A Word from our General Presbyter

Ed Thompson

From the Presbytery's Treasurer

2018 Shared Mission Request

      Many of our churches have already made a pledge for 2018. Please check with your pastor and/or clerk of session to see that your church has returned their pledge card to this office and, if not, to please do so at your earliest convenience.

2017 Benevolences

     There is still time for churches to remit any remaining Shared Mission pledge, Per Capita or other benevolence payments for 2017. The General Assembly is allowing us a little extra time to submit payments for this fiscal year. So please forward all remaining 2017 contributions to the Presbytery office by Wednesday, January 17, and those contributions will be included in 2017 records.

Important Dates for Employee Tax Forms

Prayer Concerns

     Rev. Stephen Baldwin, the pastor at Ronceverte Presbyterian Church and a West Virginia State Senator, has been diagnosed with a kidney disease and begun a course of treatment.  Please keep him and his family in your prayers. 

     Derek Hudson, the clerk of session at Bream Memorial Presbyterian Church in Charleston, is recovering from recent surgery in Washington, D.C. Please keep him in your prayers. 

     Rev. Robin Ray, the pastor at Bridgeport Presbyterian Church, is recovering from shoulder surgery. Please keep her and her husband, Craig, in your prayers.

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Sympathies

     Nancy Abel passed away on December 27, 2017. She was the wife of the Rev. Ken Abel, who had served the Belle and Dupont City Presbyterian churches, and the Rev. Al Cowen, who had served as the executive presbyter of the former Greenbrier Presbytery. A memorial service was held on January 6 at Elk Hills Presbyterian Church, where she had been a member.

SAVE THE DATE: Younger Youth Retreat

Lego Your Doubt: Building Blocks of Faith

March 2-4 at Cedar Lakes Conference Center

     The Younger Youth Retreat for those in grades 6-8 and their adult advisors will be held Friday, March 2-Sunday, March 4 at Cedar Lakes Conference Center. This retreat will focus on some of the building blocks of our faith that help us get through times of doubt, struggle and uncertainty.

     The cost per person is $75, and the registration deadline is Thursday, February 15. Complete registration information will be sent to church leaders next week and can also be found here. 

Please post this information where youth, parents, grandparents and others who work with youth can see it.

Website 101 workshop: Learn how to create and manage a church website

March 10 in Charleston (exact location TBD)

     On Saturday, March 10, the Presbytery will host a free workshop on website creation and management by former PWV minister Frank Cunningham, representing Union Presbyterian Seminary. The workshop, similar to one the Presbytery offered in 2014, will teach participants how to use Wordpress to set up and manage a website for their church or organization. 

     To help us gauge the interest level and determine the size of the location required, please contact Amy Robinson at 304-744-7634 or [email protected] by February 20 if you plan to attend. 

Expanding Your Ministry Toolbox 2018 launches with Evangelism workshop

Evangelism: Living as "Sent" People

March 15 at the Presbytery office

     On Thursday, March 15 at the presbytery office in South Charleston, Ray Jones, the Acting Director of Theology, Formation and Evangelism for the PC(USA), will lead the first course in the 2018 Expanding Your Ministry Toolbox series. His workshop, Evangelism: Living as "Sent" People, is designed to help people live into the fullest expression of the gospel. It is designed for pastors, Commissioned Ruling Elders, Authorized Lay Preachers, Christian Educators, Evangelism (or whatever your church calls it) Committee chairs to explore their own faith stories and what it means to join God in what God is doing in their communities, to consider who they are as "sent" people, and to get to know their neighborhoods.
     The cost per person is $75. Participants are encouraged to read "Engage the Gospel, the Participant's Book" which can be ordered here. For more information and to register, click here.

SAVE THE DATE: Festival of Faith

April 7 at First Presbyterian Church, Charleston

     This year's Festival of Faith, a day of learning opportunities, fellowship and worship, will be held Saturday, April 7 at First Presbyterian Church, Charleston. Registration will begin at 9 a.m., and things kick off at 9:30 a.m. with worship.

     Jan Edmiston, Co-Moderator of the 222nd General Assembly of the PC(USA), will be the keynote presenter, speaking on "The State of the PC(USA): The Good, the Bad, the Ugly" and giving us an update on what's happening within our denomination. There will again be a wide variety of workshops to choose from, several of our mission/ministry partners to hear from, a bookstore and fair trade coffee and other items for sale.        

      Click here for complete information and registration, which will also be sent soon by email to pastors, clerks of session and Christian educators/Christian education contacts, as well as recipients of the newsletter. If you don't receive an email or you or someone you know would like to receive a copy by snail mail, please let the presbytery office know. 

      MARK YOUR CALENDARS  and PLAN TO BE PRESENT for this EXCITING EVENT!

APCE honoring Forrest Palmer for lifetime of service and teaching

By Mike Givler, Synod of the Trinity

	Forrest Palmer will receive the APCE Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's APCE Annual Event, which begins Jan. 31 in Louisville.

      Forrest Palmer attended his first national Association of Presbyterian Church Educators  meeting over 40 years ago. That conference and the association left a lasting impression on his life.

