IN CELEBRATION OF THANKSGIVING
OUR OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26 – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27.
We wish you a joyous and peaceful holiday filled with family, good food and many blessings!
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NEW
Associate Pastor Peer Group
ZOOM Gathering
on December 2 at 12 noon
This will be a time of just getting to know each other a bit more and make name to face connections. We really don’t want this to be another addition to your plate, but rather hope our associations would be life giving and a time of respite.
We look forward to hearing from you!
If you are interested in hearing more or
joining the Zoom Gathering, please email
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WORSHIP TEAM TO PREPARE
ONLINE SERVICE FOR DECEMBER 27
The Foothills Presbytery Worship team has begun the production of an online service designed for Sunday, December 27 that will be available to any congregation in the presbytery.
The service will celebrate the first Sunday of Christmastide through liturgy, scripture, and hymns. It is the team’s particular hope that congregations with small staffs who find themselves stressed by the extra work the Advent/Christmas seasons will see this as a way to provide a meaningful worship experience while giving their pastors, musicians and others some needed sabbath time.
Holt Andrews, chair of the team, says that they became aware over the summer that online worship was creating new issues in terms of planning, staffing and executing weekly services. “We realized particularly that with in-person worship not an option solo pastors in small churches were having to plan, produce and execute worship services week after week without a break. It’s not like in normal times when you can engage a guest preacher, take some time off and the rest of the service can go on as usual.” The team then planned and produced a recorded service for general use that was made available in September and has been used by a number of congregations.
“The positive feedback we have received and the realization that even in these times the Advent/Christmas season will mean a lot of additional stress for worship planners motivated us to provide an option for the Sunday after Christmas for those who need it,” said Andrews.
Members of the team are Holt Andrews, Jimmy Cheeks, Pressley Cox, Mandy Davis, Debbie Foster, Allyson Helvie, Beverly Kelly, and Chad Wright-Pittman.
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New interactive Advent study series using award
winning documentary resources!
This four week Advent study explores the sacred stories of Advent and Christmas through the biblical narratives of Zechariah, Elizabeth, Joseph and Mary in dialogue with short excerpts from film: particularly, the documentaries by the Story Ministry division of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, produced alongside the affected communities. Using brief clips as conversation starters and interweaving them with the biblical narrative and Advent themes, a dialogue is created between the Bible’s sacred stories, our own human experience, and these also-holy stories from the films. Each week also includes a brief filmed interview connecting the day’s topic with the unfolding impact of COVID-19. The films share stories that are drawn from the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami that killed 230,000, gun violence, refugee resettlement, immigration detention and environmental racism.
Click HERE to view the videos that accompany the study.
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ONLINE WORKSHOP:
SOCIAL MEDIA DEEP DIVE FOR CHURCHES
JANUARY 21, 2021 @ 10:00 AM - 11:15 AM
Online Workshop: Social Media Deep Dive for Churches
Dates: Thursdays, Jan. 21, 28, Feb. 4, & 11 , 10:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. EST (Note: This online workshop is a four-part series).
Led by: Christen Kinard, Founder, Digital Congregations
Workshop Description: This 4-part workshop is designed for anyone who communicates—or wants to communicate—on behalf of a church via social media. It will demystify social media platforms and teach you how to use them most effectively in connecting with your congregation.
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Roundtable
We will meet by Zoom this month.
12:00 - 1:30 pm
Tuesday, December 1
Topic:
Brainstorming Winter, Spring & Summer Plans
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The next gathering of Foothills
MUSIC MINISTRY LEADER’S
is
9:00 am
Wednesday, January 13
by Zoom
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Your photos tell your story
And who knows? They just might be part of the next Presbyterian Planning Calendar
The Presbyterian Planning Calendar for 2021-22 will feature photos on the cover and throughout the monthly calendar pages showing the best of what our churches are doing in mission and ministry. Your photos are invited! (Contributed photo)
LOUISVILLE — By way of photo submission, Presbyterians are invited to tell the world the ways their church, mid council or organization is carrying out the Matthew 25 invitation.
The Presbyterian Planning Calendar, a beloved publication of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), is once again seeking photo submissions from congregations, mid councils, camps, conference centers and education centers for use in its 2021-2022 edition.
The deadline to submit photos for the upcoming Presbyterian Planning Calendar is Feb. 16, 2021.
