February 2022

Newsletter

" What Does Our Belief In Jesus Say About Truth? "

Here are the latest opportunities to strengthen
your faith and connect with the community.

Tell The Full Story

My grandfather would often say, "Don't believe everything you read or much of what you think you see." As a man growing up in the South, he spent much of his adult life weeding through the stories he was told. Our dinnertime conversations were a summation of what he learned at school and church. The life lessons always included a cautionary warning that there is one set of rules for us and another for others. Around this time last year, I wrote a similar article entitled "History - The Good, Bad and the Changeable." That article asked about our response to knowledge once we know the truth.

January Synod Commission Highlights

The Synod Mission and Ministries Commission held its first meeting of 2022 on January 28-29. Because of the New Jersey reorganization, new commission representatives were welcomed -- Rev. Sara Craven (Southern New Jersey), Rev. Sue Smith (Coastlands), YAAD Brielle Lacroix (Coastlands), and Elder Lisa Gray (Highlands). Rev. Laurena Will (Northern New York) attended as an observer. She is scheduled to be elected to the commission by her presbytery in February.

Just In Case You Missed It

The Joy of Stewardship:

Telling Your Ministry Story

Grants and Scholarship

Coaching Scholarships

How Can Coaching Support You and Your Ministry?

Coaching is a powerful tool to help individuals in leadership roles and church leadership teams discover and embrace their God-given goals.

The Coaching Network is offering scholarships for professional coaching to ministry leaders and to ministry leader teams within our community.

Read more and apply at www.synodne.org/coaching.

Wurffel-Sills Scholarship and Interest-Free Student Loan Update

The online application for the 2022-2023 Wurffel-Sills Scholarship and Interest-Free Student Loan Program is open!

This application is open to all members of any church within the Synod of the Northeast. We will be accepting applications for the following students:

Full-Time Undergraduate Students
Full-Time and Part-Time (At least half-time) Seminary Students (MDiv & MRE Studies)
CRE Certification Studies

Early Ministry Institute 2022, May 23- 26, 2022

Early Ministry Institute is a three year program of the Synod of the Northeast. Each year there is a week-long residency at Stony Point Center. The participants meet all together in plenary, in workshops, and in year-cohort groups which are “advised” by experienced clergy and ruling elders. The goal of EMI is to meet the more practical needs of people in their first calls.

Linked here please find an attached outline of the week, as well as, the attached video featuring the Reverend Michelle Sumption , an EMI graduate and Design Team member who shares her experience and tells you more about EMI.

We are planning a return to in person an in person gathering in 2022, at the Honors Haven Retreat and Conference Center in Ellenville, NY. The participant fee of $375 includes all meals and accommodations in single rooms. Financial Assistance is available for all those that might need it. We hope you will consider making the three-year commitment to attend the Early Ministry Institute to support your own self-care and ministry. For more information visit the Synod website.

This year EMI will be held and the Honors Haven Retreat and Conference Center in Ellenville, NY from May 23-26, 2022.

Read Info...

Mental, Physical and Spiritual Health Are Interrelated

LOUISVILLE — In the first of three forums in recognition of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s celebration of Black History Month, the Rev. Dr. Terrlyn L. Curry Avery, the pastor of the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Massachusetts, addressed the subject of service, sacrifice or self-care.

The conversation with the Rev. Michael Moore, associate for African American Intercultural Congregational Support in the Presbyterian Mission Agency, began with Moore asking Curry Avery, “When you think about holistic health, what in your view does it mean to be spiritually, emotionally and physically awake?”