|
|
|
A weekly newsletter from the Presbytery of Minnesota Valleys
August 2, 2023
| |
We are congregations who seek to be a collective expression of the Body of Christ, joyfully participating in Christ's ongoing life and work. "Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing." (I Thessalonians 5:11) | |  |
| |
|
Congregation of the Week of August 6-11
First Presbyterian Church of Litchfield
| |
|
First Presbyterian Church of Litchfield was established January 2. 1870. We continue to hold our Lilac Luncheon, which has been a part of Litchfield since 1920, and our Free Veteran's Chili Luncheon that was started 14 years ago. Though our numbers are small we continue to be ever present in our community.
The last Sunday of February brought the retirement of our pastor, Gordy Pennertz and since then we have maintained through pulpit supply, while we search for a new pastor. Prayers for this endeavor would be greatly appreciated.
Our church is lead by our session members: Susan Berg (Clerk of Session), Don MacKay, Dean Sabacky, Amy Levinski, Mark Kolle, and Robbie Nordling. Our PW continues and is moderated by Rosie Graphenteen. Music continues with our organist of 35 years, Jayne Ackman and our accompanist, Heidi Pennertz. Church treasurer (35+ years) is Leetha Waldron and our church Administrative Assistant is Julie Rae Pennertz (22 years).
We are a church family with long-standing traditions and praise God for His many blessings!
| |
|
Together in Christ
Dear Presbytery Family,
When my youngest son, Benjy, was a small boy, he drew a picture of God. I loved it immediately, framed it, and have had it displayed ever since. God had such a kind smile and such a heart of love in my son’s drawing. I wanted to look at it every day. I wanted to see God through Benjy’s eyes. Sometimes children see clearly when our vision is obscured. See what you think. Here’s a photo of that picture – still framed and on display in my home!
|  | |
Ben has grown up. He is now 31 years old, and of course I’m his mom, and moms can be biased, but will you believe me when I tell you what a kind and loving man he has become? I marvel over him. He has a way of making sure everyone around him feels loved and included. He champions justice, speaks out for the underdog, and offers kindness, empathy, and encouragement in every conversation. He has a wonderful smile and a heart of love. As I was pondering how my son lives his life I remembered his childhood picture of God, and I noticed how he reflects that image of God. The way my son saw God as a little boy – that is the man he has become. I hope he’ll forgive me for this comment, but in the best of ways, Ben even looks a little like this picture now. That’s his smile! That’s his heart! Maybe not his left ankle, but still, a pretty accurate drawing!
This realization makes me curious about how our children and grandchildren today see God. Perhaps a part of how we reflect the image of God in our world comes from how we see God when we are growing up. For some God is far off and distant, uninvolved if God exists at all. For some God is raining down thunderbolts of judgment, ready to strike if humans don’t toe the line. For some God is filled with love and kindness, drawing close to us in our times of need with compassion and offering us God’s presence in a way that undergirds and supports our entire life.
I am also curious about how we adults see God. And do we need to take another look? Are we seeing God clearly? I think this is important. You see, we are called to live as the body of Christ, and how we go about doing that may have a lot to do with how we see God. How do we bring God’s presence to our world? If our hands truly are Christ’s hands, how will we use them to serve? If our feet truly are Christ’s feet, where will they take us in Christ’s name? Maybe it’s time for another look at God! I offer you Ben’s childhood drawing as an insightful starting point. And if you are a Sunday School teacher or VBS teacher or camp counselor or parent or grandparent – anyone who has access to children’s drawings of God, please send them in! Help us all take a better look! Sometimes we need the children to lead us.
