Dear Friends,
This is a reminder that the 2021 Statistical Reporting portal is open!
We urge you to complete your report by the FIRST of FEBRUARY
to avoid long waiting times when you log on.
THE ABSOLUTE DEADLINE FOR ENTERING STATISTICS
IS FEBRUARY 10, 2022.
User IDs and church passwords are the same as in previous years. Please email LeAnne White or call the Presbytery office if you need log-on information for your church.
|
|
SYNOD OF SOUTH ATLANTIC
ZOOM WEBINAR
THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 2022, 4:00 pm Eastern
Together is Better: How Small Membership Churches Fulfill Their Missional Call Through Partnerships
This webinar will introduce Together is Better, and present the rationale and methodology for working together through the missional cluster model of collaboration. The conversation will also include the foundational principles, the rationale of urgency and necessity, the process and procedures, as well as case studies for forming missional clusters.
|
|
Educator's
12 noon
Monday, January 10
by ZOOM
|
|
Music Ministry Leader's
9:00 am
Wednesday, January 12
by ZOOM
|
|
Youth Roundtable
12 noon
Tuesday, February 1
at the Presbytery office
|
|
Western Region Gathering
9:00 am
Monday, February 7
by ZOOM
|
|
Pastors Forum:
Our next Forum for Pastors
to connect, check-in, and support each other
(via Zoom) is on
February 22 at 2:00 pm
We will center our time in prayer, check-in with each other, share ideas, and connect resources.
|
|
Adult Choir Festival
Festival in the Foothills for adult choirs is planned for January 28-29 at Westminster Presbyterian, Greenville. This annual event brings nationally known choral conductors to SC for a weekend of choral music, fellowship, and worship.
Singers are welcome to register at choirfestivals.org either individually or as a group. All are invited to join for worship Saturday afternoon.
Contact Mark Kemp, Westminster Music Director, at [email protected] for more information.
|
|
SAVE THE DATE!
TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2022
9 am – 3:30 pm
Westminster Presbyterian Church
1715 Broad River Rd, Columbia, SC
MAKING LIFELONG FAITH FORMATION
A REALITY IN EVERY CHURCH
John Roberto will present seven essential elements that seek to address the challenges the church faces today in nurturing faith of all ages. Then participants will engage in models for putting these elements into practice.
The event will be available in person and by zoom.
Registration Opens Next Week! Space is limited.
|
|
Ring in the New Year with a gift of love to your PW ministry!
Sharing God’s abundant love in abundant ways is what we do as Presbyterian Women. As 2021 draws to a close, another year of Presbyterian Women’s ministry begins. In anticipation of a new year of PW ministry, please consider a year-end gift to PW’s Annual Fund.
Why PW’s Annual Fund? Because this fund supports all we do as Presbyterian Women. From book groups and Bible studies to advocacy through the United Nations and receiving pennies and pesos for worldwide ecumenical witness through the Fellowship of the Least Coin, we joyfully share God’s abundant love with the world through PW.
There are many ways to support PW’s Annual Fund.
· Give securely online at www.presbyterianwomen.org/give and please choose year-end giving. Become a PW sustainer by choosing "recurring giving" under the "gift type" tab.
· Mail your gift to Presbyterian Women, PO Box 643652, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3652. Please indicate “Year-End Gift 2021” in the notes line of the check or on a separate note.
· Contact Rhonda Martin, [email protected], to consider other ways to support PW (estate plans, endowments, gifts of stock).
Presbyterian Women’s Annual Fund (the Mission Pledge) makes possible every mission, program and resource of PW, including the Churchwide Gathering. Give now to support Presbyterian Women’s witness in the world.
|
|
PW Churchwide’s Justice and Peace Committee is hosting six book discussion groups in 2022. And you’re invited to participate!
