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http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2007/07265.htm [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=iewqv4bab.0.cansv4bab.9dc9s4bab.2056&ts=S0248&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pcusa.org%2Fpcnews%2F2007%2F07265.htm].
07265 May 8, 2007
Synod and Presbytery news
by Jerry Van Marter
SEATTLE - Seattle Presbytery [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=iewqv4bab.0.dansv4bab.9dc9s4bab.2056&ts=S0248&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.presbytery.org%2F]Stated Clerk Dennis Hughes reported growth in many categories in his annual statistical report to the presbytery. "Those who are committed to the Church of Jesus Christ in the Northwest are really committed. Thanks be to God!" he said. The presbytery experienced a net gain of members in 2006, from 20,352 to 21,265, including net increases by transfer, profession of faith, and "other." Adult baptisms increased from 129 in 2005 to 146 last year, and so did infant baptisms, from 398 in 2005 to 546 in 2006. Average worship attendance in the presbytery's 58 churches and nearly two dozen fellowships increased by more than 100 to 14, 969 each week. Financially, total receipts grew from $42.6 million in 2005 to $60.9 million in 2006. Mission giving in all categories increased and support for theological education nearly quadrupled, rising from $15,182 in 2005 to $57,229 last year.
MORGANTON, NC - A mission team from Western North Carolina Presbytery [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=iewqv4bab.0.eansv4bab.9dc9s4bab.2056&ts=S0248&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.presbyterywnc.org%2F] will travel to Malawi from May 23-June 4 to help equip an examination room dedicated to children at Nkhoma Hospital. The new examination room will drastically cut the waiting time for children to be examined and treated at the hospital. The team will provide child-sized equipment - everything from exam tables to blood pressure cuffs - as well as a water filtration system and other medicines, instruments and supplies. Churches and youth groups throughout the presbytery are engaged in fund-raising efforts to pay for the effort.
ANCHORAGE, AK - The Rev. Curt Karns, a native of Fairbanks, was recently elected and installed as executive presbyter for Yukon Presbytery [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=iewqv4bab.0.fansv4bab.9dc9s4bab.2056&ts=S0248&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yukonpresbytery.com%2F]. Karns, who was formerly pastor of New Hope Presbyterian Church in North Pole, AK for 13 years, succeeds the Rev. David Dobler, who resigned last year to become president of Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, AK. The Rev. Piper Cartland, pastor of Eagle River Presbyterian Church, served as acting head of staff during the interim.
CHICAGO - When the pastors of six congregations on Chicago's northwest side started getting together for fellowship and support, it never occurred to them that the vibrant Northwest Fellowship of Presbyterian Congregations (NWPCF) would be the fruit of their labor. The pastors of the Chicago Presbytery [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=iewqv4bab.0.gansv4bab.9dc9s4bab.2056&ts=S0248&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagopresbytery.org%2F] churches - St. Andrew, Norwood Park, Faith Community, Des Plaines First, Morton Grove Community and Niles Community - first met for lunch and Bible study. Then they brought their congregations together for fellowship, leadership training and worship. Now, several other events have been planned including a community garden, family retreat and joint mission and visitation teams. Since December 2006, a series of retreats have been held involving pastors, key leaders and sessions to carry the work of NWPCF forward. "We are hearing God's invitation to a bigger, more lively and joyous ministry of grace that calls to all of us," says the Rev. Debbie Paton, pastor of St. Andrew.
PORTLAND, OR - Tualatin Presbyterian Church in Cascades Presbytery [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=iewqv4bab.0.hansv4bab.9dc9s4bab.2056&ts=S0248&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cascadespresbytery.org%2F] has won a national award for effective ministry with persons with developmental disabilities and their families. The congregation received the James Goodpasture Award from Union Theological Seminary-Presbyterian School of Christian Education for its "Tuesday's Treasures" program, an outreach ministry to developmentally disabled adults. The Tuesday evening program teaches a simple Christian theme through Bible stories, songs, crafts and snacks. The program, which began in April 2001, features a one-to-one volunteer-participant ratio, ensuring that the evenings run smoothly and every participant feels valued. The Tualatin congregation provides volunteers, meeting space and funding for the ministry. The congregation also supports the "89th Court" group home near the church, where five of the "Tuesday's Treasures" participants live.
HOUSTON - New Covenant Presbytery [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=iewqv4bab.0.iansv4bab.9dc9s4bab.2056&ts=S0248&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pbyofnewcovenant.org%2F] recently celebrated the 35th anniversary of Northwoods Presbyterian Church. The congregation, which now numbers more than 1,500 members, had its start in 1970 - 13 years prior to Presbyterian reunion - as the first union congregation between Gulf Coast Presbytery of the former United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and Brazos Presbytery of the former Presbyterian Church in the U.S. During its 35 years, Northwoods has been led by pastors Tom Huser, Stewart and Jane MacColl, Brent Eelman, and current pastor Paul Nazarian. They have been joined over the years by associate pastors Don Allen, Rob Morrison, Richard Miller, Jack Barden, Carolyn Visser and current associate pastors John Crawford and Ann Marie Quigley-Swanson.
