Foothills Presbytery News

August 7, 2025

SC5 School of Theology

The 2025 Fall Semester of the SC5 School of Theology will be held at Presbyterian College on October 3 & 4.

Registration will open next week.

Classes Offered Fall 2025 Semester:

New Testament (Core)
Reformed Theology (Core)
Preaching (Core)
Pastoral Care (Core)
Elective Courses:
Pastoral Letters (1 & 2 Timothy and Titus)
Practicum (Funerals, Weddings, Sacraments & more)

Courageous Conversations

Discipleship and Faith Formation

Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The next greatest commandment was to love our neighbor. But how can we truly love our neighbor if we don’t know our neighbor? The Antiracism Ministry team and Courageous Conversations writing team invite you to engage in “Courageous Conversations” in order to know your neighbor. These videos feature people in Foothills Presbytery telling their own stories – stories that may be very different from our own. Read More

The interviews and curriculum can be found on the Foothills Presbytery website. The Courageous Conversations Writing Team is available to lead small groups through this seven session study.

Foothills Presbytery Pastoral Support & Peer Ministry:

Youth Leaders Roundtable

The next gathering will be

Thursday, August 7 at 10 am at the Presbytery office.

Music Ministry Leaders

Our next gathering is Wednesday,

August 13 at 9 am on Zoom.

Christian Educators

Our next gathering is August 18

at First Pres Anderson from 1 - 2:30 pm.

CRE Cohort Gatherings

Our next gathering

is Tuesday, September 23

at noon at the

Foothills Presbytery office.

Youth Leaders, Educators, Pastors, and Elders:

We need your Input!

You’re Invited to a Listening Session!

Join us as we explore big questions together and help us shape the future of God’s church in Foothills Presbytery. We are holding several listening sessions across the presbytery and we want everyone’s voice to be heard, including yours.

Note: New Listening Sessions for

Validated Ministers and Ruling Elders

have been added.

Connect your high school grad & college student with local Campus Ministers:

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. Click here for more information!

Thriving Church : What We Can Learn from Faithful Congregations, by Erin Cash [and] Kory Wilcoxson. Chalice Press, 2025. (254.5 Cash)

Based on a five-year study of over 20 churches, Thriving Church offers stories, practical steps, and visionary insights to help a congregation discover its unique gifts and fulfill its potential. Authored by Rev. Dr. Erin Cash, Project Director for the Thriving Congregations Project at Lexington Theological Seminary (LTS), and Rev. Dr. Kory Wilcoxson, pastor of a participating church, this study shares the findings of a $1 million study by LTS, funded by a Lilly endowment grant.

The research identified 10 key traits shared by thriving congregations. Each chapter provides scripture references and discussion questions designed for ministerial staff, church boards, elders, Sunday School classes, and denominational leaders. The book is designed to be practical, with each chapter standing alone, allowing focus on the traits most relevant to a specific congregation's immediate needs. It's written to help church leaders see the unique ways their congregation is already thriving and how to further develop those traits.

August

in Montreat

Calendar of events

New Around the Table

Quick Sheets - free downloadable:

Church Leader Quick Sheet:

Includes ideas and QR code to examples and printables to create and give to families.

Parent Quick Sheet: This one is for parents and grandparents with suggestions for short family moments together to share a prayer, a story, give thanks, or notice where they see God.

Prism 2025 Event

This online leadership event is available through Union Presbyterian Seminary and the Center for Excellence in Christian Education. The event this year is on

August 9, 2025, with a focus on stewardship.

Click here for more information.

Questions: Email Renda R. Brinson

Funding Model Development Team Update

Choose a session to learn more about the work of a GA mandated task force, an invitation to field studies, and how it matters to the financial sustainability of our mid councils. (All EST) For finance comm members, administrators, or anyone who would benefit from learning more or receiving this update.

Monday, August 11, 4:00 p.m.

Tuesday, August 12, 11:00 a.m.

Thursday, August 14, 7:00 p.m.

Click Here for ZOOM link.

The Art of Transitional Ministry

is again offered at the Montreat Conference Centre during the week of August 10–15, 2025.

If you are curious, or need a week in the North Carolina Mountains to discern your future in ministry, go to https://montreat.org/events/transitional-25 for more information.

S.T.E.P.S. 2025

Saturday, August 23, 2025

(Pre-registration deadline August 12)

This event will offer two workshop sessions, with worship in between. A time for fellowship and lunch will follow the second workshop and a boxed lunch may be purchased for an additional cost. The preacher of the day, The Rev Cecelia “CeCe” Armstrong, will offer a workshop during this time entitled Lesson Planning for Learners.

** New Date **

We heard from many of you that the August 23rd date for the Font & Faith Intergenerational Family Day was difficult for many families. We greatly appreciate your feedback and your interest in this event and the work of the Font & Faith Initiative. In response, we have moved the Greenville, SC Family Day at Fourth Presbyterian Church to Saturday, February 28th from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Please find attached an updated flyer to share with families in your churches.

Click here for full flyer and detailed information!

Shelter Responder Boot Camp

Join your neighbors to provide food, shelter, comfort and care for your community when a hurricane or other major disaster strikes. With a few hours of training, you can be the crucial lifeline for people in need amid increasing disasters.

SC American Red Cross is hosting four workshops this month. We invite congregations to partner with us and learn how to serve with one of PDAs' strategic partners during a natural or human-caused disaster.

FULL FLYER

Foothills Music Ministry Leaders present

1st Annual HYMNFEST

August 24 at 4:30 pm

at John Knox Church

35 Shannon Drive, Greenville

Free Event - Love offerings accepted.

