The 119th Stated Meeting of Foothills Presbytery
A little over three weeks ago, our Coordinating Council made the wise decision to hold our Stated Meeting over Zoom. On Tuesday morning, over one hundred Zoom tiles were populated with ministers, elders, church leaders, and guests. We gathered to worship, conduct business, and learn with each other.
Our Presbytery Moderator, Terri Price, opened our meeting in prayer, which concluded with these words,
“As we meet here this day, we offer prayers for our world:
for the people of the Upstate of South Carolina;
for the people of Ukraine, where warfare threatens;
for our whole world in 2022,
aching for light and love but living in darkness and hatred.
May the fresh breath of your Spirit
open the possibilities for reconciliation and peace,
and may the people of your Church be in the vanguard.
Restore to us the joy of our salvation, O Lord.
Hear these prayers, which we ask through Christ,
the great head of the Church. Amen.”
Worship was the foundation of our business meeting. Other highlights included hearing how the Antiracism Ministry Team spent their first year together, the initial reading of our new Sexual Ethics and Misconduct Policy, and meeting our newest member of Foothills, the Rev. Elizabeth Morse (Parish Associate, Fourth). We ended the meeting with a Faithful Innovation TED Talk presentation (32.31) by Rev. Kinder-Pyle.
These days, weeks, and months ahead hold immense potential for our lives to be transformed by God’s wisdom, generosity, and grace.
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Presbytery Leader & Stated Clerk
Foothills Presbytery
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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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Future Church Initiatives
In February 2020, Foothills Presbytery decided to commit energy, staffing, and proceeds from investment funds to Future Church Initiatives:
- Faithful Innovation
- The Road Ahead
- Legacy Partnership Project
You can learn about these initiative from the links below.
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Faithful Innovation Learning Communities
Discover the unique story God wants
to tell through your congregation
At the 119th Stated Meeting of Foothills Presbytery, we had the opportunity to learn about what Faithful Innovation is and how we might begin to experiment with future church initiatives from the Rev. Sheryl Pyle-Kinder.
Each church participating in the Faithful Innovation Learning Communities (FILC) will identify a Guiding Team of 4-7 congregation members. The pastor(s) will also participate alongside the team. The team will attend three training days where they will engage in the spiritual practice of action reflection. Between training days, the team will meet monthly with a trained coach who will support and encourage the team in their work. The team is the conduit through which the congregation as a whole is invited to participate in FILC.
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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
(Hosted by our Presbytery Leader & Stated Clerk)
The Rev. Hudson Neely (Tyger River) will facilitate:
Dwelling in the Word, Reflecting and Praying together.
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Youth Roundtable
12 noon*
Tuesday, March 1
at the Foothills Presbytery office
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Western Region Gathering
9:00 am
Monday, March 7
by ZOOM
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Music Ministry Leader's
9:00 am
Wednesday, March 9
by ZOOM
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Educator's
12 noon
APCE SHARE
Monday, March 14
at the Foothills Presbytery office
*Bring Your Lunch
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CPM Student Forum:
Our next Forum for CPM Students Under Care to connect, check-in, and support each other (via Zoom) is on
March 1 at 2:00 pm
(Hosted by our Presbytery Leader & Stated Clerk)
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Antiracism Ministry Team, Foothills Presbytery
Resources we have found challenging and inspirational:
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We are excited to announce that our
Since 1948, Camp Fellowship has provided unique summer programs for children & youth of all ages. We strongly believe camp is for everybody and work diligently to create exceptional programs that engage campers and guests in faith formation, community building, personal growth and development, and fun! Join us this summer for our 74th summer on the lake!
Foothills Presbytery has limited
need-based scholarships available.*
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March 25 @ 3:00 pm - March 26 @ 9:30 pm
All is on go for the March 25-26 session of Lay School. Registration materials can be found HERE. For those who did not attend the Oct. 2021 session, note particularly that the school is now a two-day event, ending with worship Saturday night.
We hope that you will register for this session.
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SC5 Webinar:
MAKING LIFELONG FAITH FORMATION
A REALITY IN EVERY CHURCH
TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2022
9 am – 3:30 pm
Westminster Presbyterian Church
1715 Broad River Rd, Columbia, SC
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.
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Event Details
This year's theme is "Building Bridges for Smaller Congregations: Offering Help, Hope, and Healing."
Our keynote speaker is Rev. Dr. Jonathan C. Augustine - a pastor and professor, as well as an author and advocate. He is part of a group of national leaders who speak for the equality of all human beings, while advocating for policies of diversity, including, and belonging.
Workshop presenters include:
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This year the Birthday Offering of Presbyterian Women celebrates the century mark of generous giving.
Launched in 1922 to honor the 100th anniversary of the Woman’s Auxiliary in the Presbyterian Church in the United States, the Birthday Offering is an annual tradition for givers and receivers around the world. Over the last 100 years, grants funded by Presbyterian Women have impacted the ministries of more than 200 organizations and transformed the lives of countless people.
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While Birthday Offering projects and donation amounts have changed, Presbyterian Women’s commitment to improving the lives of women and children has not. Support the Birthday Offering so PW can continue funding mission projects for the next 100 years. Give as you have been blessed, generously and as led by the Holy Spirit.
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AN EVENING WITH MERRYL BLAIR!
Author of the 2021–2022 PW/Horizons Bible Study
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“I wonder what you wonder! Have you thought about Jesus’ grandmothers, and what they might have taught him? What can they teach us?”