GLEN ALLEN, VA - More than 650 people from the Charlottesville-Albemarle area of the Presbytery of the James [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=iewqv4bab.0.jansv4bab.9dc9s4bab.2056&ts=S0248&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.presbyteryofthejames.org%2F] gathered recently in the sanctuary of Charlottesville's First Presbyterian Church to launch the Interfaith Movement Promoting Action by Congregations Together (IMPACT). The goal of the organization - which includes Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Muslim congregations - is to "empower local people of faith to do collaborative research on community problems and then to call on local decision-makers to implement recommended solutions to these problems." A series of house meetings were held to identify which community concerns were deemed most important to address. At the IMPACT gathering at First Church, the group voted to establish housing and transportation as its first two priorities.
CAMP HILL, PA - The Synod of the Trinity [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=iewqv4bab.0.kansv4bab.9dc9s4bab.2056&ts=S0248&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.syntrinity.org%2F] 2007 Summer Conference will be held June 13-15 at Arcadia University in Glenside, PA. The theme for the conference is "Rest for the Journey: Spirituality for Ministry and Mission," based on Matt. 11:28-29. The program will include worship, plenary addresses, workshops and a labyrinth prayer walk. Keynote speaker will be the Rev. Joan S. Gray, moderator of the 217th General Assembly (2006) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Workshops, which will focus on spiritual disciplines and gifts, will address such topics as sabbath keeping, Bible study, discernment and "dwelling in the word."
MEMPHIS, TN - The Living Waters for the World program of the Synod of Living Waters [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=iewqv4bab.0.lansv4bab.9dc9s4bab.2056&ts=S0248&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.synodoflivingwaters.org%2F] continues to grow. The program installs water purification systems around the world This spring, members of Idlewild Presbyterian Church in the Presbytery of the Mid-South [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=iewqv4bab.0.mansv4bab.9dc9s4bab.2056&ts=S0248&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.midsouthpresbytery.org%2F] installed systems in Ometepec, Mexico, and Abokobi, Ghana. In Mexico the system was installed at Colegio de Almirante Cary Brenton, a middle school with ties to the Presbyterian Church of Mexico. The Ghana system was installed at the Presbyterian Women's Center in Abokobi.
MANCHESTER, NH - Northern New England Presbytery is a key partner in JUMP (the Joint Urban Ministry Project), which seeks to alleviate poverty and its immediate effects in Burlington, VT and its surrounding Chittenden County. An estimated 20 percent of Burlington residents and 9 percent of the county's population live below the federal poverty line. Some of the problems JUMP addresses are low-wage job prospects, health care, transportation, utilities costs and housing and homelessness. In 2006, JUMP assisted 1,269 adults (a 16 percent increase from 2005) representing more than 3,200 family members, including a 22 percent increase in the number of children. JUMP offers a variety of support services, including utilities subsidies; vouchers for gasoline, food, laundry and prescription medicines; bus passes, credit union and co-op market memberships; vouchers for clothing and household goods; smoking cessation classes; a thrift shop; and pre-packed bags of groceries, diapers, baby formula and food, books for children, Bibles toiletries, household cleaning supplies and laundry detergent.
SAN BERNARDINO, CA - Presbyterians around Lake Arrowhead Presbyterian Church in Riverside Presbytery [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=iewqv4bab.0.nansv4bab.9dc9s4bab.2056&ts=S0248&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.riversidepresbytery.org%2F] are increasingly awakening in the morning to find that their yards have been "flamingoed." The sudden appearance of the pink plastic flocks is a fundraising scheme of the congregation's youth group to fund their mission projects. To have the flock placed in someone else's yard costs the "donor" $10. To have the flock removed from your yard costs $15. To buy insurance to prevent the pesky creatures from landing in your yard costs $25.
NEW CASTLE, PA - Thirty volunteers from 12 churches in Shenango Presbytery [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=iewqv4bab.0.oansv4bab.9dc9s4bab.2056&ts=S0248&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shenango.org%2F] traveled to the Mississippi gulf coast this spring to continue the rebuilding effort after Hurricane Katrina. The group spent seven days on the coast, staying Presbyterian Disaster Assistance's Pearlington (MS) Camp # 6. They engaged in dry-walling, plumbing, painting, wiring, flooring, roofing and cooking. Another presbytery group is going down to Mississippi in February 2008.
RUSTON, LA - First Presbyterian Church of Monroe, LA, in the Presbytery of the Pines [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=iewqv4bab.0.pansv4bab.9dc9s4bab.2056&ts=S0248&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinespby.org%2F] recently celebrated its 150th anniversary. The theme of the event was "Celebrate the Past, Strive for the Future." Church member Oland Silk wrote that the focus of the April 22-29 celebration was "on the rich history of struggle and achievement, of witness and service, but pointing to a future that promises opportunities as well as daunting challenges." Five former pastors of the congregation attended the celebration, as well as five "children of the church" who have become PC(USA) ministers of word and sacrament.
ANAHEIM, CA - Los Ranchos Presbytery [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=iewqv4bab.0.qansv4bab.9dc9s4bab.2056&ts=S0248&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.losranchos.org%2F] is continuing its longstanding commitment to outreach in Africa with two trips to Kenya in August. One group will focus on the presbytery's partnership with Limuru Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa and the other will focus on medical mission. The partnership with Limuru dates back 12 years. During that time, Los Ranchos has sent hundreds of volunteers to Africa. It has provided six deep-water wells and a number of other construction projects, conducted educational missions for children and participated in a number of Christian spiritual development programs. In 2004, the presbytery extended its outreach to Lesotho in southern Africa, where it is partnering with church leaders there and the Presbyterian Hunger Program to fight hunger and poverty.
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