Together in Christ,
Rev. Beth Buckwalter-Miller
Executive Presbyter, Minnesota Valleys
| |
|
Boundary Training
Every Minister of the Word and Sacrament/Teaching Elder and Commissioned Ruling Elder is required every three years to attend a Boundary Training. This is the year! It will be held on Tuesday, September 12 from 10-3:30 at the Presbytery Office (First Presbyterian Church, 312 6th St SW, Willmar). This training will be led by the folks at LeaderWise as it has been in years past. This is required! So if you do not attend this training, you will have to attend a training elsewhere. Please register by emailing Karen. If you have questions please talk with the Stated Clerk, Pamela Prouty at [email protected].
| |
|
Clergy Wellness Grant from the Board of Pensions
If you are a pastor making under $80,000 you can apply for a $5,000 Clergy Wellness Grant from our Board of Pensions! Here is the link: https://www.pensions.org/your-path-to-wholeness/assistance-program/receiving-assistance/clergy-wellness-support
As you will see, the following programs have been approved for use by the grant, but you are also free to request the grant be used for other programs:
The Davidson Center asked that we share this information with you about their Clergy Program:
We at the Davidson Centre for the Professions (Davidson Clergy Center) are in our 20th year of serving clergy of all denominations. This grant from the BoP will more than cover full tuition, travel, and lodging for our program in Davidson, NC. We are HIPAA compliant.
The four-day onsite program is for caregivers to allow themselves the care, tools, and space they need for wellness and resilience. It includes individual work with a pastoral counselor, spiritual director, nutritionist, personal trainer, life coach. Afternoon session will consist of spiritual or systems work with the cohort. Please look at our website to learn more: www.davcp.com.
Once a member of your presbytery receives the grant, all they need to do is contact us to register for an available session that works best with their calendar.
| |
|
Lakes Area Compassionate Connection Center:
Church on Wheels
Four months ago, a new ministry endeavor emerged in our presbytery – Lakes Area Compassionate Connection Center: Church on Wheels. This ministry is about extending the love of God to those who may never walk through the doors of a traditional church building. Unfortunately, many of the individuals with whom we connect have had a negative experience with a congregation or a Christian. Many feel unwelcome and judged by Christians.
These initial months have been spent forming relationships and breaking down barriers with those identified in the Baxter and Brainerd area as the least, the lonely, and those who are all too often left out. You may be wondering who these individuals are. They are men and women struggling with mental health issues, individuals without housing, women living in recovery houses, women who are experiencing incarceration, youth residing in group homes, youth on the margins, etc. And in June, we held a compassion camp for children living in a mobile home park.
The ministry involves a significant about of listening – compassionate conversations. It also includes compassion circles where individuals learn how to embody compassion in their lives. Recently, a youth compassion circle was attended by a Jew, a person who identifies as a pagan (his father is wheelchair bound, his mother spends most of her time confined to a bed and he and his siblings are homeschooled), a young girl who shared about her dad’s death, another youth whose parents are both deaf, a girl who had experienced significant abuse at home, and another young person who identifies as nonbinary. This was not your typical church gathering.
This ministry would be possible without the generosity of the Lakes Area Presbyterian Church of Baxter, Minnesota Valleys Presbytery and the PCUSA. We are also grateful to the Madelia Presbyterian Church’s for providing funding for compassion baskets, buckets, bags, and boxes. These are tangible expressions of our God’s love for individuals who need encouragement.
We invite you join in prayer for this ministry, for those whom we encounter who are hurting and desperately need to know and experience God’s compassion. We, the Board of Directors and Minnesota Valleys advisory group, are discerning the next steps for this ministry. We seek to be about God’s will and create a sustainable ministry model.
