Volume 25 | July 1, 2021
The Presbyark Update
Keeping the Presbytery of Arkansas informed.
July 15, 2021
News From Stewart...
General Presbyter Stewart Smith gives an update regarding Presbytery staffing transitions as well as news from Future of the Church as they award churches in our Presbytery $84,850 in grant money. Click here to read.
Farewell To Our Stated Clerk
This past Tuesday was our last staff meeting with our beloved Stated Clerk and friend, Leslie Belden. Leslie, it will never be the same without you. We will miss your wonderful sense of humor, your incredible organizational skills (especially at Presbytery meeting time), and we now wonder who will remind us to pray.

As sad as we are to see you go, we wish you much joy in your retirement. -The Staff
And The Survey Says...
Thank you very much to the 45 people who took time to respond to our recent Presbytery Support and Resourcing Survey. You said your top four areas of interest were: 1. (72%) Small Church Vitality; 2. (46%) Understanding and Reaching the Millennials; 3. (41%) Online Streaming and Technology; 4. (39%) Leadership. An overwhelming 65% of you said that you would like to acquiring skills either in online workshops or in-person one day workshops.

The Resource Team met and is searching for and reviewing speakers and making plans for upcoming workshops. For those of you who checked that you are interested in learning about topics through books, articles, podcasts, or webinars, give me a little time, but I will be emailing you recommendations. Also, a large number of you said that you are definitely or maybe interested in attending an in-person retreat for relaxation, connection and emotional support, so that is being worked on as well.

We appreciate all the written feedback and will be keeping your comments in mind as we plan. If you have any other comments or questions, contact Julie Price at julietannerprice@gmail.com.
Michelle Hall Commissioning
Congratulations to CRE Michelle Hall on her commissioning Sunday, July 11 to jointly serve the congregations of First Lincoln and First Prairie Grove. Pictured from left to right are CRE Kelly Pearson, CRE Michelle Hall, RE Jane Webb, RE Barbara Verdery, MWS Stewart Smith, and MWS Kade Curry.
New Resources
Resources Now Available for planning Christian Formation Celebration Week (Rally Day). Click here to view.
New collection of 50 hymns by New York City pastor Chris Shelton is published.
Click here to view
Sunday School Curriculum & Teacher Helps from PRC (Practical Resources for Churches).
Click here to view.
Vital Congregation Grants
 Applications from interested presbyteries and individual congregations that have the blessing of their presbytery are now being accepted for the fourth wave of the Vital Congregations Initiative.

The Rev. Carlton Johnson, coordinator for Vital Congregations in the Presbyterian Mission Agency, is excited about working with additional presbyteries and their congregations as they go deeper into following Jesus Christ.

Based on the Seven Marks of Vital Congregations (see Section 2), the three-year process is designed for the national church to come alongside and covenant with PC(USA) congregations in their revitalization efforts. Click here to read more and apply.
How To Get More People to See Church Posts
By Anne Russ, Presbyterians Today
Posting your ministry happenings on social media is great, but it can be even better (translation: more folks seeing what you have posted) with the use of a hashtag.

Hashtags are those words and phrases with a # in front of them that you may have seen attached to Facebook or Twitter posts. Hashtags are the filing system of social media. They make your posts searchable beyond your church’s username. The right hashtags can put your posts in front of people you want to reach. Read more

Presbytery of Arkansas
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Little Rock, AR 72227
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