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The South Carolina Inn at Montreat is pleased to share that we continue to provide a safe place for respite during these winter months. In a year that has seen other lodges in Montreat close, we have maintained a steady income and by God’s grace have been able to serve folks during the Summer and Fall. In fact, waiting lists are common for the remainder of the year. Individuals and families are enjoying the beauty of the NC mountains!
We invite you to come and visit us and stay in an apartment, in the suite, or in the house where you can easily physically distance while taking in the views of God’s wonderful creation. We continue to be your “Home in the Mountains.”
The Inn has a new website which should be up and running very soon. It is www.scinnatmontreat.org. You can also call us at 828-669-7460 to make reservations or for questions. Emily, Gene, and Jenny look forward to welcoming you!!
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Christmas Joy Offering 2020- God is With Us
The Christmas Joy Offering season is November 29 – December 20. Half of this offering makes it possible for students to learn and grow in faith at Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color. The other half of the offering provides assistance for current and retired church workers and their families with critical financial needs. Promotional materials such as bulletin covers, bulletin inserts, offering envelopes, and coin boxes are available. The leader’s guide is also helpful in planning your Christmas Joy Offering season. To order materials, go HERE or call 800-533-4371.
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Presbyterian Outlook Advent Devotional
This Advent devotional will explore being aware of God’s presence in the moment even as we anticipate Jesus’ incarnation. These devotions will seek to help us recognize God’s kairos time within and working through our challenging chronos time. The devotions are available as a downloadable set of weekly PDFs. They are ready to be emailed to the congregation. Or, print as many you need. Written by Outlook editor Jill Duffield, each week includes a reflection, daily Scripture readings, suggestions for living out the Bible and a short prayer for each day. Available for download in mid-November. Four weeks of Advent downloadable devotions for $20. Order HERE.
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Review of 2019 Session Minutes
It's not too late to have your 2019 Session Minutes reviewed!
The Representation and Review Committee is offering three ways to provide your 2019 minutes for the team to review. You may:
- Drop off your 2019 minutes (or a copy of them) at the Foothills Presbytery Office at 2242 Woodruff Road, Simpsonville, SC 29681. Please include a copy of the Clerk’s Review Form and the Financial Review Form with the minutes.
- Mail a copy of all the materials (2019 Minutes, Clerk’s Review Form, and the Financial Review Form) to the Presbytery office at 2242 Woodruff Road, Simpsonville, SC 29681.
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Arrange a time for us to pick up the materials (2019 Minutes, Clerk’s Review Form, and the Financial Review Form) at your church or another location. After our review, we would meet you again to drop off the notebook. To arrange a meeting, please email Robin Morris ([email protected]) or Elizabeth Jones ([email protected]) or call Robin Morris at 864.288.5774.
We look forward to working with you to complete the review of your 2019 Session Minutes.
Representation and Review Committee
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We are all learning how to be the church of Jesus Christ in new and creative ways, using technology for worship, education, mission, and even pastoral care. These times are challenging but they also give us the opportunity to find ways to love and serve Christ together, even when we are apart.
The Synod of South Atlantic, through our connections and relationships, engages in mission and ministry committed to:
Ensure full integration of diversity in all of its life and work.
Equip and empower transformational leadership.
Provide for mutual enrichment among the leadership of our 16 presbyteries.
Use innovative technology to accomplish its purpose, model effective communication strategies, and share best practices.
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It’s 2021–22 application season for the
Young Adult Volunteer program
Apply by Jan. 1, 2021, for early placement at sites within the U.S. and around the world.
LOUISVILLE — The 2021–22 Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) application season opened Oct. 1. Access the online application here.
For nearly 30 years, the Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) program of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been instrumental in helping 19- to 30-year-olds experience a year of service at sites within the U.S. and around the world.
The YAV program is for all Christian young adults, not exclusively Presbyterians, in the belief that people are called and equipped by God for service in many forms. Since the early 1990s, more than 1,700 young adults have participated in a year of service at 45 different sites in 19 countries.
Although the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has a travel ban in place through June 30, 2021, staff are stepping out on faith and making plans for an “in-person” YAV year of service in 2021–22 (August to August), exploring possibilities for a virtual orientation and partial virtual year.
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NEXT Church
BREAKING, BLESSING, BUILDING
A Call For The Common Good
A FREE Live-Streamed Gathering for ALL Church Leaders
March 5-7, 2021
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Interested in having a Zoom Video Conference Meeting,
but you don't have an account? The Presbytery can help!
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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Giving Tuesday, December 1, is a global day to remember and support ministries that matter. On this Giving Tuesday, please consider supporting Presbyterian Women’s Annual Fund (Mission Pledge).