Reaching out to the least, the lonely, and the left out can be heart wrenching, but as Christians this is our calling. If you would like to learn more about this ministry please contact Candace Adams, missionary leader, at 320-905-5453 or [email protected].
| |
|
Presbyterians for Earth Care 2023 Hybrid Conference September 20-23
Registration is now open for the Presbyterians for Earth Care 2023 Hybrid Conference https://presbyearthcare.org/2023-conference/. There are two options -- in-person at Massanetta Springs Conference Center in North Carolina; or access the entire conference September 20-23 online from your location via Zoom. At the Minneapolis hybrid conference hub at Westminster Presbyterian Church on September 21st, area Presbyterians will get together to view and discuss the conference sessions and share with each other the various earth care actions they are working on or planning. For more information contact Rick Person, Westminster Eco-Justice Ministry Team, [email protected].
| |
|
This fall we are going to be putting a recently received mental health grant to good use as we partner with Thijin Gatwech and the Nuer Professional Network to bring mental health expertise to the Nuer immigrants from South Sudan. We know that some immigrants live with PTSD and other mental health challenges as the result of the trauma experienced in a nation torn apart by civil war and experiences in refugee camps, combined with the challenges of coming to a new country where the language and customs are new and different, where home is desperately missed, and where it can be difficult to communicate between generations in a family when lived experience has been so different. Partnering with Dr. John Kuek, a South Sudanese psychologist, we hope that we can begin to offer encouragement and healing to the Nuer people of South Sudan.
The truth is that many of us also experience mental health challenges. Or we have family members who do. We have empathy for the Nuer people because we also know about PTSD, depression, anxiety, and conditions that seem to come out of nowhere, like schizophrenia, that can bring significant challenges. When we reflect upon the fact that "the world is here," within the boundaries of the Minnesota Valleys Presbytery, we remember that this does not only include people from many nations, but people with many different struggles and challenges, all of us sharing life together, making up the church together, having special gifts to contribute and needs that have to be honored as well.
The Porter's Gate is in the process of creating a new album of Sanctuary Songs that is designed to help us connect with one another in our mental health journeys. Enjoy this trailer, and look forward to the release of the album this fall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLsJTkL_gRU
| |
|
For Clerks of Session: Session Records Review Dates
Thursday, August 10
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon at the Presbytery Office/First Presbyterian Church, Willmar, MN
Wednesday, August 16
4:00 – 6:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, Windom, MN
Thursday, August 24
2:00 – 4:00 p.m. at the Federated Church in Fergus Falls, MN
Let Karen Lange know your attendance plans.
| |
|
Our Next Presbytery Craft Gathering Has Been Scheduled!
When: Saturday, August 19, Register by August 10
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Where: First Presbyterian Church, 336 11th Street, Windom
Cost: $25
Mary Koch will once again provide instruction and supplies to make four greeting cards. Deb Hess will provide refreshments and lunch. The Windom Church will make space available. Come and get to know some of the other crafters in our Presbytery. No experience required! We can only accommodate 12 people - first come, first served! RSVP quickly! You'll be glad you did! Photos are of our first gathering to give you an idea of what to expect. Newcomers are welcome!!!
RSVP by August 10 to Mary Koch: [email protected]
"Not being remotely crafty, I nevertheless summoned up all my courage and attended the first gathering. What a joyful time! I ended up purchasing a kit to make children's greeting cards and took it with me when I visited my four-year-old granddaughter. We had a great time making cards together. I was glad I came." Rev. Beth Buckwalter-Miller
|  |  | |
|
It's time to register for the Church Musician's Retreat!
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: AUGUST 12
This retreat is open to all who serve the church in music leadership and planning. Paid church musicians, volunteers, people who are part of a music team, if you are involved in the music ministry of your church you are invited to attend!
| |
|
Minnesota Valleys Presbytery
2023 Ministry Leaders’ Retreat
“Contemplation, Connection & Creation”
September 17–21, 2023
Clearwater Forest
Join other ministry leaders as we gather to connect deeply with God, others, and creation. The ministry leaders’ retreat is a time to attend to one’s spiritual wellness. It is an opportunity to relax, reflect, and receive refreshment for one’s soul.
To register, call or email the Presbytery of Minnesota Valleys Office today at
320-235-7910 or email [email protected]
Cost: $50 (double occupancy), $100 (single occupancy, space allowing) in Leaning Tree lodge, which includes dinner each day at the dining hall. Breakfast will be informal, and a light lunch will be provided in Leaning Tree Lodge.
