September 21, 2023

God created a World

of great

ABUNDANCE

If we share, there is enough for all [i]

The next Foothills Presbytery Meeting is

November 14, 2023

10:00 am - 2:30 at

First Church, Anderson.

^“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Cor 9:9)

The theme for our gathering is Abundance and Gratitude. The Worship Committee is partnering with the Stewardship Task Force and Committee on Shared Ministry to weave the topic of Abundance and Gratitude throughout the day. Worship will include celebrating the Saints of the Church who have joined the Church Triumphant during the last year.[ii] The Word Proclaimed will be based on Exodus 16, intitled “Enough” and offered by the Reverend Maren Sonstegard-Spray (First Anderson). Before lunch, there will be an opportunity to discuss how God’s abundance emerges in our lives and communities. We will hear a report from the Stewardship Task Force celebrating churches who have generously supported the work of the presbytery and highlighting their work.

In keeping with our theme, we invite you to bring donations of grains (oatmeal, grits, cereals) to the November Presbytery Meeting as a sign of God's abundance and provision to those who need it most. The donations will go to Hope Missions of the Upstate. Located one block from First Presbyterian Church of Anderson, Hope Missions serves a hot breakfast to over a hundred homeless men and women every morning. Relationships and crucial services are a high priority at Hope Missions. Oatmeal, grits, and cereals are a constant need. We will collect donations at the front of the sanctuary before the meeting begins.

All who hunger, gather gladly; holy manna is our bread.

Come from wilderness and wandering. Here, in truth, we will be fed.

You that yearn for days of fullness, all around us is our food.

Taste and see the grace eternal. Taste and see that God is good.

(All Who Hunger, Gather Gladly, Glory to God, Hymn #509)

_______________________________

[i] Walter Brueggemann is professor emeritus of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur. From the Christian Century, March, 1999.

[ii] Foothills Presbytery has a tradition of recognizing and celebrating the lives of Ruling Elders and Ministers (and their spouses), who entered the Church Triumphant last year. We rely on you, our church leaders, to let us know the names of your saints who faithfully served your congregation and God's beloved community. Please send the names of those Elders and Ministers (and their spouses) who have died since November 2022. We will honor and recognize them during worship at our November Stated Meeting of Presbytery. Please send names to Warren Templeton, [email protected] no later than October 19.

Art Image: Grant Wood, Fall Plowing, 1931, oil on canvas, John Deere Art Collection, Figge Art Museum, Davenport, IA (art work in the public domain)

Seven people from Foothills Presbytery enjoyed a week of education and mission in mid-September. The participants drove to Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center, stopping in Birmingham on both legs of the trip. In addition to learning about Presbytery Disaster Assistance and assembling kits of heart, the trip included working with mission agencies in Little Rock, AR. The team also visited Civil Rights historical sites in Birmingham, Memphis, and Little Rock. Members of the team will share more about their trip during the November Presbytery meeting.

2023 Middle School Retreat Church Registration, Participant Form and Information Form

2024 High School Retreat Church Registration, Participant Form and Information Form

Registration Numbers for both retreats

due Monday, October 2, 2023.

SC5 School of Theology

Classes will be held on

Friday & Saturday, October 27 & 28

at Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC.

Registration for the

2023 Fall Semester of the SC5 School of Theology

(formerly called the SC Lay School)

is open until Sept 27!

Classes will be held at Presbyterian College on October 27 & 28. We will have check-in beginning at 4:30 on Friday, October 27, in Neville Hall.

Classes Offered Fall 2023 Semester:

New Testament (Core) with the Rev. Dr. Bob Bryant
Reformed Theology (Core) with the Rev. Richard Burnett, Ph.D.
Preaching (Core) with the Rev. Dr. Ella Busby
Pastoral Care (Core) with the Rev. Loyd Melton, Ph.D.
Christian Education (Elective) with the Rev. Tom Malone

We are pleased to share our new SC5 School of Theology website with you. You will find information about the SC5 School of Theology, who attends, who the two tracks are for, and how to get started here.

Hotel: During registration, you will have an opportunity to reserve a room at the Hampton Inn in Clinton. The last date to book a room is September 27, 2023.)

Registration for the Fall Semester will close on September 27, 2023. If you are not able to register online, please email Robin Morris and she will send you a paper registration form.

