In the Presbytery of St. Augustine Our mission is " to support our faith community, so that together we are a greater witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ!"
| | News From Around the Presbytery | | |
Regional Gatherings
Summer is here, July will certainly give us some hot days, but it also gives us our next opportunity to gather in clusters to share a meal, enjoy fellowship, and offer mutual support. Please note remaining dates and places we will be gathering in July.
- July 29, 2025, Traylor Park 158 Marketside Avenue, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 12:00 p.m.
- July 30, 2025, Scramblers 1500 University Blvd W Jacksonville, FL 12:00 p.m.
RSVP via email to David Rollins our Lead Presbyter so he can know who to expect. david@staugpres.org
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Director of Children and Family Ministries, First Presbyterian Church, Fernandina Beach
First Presbyterian Church of Fernandina Beach, Florida, is seeking a Director of Children and Family Ministries. This 600-member church located in a friendly community recently completed a Strategic Planning process, affirming our identity as loving, inclusive and authentically welcoming. The church is invested in children’s ministry and has dedicated volunteers. Our Strategic Plan calls for a position that prioritizes relationship building to share God’s love and help children and families grow in faith.
To apply, please send letter of interest and resume to Rev. Dawn Mayes at DawnMayes@firstpresFB.org.
View the Job Description HERE
Director of Children and Family Ministries, Riverside Presbyterian Church, Jacksonville
Ministry to children and families is growing and transforming at Riverside Presbyterian Church! In gratitude to the Holy Spirit and in faithful response, we are seeking an individual who will provide leadership, guidance, and love to our children and their families.
In the past two years, we have welcomed many new young families to our church from our neighborhood, the broader community, and our day school (Riverside Presbyterian Day School, 400+ students). There is excitement and hope for strategic and wider programming for children and young families at our church and in our community.
The person in this position will provide oversight and coordination for children (infancy through 5th grade) and their families, nurturing them in Reformed faith and providing a safe, welcoming, and Christ-centered environment.
This is a part-time, non-exempt position that reports to the Associate Pastor for Youth and Families. Riverside Presbyterian Church is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Click HERE for the full job description.
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Two Great Opportunities
There are two great upcoming opportunities for you to prayerfully consider putting on your calendars. The first is a Clergy Round-Table discussion Monday September 8, 2025, at Camp Montgomery 9:30-12:00 concluding with lunch. This gathering will begin with a brief devotional followed by table discussions with guiding questions about preaching and church leadership in today’s day and age.
The second opportunity is a Clergy/CRE retreat. The retreat will take place Sunday November 2-Tuesday morning November 4. We will be gathering at Epworth by the Sea. The cost is expected to be about $300 per person, which includes lodging and all meals.
More details about the retreat will be coming out soon.
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A timely message from our friends and colleagues at the Synod of the Sun:
To friends both near and far from Texas, we ask for your prayers for the people of Central Texas as they navigate the aftermath of the devastating floods on July 4–5. Our local partners, including Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly and Schreiner University, are actively providing meaningful support to those affected—and doing so with great care and compassion.
If you, your congregation are in a position to offer assistance, please visit:
https://pcusa.org/disaster-assistance/active-responses/national-disaster/texas-hill-country-flooding
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Survey available!
Be on the lookout for a brief survey from The Presbytery of St. Augustine sent out earlier this month by email.
We would like it to be completed by ministers, certified ruling elders, directors of Christian Education, and anyone that has been involved in the work of the presbytery.
*If you missed the email here is a link to fill out the survey:
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sv/FCc0KOl/surveystaugpres
Your feedback will help guide us as we continue to move forward in mission and ministry. Please fill out the survey by July 31, 2025.
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The Presbytery of St. Augustine adopted its anti-racism policy in October of 2024. The policy was highlighted and further explained at our most recent presbytery meeting held this past May.
We are committed to expanding our knowledge, growing our understanding, and working together to continually develop into the people God calls us to be.
Pictured here is a book endorsed by the council. We encourage every minister and commissioned ruling elder to read it and access the free resources at brownicity.com.
We are exploring putting together a civil rights tour for 2026 as another opportunity to learn and grow together in our discipleship.
| | Please share- we have office space available: | | |
Presbytery of St. Augustine Youth Engagement initiative & 2025 Grants – Deadline Approaching
Don't miss these exciting updates to the grant award program! Even churches with few youth attending can be eligible.
The Youth Team continues to seek information about the many ways the churches of our presbytery are engaging with youth in their local communities. AND completing this survey is the only way to qualify to be considered as a recipient for this year's grants.
A very generous donor shares his desire to support and encourage our congregations to actively engage young people by enabling us to gift 6 churches annually with grants for their work in this area.
Thanks to the donor’s continued generosity, we are preparing to award gifts to six more churches.
We understand that the survey has been frustrating for some of you to complete. It was not easy to try to find a program that supported what we needed.
