The Summer Day
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean—
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down—
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
By Mary Oliver (Copyright @ 1990) First published in House of Light, Beacon Press. Reprinted in The Truro Bear and Other Adventures: Poems and Essays, Beacon Press.
|
|
Please continue to keep the 225th General Assembly of the PUCSA in your prayers, including the four elected commissioners from Foothills Presbytery (pictured below).
The commissioners have the responsibility of deliberating the business that will come before this assembly and discerning the mind of Christ, in assembly committee meetings and the plenary sessions.
If you want to keep up with the everyday events, worship, and news of GA 2022, visit their website, and social media:
|
|
|
|
|
Rev. Craig Foster
First, Spartanburg
Committee:
Financial Resources
|
|
|
|
|
Elder Robin Morris
Limestone
Committee:
Bills & Overtures
|
|
Antiracism Ministry Team, Foothills Presbytery
Resources we have found challenging and inspirational:
Did you know? We have an extensive list of
Antiracism Resources on our website:
|
|
Music Ministry Leaders
The Music Ministry Leader's
next meeting is
August 10th.
|
|
|
|
Christian Educators
The next lunch gathering is
Monday, July 11, 12 noon
at Tipsy Taco.
(1133 Woodruff Rd, Greenville)
|
|
|
|
Youth Leaders Roundtable
The next Roundtable will be Thursday, July 21 at 12:30.
Place TBD.
|
|
We have several churches in Foothills Presbytery in need of temporary, part-time pastoral leadership.
If you know someone who is available to serve one of these churches, please contact our Presbytery Leader/Stated Clerk, Debbie Foster at the Presbytery Office: 864.288.5774.
Churches in searching for of Temporary Pastoral Leadership are:
Pendleton
Florence Moore
Unity
Bethel
Piedmont
|
|
SC5 Presbyteries Retreat
(For Ministers, Educators, & Church Leaders)
October 24–26, 2022
Montreat, NC
Theme: Leadership Development Is Great And All That, And What I Really Need Is Some Time Rest, Refresh, & Renew!
How are you feeling these days? Really feeling? Energized, excited and engaged in ministry? Or are you dragging your feet into the pulpit? Contemplating the communion table might be a nice nap location? Or are you mentally designing an escape hatch in your office for that next visit with the pastor? Where is your spark for ministry? Is it possible to lead from a place of wholeness? Is there room for creativity, imagination, and play? How can you experience the fullness of life and living and leading? as Children of God?
See more details HERE, including leadership, registration, accommodations, and daily schedule.
|
|
Weapons at Church: The Unthinkable in God’s House—A message from General Counsel Mike Kirk as our prayers and lamentations continue
We like to think of our churches as places of safety and refuge. A place to commune with God and join in fellowship with our church community. Unfortunately, others view churches as targets. White supremacist Dylan Roof murdered nine people at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina in 2015. Recently a Las Vegas man with a grudge against Taiwan entered the Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, California, and shot members and friends of the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church who were gathered at a celebratory luncheon.
It is unfortunate that church leaders must think about how to prevent such violence or how to respond to it if it happens. But sessions should discuss church safety. There are many resources available for churches, including the following:
Congregations and mid councils should consider organizing a committee to discuss and make recommendations for safety policies and procedures.
|
|
Summer Camp Registration is underway! We encourage you to explore our summer camp options for children and youth (grades k-12) and register soon as some sessions are starting to fill!
|
|
Presbyterian Women, Your Invitation to PW Gives Day
|
|
Want the J&P calendar for the entire year?
|
|
|
|
Introducing the
2022–2023 PW/Horizons Bible Study
The 2022–2023 PW/Horizons Bible study, Celebrating Sabbath: Accepting God’s Gift of Rest and Delight, by Carol M. Bechtel, is truly buzzworthy! That’s why this series of emails has taken flight! Don’t miss an update—check your inbox often. This is the third in the series!
|
|
Registration has officially opened for Stewardship Kaleidoscope, an annual conference offering outstanding plenary speakers, informative workshop leaders, provocative worship experiences and unparalleled networking opportunities for all who are passionate about stewardship and generosity. Scheduled from Sept. 26-28, the in-person program of this year’s hybrid conference will be held in Savannah, Georgia.