The book discussions will be held on Zoom, bimonthly on the second Monday, 6:30–8:30 PM (Eastern). It’s free to participate, but registration is required. When you register, you’ll receive questions for reflection or discussion, as well as a Zoom link.
|
|
At the Festival of Homiletics, May 16–20, 2022, you’ll hear respected and thoughtful speakers present on the theme After the Storm: Preaching and Trauma.
The advantages of registering now:
- Enjoy early-bird pricing! Prices go up on February 15, 2022.
- In-person attendance will be limited—act now to ensure your space.
To get the most out of the Festival of Homiletics, purchase the recordings for full access to on-demand content you can view anytime:
- All sessions in audio and video formats
- Bonus sermons and lectures from top speakers
- Private social networking with other pastors and leaders
of Homiletics, May 16–20, 2022.
We’re excited about the superb thinkers and teachers who will present on this year’s theme, “After the Storm: Preaching and Trauma”
|
|
UPCOMING ONLINE WORKSHOPS
Thursdays, February 3 - 24, 2022
4-part series, 1:00 - 2:15 p.m. ET
Led by: Rev. John Cleghorn, Pastor and Author,
Resurrecting Church: Where Justice and Diversity Meet Radical Welcome and
Healing Hope
Mondays, February 7 - 14, 2022
2-part workshop series
11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. ET
To view a FULL list of upcoming opportunities, visit:
|
|
Free Digital Phones!
Fourth Church recently upgraded their phones to a system that will work better for the more hybrid work situations that many in the office are still taking advantage of. They now have 11+ Avaya 9508 phones that they are willing to donate to another church in the area.
If anyone is interested, they should contact Lily at Fourth Presbyterian, 864-232-8123.
Elisabeth “Lily” Kuzmic
Office Administrator
Fourth Presbyterian Church
|
|
2022 Montreat Youth Conferences
June 5–August 6, 2022
A Montreat Youth Conference affirms youth in their calling to be and to shape the church of Jesus Christ.
Our desire is to help youth come to know and believe that they are the beloved of God and to be a place where authenticity, community, connection, and God’s truth thrive. We seek to be an inclusive space where each voice can be heard and where each heart can be molded; where change is invited, challenge is expected, and where all are embraced.
We have spent the last year, and more, in a season of disconnect through our challenges and circumstances. God calls us to be connected in all aspects of life. Through the stories of Mary and Martha, Jacob and Esau, Jeremiah, and many others, we are reminded that we are all inter-connected in God’s intentional actions. Join us as we explore the many ways that we can reconnect to live out God’s call.
Youth leave Montreat knowing that:
Their faith matters.
They are loved as they are.
They are part of a community of faith.
|
|
Bring your group to stay at Myers Park Presbyterian and engage this community through urban ministry. Whether you have a week or a weekend, CROSS will challenge you and your group to feed the hungry, house the homeless, and love those in need.
|
|
Applications for summer staff are OPEN. For more information visit:
|
|
For more information Contact:
Rev. Brandon Ouellette, Institute Director
|
|
New Online Leader Training Helps Churches Begin or
Expand Stephen Ministry
Stephen Ministries St. Louis is now training caring ministry leaders through a live, interactive online training experience called the Bridge Leader’s Training Course (BLTC). This event fully trains Stephen Leaders—the pastors, church staff, and lay leaders who begin and lead Stephen Ministry in their congregation.
The BLTC draws on newly redesigned and updated Stephen Ministry resources to equip participants with the skills and know-how to lead all aspects of their congregation’s Stephen Ministry. This includes training a team of congregation members as lay caregivers (called Stephen Ministers), matching them with hurting people in the congregation and community, and offering ongoing guidance and support to Stephen Ministers as they provide one-to-one, Christ-centered care to people experiencing a wide range of life difficulties. READ MORE
|
|
Let us set our sights on being together February 9-12, 2022, for the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE) Annual Event, “Circle of Faith: 50 years + one and beyond,” where God will meet us as we are and nurture us into what God dreams and hopes for us! To learn more about the event click here: https://apcenet.org/2022-annual-event/
Registration is still open
for the 2022 Annual Event!
