RESOURCES
COVID
Click HERE for a list of important resources, update weekly!
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RACE AND RECONCILIATION
Click HERE for a updated list of resources for your church.
NEW this week: Social Justice Resources for Youth Ministry:
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Foothills Presbytery
Virtual Called Stated Meeting
August 8
For those interested, thiere is orientation for the
Virtual Presbytery Meeting
Thursday, August 6
5:30 pm
The zoom like and password is included in your presbytery registration confirmation.
Register here:
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NARRATIVE BUDGETS IN SMALL CHURCHES- VIRTUAL MEETING
Join other area church leaders and Olanda Carr, Senior Ministry Relations Officer of Presbyterian Foundation (East Region) for an online workshop to discuss the questions:
“How do we create a Narrative Budget?”
“How do the challenges of a global pandemic inform our 2020 stewardship plans?”
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Invite a Presbyterian Co-Worker for a
Virtual Visit With Your Church
Staying connected in God’s mission during and after the pandemic
by Tammy Warren | Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE — Until in-person visits can resume safely, there has never been a better time to invite mission co-workers to visit your congregation virtually than right now. Read More
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Collaborative Build with
Habitat for Humanity and
Congregations of Foothills Presbytery
POSTPONED!
Congregations participating in Foothills Presbytery Habitat collaborative build:
With the number of COVID-19 cases in SC, and in the Greenville area in particular, being so high Habitat for Humanity/Greenville has postponed the build dates for the Foothills Presbytery building project at 102 Jim Logan Street.
The tentative new date for beginning is middle to late August but will be amended again if there is not a steady decrease in the number of new cases and the percentage of positive cases.
A revised schedule of dates and the work to be done will be sent soon but I wanted to get this information to you. Also included will be a copy of Habitat's safety protocols that will be in place for you to share with volunteers so they can make an informed decision about volunteering. When work does begin, the schedule will be for fall hours: 8 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. until 3:30 p.m.
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Join us!
Youth Ministry Leader's ROUNDTABLE
Tuesday, September 1
12:00 - 1:30 pm
Zoom link will be emailed to the group.
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The next gathering of Foothills
MUSIC MINISTRY LEADER’S
10:00 am
Wednesday, September 9
by Zoom
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Two new e-learning opportunities that promote wholeness are now available from Board University:
Leaving Well: Navigating Transitions in Ministry and Work series, for members who are discerning a vocational transition at any stage of their career, explores topics such as laying the foundation for understanding change and transition, engaging the discernment process, leaving well, and beginning anew.
THRIVE E-Learning series redesigns our popular THRIVE retirement planning seminar as an online experience. For members within 10 years of retirement and their spouses or surviving spouses, this series covers topics such as financial planning and retirement healthcare options as part of a larger exploration of identity, health, and vocation in retirement.
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Camp Fellowship Summer Update
The suspension of our traditional summer programs has been difficult for us physically, emotionally, and fiscally. However, in our plans to Re-imagine Summer 2020, we have never lost sight of our vital connection to camper families and the congregations we serve. Through partnerships with local congregations and a grant from Foothills Presbytery, we have been able to honor our commitment to the six summer staff members hired before the outbreak of the pandemic. Read More
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Did you miss PAM’s
(Presbyterian Association of Musicians)
Worship and Music Conference?
Now for the first time you can register and experience the conference after it has ended!
You can view all 96 recordings of our conference content whenever you like – including Worship, Routley Lectures, Art Workshop, Concerts, Choral & Handbell Masterclasses, Programs for Children/Youth, and much more! These recordings demonstrate what physically distant worship can look like and can help supplement your church’s programming for the fall, especially during the current situation in our country.
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Presbytery Youth Council
2019-2020 was quite a year for PYC! We had an amazing group of youth and adults who began our year together last May as we were installed at the Presbytery meeting. We worked, planned and bonded as a group and hosted a incredible retreat at Bonclarken for 120 Middle School Youth and Adults in October. Planning began immediately for the Senior High Youth retreat at Montreat to be held in March. Until the weekend before, we were on schedule, with small group materials ready, t-shirts printed, keynotes and music, energizers and recreation and name tags printed and then Covid-19 became our reality. While we were all incredibly disappointed, we knew that canceling the retreat was the right thing to do!