Foothills Peer Ministry

Youth Leaders Roundtable

Next Gathering is at the

October 5

at First, Spartanburg

Music Ministry Leaders

Gathering

Wednesday, October 11

by ZOOM

Christian Educators Gathering

Next gathering is

Monday, October 16

Join the Educators at First Spartanburg for a conversation with the Rev. Dr. Becky Davis on Social Media Policies and best practices.

CRE Cohort

Next meeting is

Tuesday, October 24

at 12:30

at the Presbytery office

Resources we have found challenging

& inspirational:

The Official U.S. Civil Rights Trail: What Happened Here Changed the World by Lee Sentell

Presbyterian Women’s Church-wide Gathering

August 8-11, 2024 in St Louis, MO

Are you making plans to attend?

Want to know what happens at such a gathering?

Watch the Video Below:

We are excited to share with you our virtual Fall 2023 Program Schedule (open to all who wish to attend without cost). We will send a separate email in December with our Winter/Spring 2024 schedule.

Bible Study (Every Other Week)

In this year’s bi-weekly Bible Study, we are working our way through Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. Participants can choose either:

Tuesday evenings, 7:00-8:30 p.m. (on Sept. 26, Oct. 10, 24, Nov. 7, 21, and Dec. 5, 19) or
Wednesday mornings, 8:30-9:45 am (Sept. 27, Oct. 11, 25, Nov. 8, 22, and Dec. 6, 20).

You can also request to be on the invitation list for both Zoom groups. There is no expectation to attend every session—just join us when it suits your schedule.

Bedrock Gatherings (Monthly)

Picking up from our Bedrock Gathering discussions last year on Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a bellwether for modern Christians (Fall, 2022) and how Christians dealt with past moments when the Gospel was at risk (Spring, 2023), our Bedrock series this year focuses on the significant challenges facing the Church today and explores the question “What would a new confession of faith look like for our time?”

We will meet monthly by Zoom
The first Thursday evening of each month, from 7:00-8:30 pm: Oct. 5, Nov. 2, and Dec. 7.

Each session stands on its own, so there is no requirement to attend all four meetings this fall.

For more information, please email [email protected]

InChristSupportingMinistries.org

Full Flyer

More Information

LOOKING FORWARD: CHURCH, HOPE, AND THE FUTURE OF CONGREGATIONS

HENDERSON LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

Sept. 24-26, 2023

Will Willimon, Keynoter

OVERVIEW

What is the future of small congregations (the fastest growing segment of North American Christianity)?

Join us for lectures, workshops, worship, and conversations that will inspire your leadership; and receive practical, usable wisdom for giving your congregation a future.

This year's keynoter Will Willimon has been listening to pastors and congregations in hundreds of American churches and has a hopeful, Christ-centered word for small churches and their leaders. He is the author of What’s Next? a book to help contemporary pastors lead their congregations forward. Dr. Willimon will present the Henderson Lecture on Church and Ministry, “Hope for the Many Churches Where Few Are Gathered,” Monday evening, Sept. 25, 2023, at 7:00 person and online. Read More

When Faith Hurts: Empowering the Faith Community to Recognize and Respond to Child Abuse & Sexual Assault

A conference for members of faith communities and community partners

October 10-12, 2023

The Julie Valentine Center is pleased to invite you to attend When Faith Hurts. We are excited to bring Victor Vieth, the Chief Program Officer for the Zero Abuse Project, to Greenville to conduct the training.

This training will prepare attendees to recognize and respond to cases of sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. We will discuss the prevalence of child abuse, the impact of abuse on spirituality, the interest offenders have in churches and faith-based camps and schools, and will offer suggestions for working to assist a child in coping with maltreatment. The training will also discuss ideal child protection policies for a faith based institution, including handling a situation in which a convicted sex offender seeks to join a congregation.

Visit our Website

Cents-Ability

“Put Your Two Cents In” and put it where it can make a difference in the effort to relieve hunger. What began as a Presbyterian Women (PW) ministry in 1976 known as ‘two cents a meal’, is now a Presbyterian Mission Agency ministry, ‘Cents Ability’. People were asked to contribute a few coins at each meal. It is an expression of thanksgiving for what we have received. It adds up: one person contributing $1, when added to the offerings of 99 others, totals $100. If 58 churches in the Presbytery give $100 each, that would give $5800 for hunger relief in upstate South Carolina. What if we each gave $2?