Drawing leaders from across the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and other ecumenical partners, Stewardship Kaleidoscope is designed to ignite generosity in faith-based communities, give practical tools for cultivating generosity in congregations, expand the leadership capacity of those who lead stewardship initiatives, and cultivate adaptive approaches for funding Christ’s mission.
|
|
Synod of the South Atlantic
African American Clergy
and Educators Virtual Retreats
After much prayer and discernment for the need to remain connected, we will host a few more gatherings for African American Clergy and Educators. If you would like to receive information regarding these events, please submit your direct contact information at
PLEASE PLACE THESE PARTICIPATION DATES ON YOUR CALENDAR
the link for connection will be sent closer to the date of the event
April 29th
(following the Stated Synod Meeting)
July 15th
October 28th
In the past, we have hosted an African American Clergy and Educators Retreat at Epworth by the Sea on Saint Simons Island (GA) around the second week of September. The plan for an in-person retreat of this nature in 2022 is up for discussion. If you are interested in providing dialogue for this discussion, contact Rev. Cecelia D. Armstrong via email at [email protected].
|
|
"Good Stewards of God's Grace"
Webinar Recording
Ruling elders, deacons, and ministers from across the country recently gathered on Zoom for the first Leader Formation webinar of 2022. The recording of "Good Stewards of God's Grace," presentation slides, and additional webinar resources are now available on the Leader Formation website.
Engage in an opportunity to provide feedback about this webinar and offer ideas for future events by completing the survey here.
|
|
Considering a call to seminary?
Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA (next-door to Atlanta) is a PC(USA) seminary with a diverse and inclusive community that offers a robust education and full scholarship programs for all masters-level degree students. A seminary education can lead to careers to congregational ministry, chaplaincy, non-profit leadership, education, and so much more. All of our students share one essential characteristic: God has called each one to faithful discipleship and leadership in Christ’s Church.
If you’re interested in more information or a discernment conversation, please contact Sarah Kate Bumgarner at [email protected].
|
|
2023 ANNUAL EVENT
January 25–28, 2023
Birmingham, AL
Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC)
|
|
Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.
Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message)
|
|
Mediation Skills Training Institute
or Church Leaders
Mediation Skills Training Institute for Church Leaders
- August 1-5, 2022 (in person)
- November 14-18, 2022 (in person)
- The June session will be held in Fort Mill, South Carolina; the August session will be held in the Chicago area; and the November session will be held in the Phoenix area. Please check our website for updates.
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.
|
|
Available Jobs
postings on our
website.
|
|
Father of One, and Two Billion
Jun 16, 2022
Rev. Hudson Neely wrote this short piece the morning of Tuesday, May 24, just a few hours before the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. He shared it on Facebook that evening as his own “call to prayer and action.”
When my first child was young enough to still count his lifetime in months, we were home together when the news showed the far too familiar image of students fleeing their school in terror because of an intruder. My son, in his bouncy seat with soothing vibrations, was unaware. But he wouldn’t be for long. A few dozen more months and he would begin training for what to do if he and his classmates also made the news.
As I watched the reports that morning, I wept, and I don’t weep. At least I didn’t use to…but that was before I was the father of one, and two billion. When you are the father of one child, you are also, I feel, the father of all children. So how could I keep from weeping?
I am the father of children who speak languages I’ve never heard, in places I’ve never heard of. I am the father of children who live thousands or hundreds or only tens of miles away. Read More
|
|
Mark your Calendars for these Upcoming Events |
2022
June
23 Examinations Commission (second meeting) and Committee on Preparation for Ministry meeting
27 Antiracism Team meeting
28 Reading of Session minutes
July
4 Foothills Presbytery Office will be closed in Observance of Independence Day
7 No COM meeting in July
11 Christian Educators gathering at Tipsy Taco for lunch
NO CSM or CPM meeting in July
November 01, 2022
10:00 am - 2:30 pm Foothills Presbytery Stated Meeting # 121
Trinity Presbyterian Church, Travelers Rest
February 21, 2023
Presbyterian Communities, Easley
Mary 20, 2023
10:00 am - 2:30 pm Foothills Presbytery Stated Meeting # 123
Location TBD
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