Description: This retreat is designed for active and retired pastors, CREs and other ministry leaders in Minnesota Valleys Presbytery. The purpose of the retreat will be to rest and recreate. Other than mealtimes and worship and devotional times, you will be free to relax, fish, golf, boat, hike, or chill in a swing or hammock. You will also have opportunities to hang out with colleagues and build friendships with your peers in the Presbytery. You will have the opportunity, if you wish, to share ideas, collaborate, and encourage each other. Our sincere hope and prayer is that you will come home from this retreat with recharged batteries and renewed energy.
Worship & Spiritual Leader: This year we have asked Candace Adams to lead our worship and offer times of spiritual guidance. Candace is a Teaching Elder in Minnesota Valleys Presbytery and currently serving in the New Worshipping Community, Church on Wheels. in Brainerd and Baxter, Minnesota. She formerly served as Pastor of Hope Presbyterian Church in Spicer, moderator of Presbytery of Minnesota Valleys Presbytery, chaplain for students at University of Jamestown in North Dakota, and Associate Minister at the Franciscan Sisters in Little Falls.
| |
|
PW Gives Day Was July 31st
...But It's Not Too Late
PW Gives Day was July 31—a day set aside each year to commemorate the founding of Presbyterian Women. In 2023, PW celebrates 35 years as the women’s organization of the PC (USA). Please consider sharing your PW story and supporting PW with a gift of $35 or more.
| |
|
Presbyterian Women is a not-for-profit ministry that is wholly funded by gifts from participants and supporters. PW does not receive per capita funding, nor is it supported through the church’s collection plate. A sustainable PW is possible only because of the generosity and vision of Presbyterian women and the Purpose that guides our walk. Thirty-five years of Presbyterian Women. Only God knows the depth and breadth of our impact on the world. Millions of dollars shared with projects and ministries around the world; advocacy; Bible study; community. As individuals, we may have a better measure of the individual impact that Presbyterian Women has on our lives.
As part of your PW Gives Day celebration, make a gift online at: presbyterianwomen.org/give.
Then select PW Gives Day and your gift amount. Please scroll and type “PWGDay23” in the comments box as well as your church and presbytery (or synod) information. Or mail your gift to Presbyterian Women, Inc., PO Box 643652, Pittsburgh PA 15264-3652. Please indicate “annual fund” and PWGDay23 in the memo line of your check.
| |
|
Unique Parttime Position: A New Type of Circuit Rider
The Presbytery of Minnesota Valleys is excited about a new opportunity to serve churches within the presbytery. Throughout the denomination, it is taking longer for churches, particularly small rural ones, to fill their pulpits. Minnesota Valleys has many such churches, especially in the southwest corner of the state. To help them through these difficult transitions, the Presbytery is looking for an experienced Teaching Elder for a one-third-time staff position. The primary duty of the Circuit Rider will be to provide pulpit supply and moderate sessions for vacant churches in the Presbytery. Even if it is just visiting churches on a monthly basis, the desire is for the pastor to build a relationship with the church rather than just serve as the guest pastor, as well as strengthen the church’s connection with the Presbytery. Please contact Beth Buckwalter-Miller, the Presbytery Executive, for more information. A complete job description is available.
| |
|
Pastor, CRE and Christian Educator Coaching Opportunity
It's been a hard couple of years for everybody! Pastors are dealing with all the issues that are related to the pandemic, along with all the normal ups and downs and other parts of ministry. In addition, they are ministering to congregations that are also dealing with a lot of stress and anxiety.
The Commission on Leadership has decided to give those in ministry some help and support in the form of affordable coaching. The Synod has trained coaches to provide the service at a cost of $50.00 per session. The Commission on Leadership has approved paying one half of the cost for one session a month for up to 24 months. If you are already working with a coach or want to use another one, you still can be reimbursed $25.00 per month. This program is available to all pastors, CREs who are serving churches and Christian educators.
