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Week of October 28, 2026
E-News
| | For correspondence mailing/emailing please use the appropriate address: | | Presbytery Calendar At-A-Glance | |
- Prayer Calendar: November 1, The Vine Fellowship, TE John Ritchie
- Oct 27-31 Synod of the Covenant Gathering
- Nov 1, All Saints Sunday
- Nov 4, Presbytery Youth Retreat Planning, 10:00 a.m., Zoom
- Nov. 5, EP & WR Memorandum of Understanding Q&A, 5:30 p.m., Zoom
- Nov 10, FMDT Cohort, 6:30 p.m., Zoom
- Nov 12, Resource, 10:00 a.m., Zoom
- Nov 12, COM, 5:30 p.m., Zoom
- Nov 12, FMDT Plenary, 7:00 p.m., Zoom
- Nov 14, Pre-Presbytery workshop, 1:30 p.m., The Well CDC (Akron)
- Nov 14, Presbytery Gathering, 3:00 p.m., The Well CDC (Akron)
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Eastminster Presbytery Stated Gathering
Saturday, November 14, 2026
3:00 p.m.
The Well CDC (site of former First Presbyterian Church, Akron)
647 E Market St, Akron, OH 44304
In keeping with the theme of Love Thy Neighbor, the November 14 Presbytery Gathering will be held at the Well CDC in Akron, site of the former First Presbyterian Church. Executive Director Zac Kohl attended the church in the early 2000s, and years later, he and his wife played a key role in purchasing it to launch The Well CDC, Akron’s first place-based Community Development Corporation dedicated to revitalizing the Middlebury neighborhood through housing, economic growth, and placemaking projects. It is another great example that when congregations make the tough choice to leave their building, ministry can still thrive and serve the community.
1:30 p.m. Pre-Presbytery Workshop - Dollars and Sense: Financial Trends, Stewardship Practices, and How We Navigate a Faithful Future
John Wilkinson who serves as Vice President for Stewardship and Church Relations for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), will facilitate the workshop. A native of Western Pennsylvania, John grew up in Ohio and has Akron family roots.
This week, the Presbytery E-Packet will be updated as reports and other information becomes available AND it will be finalized soon to allow time to review everything before the November 14th Gathering.
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Just by Chance
Shared Ministry
In October 2025, the presbytery Council appointed a Taskforce on Presbytery Partnerships and charged it with exploring opportunities for shared ministry with our neighbors. One of the main reasons that group was formed was to have a way to respond to a request from the Presbytery of the Western Reserve which was in a leadership transition and had asked if we could explore opportunities for shared ministry as part of their discernment. However, by appointing the taskforce the Council also recognized that this was an opportunity for us to strengthen our ministry to do together what we might not be able to do separately. We also hoped that by engaging in this process as a presbytery we might demonstrate for our congregations that preserving and strengthening ministry sometimes requires the courage to adapt and change.
In 2026 we enjoyed a joint pastor’s retreat with Beaver-Butler and Shenango Presbyteries, came together for a time of fellowship with members of Muskingum Valley and Western Reserve at a Rubber Ducks game in Akron, and shared events in our newsletters encouraging and inviting people to attend events across presbytery lines. All of this was designed to build relationships and live into our promises to be “a friend among our colleagues in ministry” (G-4.0404e) to create the space where we might imagine what a deeper partnership could be.
At the presbytery meeting on November 14, we will be invited to take the next step by approving a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under which I would continue to serve as the General Presbyter & Stated Clerk of Eastminster and would begin serving as the Stated Clerk for the Presbytery of the Western Reserve.
Continue Reading
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Celebration of Saints
At the November Presbytery Gathering, we will honor Elders from our congregations who have joined the Church Triumphant November 2025 - October 2026. Clerks of Session, Church Administrators, Moderators, etc. can submit names online HERE. If there are no Elders to report, please indicate so on the form.
Deadline to submit the necrology report is Friday, November 6, 2026.
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Join us for an Installation Service
Eastminster Presbytery invites you to attend the Installation of the Rev. Leslie Traylor as the pastor of First Presbyterian Church (256 Mahoning Ave NW, Warren, OH 44483) on Sunday, November 15, 2026, at 3:00pm. You are encouraged to attend and to wear red to celebrate the work of the Holy Spirit as we participate in this important function of the presbytery. An offering will be collected for the Sustaining Fund of Eastminster Presbytery, which provides support to pastors in our presbytery. A reception prepared by the church will follow.
This is an exciting time for First Presbyterian Church and we look forward to coming together as one church on this joyous occasion!
| | When a pastor is installed, the presbytery appoints an administrative commission and there is a service of installation to mark the beginning of that ministry. However, when non-installed ministries begin it can often go unnoticed and as congregations increasingly have part-time pastors, that is happening more often—but not in this week! On Reformation Sunday 2026, representatives of Eastminster Presbytery and the members of First Presbyterian Church in Columbiana, First United Presbyterian Church in East Palestine, and New Lisbon Presbyterian Church gathered for a joint service to celebrate the beginning of a new partnership between them with the Rev. Fritz Nelson serving all three congregations as pastor. At the beginning of the service, the Clerks of Session lit separate candles representing each of the individual congregations. The Rev. Mark Wilds, former pastor of New Lisbon Presbyterian Church, preached on Romans 12:9-21 and RE Sue Moran invited Rev. Nelson to reaffirm his ordination vows. Then the Clerks of Session gathered the three candles representing the individual congregations together on the communion table as a symbol of their new partnership and asked all those gathered there to make promises to pray for and support Rev. Nelson as he leads the congregations. The unity and cooperation of the congregations was evident throughout as musicians from the three congregations formed a joint choir and lead the assembled body in worship. At the end of the service, the congregations from East Palestine and Columbiana invited the New Lisbon congregation to join them in their tradition of gathering in a circle to sing Go My Children. The service took place in the beautiful sanctuary of New Lisbon Presbyterian Church which has a stained-glass window listing the pastors of the congregation going back to 1807! We invite you to pray for Rev. Nelson and the congregations as they share the gospel and serve their communities together. | | |
For those unable to attend in person, below are links to view the service.