Foothills Presbytery has a small number of scholarships
still available for those who would like to attend APCE.
|
|
Upcoming Worship Webinar
Join us in the spring of 2022 for a webinar that will assist ruling elders and deacons in the vital role of worship leader, both in the context of the Service for the Lord's Day and within other services that connect to the church's ministry of compassion and nurture (such as communion and ministry with the sick). The date and time have yet to be determined but information will be available through future issues of this newsletter and on this website.
Regarding Ruling Elders
To stay connected to resources for ruling elders and the Regarding Ruling Elders monthly series of articles, subscribe to updates here.
|
|
Event details, registration information and more coming in summer and fall of 2021. Registration is expected to begin in January or February 2022.
|
|
Mediation Skills Training Institute
or Church Leaders
The June session will be held in Fort Mill, South Carolina; the August session will be held in the Chicago area; and the site for the November session has yet to be determined. Please check our website for updates.
- March 14-18, 2022 (online)
- May 9-13, 2022 (online)
- June 13-17, 2022 (in person)
- August 1-5, 2022 (in person)
- November 14-18, 2022 (in person)
Everyone Has to Deal with Conflict
Conflict is normal and inevitable – whether in the home, school, community, church or workplace. Leaders in all walks of life often have a responsibility to help others work through their conflicts.
The Mediation Skills Training Institute presented by the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center (LMPC) is designed to equip church leaders with the skills necessary to deal effectively with interpersonal, congregational, and other forms of group conflict. The five-day institute also includes a component on congregational mediation and consultation, placed within the context of family systems theory.
Although focused primarily on the church setting, the skills learned are directly transferable to other settings. Thus, managers in business, attorneys, experienced mediators, and others in leadership will be enriched by the training as well.
|
|
NEW:
Trinity Presbyterian Church,
|
|
Available Jobs
postings on our
website.
|
|
I will, with God’s Help
Dec 9, 2021
By Reverend Dottie Metropol
This devotion was shared at the beginning of the Committee on Preparation for Ministry meeting on November 18, 2021
The Promised Land has always been the major material player in the lives of the Hebrews. The Ancient Near East, in which the Biblical story takes place, was dry and barren with 3 main deserts. Rivers provided water for drinking, irrigation, and making agriculture possible. In the midst of the rivers was a place known as the Fertile Crescent – or Mesopotamia. The center was Syria/Palestine which contained the major roads from Africa to Asia. Whomever owned this land was very powerful indeed. It was the life or death of the people. The story of Abram begins in the Fertile Crescent.
The Fertile Crescent was divided into 4 major geographical sections. They were: the coastal plain – about the size of Vermont, over which the Philistines [sea people] ruled; the central hill country which is the spine running north to south which contained the great plateau and Valley for super defense; the Jordan rift, created by an earthquake, which was not good for agriculture but contained the Dead Sea, Jordan River, and the Sea of Galilee; and the Transjordan plateau, known for raising cattle and sheep. Most important was the motivation to control the roads because that meant money, power, and safety. The most important Road was the Via Maris. It was called: the Way of the Philistines or the Way of the Sea.1 It was a toll road, so there is the money. It was a major invasion route, so there is the power. Together, they lead to the need and desire for safety.
It is here our passage takes place. The battle for power continues. Saul is king but failing miserably. Read More
|
|
Mark your Calendars for these Upcoming Events |
2022
January
6 Virtual Prayer Service, Committee on Ministry meeting and Worship Committee meeting
10 Educators Gathing - ZOOM
11 Personnel Committee meeting
12 Music Ministry Leaders gathering - ZOOM
13 Exams Commission meeting, Finance & Stewardship meeting, Committee on Shared Ministry meeting and Synod Webinar
14 Investment Committee meeting
17 OFFICE CLOSED in Observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day
18 Coordinating Council meeting
19 Antiracism Committee meeting
27 Committee on Preparation for Ministry meeting
February 15, 2022
May 20 - 21, 2022
November 01, 2022
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
