wfn.org | Family And Single Adult Ministries Team Lays Groundwork For Its

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Future 31-January-1997 
97044 
 
                Family And Single Adult Ministries 
               Team Lays Groundwork For Its Future  
 
                         by Julian Shipp 
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--Faced with laying the groundwork for its future, the 
Family and Single Adult Ministries Team met here Jan. 10 to explore ways to 
strengthen family and single adult ministry throughout the denomination 
within the limitations of personnel and financial resources. 
 
     Convened by the Rev. Marvin Simmers, coordinator of the Pastor, 
Educator and Lay Leader Support Program Team in the Congregational 
Ministries Division (CMD), the group also devoted a full day to getting 
acquainted with one another, sharing perceptions of the task assigned to 
them and focusing their vision for the work of the team. 
 
     According to Simmers, the meeting marked the first time all of the 
CMD's family and single adult ministry agencies plus the Presbyterian 
Mariners gathered to jointly examine the church's family ministry programs 
and issues. Undertaking what Simmers described as "a big task before us," 
the group prayerfully went to work. 
 
     By meeting's end, the following long- and short-term goals and 
priorities had been determined: 
 
     *    to prepare a new mission statement and study guide 
     *    to create a family ministry Web page for Internet surfers and 
          explore other electronic communication resources 
     *    to conduct research on families in cooperation with the Advisory 
          Committee on Social Witness Policy and other agencies 
     *    to develop intergenerational resources 
     *    to explore thematic approaches for developing resources. 
 
     In addition to Simmers, team members include Miriam Dunson, associate 
for older adult leader development; Larry and Carolyn Gabbard, together 
national executive secretary of Presbyterian Mariners, an independent, 
congregation-based family ministry program headquartered in Arvada, Colo.; 
Ralph and Bettye Irwin, together national skipper of Presbyterian Mariners; 
the Rev. Curtis A. Miller, associate for men's ministry; Martha Pillow, 
associate for young children curriculum development; Belinda Curry, 
Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy associate for policy 
development and interpretation; Beth Basham, associate for youth 
curriculum; the Rev. Anne M. Jones, associate for the synods of  Lincoln 
Trails, Mid-America and Alaska-Northwest; the Rev. Peter Vial, pastor of 
Beechmont Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Ky., and Debby Vial, associate 
for peacemaking partnerships. 
 
      Larry and Carolyn Gabbard described the meeting as "encouraging." A 
report of the meeting was presented during the Mariners' national board 
meeting Jan. 16-18 in San Diego. 
 
     "I think in general we were very pleased with the meeting at 
Louisville," Larry Gabbard told the Presbyterian News Service. "In fact, we 
were surprised that there were so many organizations that were able to lay 
something on the table that they were doing for family ministries. I 
believe we're off to a good start."  
 
     Carolyn Gabbard said that during their meeting in San Diego the 
objectives of the Family and Single Adult Ministries Team were discussed 
and some of them were incorporated into the Mariners' long-range planning 
goals -- particularly the need for continued dynamism through communication 
between the CMD's family ministry agencies and others. 
 
     "[The Mariners' national board members] were really glad to know the 
Family and Single Adult Ministries Team is making an intentional effort 
about communication within the team and with other people," Carolyn Gabbard 
said. "One of the comments that our executive board made was to be certain 
that we are focusing on communications so that our work doesn't lag between 
meeting times. They see a lot of possibility for working within this team 
for future themes coming up for Mariners." 
 
     "I thought the meeting was very positive and encouraging," Jones said. 
"I think it's exciting when people join together in a team effort and in 
conversation with different areas of the church." 
 
     The Rev. Peter Vial said Simmers asked him to serve on the team. As a 
church pastor, Vial said, he can provide the team with additional 
perspectives from the larger denomination as well as current needs and 
trends from his congregation.  
 
     "We don't have a public [Family and Single Adult Ministries Team] 
meeting yet on PresbyNet [the denomination's computer communication 
network], but that's in the plans," Vial said.  
 
     During the meeting, determinations were also made as to how the team 
will coordinate and cooperate with partners, maintain contact and effective 
communication among team members and track progress on tasks assumed by the 
team. Future meeting times and locations were also decided. 
 
      History of events leading to the formation of the team 
      
     Last July, the 208th General Assembly (1996) authorized the 
elimination of the CMD's family and single adult ministries staff position. 
This action in effect severed a financial agreement between the 
Presbyterian Mariners and the CMD, under which the Mariners paid a portion 
of the salary of the Rev. C. Raymond Trout, who held the staff position.  
 
     The Assembly called for continuing support for family and single adult 
ministries but did not authorize funding. A revised covenant agreement 
between the CMD and the Mariners has been approved and ongoing dialogue 
among the division and its related groups culminated in the formation of 
the Family and Single Adult Ministries Team. 
      
     During a meeting last Nov. 13-16 at Montreat, N.C., the CMD 
prioritized its mission programs and balanced its 1998 budget by cutting 
$465,000 from its portion of unified or unrestricted funding.  According to 
CMD officials, that figure represents the division's relative percentage of 
the overall decline in unrestricted giving. 
 
     Although the CMD balanced its budget without eliminating any of its 29 
mission programs or staff, the division's prioritization process left 
family and single adult ministries ranked near the bottom of the list. 
 
     Even so, Simmers said he believes setting achievable and practical 
priorities for the work of the team is the best course of action for now 
and the future. 
 
     "I'd like for us to be in a position of already actively working 
together on the assumption that we'll have money [in the future] even if at 
this time we don't," Simmers said. 
      
     Echoing this optimism, Trout wrote in his final column in last 
December's edition of  "The Presbyterian Mariner" newsletter, "I cannot 
predict what the future will bring, but I have the audacity to believe that 
the unknown is as ripe with possibility as creation is filled with the 
endless love of God." 
 
     The team's next meeting is June 21-22 in Syracuse, N.Y., immediately 
following the General Assembly meeting. 

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