Foothills Presbytery News

August 21, 2025

Joyful Celebrations around Foothills Presbytery

Racial Ethnic Cabinet gathering at the Presbytery office (below)

PYC Planning Retreat at Camp Fellowship (above)

Ordination & Installation of the Rev. Carter Rief, John Knox church (above)

Central Listening Session (below)

Eastern Listening Session (above)

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

Middle School Retreat Details & Forms

High School Retreat Details & Forms

SC5 School of Theology

Registration for the 2025 Fall Semester of the SC5 School of Theology is now open. Classes will be held at Presbyterian College on October 3 & 4.

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)

CSM Mission &

Outreach News

During 2025, the Mission and Outreach team of the Foothills Presbytery Committee on Shared Ministry will highlight partner ministries and mission opportunities every month. Each month's newsletter will include ways to engage in the featured ministry on the calendar to the left.

August Mission Newsletter

Creation Care

Foothills Presbytery Pastoral Support & Peer Ministry:

Youth Leaders Roundtable

The next gathering will be

Thursday, September 4 at 12 noon.

Music Ministry Leaders

Our next gathering is Wednesday,

September 10 at 9 am on Zoom.

Christian Educators

Our next gathering is September 15

at Westminster, Greenville

from 1 - 2:30 pm.

CRE Cohort Gatherings

Our next gathering

is Tuesday, September 23

at noon at the

Foothills Presbytery office.

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.

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.

Small(er) Churches Gathering

Tuesday, September 30, 12 - 1:30 pm

at the Foothills Presbytery office

Bring your lunch & a drink.

Presbytery will provide dessert.

** Please email LeAnne White and let us know if you plan to attend. **

Sunday October 19, 2025

1:00pm – 6:00pm

https://hpporchfest.org/

Join us for an afternoon of music and community at the fifth annual Hampton-Pinckney PorchFest!

PorchFest is one of our community’s most vibrant events—a walking neighborhood festival that brings together thousands of people from across the city and county. This year, Mattoon is hosting two time slots, and we’d love for our churches to be part of it! Questions? Email: Anthony Dawson, tgkeeper@gmail.com or Pastor Lerone Wilder - leronewilder@leronewilder.com.

Foothills Presbytery

Women of the Church

Gathering

February 21, 2026

Save the Date...details coming!

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!

August Newsletter

This month we have many links to ministries, registration forms, and items you might want to add to your praygrounds or bags.

Jenna Campbell has written our quick sheet for the Liturgical Library. If you want to know more about their grant, you can access their final report video here.

Shelter Responder Boot Camp

8/23/2025 9am-12pm

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

August

in Montreat

Calendar of events

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.

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

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

First Presbyterian Church, Sarasota

along with PDA partners at FLAPDAN are

hosting a work program

site in Florida

Full Flyer

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.

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.

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

"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

2025 Fall Discovering Renewal

October 13–16, 2025

featuring the Rev. Paul Roberts

Join us as we seek to discover renewal through activities as a way to be reminded that we can find this renewal in the most common of places.

Click here for more information.

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)

Leader Formation Webinars for Ruling Elders and Deacons

October 23, 2025; 7:00-8:30 pm eastern

"Presbyterian Polity"

Registration opens on September 15

More information will be available on the

Leader Formation webpage and in the September Leader Formation Newsletter

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.

Click here for full flyer and detailed information!

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