Whether you are currently studying the 2021–2022 PW/Horizons Bible study, What My Grandmothers Taught Me: Learning from the Women in Matthew’s Genealogy of Jesus, or saving it for another day to savor, join author Merryl Blair on Tuesday, March 1st, 2022, at 7:30 pm ET for a webinar about the study. It will be early morning in Melbourne, Australia, when Merryl logs on to reflect on her year of “living with Jesus’s grandmothers” and PW.
Bring your wonderings and warmest welcome and learn, consider, and connect during Presbyterian Women’s free 90-minute engagement with Merryl Blair.
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Talking about Race with Young People
March 2nd; 12 - 1:30 pm Eastern
This workshop is for leaders, parents, and church members who want to have conversations about racism and prejudice. Also for those who want to help young people faithfully explore issues that are important to God and relevant for one of our most racially and ethnically diverse generations yet.
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Empowering Young People Toward Beloved Community
April 6th; 12 - 1:30 pm Eastern
This presentation will build upon the ethnographic and theological research in Rev. Dr. Williams' book, Church in Color to highlight practical steps congregations and other organizations can take to resist racism and embrace Beloved Community in the work of youth and young adult ministry.
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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].
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Eastminster Presbyterian
2240 Woodruff Road,
invites you to participate in a
Poverty Simulation with them
on Sunday, March 27, 3:00-5:00
The Poverty Simulation opens people’s eyes to the human cost of poverty. The power of this unique learning resource is that it creates, like nothing else, insight into the state of chronic crisis that consumes so many working poor families. Participants experience one month of poverty comprised of four fifteen-minute weeks. Afterwards, in the debriefing, they share insights of extraordinary vividness and intensity.
Participants are placed into families made up of one to five members. They receive an envelope that describes their demographics, their income/resources, and their bills. They interact with “vendors” (trained volunteers) who sit at tables around the perimeter of the room. During the course of the simulation, they may deal with a mortgage/rental company, school, pawnbroker, banker, employer, and others. To get from “home” to one of the vendors requires a transportation ticket. This is just the first of many challenges the participants experience within the two-hour time period.
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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”
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Union Presbyterian Seminary offers travel seminars for our students. Those travel seminars are, also, open to the wider community. (In fact, we think having participants from outside the Seminary adds a depth to the travel seminars that is invaluable.)
There are two upcoming travel seminars scheduled this first half of 2022.
SCHEDULE
New dates: Spring 1 semester, February 22-March 2
New dates: Spring 2 AND May Term, May 5-11
To view a FULL list of upcoming opportunities, visit:
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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.
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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.
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Kirstin Kobes Du Mez
SUNDAY, February 27, 2022 - 3:00 pm (EST)
"Jesus and John Wayne: The White Evangelical Reckoning and What It Means for All of Us"
Author of The New York Times bestseller Jesus and John Wayne, Kristin Du Mez is a writer, speaker, and scholar who explores the intersection of religion, gender, and politics. Her writing is described as “urgent and sharp-elbowed,” and Du Mez does not refrain from presenting the hard truths that history has to offer Americans—and especially American Christians. Her unflinching examination of the American church, however, is ultimately a call to confession, a call to lament, and a call to greater faithfulness.
An academic by training, Du Mez holds a Ph.D. in U.S. history from the University of Notre Dame, but she writes and speaks for popular audiences in an entertaining style that is equal parts winsome and hard-hitting. Her bylines include The New York Times, the Washington Post, Daily Beast, Religion & Politics, Religion News Service, NBC News.com, Christian Century, and Christianity Today. Read More
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For more information Contact:
Rev. Brandon Ouellette, Institute Director
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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.
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Mediation Skills Training Institute
or Church Leaders
Mediation Skills Training Institute for Church Leaders
- 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)
- 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.
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Available Jobs
postings on our
website.
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Regarding Ruling Elders:
A monthly series for serving faithfully Jan 27, 2022
This article is the first in a 12-part series focusing on the constitutional questions that church leaders answer upon their ordination and installation, using some of the materials from Coming Alive in Christ: Training for PC(USA) Ruling Elders and Deacons Based on the Constitutional Questions, which is available at equip.pcusa.org.
A seat at the table
Julie Hester – January 18, 2022
Round or rectangle? That was the question on the table. Literally. Two ruling elders and I were pondering the shape of the tables we were ordering for a newly spruced-up fellowship space. One elder served on the property committee, and the other had a gift for interior design. Rectangles were what we were used to. They stored well, and we already knew how to set them up to maximize space. Even though someone was always having to shift in their seat to talk to someone farther down the table or twist to listen to a speaker behind them, rectangles were familiar. But we kept flipping back to the dog-eared catalog page of round tables. They were a bit more expensive, but something about them felt right. Read More
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Mark your Calendars for these Upcoming Events |
2022
February
17 Examination Commission and Committee on Shared Ministry (CSM) meeting by ZOOM
18-19 SC5 COM & PJC Workshops
22 Pastors Forum by ZOOM
24 Committee on Preparation for Ministry (CPM) meeting by ZOOM
28 FP Staff Meeting and Antiracism Committee meeting by ZOOM
March
1 Youth Ministry Roundtable and CPM Student Forum by ZOOM
3 Virtual Prayer Service by ZOOM and Committee on Ministry meeting by ZOOM
4 - 6 PYC Retreat
7 CRE Advisory Committee meeting
9 Music Leaders Gathering by ZOOM
10 Committee on Shared Ministry meeting at Fourth
May 20 - 21, 2022
November 01, 2022
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