Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy Weekly Newsletter

Newsletter

May / 16 / 2023

May Mental Health Awareness Blogs brought to you by Light 4 the Darkness

Mental Health Practitioners

" How many of us hear we need to “work harder” at loving God in THREE ways? …What about loving smarter? What if loving God best starts with loving ourselves, and good self-care, so we are able to love God more fully?..."

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Blog Post by L4TD Mental Health Practitioners

Click Here to Read Blog Post

Our Presbytery - Our Work

Weekly Prayer Basket

Please pray for ... the people of Sudan and South Sudan in political and military unrest
Please pray for... Rev. Jocelyn VanBuskirk, who has been experiencing congestive heart failure and kidney failure.

Submit a Prayer

PC(USA)

Quick Connect

Support Ministry

Help Wanted

Positions Available Found Here

Upcoming Ministry Team Meetings

This Week

Next Week

Thurs., May 18

10 am Public Witness Click Here

1:30 pm Vision Team Click Here

Wed., May 24

10 am HR Pastors Click Here

Thurs., May 25

11 am NWCC Click Here

The Presbytery Office will be closed on Monday, May 29th, for Memorial Day. We pray that all within our presbytery have a safe and blessed extended weekend.

SHORT NOTICE HOSPITALITY:

Help With Rides?

Next week, Giddings-Lovejoy Presbytery has the honor of again serving as the host site for transitional pastor training provided by the Synods of Mid-America and Lincoln Trails (MALT)! From Monday, May 22nd- Friday, May 26th, two dozen pastors from all around the country from different denominations will be flying in to meet at the Mercy Center in Frontenac. The synod is asking if there is anyone in the local area who would be willing to offer hospitality by providing some transportation from the airport to Mercy Center from the airport for the following flights:

Sun., May 28th: 7:15am (WN#970)
Sun., May 28th: 3:52pm (DL#4780)
Sun., May 28th: -5:07pm (AA#1520)
Sun., May 28th: 6:27pm (DL#2730)

Mon., May 29th: 7:15am (WN#970)
Mon., May 29th: 9:39am (DL#285)
Mon., May 29th: 11:00am (AA#2475)

If you are available to help escort our guests to the Mercy Center from the airport, please contact Ms. Orlandra Brown, Administrative Assistant of the Synod of Mid America, at 913-608-7662 or email Orlandra at office@synodma.org by Wednesday, May 24^th! On behalf of the synod, thank you for your kind and generous hospitality!

Ministry from the Margins

Rev. John Harrison and Family Moving to Atlanta, and shares a message with our presbytery...

"...First, we serve a God of abundance, not scarcity. God can take what we have and make it enough. We don’t have to anxiously hoard. Second, God cares for us and provides for us whether we own land or not. Even if we have no place to lay our heads and no people to call us by name, God sees us and reminds others to do the same..."

Click Here to Read

News & Updates

TIPS FOR CARING FOR GOD'S SACRED CREATION

Reduce Waste: recycle, compost, reuse, and buy less!

"TIPS" is brought to you by the Earth Care Team of presbytery with a dual focus of encouraging congregations to be a certified Earth Care Congregation in the Presbyterian Church and sensitizing the presbytery to injustices related to the environment for People of Color, the poor, indigenous peoples, LGBTQ people, and women. Contact: carletonstock@aol.com or 314-941-9378

Reclaiming Our Calling:

Deacons & Ruling Elders and the

Care of Souls Webinar Recording

The latest Leader Formation webinar proved to have a record number of registrants and participants, with extremely positive responses to the practical advice shared by Rachel and Matt Rhodes. The event included finding grounding for ministries of care within our ordination questions. Specific tips were shared about talking with others in times of illness and crisis, as well as ways to simply connect with those we serve. Find a recording of the event, and its associated resources, on the Leader Formation webpage. You are encouraged to share it with your congregations

Grace Camp: Mission Madness

Tuesday, May 30th through Friday, June 2nd, 2023, A Place of Grace will hold its annual Grace Camp: Mission Madness. We will work with local agencies each morning from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and with one local agency on Thursday afternoon from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. On the other afternoons, we will collect and collate donations for the unhoused, and on Friday, we will do our Random Acts of Kindness drive around Wood River and East Alton. Tuesday through Thursday evenings, we will be creating gifts for the agencies for their Christmas extravaganzas. Friday evening will end the week with worship and a Card Party Fundraiser to benefit the local agencies.

Shareable Flyer Found Here

Study Grants Available

Presbyterian Study Grant is the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s financial aid program for students planning for careers in the church. The program serves approximately 100 students per year. Because the number of students awarded is significantly less than the number of students enrolled in seminary, there are additional restrictions. Only MDiv and MACE students are eligible for the award and those students must be enrolled full-time and demonstrate need. MDiv students entering seminary must be under the care of Presbytery and advanced to Candidacy by November 1 of the student’s third year of studies to continue to be eligible. MACE students must be a member of a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregation. Learn more by clicking here.

Healthy Congregations Workshop

Saturday, August 12 | 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

First Presbyterian Church,

Independence, Missouri

Healthy Congregations uses the insights of family systems theory to help church leaders become more effective stewards of their congregations. This workshop was developed by Dr. Peter Steinke and is based on the work of Dr. Edwin Friedman, author of Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue.

The Healthy Congregations workshop is designed to equip leaders to respond to the presence or potential threat of anxiety in a congregational system in ways that prevent destructive conflict and help the church stay focused on its unique mission and purpose.

The training is made possible in part by a grant from the Omaha Presbyterian Seminary Foundation

To contact the Heartland Presbytery by email, click here.