July Flooding
Severe flooding has impacted the lives of many in Kentucky, Missouri and Virginia in late July.
PDA is in communication with Presbyterian leadership in the affected presbyteries to offer resources, process grants and deploy National Response Team members (when it is safe).
Let us Pray
God of our life, whose presence sustains us in every circumstance,
in the aftermath of storm and distress, we welcome the restoring power of your love and compassion.
We open our hearts in sorrow, gratitude, and hope: that those who have been spared nature’s fury as well as those whose lives are changed forever by ravages of water may find solace, sustenance, and strength in the days of recovery and restoration that come.
We open ourselves to the stories of those communities and individuals deeply affected, and pray in grief, remembering the lives that have been lost as floodwaters raged.
We lift our voices in sorrow and compassion for families who have lost loved ones, homes, or livelihoods.
We ask for sustaining courage for those who are suffering; for wisdom and diligence among those assessing damage and directing relief efforts; and for generosity to flow as powerfully as rivers and streams, as we, your people, respond to the deep human needs beginning to emerge in the wake of the storm.
In these days of relief, assessment, and response, open our eyes, our hearts, and our hands to the needs of your children and to the movements of your Spirit, who flows in us like the river whose streams make glad the city of God, and the hearts of all who dwell in it and in You.
In the name of Christ, the Healer, we pray. Amen.
-Rev. Dr. Laurie Kraus, Coordinator of PDA
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Connecting During Times of Crisis:
Sharing Stories of Support
To serve Presbyterians of South Carolina in the development and preparation of Presbyteries and congregations for manmade or natural disasters impacting our congregations by the connection of our stories.
Saturday, October 29, 2022
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
(registration and fellowship beginning at 9:00 am)
Cherokee Presbyterian Church
3622 August Highway, Gilbert, SC 29054
Church: 803.892.6740
Cost of attendance: $10.00 per participant.
Registration closing date: October 15, 2022
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Register by emailing [email protected] with your name, church, and number of attendees.
We look forward to seeing you!
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Nominations
The Nominating Committee prepares the slate of new committee members to present at our November Presbytery Meeting each year. We solicit suggestions for elders, pastors, and church leaders from our member churches.
A description can be found on the Nominations Committee Suggestions Form for each committee. Committee members are asked to serve at least one three-year term. Committees typically meet once a month. You do not have to make a suggestion for each committee.
Some factors to consider when suggesting yourself or others to serve as church officers:
Church involvement: regular attendance at worship, active participation in church activities, offices held and leadership rendered, evidence of commitment to the church and its mission, understanding of and commitment to Presbyterian polity.
Christian life: evidence of grace and compassion in common life, evidence of maturity and effectiveness of ministry in the world.
Personal qualifications: cooperativeness, willingness to listen, readiness to learn, ability to follow through on assignments, organizational ability, creativity, openness to new ideas, maturity of judgment, freedom to express ideas and thoughts.
Other factors: occupational background and life experience, service in other organizations, interest in particular causes, offices held and quality of performance in them, education and training in the duties and responsibilities of that office.
***Please note: You may access the PDF version of this form simply by clicking on the form title above or here: Nominations Committee Submission Form. To begin completing the form, you should use "Save as ..." to create a new file (i.e. "NomForm.pdf") then attach it to an email or print and return by September 1 to: [email protected]
Thank you!
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Your State-Wide Campus Ministers
need your help!
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Fall semester will start soon, so we are looking for ways to connect with your high school grads and other college students.
UKirk/PSA Campus Ministries want to be prepared to offer a place for our students to engage in fellowship, worship, inspiration, and service. (Note: we will not share this information with any other student groups or associations)
Please send the following information to the appropriate contacts below:
- Name
- Email
- Home Address
- Name of Home Church
- Year in School
This will allow us to connect them with their local campus ministry group!
Thank you for your help!
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Rev. Erin Foster Farry
Furman UKirk Campus Minister
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Rev. Colin Pettigrew
Associate Pastor for University Ministry
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Rev. John Daniel DeBevoise
Associate Pastor for Youth & Campus Ministries
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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:
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Music Ministry Leaders
The Music Ministry Leader's
next meeting is
August 10, 9 am
by ZOOM.
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Youth Leaders Roundtable
Thursday, August 25*
10:00 - 3:00 pm
at Camp Fellowship
*Please let Pressley know if you plan to attend.
