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Quickly go to the articles listed by clicking on the title below.
Use the QUICK LINKS at the bottom of this column to be easily directed to additional news.
Email Presbytery staff using the directory below.
Presbytery phone numbers changing
When's the last time
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Ed Thompson
General Presbyter
Maureen Wright
Stated Clerk, Associate for Congregational Support
Rocky Poole
Financial Administration/Treasurer
Barbara Chalfant
Associate Presbyter for Mission
Susan Sharp Campbell
Associate for Educational Ministry
Nellie Howard
Resource Center Director
Mark Miller
Bluestone Camp Director
Amy Robinson
Office Administrator/Communications
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Save the Date: Small Church Conference
The fourth annual Small Church Conference will take place Saturday, September 23, 2017. This will be a
time of joyful reunions and learning ways that God empowers our ministries, as well as gaining a renewed and strengthening sense of what it means to be the people of God, growing stronger together as a presbytery ready for an exciting, meaningful and confident future in faith, hope and love. Save the date magnets are available at the Presbytery office and will also be distributed at the next Presbytery Meeting.
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Prayer List for Churches
Week 20 - May 14
First Presbyterian Church, Thomas
Westminster Presbyterian Church, Vienna
In Kenya: Kiagonde (Kigh-GOH'day) Presbyterian Church
Week 21 - May 21
Zion Presbyterian Church, Helvetia
Bates Memorial Presbyterian, Huntington
Beverly Hills Presbyterian, Huntington
In Kenya: Marua (
Mah-ROH'ch
) Presbyterian Church
Week 22 - May 28
Church of Our Savior, Clarksburg
Clothier Presbyterian Church
Enslow Park Presbyterian, Huntington
In Kenya:
Muruguru (
Moh-roh-GOR'OH) Presbyterian Church
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Nurturing Faith Ideas
May 14, 21 and 28
Nurturing Faith Ideas are weekly suggestions and activities from the Presbytery's Nurture Committee to link worship and home and to nurture faith development in the family. They are intended for all ages and family types. Add one to your bulletin each week or put them in your monthly newsletter. They could also be sent via email or added to a Facebook page.
Ideas for the entire year can be found near the end of the documents page of wvpresbytery.org.
Today we celebrate all the women who have been mothers to us --- from our biological mothers to the many women who have guided us in our lives. What women have been guides for you as a Christian? Make a list of these women as you think about what each has done for you. After you have made your list, then make another list of how you can be a guide to young people.
May 21
In Psalm 66, the Psalmist commands us to "Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth...Say to God, 'How awesome are your deeds!'" Today, use your voice and your actions to "make a joyful noise to God." Go outside and look at the awesome world God has created. Tell God what you love most about God's creation. If you are brave, gather your family or friends, gather some pots and spoons, go outside and MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE TO GOD!
May 28
On our church calendars, this is "Disability Inclusion" Sunday. Think about how your church includes people with physical or mental disabilities. How might some people feel excluded? What more could your church do? Talk with your pastor or a session member about how your church might be more inclusive.
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A Word from our General Presbyter
Ed Thompson
Last month Rocky Poole, our Financial Administrator/Treasurer, and I went to a Board of Pensions Benefits Connection event. It was held at Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church in Severna Park, Maryland, which is a suburb of Baltimore. On one wall near the entrance we used, they had pictures of their staff members.
As we were looking at these pictures, one thing jumped out at us. I think Rocky noticed it first. He said, "When I looked at that picture, I thought it said 'optimist.' I had to look at it again to see that it said 'organist.'"
Now why would any church need an optimist? An organist makes sense. At least if your church has an organ, you need someone to play it. The more I thought about it, though, the more sense it made to have someone be the church optimist.
Click here to read the full piece
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Nominating Committee Accepting General Assembly Commissioner Applications
The General Assembly will meet June 16-23, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. The Nominating Committee is now accepting applications for Ruling Elder and Teaching Elder/Minister of Word and Sacrament Commissioner and Young Adult Advisory Delegates. Applications will be accepted through June 15, 2017.
The Nominating Committee will be guided in its work by the leading of the Holy Spirit and the appropriate provisions of the Book of Order, particularly F-1.03, F-1.04 and G-3.0302a. Applicants should demonstrate activity in the life of the Church, especially within their congregation and the Presbytery of West Virginia. Commissioners need to have the ability to interpret and communicate the actions of the GA back to the Presbytery and should be prepared to present a brief report at the August 2018 Presbytery Meeting and at other events around the presbytery, as requested. Ruling Elder Commissioners and Young Adult Advisory Delegates must be endorsed by their Session.