We all can use some help and support as we continue to deal with a lot of heavy issues. If you are feeling just a little (or a lot) overwhelmed, please take advantage of this opportunity.
Contact Beth Buckwalter-Miller if you want to get started: 530-513-0592 or e-mail [email protected]
| |
|
Pulpit Supply Information
The pulpit supply list may be accessed on the Presbytery website directory. Contact Karen Lange if you need a passphrase to access the directory. Certification for State of Minnesota Statute 604.20 and Background Checks are on file for all persons named on this listing. Congregations are strongly encouraged to use this listing when the need for pulpit supply arises with the following guidelines:
- Anyone (Minister of the Word and Sacrament or Ruling Elder) supplying a pulpit more than two times in succession must have Commission on Leadership approval.
- Minimum remuneration is $150 if preaching at one service, $200 if preaching at two services, plus mileage at current IRS rate (2023 rate: 65.5 cents/mile)
Expenses of the Moderator
The church shall pay the moderator an honorarium of $50.00 per Session and/or Congregational meeting as established by presbytery, and mileage at the IRS rate.
| |
|
2023 Per Capita
$44.24 Total
$28.89 for Presbytery
$5.50 for Synod
$9.85 for GA
2023 Presbytery Meeting Dates
October 21: In-person only Stated Presbytery Meeting at First Presbyterian Willmar from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Oct 6: Presbytery packet reports due
Oct 11: Packet emailed out
Oct 16: RSVP deadline
| |
|
Prayer List
- For Rev. Mark Chamberlain, retired pastor, Willmar
- For Rev. Bob Bartlett, retired pastor, Round Lake
- For Rev. Michael Roys, retired pastor, Winnebago
- Pray for our brothers and sisters in the Occidente Presbytery of Guatemala
| |
|
Pastoral Leadership Opportunities
Presbytery of Minnesota Valleys - Circuit Rider
More information
First Presbyterian Church of Holland - Pastor
Ministry Information Form - 03783.AC0
First Presbyterian Church of Luverne - Pastor
Ministry Information Form - 03790.AE0
First Presbyterian Church of Mankato - Interim Pastor
More information
First Presbyterian Church, Pipestone - Pastor
Ministry Information Form - 03796.AD0
Harrison Presbyterian Church, rural Spicer - Pastor, yoked parish
Ministry Information Form - 03878.AA0
First Presbyterian Church, Winnebago - Pastor
Ministry Information Form - 03811.AA1
Ministry opportunities are posted on the Church Leadership Connection website -- http://oga.pcusa.org/section/mid-council-ministries/clc/
Presbytery Job Board
First Presbyterian Church of St. Cloud is seeking a Youth and Campus Ministry Director. This is a full-time or part-time position depending on the gifts, skills, and abilities of the candidate. For more information, you may see the position description at www.fpcstlcoud.org. You may also contact Pastor Darin Seaman (320) 251-8277 for more information.
Synod Job Board
First Presbyterian Church, Shakopee, MN, seeks a half-time pastor to "give spiritual, pastoral, educational, and administrative leadership to the congregation as it determines its long-term leadership needs." The congregation is seeking to identify a new future and understand a new identity. Please contact Edie Cook, Clerk of Session and Supply Pastor Chair, with questions: [email protected].
|  | |
Pulpit Supply can be hard to find.
The Ministry Lab has got you covered!
Member congregations (MN UCC, UMC, PC(USA) and subscription) have free access to a water-infused, community-empowering recorded sermon from Rev. Emily Meyer. Inspired by Spring Hill, FL (UCC), the sermon is based on We Are Water Protectors (and Psalm 13 and Matthew 10:40-42) and shares a message of encouragement in following Jesus' mission of compassion, hospitality and justice. Get the link by contacting Emily Meyer ([email protected]). Available throughout the summer.
| | | | |