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Christian Educators
The next lunch gathering is
Monday, August 29, 12 noon
at First, Anderson
302 W. Whitner St., Anderson
(Lunch plans to be decided.)
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Commissioned Ruling Elder (CRE) Peer Group
Wednesday, September 7
at 12:30 pm
Location TBD. Lunch offered.
All current CREs, those interested in CRE training, and any Elders interested are invited to attend.
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Young Clergy Lunch
Wednesday, September 21
12:00 pm
at
Willy Taco, Greenville
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Wee Kirk Conference 2022
Bearing Much Fruit
October 17–19, 2022
The Wee Kirk conference aspires to provide Christ-centered opportunities for inspiration, encouragement, and community among leaders of small membership churches so they can do the same in their congregations and regions.
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The Foothills Presbytery
Antiracism Ministry Team
Invites you to a
Screening of
“At the River”
Monday, September 12
6:00 pm
Fourth Presbyterian
703 Washington Street, Greenville, SC 29601
"At the River" Filmmaker, Carolyn Crowder will lead us in a discussion following the film.
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“At The River” is a feature-length documentary about a certain time and place in the deep south. In the Civil Rights era of the 50s and 60s, most Presbyterian ministers stood on the banks of the cultural river of segregation and white supremacy. Some opted not to stir the waters in their congregations and communities by speaking out. However, a few young southern Presbyterian ministers braved those currents through their sermons, community organizing, and participating in marches and protests. They faced dangerous, hate-filled consequences for these actions. "At The River" chronicles their lives and their decisions, as well as director Carolyn Crowder’s firsthand experience as a young white southern girl from Montgomery, Alabama. During those mean and turbulent times these ministers, through their love and example, had a huge impact on her life in helping her overcome her southern racist brainwashing. |
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As Christians, we have good news to share!
This year’s theme is Planks and Pieces: Surviving and Thriving based on Acts 27, Paul’s trip to Rome, which included a shipwreck. Join others in our presbytery Saturday, August 27 for this awesome event.
S.T.E.P.S. provides opportunities for you to grow in your Christian faith through experiences of worship, learning, and fellowship.
Some of the workshops available at S.T.E.P.S. are:
- The Cosmic Trinity: A Contribution to the Trinitarian for the 21st Century
- Introduction to Enneagram
- Book Discussion: Rediscipling the White Church: From Cheap Diversity to True Solidarity by David W. Swanson
- Extending the Circle of Compassion: Caring for the Caregivers
- Preaching in These Times and For These Times: How Theology Can Help.
Believe it or not this is not all the options available.
Go to the presbytery website to register/download a brochure or check with your pastor or clerk of session for a printed copy of the brochure.
Hope to see you August 27!
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Mission Trip to
Ferncliff Disaster Assistance Center
Little Rock, AR
October 8th – October 15th
Time will be spent preparing Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
Gifts of the Heart Kits and working with area mission agencies such as food banks, soup kitchens, agencies assisting women and children, etc.
(Work available for all physical abilities.)
Cost is $350 per person
(plus lodging and food on travel days to be determined)
This trip is limited to 24 people with accommodations in the Williams Lodge, motel style, three persons per room. Please email Peggy Swann at [email protected] to save your spot!
This trip is sponsored by Foothills Presbytery
Committee on Shared Ministry
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POAMN is thrilled to offer this retreat at a significantly discounted rate! Your conference registration includes lodging, meals and retreat programming. Pastors, educators, volunteers and all of those that work with and among older adults are encouraged to attend this retreat.
- Need a change of scenery?
- Come hear the Good News!
- Live in Hope!
- Connect!
- Love to Work with Older Adults?
- This is the retreat for you!
- All meals included
- Single rooms $300 per person before Sept. 9
- Double rooms $200 per person before Sept. 9
- Commuters $150
- Discounted rates for POAMN members
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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.
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Around the world, more than 2.2 billion people do not have access to safe water. In many countries, women and children walk more than three miles to gather water for their families. Oftentimes, the water collected is unsafe to drink.
But there is hope.
Join us for the 2022 Walk for Water-Greenville. Together, we will raise funds and awareness to fight the global water crisis by building safe water solutions for people in need around the world.
We walk, so others don’t have to.