It was a tough was to end a fantastic year. Special thanks to this amazing group of leaders. We are so thankful for the many ways they stepped up to lead and encourage others while sharing their faith! These photos are from our last Zoom meeting at a 2019-2020 PYC! READ MORE
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Mission! Alert!
Attention!
Due to the pandemic, unemployment is high and as a result families in our communities are going hungry.
The churches of Foothills Presbytery can make a difference and it costs only a few cents a day! Cents-Ability (formerly 2 Cents a Meal) collects and distributes funds to food missions throughout the upstate and has been doing so for more than a decade. If your church has actively participated, please consider sending in your contributions today so they can be disbursed while the need is so great. Participants collect a few cents in appreciation for each meal; these are added to those of other Foothills congregations and can make a significant difference. If your church has not participated in the past, this is the perfect time to begin. If you know of a food assistance program in your area that should be added to our list of recipients, contact them and urge them to apply.
You can make a huge difference and it’s so simple, all you have to do is put your 2 cents in! Thank you for supporting Cents-Ability during this time of crisis and always!
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Interested in having a Zoom Video Conference Meeting,
but you don't have an account? The Presbytery can help!
Foothills Presbytery has secured a second ZOOM account. This enables us to offer access to Zoom technology (to those churches who have a need) for session & committee meetings, and in some cases Bible studies & fellowship events.
If you have a request, please have your Pastor or Clerk of Session contact LeAnne White (via email) and include the following information:
- Name of person making request
- Church
- Phone
- Date for Zoom Meeting
- Time (begin and end) no more than 2 hours
- Approx number of those attending
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Presbyterian Women
The Horizons Editorial Committee chose “Ecology” as a theme for this issue in 2018 because, they said, it was past time to focus on the environment and our sacred connection to it. What better theme than ecology, studying the way living beings relate to one another and their environment? And, now, given how the first half of 2020 unfolded, what more timely and relevant theme? We continue to live into the new reality ushered in by the coronavirus. Scientists and doctors stress hand washing, mask wearing and physical distancing to keep ourselves healthy, but also to ensure that we do not unknowingly spread the virus to others. We know we are bound to one another and that we are God’s children, but beyond that, there’s so much we just don’t know about living with this pandemic.
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Children’s Educators Gathering
Thursday, August 20
11:00 am
We will meet by Zoom.
Zoom meeting ID will be sent to Christian Educators from Ginna. Please contact LeAnne White at the Foothills Presbytery office with any questions.
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Upcoming APCE Sponsored Zoom and Webinar Events
- Planning Fall Sunday School – Tuesday, August 4 – 3:00 pm EST
- Engaging Volunteers for Remote Ministry – Thurs, August 20 – 2:00 pm EST
- Thinking Ahead to Advent – Wednesday, August 26 – 4:00 pm EST
All of these Zoom conversations can be found at:
https://apcenet.org/apce-zoom-gatherings/
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Vibrant Faith
There are several Master Class courses being offered right now. To learn more go to www.
Last Chance to Register:
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Stewardship Technology:
On-Demand Interview
Transitioning to a Virtual Event During a Crisis
Invitations to approximately 2,000 attendees were ready to be mailed when Jana made the call to transition her live event to a virtual event. Listen to Jana's experience in an On-Demand interview. DOWNLOAD INTERVIEW
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August in Montreat
The last service of the Summer Worship Series is this Sunday! Tune in online at 10:30 a.m. to watch the last service with Rev. Amy Starr Redwine. Past services are recorded and on our website.
The last public hike is Thursday, August 6. See the schedule.
The last day of the pool and the boats is this Friday, August 7. See hours here.
Montreat welcomes you to the mountains for Sabbath opportunities at the Assembly Inn. Learn more on our website.
The Montreat Store is open! Regular hours are Mon.-Sat. 11:00am-4:00pm. You can also call 828.669.5298 to place an order. Montreat Youth Conference t-shirts are available for purchase.
Read the summer This Week in Montreat updates from Richard DuBose, president of Montreat Conference Center.
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All of the Vibrant Faith@Home activities are now online for free.
This includes hundreds of activities for children (and families), teens, young adults, and adults. The activities are short (usually only 5-10 minutes) and include Bible Stories, Conversations, Learning about Faith, Prayer, Ritual & Tradition, and Serving. They are in PDF files with a simple formatting to make it easy to download and use for programming, on a webpage, in an e-newsletter, on social media, etc. You have permission to use these activities in a print or digital format.