| | Open Invitations to Attend | |
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Founding Scriptures - Zoom Bible Study - Thursdays @ 7:00 - Oct. 8, 22, 29 & Nov. 5
Starting with some of America’s earliest sermons, and their adjacent scriptures, this study will address four topics which have resonated throughout the political and spiritual history of the United States. Week 1: Is America Chosen will look at the Puritan’s identity as Israel. Week 2: Are Your Saved will look at the Great Awakening and the rise of personal religion. Week 3: Disestablished will look at the separation of church and state. Week 4: Who Belongs will look at the efforts to restrict preachers and theologies. Classes will be led by Fritz Nelson. For zoom link and links to handouts contact cpc28@sbcglobal.net.
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Your Story Matters - Book Reading and Signing - Sunday, November 8, 2:00 pm, Generations Coffee House in Columbiana
Join Friz Nelson and THE HUB community for a celebration of Pastor Fritz’s book Your Story Matters: Nurturing Spiritual Community through the Sacrament of Story. Fritz will be reading excerpts from his book and signing copies for those who wish. A limited number of copies will be for sale at the event. To reserve a copy, contact Fritz Nelson or just order it from Amazon
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Eastminster Presbytery invites you to join us in praying for a particular congregation, committee, and validated ministry within the presbytery each week in 2026 that God may bless their ministry and that the grace of Jesus Christ might shine through them. For the week of November 1, we lift up the congregation of The Vine Fellowship Church and their Session Moderator, TE Barry Chance.
November Calendar
November 1 - The Vine Fellowship, Copley, TE John Ritchie
November 8 - First, Salem, Session Moderator TE Barry Chance
November 15 - North Jackson, Pastor Jack Acri
November 22 - First, Warren, TE Leslie Traylor
November 29 - Champion, Warren, TE Alice Phillips
The entire 2026 Prayer Calendar can be found on the home page of our website: eastminsterpresbytery.org
| | Attention Christian Educators, Faith Formation Leaders, and Committee Members | |
Rediscovering what matters in Christian Formation | Registration for the 2027 Association of Partners for Christian Education Annual Event is now open. Early bird registration lasts until November 15, 2026. The full leadership roster, workshop descriptions, schedule, hotel details and registration information are available on the APCE 2027 Annual Event. | | | |
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Next Preaching Workshop
Nov. 4, at 10:00 a.m., Zoom
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Creating Wonderfully Human Sermons in an AI Age, Alison Gerber, Baylor University
Drawing on her research at the intersection of preaching and AI, Alison will lay out three provable limitations of AI when it comes to writing sermons — limitations that aren’t simply about present-day technologies, but limitations that reveal the value and importance of you, as a human being, being the one who writes your sermon.
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Henderson Lecture and Leadership Conference 2026 | In a time when many congregations are navigating financial strain, shifting demographics, and urgent community needs, this lecture invites faith leaders to move beyond scarcity thinking and recover a theology of abundance rooted in the gospel. Drawing from Fishing Differently, the Rev. Dr. Sidney S. Williams Jr. | | | |
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Annual Enrollment for 2027 benefits
Monday, Oct. 19, through Friday, Nov. 6.
| Board of Pension members can log in to Benefits Connect at benefitsconnect.pensions.org to review available benefits for 2027, including any new options, costs, and cost sharing benefits. After the Annual Enrollment period, no further changes can be made until a qualifying life event (e.g., marriage, birth, loss of other coverage). | | | |
World Communion Offering Grant Program | The World Communion Offering Grant program helps eligible PC(USA) councils of the church strengthen local mission and ministry connected to the causes supported by the World Communion Offering. These grants are designed to encourage faithful, practical work that builds reconciliation, advances justice, supports peacemaking, nurtures global witness, and deepens ecumenical and interfaith relationships. | | | | |
Introducing a new churchwide study series!
The Rev. Marta Pumroy-Cordero and the Rev. Dr. Kristopher D. Schondelmeyer, PCUSA Co-Moderators of the General Assembly, will host a series of three webinars on Fridays throughout October, offering an in-depth look at the PC(USA)'s Social Witness Policy.
"Why 'Presbyterian' Will Never Be a Political Party: A Churchwide Study Series" will be divided into 3 sessions:
Session 1: Religious Liberty — Oct. 2 at 1 p.m. RegisterSession 2: State and Citizen: Their Mutual Responsibility — Oct. 16 at 1 p.m. Register- Session 3: The Church’s Role in Civil Society — Oct. 30 at 1 p.m.
- Register
Each session will feature different guests from across the PC(USA) who will join the Co-Moderators in reflecting and expanding on each of these three topics.
Participants are encouraged to read the corresponding sections in this document prior to each session: https://hubs.ly/Q04yf3HH0
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Resources for Reading, Teaching, and Preaching Scripture | Whether you are preparing a sermon, leading a Bible study, or reading devotionally, these trusted resources help illuminate the biblical text with thoughful scholarship grounded in the Reformed tradition. | | | | |
Presbytery Staff & Officers:
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