Some congregations in Foothills are already participating in this effort. In 2022, eight congregations, and one individual, donated $7,604.87 to this ministry. Foothills Presbytery added $95.06 to what had been received so that each ministry would receive $550.00.

Ministries may apply for funds. Read More

Make a Donation to Cents-Ability

Event Fee: $50, includes Saturday lunch. Scan the QR code to register and pay.

Montreat Wee Kirk Conference

October 16-18, 2023

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.

Learn More Here

Special Offering:

Peace and Global Witness

Have you received your Peace and Global Witness Leader’s Guide?

If not, call 800-728-7228, ext 5047 or go here This year’s theme is You Are With Me (Psalm 23).

October 19

at Fourth Presbyterian Church

9 am - 3 pm

Cost is $5, lunch included

Presented by Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Program

Regarding Ruling Elders: A Monthly Series for Serving Faithfully

Studying Scripture and the Issues of Christian Faith and Life

Baptism is a life-defining event that emphasizes a commitment from God to God’s family and from us to God’s creation. It is not a checkbox occurrence, but a lifetime process that is complete only in death. Therefore, it is important for the leadership of the church to keep the commitment of baptism always present as it gets involved in Christ’s mission by “studying Scripture and the issues of Christian faith and life.”

Most baptismal services in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) include liturgies that echo the Book of Common Worship and ask the congregation two questions:

“Do you, as members of the church of Jesus Christ, promise to guide and nurture this person by word and deed, with love and prayer? Will you encourage her/him/them to know and follow Christ and to be faithful members of his church?” READ MORE

Please mark your calendars for February 29 - March 4, 2024, and look for more details by email and on our website.

Bethesda Presbyterian Church

to offer Computer/Media Literacy training.

If you don't have a Facebook page or an email account, or if you want to learn how to use Canva to produce flyers and such, there's an app for that: Me. Bring a charged laptop or tablet, or your mobile phone. (First Saturday of every month at 11)

Bethesda Presbyterian Church, USA, will offer basic computer and media literacy training workshops on the first Saturday of every month, beginning in April. This workshop is for people wanting basic knowledge about such popular programs as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and working with Google docs.

Contact: Kim Smith Ph.D., [email protected], 704-953-3290

Grants offered through the Presbyterian Mission Agency:

Grants and Scholarships

As part of our mission, we have several grant and scholarship programs that assist people, organizations and congregations. View these opportunities and more HERE!

Beth Templeton and Amy Jump-Long have just released a book, Scripture Scents, about essential oils in the Bible:

The most famous use of essential oils in the Bible are the gifts to the Christ Child—gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Entering the world of essential oils with their aromas opens up the world of the Bible in new and wondrous ways. The stories told here and the information offered about using essential oils will open up new opportunities for living.

Essential oils are from nature—from plants, trees, flowers, herbs, and grasses. They are God’s creation, surrounding us with beauty and bringing amazement. Is it any wonder that people in Biblical times used these gifts for healing, cleansing, anointing, building, and therapeutic caring?

Available at Renurturetherapy.com or at Amazon.

Amy is a ruling elder at Piedmont Presbyterian and Beth is an honorably retired minister of Foothills Presbytery.

Click here to see additional

Available Jobs

on our website.

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Food Truck Party VBS: On a Roll with God

Aug 31, 2023

By Rev. Bessie Black,

Westminster (Saxon)

Vacation Bible School was held at Westminster Presbyterian Church (Saxon) Spartanburg, S.C, on July 18-20, 2023 (Tuesday- Thursday) from 6-8:30 pm. Reverend Pressley Cox connected us with several neighboring churches to find materials for VBS. We are grateful to both Fountain Inn Church and First Greer for lending us decorations, curriculum, crafts, and more!

Through this help from sister churches, we were able to experience a time of spiritual renewal and fellowship centered around the Cokesbury VBS “Food Truck Party: On a Roll with God.” This VBS invites children, youth, and adults to pray as Jesus teaches us in Matthew 6:11; “Give us this day our daily bread.” These words served as a reminder that everything we have comes from God — and that it’s by turning to God in prayer that all of our daily needs are met. Other scripture that we studied included Exodus 16 (God Provides Manna and Quail and 1 Kings 17:8-16 (Elijah, the Widow, and the Endless Oil) Read More