Featuring Combined Choirs and Musicians from: Pickens, First Spartanburg, First Greer, Seneca, Eastminter, St. Andrews, Walhalla, John Knox, Westminster Greenville, Central Anderson, Limestone, Liberty

Full Flyer

ZOOM Meeting

for Church Record Keepers

August 27, 3 pm

Keepers of church records will want to join this ZOOM meeting on August 27, 3 pm. Join Presbyterian Historical Society archivist David Staniunas to discover how to handle your own congregation’s records for the long term and learn how we do it at your national archives. More information will be forth coming.

Cert in Pastoral Crisis Intervention (PCI)

Dewey Center for Chaplaincy at Charleston Southern, in collaboration with the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF), is pleased to offer the world’s first university-based certification in Pastoral Crisis Intervention (PCI). This examination-based certification is an attestation of knowledge in crisis intervention within the pastoral context.

Learn More

Synod Grants & Christian Education Scholarships

Hemphill Grant: Established by Mary E. Hemphill through the Synod of South Carolina. Grants to small churches with a membership of 100 or less in South Carolina, for church building improvement/relief. Deadline for applications to this grant is October 1, 2025.

For more information on this and other

Synod of South Atlantic Grants,

visit Synod of South Atlantic Grants.

Frontera de Cristo

Beginning in 2026, FDC's budget will increase substantially not only because of the financial responsibility of the two mission co-worker positions but also because of the exciting expansion in the Children's Enrichment Ministry and continued growth of the Love Mercy, Do Justice ministry.

Donate today so that FDC will be well positioned to finish this year strong, and be able to expand its impact in 2026.

DONATE NOW

Nicholtown Church has several items they would like that are being offered as donations on a first come, first served basis:

Pulpit
Communion table
Baptismal font
Choir Robes: 11 green and 13 burgundy
Wooden Chairs: About 30 wooden chairs

Please contact the presbytery office if you are interested.

African American leaders and congregations

The Presbyterian Historical Society continues to offer free digitization through our African American Leaders and Congregations initiative. For any church in the African American Presbyterian Congregational Support directory, we digitize session minutes and registers at no cost to the congregation. Congregations are welcome to send in records for imaging and return or to place them on deposit here. Contact David Staniunas at dstaniunas@history.pcusa.org.

The General Assembly Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations (GACEIR)

published a resource to help Presbyterians confront Christian nationalism. GACEIR’s document includes a liturgical witness against the growing movement.

Are you looking for resources for Christian Education and Ministry?

If so, follow this link to find what you need for group study, leadership training, ministry building, Sunday School classes, and children's ministry.

You may use the interactive catalog or download the pdf version.

The Presbyterian Promise Scholarship

The Presbyterian Promise Scholarship is a commitment by Presbyterian College (PC) to recognize students for their merit and affiliation with the Presbyterian Church. Students who are of members of Presbyterian churches, or who attend Presbyterian/Reformed secondary schools, will receive a scholarship for a minimum of $24,000 per year for up to four years—that’s an $96,000 commitment to you.

Pansy Duke Scholarship

The Scholarship has been established by Ms. Pansy E. Duke, a longtime and faithful member of the Fort Hill Presbyterian Church, Clemson, South Carolina. The Scholarship is awarded annually to qualified individuals based on leadership, academic excellence, and the commitment to explore means to attain a life of faith-based servant leadership. Deadline is January 10, 2026.

Application and Information

Small & Mighty

Leaders of small membership churches in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina

are invited to the Association of Smaller Congregations (ASC) Monthly Zoom Conversation

We meet on the First Tuesday of the month from 7-8 pm EST

Next Session: September 2

Synod of South Atlantic 1st Wednesday SACK Lunch

South Atlantic Community Knowledge monthly zoom conversations.

When you register here, (or use the bar code) each month you will receive a reminder and zoom link to attend the 1st Wednesday SACK Lunch conversation (noon - 1:30pm ET).

Next: September 3 - Small(er) Congregations

The Leadership Institute - TWO New September events!

Compassion Across Borders - September 16-18, 2025, a call for solidarity with, and justice for, migrants in the church. Learn more and register here!!

BTSR Legacy Celebration - September 23-25, 2025, in collaboration with the Baptist House of Studies and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Virginia. Learn more and register here!

2025 Fall Craft Week

A Kaleidoscope of Art!

September 21–26, 2025

Come gain proficiency in an art form of your choice, and enjoy the community of other artists during a fall week in the mountains. Bring a group from your church, community, family, or come alone. We can help you figure out the details! Learn More

PW’s Triennial Gathering

Synod of South Atlantic and Synod of Living Waters

Epworth by the Sea, St. Simons, GA

October 17-19, 2025

Our PW Synod Gathering, held once every three years, is an opportunity for women to nurture faith, exchange ideas, discover mission opportunities, strengthen relationships, and relax.

Foothills PW Scholarship Application

(due August 11)

"Improving Public Health within the Faith-Based Community"

The time has come to register for the 7^th Annual Faith Symposium. This event will be held on October 9, 2025, at the Department of Archives and History. Registration is open until September 5, 2025. If you have questions, please contact Sherri Caldwell via email or at 803.734.9903. Learn More Here

Pathways Registration is live!

Come see what we've got going on at the Leadership Institute

Border to Border

Delegation Coffee

Migration & Faith

will be held October 31 through November 8. Travel to the Guatemala border and learn about the Café Justo cooperative. Dates include an introductory visit with all of Frontera de Cristo's ministries.

Download the flyer here.

You're Invited: Join UPSem's Next Travel Seminar!

Travel to India this winter with Dr. Sam Adams and Dr. James Taneti to unpack Christianity, country, and culture. December 27, 2025 - January 16, 2026

Please contact Dean Dan Ott (daniel.ott@upsem.edu) or Sarah Amick (sarah.amick@upsem.edu) for details. Deadline to apply is August 7.