Presbyterian Women's ministries deeply matter—from your circle meeting on Tuesdays to the triennial Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women—to so many. Give securely or set a recurring gift at www.presbyterianwomen.org/give.
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A NEW EARTH:
THINKING THEOLOGICALLY ABOUT
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Sunday, June 13-Sunday, June 27, 2021
What does it mean to care for creation?
Are Christians called to respond to climate change?
Is it possible to live sustainably for the benefit of future generations?
Theologically curious high school students are invited to apply before January 1, 2021 for the 2021 Lux Summer Theological Institute. Safety permitting, the program will be held in-person at Presbyterian-related Monmouth College (Monmouth, IL).
Funded by the Lilly Endowment, the Lux Institute is an opportunity for students to engage with a topic of global importance and participate in a living-learning community through study, worship, service, recreation, and vocational exploration.
Scholarships are available to cover all program expenses for the two-week program, with the exception of travel.
A free shuttle to/from Chicago airports is provided.
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Board of Pensions newsletter
Click HERE for the Board of Pensions Newsletter which covers several important initiatives which were approved during our meeting Oct. 22-24, 2020.
In addition to the positive financial results and subsequent decisions, the BOP created a Task Force to address Inclusiveness, Diversity, and Equality, and we are very excited to begin this long-needed engagement with the many systemic issues that affect our church institutions, our parishioners, our local communities, and beyond.
We hope you will feel encouraged as the BOP continues to address identified needs of our congregations, pastors, retirees, and employees.
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New book
from Beth Templeton
What began as a simple writing project to take my great-grandfather’s book that had languished on shelves for decades and bring it back using current language and idioms became an unexpected quest.
I learned that the Civil War was more than battles. George F. Robertson never witnessed any gun fights even though he saw troops of both sides moving in and out of his hometowns.
When I realized my great-great-grandparents had owned three house and yard servants who were slaves, I was shaken. About the time that piece of information began to deeply resonate in my white heart, racial tensions exploded in the United States.
My great-grandfather’s little tale of his memories as an eight-year-old boy of the Civil War became a jumping off point for a soul-searching process.
(from the preface)
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Our Season's Pass subscription was a terrific hit in Fall 2020, so we are offering a new Season's Pass for all 14 MasterClasses from January through June 2021. And nine of the MasterClasses are NEW!
The January-June 2021 Season's Pass is only $299 for 14 MasterClasses - a huge savings! With an individual price of $69 per class, your church will save over $600 by purchasing a Season's Pass for access to the 14 MasterClasses.
And the Season's Pass is good for your whole team. Once you purchase the Season's Pass you will receive a special code for you and your entire team to use in registering for classes.
We are limiting the number of Season's Passes to 100. So please purchase your Pass early. New classes begin in January 2021.
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Written by: Sarah Dianne Jones
In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder in May of this year, I, along with every other educator, was swept up in the rush of equipping families with resources to talk with their children about the horrific racial injustices that are ever present in our country.
- What could we offer families that would make this conversation easier?
- What does a denomination that’s over 90% white have to say about how to teach children about race?
- What was different about this situation, about this round of protests and outrage and calls for reform?
- Would this be another case of watching protests take over most major cities and some smaller towns for a few days only to disperse when no change comes?
- Perhaps the biggest question was: does my responsibility to equip my families change if this cell phone video capturing yet another murder doesn’t change things?
Of course, the answer was no; my responsibility didn’t change. This time, a book list of picture books, middle grade novels, YA books, and a children’s sermon about what God dreams of for all of God’s children didn’t feel like enough. Families needed more, and I knew that I needed to do more. Thus, the Zoom book study on Dr. Jennifer Harvey’s Raising White Kids was formed.
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Mark your Calendars for these Upcoming Events |
November
26 Happy Thanksgiving
The Foothills Presbytery office will be closed on
Thursday, November 26 in honor of Thanksgiving.
30 Foothills Presbytery Staff Meeting
December
1 Youth Roundtable
2 Associate Pastor Peer Group Gathering (Zoom) and Representation & Review Committee meeting
3 Committee on Ministry meeting
4 PYC Christmas Party
7 - 8 Foothills Presbytery Staff Retreat (Office Closed)
17 Examinations Committee meeting and the Committee on Preparation for Ministry meeting
February 16
May 15
Nov 9, 2021
9:00 am - 2:00 pm Foothills Presbytery Stated Meeting # 118
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