Click here to download an application.
(Page 1 is for Teaching Elders, page 2 for Ruling Elders and page 3 for Young Adult Advisory Delegates.)
If you have questions or need more information on serving the presbytery as a commissioner, please contact General Presbyter Ed Thompson or Stated Clerk Maureen Wright at 304-744-7634.
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Presbytery phone numbers changing!
The presbytery office phones are getting a facelift, and as such, we are losing the direct dial numbers that some staff members have. Now, the only number you will need to call to reach anyone in the office is the
main number, 304-744-7634.
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Rev. Stephen Baldwin, with his wife, Kerry, and son, Harrison, in the West Virginia House of Delegates chamber at the state Capitol.
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The trust that the congregation of the Ronceverte Presbyterian Church has for their minister of 10 years, Stephen Baldwin, is shared by many other people of Greenbrier, Monroe, Summers and other West Virginia counties. As a new member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, he has been busy in the church in Ronceverte and in the Capitol building in Charleston.
Stephen is originally from Pinehurst, NC, but he grew up with the Clifton Presbyterian
Church congregation in Maxwelton. He returned to North Carolina to earn a B.A. in Political Science at Queens College and went to Tennessee for an M.Div. at Vanderbilt University. He has served as the moderator of the Presbytery and a member of the Greenbrier County Board of Education.
His background in the ministry is serving him well as he faces the trial
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| Rev. Baldwin shakes hands with Lois Cole, mother of church musician Leah Trent, at Ronceverte Presbyterian. |
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s of serving in the state legislature. As recounted in a mid-March Beckley Register-Herald article, Stephen delivered an inspired message to the delegates in session. It was about treating each other with more respect and working for the good of all, not merely their party or themselves. He spoke of seeing and hearing the mother and father of a family in the church vehemently arguing in the presence of their young daughter; he said that the little girl looked her parents in the eye and said, "It's not all about you." Legislators must look beyond their own interests and focus on the needs of the people.
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Clergy Survey on Substance Addiction
The West Virginia Council of Churches & Community Impact Coalition have a 7-question online survey for clergy regarding their beliefs on drugs, alcohol and addiction in advance of the 2017 WV Day of Hope (Sept. 17), which is a day for the faith community to support and encourage substance abuse prevention and recovery.
Click here to take it
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Flood response: how you can help now
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Lois Richards, the wife of Second Presbyterian Church (Huntington) pastor David Richards, fell and broke her ankle. Please pray for her, David and their family as she recovers.
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Caring for God's Earth
Vacation Bible School and Summer Study, Part I
 By Nellie Howard, Resource
Center Director
SUMMER! What a great time to learn something new about God's Creation. The Presbytery of West Virginia Resource Center has some good choices for Summer Bible School for both children and adults. Most of the programs offered below may be adapted for Sunday School, after-school programs or church retreats. This part I will let you know about what your Resource Center has for children, while Part II, which will appear in the next newsletter, will cover offerings for adults to study.
Offerings in this part include free web programs from The Society of St. Andrew (endhunger.org) and Solar Under the Sun, an Ecumenical Ministry of the Synod of the Sun, PC(USA) (solarunderthesun.org), as well as the books
Earth Child 2000: Earth Science for Young Children, Games, Stories, Activities and Experiments and
Fifty Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth and the programs
God's Creation, Our Health: Taking Action Together and
Clean Water for All God's Children.
Click here to read more about these offerings
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News from the Associate for Educational Ministry
Susan Sharp Campbell
Stewardship Workshop
June 2 and 3 at Kanawha United Presbyterian
The next Expanding Your Ministry Toolbox course will be a Stewardship Workshop Friday, June 2 and Saturday, June 3 at Kanawha United Presbyterian Church, Charleston. These courses are particularly designed for Commissioned Ruling Elders, Authorized Lay Preachers, Christian Educators, Pastors and others in leadership in our congregations, especially those with limited continuing education funds.
This workshop will consider ways to celebrate the assets in small congregations and to energize their stewardship and cultivate a culture of generosity. Special emphasis will be on small membership churches, which often tend to see their limitations and liabilities instead of affirming their unique assets; however, leaders in stewardship from all size congregations are welcome.
The workshop leader is Olanda Carr, East Region Ministry Relations Officer of the Presbyterian Foundation.