Here are a few tips:
The survey will ask for details regarding ALL of the ways your congregation engages with students both within your own congregation and in your local community. These students do not have to be members of your church, or even attend worship or other church programs.
Unfortunately, the survey must be completed in one sitting (you can't stop & start, nor can you save it and return to it later.) We know this isn't ideal.
We suggest - gather this information about these experiences from the relevant members of your church community, then designate one person to input the data into the survey. Here's what you will want to know:
- Name of the program and a brief description of what it does
- who are the youth involved (from the congregation and/or the community)
- number of the students impacted, divided by high school and middle school
If you have questions about the survey, please contact Bill Hoff at billhoff904@gmail.com.
· The deadline for submitting the survey is July 31, 2025 to be considered for this year's grant.
Here are some examples of programs that would be eligible:
· If your congregation offers or participates in a mentoring or tutoring program for youth in your area, that counts!
· If your congregation actively supports a local youth organization
(Scouting, 4-H, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, music programs, Riverkeepers, Habitat for Humanity or other similar organizations, etc.), that counts!
· If youth participate in the life of your congregation is formal or informal ways, that counts!
· If students attend “traditional” church/youth programming, that counts! The process remains the same – follow the link HERE or in the email sent to your church to complete the survey to be eligible for consideration for a grant this year.
| | To register for FISH 2.0 Click HERE for full registration packet | | Please join the Presbyterian Women on Saturday August 23rd. Click here for all the information and registration link. Click here for the payment link. | |  | You are invited to attend an exciting Presbyterian Women Synod Gathering October 17-19, 2025 at Epworth by the Sea Conference center. Click here for all the details. | | | |
Please pray for Ken Goodrich. Ken recently retired from Lake City and is battling very serious health issues.
Pray for the Lord to guide the following church this week:
Lakewood Presbyterian Church
Joy Laughridge, Pastor
Frances Hallett, Clerk of Session
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Church Spotlight
Lakewood Presbyterian Church
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Lakewood Presbyterian Welcomes
New Director of Music & Organist
| | | Community Outreach with Arts Group | | | |
Lakewood Presbyterian welcomed our new Director of Music & Lakewood Presbyterian welcomed our new Director of Music & Organist Joshua L. Mazur in March of this year. Joshua holds a Bachelor’s degree in Voice Performance from Florida Southern College and a Master’s degree in Voice Performance and Conducting from the University of Florida.
He has experience serving at churches in Gainesville, FL, and conducting and composing music for choirs in festivals throughout the United States and internationally. He joins Lakewood Presbyterian in it’s long standing tradition of inspiring worship music performed by the Chancel Choir, the Bell Choir, and Praise Band, all of whom continue to grow in their talents!
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Lakewood Presbyterian has a history of hosting music groups from the community to share their gifts with the congregation and the neighborhood. Several groups have performed in 2025 so far, including Bold City Brass Band, Douglas Anderson School of the Arts Senior Recitals, The Suzuki School of Music, and the River City Ringers Bell Choir.
Lakewood held a Talent Show in the Spring for members who wished to share their talents, and the congregation was delighted to see such variety of gifts- from poetry readings, to sing-alongs, to piano performances, and even comedy skits from Pastor Joy Laughridge and Director of Youth and Christian Education Brian Mitchell.
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As the 2025 summer camp season comes to a close, we are overflowing with gratitude. Our dedicated summer staff has grown in faith, leadership, and service—becoming the very team we’ve been praying for all year. Daily, we’ve seen God answer prayers in both quiet and powerful ways.
Our Leaders in Training spent two transformational weeks learning how to lead at camp, in their churches, and in the world. Campers and counselors have participated in conservation, beautification, and maintenance projects—actively caring for creation. Through our “Created to Care” curriculum, campers explored the story of creation and learned that God is the light, our firm foundation, and we are partners in caring for the world.
We’ve had the joy of serving 115 overnight campers, with Session 1 marking our largest week since before the pandemic. This is the last week of our program, with both Discovery and Night Owl campers. The remainder of the summer will host many guest groups, filling our facilities to capacity.
Thank you, presbytery family, for your prayers of support. It is a joy to partner in ministry. God is moving at Camp Montgomery, and we can’t wait to see what’s next!
Rebekah Rodgers
Montgomery Center
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Call to Serve
Are you called to serve God at the presbytery level? Several of our committees have positions that we need to fill to carry out our mission. We are looking for ruling elders and teaching elders that have time and energy to serve Christ beyond the local church.
For more information, please contact Beth Touchton, Volunteer Management Committee Chair, or David Rollins, Lead Presbyter.
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Positions Available In Our Presbytery
Check out the many ministry opportunities throughout our presbytery here.
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Blessings,
Cliff Lyda, Moderator of the Presbytery
Charlie Evans, Stated Clerk
David Rollins, Lead Presbyter
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