Grace Covenant Presbyterian is a sponsor for a Walk for Water for the Water Mission. We will have a team walking from our church and there will be a team from John Knox walking also.
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October 6-8, 2022 | Bloomington, MN
A Hybrid Event: Attend In-Person or Virtually
Up to 9 CEUs Available
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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!
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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.
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In 2021 Townville Presbyterian Church's Isabel Moran was awarded a missional grant in order to complete a project intended to serve the church's local community and further the spread of the gospel. Isabel chose as her project the building of a community labyrinth.
“I started thinking about the pandemic and the prior school shooting at the school just next door to us. I thought this could be a way to bring peace and healing to our community.” The project took nearly a year to complete but has finally come to fruition as the Townville Community Labyrinth. Isabel, a 2022 graduate of St Joseph’s Catholic School in Greenville, hopes to leave this as a legacy from the TPC family to the local community as a place to find rest, peace, hope, joy, and gratitude in an increasingly troubled world.
The labyrinth is located at the rear of the church’s property on highway 24 in Townville, adjacent to the playground of Townville Elementary School, and appears listed on the world wide labyrinth locator. Thanks be to God for this wonderful gift!
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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].
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APCE
2023 ANNUAL EVENT
January 25–28, 2023
Birmingham, AL
Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex
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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)
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PIANO AVAILABLE!
Baldwin Acrosonic Spinet piano (c. 1950s), free to any congregation that has need of it. Good working condition; “buyer” to remove. Spartanburg, SC. If interested contact Mary Ada Poole ([email protected]).
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Mediation Skills Training Institute
or Church Leaders
You are invited to attend Mediation Skills Training Institute for Church Leaders, a 5-day event that helps participants deal more effectively with interpersonal, congregational, and other forms of group conflict. The next in-person session is on November 14-18, 2022 at the beautiful Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale, AZ. The next online session will be March 13-17, 2023. Registration is now underway at https://lmpeacecenter.org/all-events/.
We would also like to introduce our new one-day event called Restorative Conversations. Devon Miller, LMPC Associate Director and the author and facilitator of this course, describes it this way: Restorative conversations are useful when working through difficult or polarizing topics, processing shared painful experiences, building community, and dealing with certain levels of conflict in the church setting. The workshop will benefit all levels of leadership including pastors, lay leaders, youth leaders, and Sunday school teachers. Three sessions of this workshop have been scheduled for next year: Feb. 23, May 23, and Nov. 2, 2023.
Please contact the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center (630-627-0507 or [email protected]) with questions about this or any of our outstanding workshops.
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Available Jobs
postings on our
website.
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Subscribe to Covenant Connections
Celebrating 100 Years of Ministry
Jul 28, 2022
One hundred years ago, the Simpsonville area did not have a Presbyterian church. In cooperation with Enoree Presbytery, twelve charter members started Simpsonville Presbyterian Church on October 29, 1922. The group met at Simpsonville High School until the first building was completed and occupied on May 30, 1927. In 1958 a classroom building was built and also served as a kindergarten facility. The building was expanded in 1978. In the late 1980s, the church became known as First Presbyterian Church. With the help of Foothills Presbytery, the present building was completed in 2004.
The congregation has a long history of service in the community and beyond. Presbyterian Women are engaged in many mission projects; volunteers deliver Meals on Wheels; the church Pantry helps to meet food needs and serves clients from Greenville and Laurens counties.
We meet for worship each Sunday at 510 East Curtis Street at 10:30AM. We have recently added a children’s Pray Ground to our sanctuary and nursery is available. All are welcome!
In 2022, as part of our Legacy Project and in celebration of this milestone in our history, the name of our congregation returned to its original name, Simpsonville Presbyterian Church. On May 11, 2022, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to formally commemorate the name change. Read More
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Mark your Calendars for these Upcoming Events |
2022
August
4 Committee on Ministry meeting
8 FP Staff meeting
10 Music Leaders Gathering by Zoom
11 Investment Committee meeting and Committee on Shared Ministry meeting
18 Finance & Stewardship committee meeting and Examinations Committee meeting
25 Committee on Preparation for Ministry meeting & Youth Leaders Roundtable @ Camp Fellowship
27-28 PYC Planning Retreat
29 Stewardship Task Force meeting
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
May 20, 2023
10:00 am - 2:30 pm Foothills Presbytery Stated Meeting # 123
Location TBD
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