an Age of Polarization and Ecclesial Confusion,” to be held here in Birmingham, June 10-12, 2024. We hope you will join us!

Please register and book a room by clicking on the button below and following the instructions we have laid out for you. We look forward to welcoming you. We promise you will you have a good time of learning and fellowship in service of the church.

Rev. Ed Hurley will be leading the final prayer at the end of the conference.

Matthew 25 Summit:

An Invitation to Innovation

Join us in Atlanta, GA, following Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, January 16–18, 2024, for a first-of-its-kind event! 

The Matthew 25 Summit will bring mid-councils, churches, and individuals together to explore this vision. What does it mean to eradicate poverty; how can we begin dismantling systemic racism; how will we...

Living River's Annual Fall Elementary Retreat is Nov. 9-11

"...do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with God."

Find more information here.

PRESBYTERIANS SUPPORTING CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Continuing the legacy of the Presbyterian School of Christian Education

Presbyterians Supporting Christian Education (PSCE) is a program of Union Presbyterian Seminary. The program provides collegial, personal, and professional support for those engaged in ministry.

In 2024, the program will provide two different types of cohorts: one emphasizing Christian Education for professional educators, volunteer educators, and pastors; the second for Commissioned Ruling Elders/Commissioned Pastors (CRE/CP), persons serving as solo pastors in small congregations.



Cohorts of up to eight participants meet together monthly for a year (January – December) via ZOOM and are guided by a facilitator. More information, as well as an application, is available at https://www.upsem.edu/psce/.  Deadline for applications is November 30, 2023 for this innovative opportunity.

Looking for a Few Hosts

One of the joys of being Presbyterian is that we gather at least four times a year to give thanks to God for the ministry of our congregations and to discern what God is calling us to be and do. We are now in need of a few congregations willing to host these meetings of the Presbytery next year.

When? August 15, 2024; November 21, 1024

How many? If your congregation has the technical capacity to host a ZOOM meeting, we usually have 60-80 persons present. If you will host an in-person meeting, we would expect 100 or so to participate.

Where? We prefer to meet across the Presbytery, north, south, east, west.



For more information, please contact Tammy or Jay in the Presbytery office.

A different opportunity to host a smaller gathering of the Presbytery is the Session Minute reading and review. We prefer to meet quarterly in different regions of the Presbytery, usually for a couple of hours on a convenient morning. Clerks of Sessions and pastors read each other's minutes, share questions, and support each other with new ideas. We had three gatherings in June and one in July. So, I welcome invitations for October and November. Please contact Jay at [email protected].

Upcoming Leader Formation Webinar for Ruling Elders

Leading by Listening: Ruling Elders and Presbyterian Polity

with Gradye Parsons

Ruling Elders lead by listening to the Word, the Holy Spirit, and their congregation, and our polity invites us into conversations and responsibilities. Those conversations develop relationships which build up the church family. The responsibilities of the Ruling Elder are to nurture, support, and provide for the spiritual life of a congregation and beyond. Join us for a conversation into the joyful journey of this service on Thursday, November 16, 7:00-8:30 p.m. Eastern. When promoting, please share this web link as registration will close on November 8.

Please be sure to check out the job openings around our Presbytery at the bottom of the Newsletter.

APCE Annual Event, January 24-27, 2024 in St. Louis, MO

The theme for the Association of Partners in Christian Education event is "Come All who are Thirsty," and registration is open now. Look for details on workshop offerings, speakers, scholarships and registration here. This event is available in person, online, and online in Spanish. Due to the partnership between the Christian Formation Office in the PC(USA), Global Language Resources, and APCE, there is no cost to participate in AE Online in Spanish.

Please set your calendars for this fall and help a family get affordable housing. And, you may meet this family as they work on their house.

The 2023 Habitat for Humanity

The Birmingham area churches in the Presbytery will sponsor a Habitat for Humanity House for this year, 2023. Construction on the house has started and the family for this location is Karla Tolbert and her son. The address is 923 13th Avenue Circle B, Pleasant Grove, Alabama.

As of last week the framing for the house has begun. Volunteer work days are on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Volunteers do not have to be knowledgeable about construction (although it helps). There will be plenty of jobs to do: digging, helping frame walls, painting, nailing, pulling nails out because you bent them, installing siding and lots more.

There will be no construction at the house the first two weeks of October because Habitat is having a blitz build at another site.

New Season—The Along the Road Podcast

After a summer hiatus, new episodes of Along the Road are back. Enjoy! Share!

Selma Disaster Relief-Funding

Many of you generous people have asked how to help out in Selma. The January tornado destroyed 250 houses and damaged 350 more. The Dallas County Long Term Recovery Group (LTRG) has been set up. It will coordinate the recovery work in Selma.

The Dallas County long term recovery group has begun funding projects. This Presbytery has contributed $1300 to help replace a family's beds and washing machine and dryer. We will continue to attend the LTRG meetings to help with other projects.

Funds are needed to finance the rebuilding effort. We recommend giving to the Black Belt Community Foundation. The BBCF has two disaster funds set up: the Communities Helping Communities Fund (which aids all the Black Belt counties affected by the tornadoes) and the Selma Rebuild & Recovery Fund (which helps the Selma area). The website to go to is: blackbeltfound.org/2023-disaster-relief-funds. Then click on the Selma Rebuild & Recovery Fund to help Selma.

You may contribute online by credit/debit card or by PayPal. Network for Good is administering the collection of the donations. It charges a 3% fee per donation.

You may also donate by check. Make the check payable to Black Belt Community Foundation, and in the bottom left corner put Selma Rebuild & Recovery Fund. BBCF charges 5% per donation for its administrative costs. Mail the check to:

Black Belt Community Foundation

P.O. Box 2020

Selma, AL 36702

More information will be posted as things develop during the recovery work.

Newsletters, Bulletins, News

• Board of Pensions "Board Bulletin"
• Presbyterian Outlook - Writing and Grief / November 12th Worship resources
• November in Montreat
• Presbyterian Historical Society - Giving Tuesday

Reminders

Just a reminder that the Presbytery office is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday's from 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM (4 PM on Friday). The staff works from home on Tuesday and Thursday's.

Please check with the office for availability before scheduling committee meetings.

On-going Newsletter Articles

Ponderings by: Rev. Dr. Sue Westfall

PHFC Thrift Store Donations

Perry Dallas County Fund

Online Church Services

Matthew 25

PRESBYTERY OPERATING FINANCES September 2023 YTD