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Virtual 2020 STEPS
The August 29 event theme is
For a Time Such as This
(Esther 4:14)-
There will be two workshop sessions with three options each. STEPS will conclude with worship. There will be no registration fee, but participants must pre-register to receive the links to join the workshops. Worship will include a video of how you are being the church in these unprecedented times - please send pictures of your drive up stewardship campaigns, graduation celebrations, and food pantries, etc and/or screen shots of your zoom worship and education opportunities to
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Remote Faith Formation for the Long Haul
The PC(USA) Office of Faith Formation has compiled this list of resources that could be helpful for you during the current COVID-19 situation and that may be helpful in developing sustainable remote faith formation for your community. In this list you will find resources to deal with the current crisis, studies for Christian education, blogs and ideas. This is your toolbox. The list will be updated periodically over the coming weeks.
Also provided is a Faith Practices Toolkit Sampler for intentional intergenerational Sabbath rhythms. A toolkit for faith practices will be released in summer 2020. The completed toolkit will provide scriptural and theological grounding for each practice, as well as ways to engage all ages. HERE is a sampling from that toolkit to provide ideas of engaging in practices during these times.
Check out these resources for all ages groups provided by the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators.
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Virtual Conference Registration is Open
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers they shall not overwhelm you. – Isaiah 43:1-2
Please join us in the Fall for three consecutive Tuesdays: September 22, September 29, and October 6 at 11:30 a.m. eastern/8:30 a.m. pacific. Each week we will hear theological, practical, and actionable perspectives. After the presentation a live Q&A session will follow – allowing additional time to share and learn further.
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September 22: Hear from Eric Barreto of Princeton Theological Seminary on the Acts of the Apostles in the 21st century — imagination, vision, and creativity in responding to our call;
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September 29: We will learn with consultant Bonnie Ives Marden about the ways in which faith shapes our financial health, and get practical tools for church financial management;
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October 6: Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow will provide perspectives on engaging congregations across generations, cultures, and ethnicity to imagine building the church for forward thinking funding and functioning.
A link to participate in the weekly events will be emailed to registrants a few days prior to each program.
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Covenant Connections BLOG |
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By Andrea Moore
The global COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted all of our lives in incalculable ways. For many of us, the inability to worship together in person has been one of the deepest losses. However, at Tyger River Presbyterian Church, we have found meaningful ways to live out our faith through this crisis.
Our pastor’s imaginative, short(!), for-the-moment Worship from Home videos have helped maintain a sense of connection to our church family. My favorite part of each week’s service is the chance to see photos or video clips of individuals and families I haven’t been able to see in person. I especially love it when children and youth are included in the service.
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by Kathy Melvin | Presbyterian News Service
She focused on staying present with her YAVs while not being able to be present. She facilitated getting them back to their homes to shelter-in-place, where all are safe and working remotely with their partners. She was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and admit to herself she did not feel well.LOUISVILLE — Each year, site coordinators of the Young Adult Volunteer Program expect challenges. There are new participants, new personalities, new issues each year. But Maureen Anderson, site coordinator for New York City, faced some truly unique challenges this year serving at the U.S. epicenter of a global pandemic.
She had contracted COVID-19.
“It was difficult to breathe. My chest felt like it was caving in. I started to cough,” she said. “I couldn’t even talk on the phone for five minutes. My goal was to give my YAVs what they needed, and they didn’t need me on the other end of a Zoom call looking like I was suffering.”
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SC5 Presbyteries Minister/Educator Retreat
October 26-28, 2020
"'A Word in Its Season': Effective Speech in the Bible and Our Fractured Political Moment"
Speaker: Sam Adams
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Registration is now open for both sessions of our Mediation Skills Training Institute scheduled for this fall: October 5-9 and November 16-20, 2020. This popular and practical workshop helps clergy and other church leaders deal more effectively with interpersonal, congregational, and other forms of group conflict. Registrants will attend remotely via Zoom. A $200 discount is available to those who register by the discount deadline.
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Mark your Calendars for these Upcoming Events |
August
6 Committee on Ministry meeting and Orientation for the Presbytery meeting
8 Called Presbytery Meeting (Zoom)
11 Called Council Meeting and FP Staff meeting
20 Christian Educators Gathering (Zoom) and Small Church meeting (Zoom)
24 FP Staff meeting
27 Committee o Preparation for Ministry
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