For those needing housing on Friday night, the WV Institute for Spirituality and John XXIII Pastoral Center offer very reasonably priced accommodations.
The registration deadline is Monday, May 8. Upon registration, the advance assignment will be sent to participants.
Click here to register
Child Protection Policy and Training Help
The Constitution of the PC(USA) now requires that each council, including sessions, have a Child and Youth Protection Policy. Many sessions have begun working on these, but others aren't sure what to include, where to start, etc. The Presbytery of West Virginia now has several people across the presbytery who have been trained in assisting sessions in writing child protection policies. If you would like to have one of these trainers meet with those who are developing a policy for your session/congregation, please contact Susan Sharp Campbell, Associate for Educational Ministry, at 304-667-9428 or
[email protected]
or Maureen Wright, Stated Clerk, at 304-744-7634 or
[email protected]
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Educators Gathering
Wednesday, May 24 at Huntington Museum of Art
The next gathering of those involved/interested in educational ministry will be Wednesday, May 24 at the Huntington Museum of Art. We will have a tour there at 10 a.m., eat our brown bag lunches and be outside in the afternoon; the cost per person will be $5. For those wishing to carpool from Charleston, we will meet at the presbytery office at 9 a.m. For more information, contact Susan Sharp Campbell.
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Presbyterian Homes in WV
Did you know that the Presbyterian Church is affiliated with quite a number of housing facilities for older adults in West Virginia? Most are for the purpose of providing safe, well-cared-for housing for lower-income older adults. We also have two family housing properties that we have been associated with for many years.
If your congregation is near one of the homes, get involved by doing things like praying for the staff and residents; volunteering to lead a class, play games, host a party, answer phones and more; donating to a presbytery emergency fund to assist residents and being a member of the Presbyterian housing Fund Board of WV.
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PC(USA) Constitutional Amendments Ratified
As of April 10, all 16 amendments to the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) proposed by the 222nd General Assembly have received the 86 affirmative votes necessary for ratification. The new proposals will take effect on June 25. Click here to read more
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Upcoming National Events
July 6-8 in St. Louis
Big Tent is a biennial gathering for Presbyterians from across the country. The 2017 event will take place at Washington University in St. Louis and have a theme of Race, Reconciliation and Reformation, which will emphasize the hope of the gospel and its power to transform society in our current cultural context marked by anxiety, racial division, political animosity and economic inequality. The cost is $395 (includes accommodations). Read more about Big Tent 2017 and register for it
here.
Women's Connection 2017
Aug. 11-13 at Montreat
The theme of this year's Montreat Women's Connection is Fullness of Life. The conference features keynote presenter Rachel Held Evans, as well as activities including worship, recreation, workshops and a time to study and discuss Evans' book, "Searching for Sunday."
It is a holy time for women to honor who God created them to be and will encourage participants to find grace and renewal through reflection, rest and community. Rates range from $282.50-$432.50, depending on your room selection. Read more about Women's Connection 2017 and register here.
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Can your church use this item?
 First Presbyterian, Morgantown has a four-drawer cabinet with a display rack for papers on top (pictured) that it will gift to another congregation. It must be picked up at the church. Contact church secretary Johnetta Velickoff at 304-296-8236 or [email protected].
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Bluestone Summer Camp Scholarships
Scholarships are available for Bluestone summer campers, thanks to support from the Molly Grant Scholarship Fund. Candidates must apply through their local church; find applications
here
. Funds will be distributed at the discretion of the Presbytery's Bluestone Committee.
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Sign up for The Beech Tree
The Beech Tree, the Friends of Bluestone newsletter, is now electronic. If you wish to receive it, go
here
to sign up!
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*Also on the webpage
You will find located on the Home page of the website (scroll down past the photo) direct links to recent newsletters, Equipping Disciples events, Ministry Toolbox events, the Pray-For church list and Nurturing Faith Ideas for 2017, e-news Archives and more. Please let us know how we can improve the website and whenever you encounter any problem with it. Thank you.
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Editor's Note:
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In order to keep the PWV Newsletter
fresh,
articles sent
for publication will generally run for two consecutive issues.
If you wish for a piece to continue to run, please resubmit.
We encourage you to reword, add a photo (or different photo),
or change the piece in some way so that the news stays
fresh and interesting.
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Presbytery of West Virginia,
520 Second Avenue,
South Charleston, WV 25303
Phone (304) 744-7634, Fax (304) 744-7649,
Office Hours: Monday -Thursday 8:30AM-5:30PM
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