     "I first started attending their annual events (in 1976), and found that it was a wonderful community and a wonderful place to network with wonderful people," he recalled. "I always learned something. They always had wonderful keynote speakers."

     Eventually, Forrest, the retired interim executive presbyter at the Presbytery of West Virginia, would land on the APCE cabinet (2006-10), representing the South Atlantic-Puerto Rico Region of APCE as he served as executive associate presbyter of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta.

      Click here to read more

 

     We invite you to print and include this newsletter in your bulletins, give it to your congregation and distribute widely. We hope it is helpful for your congregation and community. 

2018 Youth Day of Service Service: MISSION POSSIBLE

Feb. 10 in three locations in WV

      February will be here before we know it and, with it, the 2018 Youth Day of Service. This event for youth in grades 6-12 and their adult advisors will be held in three different locations across the presbytery - Bridgeport Presbyterian Church; Old Stone Presbyterian Church, Lewisburg; and Village Chapel Presbyterian Church, Charleston (with South Park Presbyterian Church assisting). This will be an opportunity to join with other youth across the presbytery in a time of service and mission at a variety of sites. 

     Information and registration forms, along with covenants and medical forms, were sent by email in late November and can also be found here. Please contact Susan Sharp Campbell (304-645-4568 or [email protected] ) with any questions. 

Lay Academy: The Aging Brain

Begins Feb. 18 at First Presbyterian, Charleston

     The new Lay Academy of Religion class, The Aging Brain, will begin on Sunday, February 18. It will give participants a new understanding of what happens in the brain as we age and specific strategies to help keep your mind sharp as you age.

     The course, taught by Dr. Robert G. Newman, meets weekly through May 13, with the exception of April 1 (Easter). Class runs 4-5:30 p.m. Sundays in the First Presbyterian Church of Charleston's activities building dining room. 

     Each class begins with a half-hour DVD lecture, followed by a panel discussion with local professionals. Topics include The Aging Mind: What Changes, Is Aging a Disease, Emotional Aging, Strategies for an Aging Memory, Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease, and Aging Well.  Click here for a flyer with all topics and their dates.

     The Lay Academy is free and open to the public. For more information or to register, call the church office at 304-343-8961 or Newman at 304-345-0225.

2018 Educator, Clergy, CRE Retreat

Feb. 19-20 at Hawk's Nest State Park

     The 2018 Educator, Clergy, CRE Retreat will be held Monday, February 19-Tuesday, February 20 at Hawks Nest State Park. The focus will be "New, New Ways to Tell the Old, Old Story" with presenter Tracy Radosevic, a professional biblical storyteller. Christian educators, Ministers and Commissioned Ruling Elders are encouraged to attend, along with their spouses. Click here for more information. Please note this event has a limited audience.

Expanding Your Ministry Toolbox 2018 

     These courses are provided through the Presbytery's Leadership Development Coordinating Team for church leaders who may have limited resources for continuing education. Each course, led by a leader in the field, is an independent opportunity to gain skills in particular areas of ministry. 
     Dates and courses for 2018 are as follows: 

• Thursday, March 15: Evangelism (see article above)
• Tuesday, April 17: Mental Illness Awareness and Response
• Saturday, June 2: Leading Congregations through Change
• Saturday, September 8: Biblical Storytelling
• Saturday, October 27: Preaching 

     Complete information and registration forms will be sent out approximately 10 weeks in advance of each course. There will usually be an assignment to be completed prior to the course. For more information, click here.

     On Saturday, March 17, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., there will be an opportunity for anyone interested in providing a weekly intergenerational program designed to nurture children and youth in faith. LOGOS, part of GenOn Ministries, is designed to work in churches of all sizes and settings as it provides opportunities for children and youth to build relationships with adults in the church as well as experience study, fellowship, worship and a shared meal as a child of God and disciple of Jesus Christ.  

     Event participants will experience the four parts of LOGOS and the why behind each; understand why there is a strong on emphasis on relationships; discover a biblical process of calling volunteers to assist and staff the LOGOS program; and network with others who share similar joys and challenges in nurturing people in faith.

     If you are in need of financial assistance, the presbytery has some scholarship funds available through the Nurture Committee. You will find an application here.  

     Youth currently in grades 8-12 are encouraged to join the presbytery's delegation. The cost per person is $350, with $175 due at registration. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis until the deadline of March 31. Information and a registration form was distributed by email in mid-December; click here for it.

     If you didn't receive the information or need it sent another way, please contact the presbytery office. Please contact Susan Sharp Campbell at  304-645-4568 or  [email protected] with questions . 

PC(USA) 2018-19 calendar seeks photos of vital congregations & mission activities

Submission deadline is Monday

      The PC(USA)  Presbyterian Planning Calendar  is seeking photo submissions from congregations, camps, conference centers and education centers for its 2018-19 edition.  Focusing on vital congregations and mission activities, the request for images also asks, "Who are the unsung heroes of your congregation?"

     Images should feature congregation members engaged in activities including worship, mission service, creativity and the arts, and direct outreach. Calendar planners ask that staged photos of groups and photos of people sitting at tables be avoided.

     The calendar is landscape format, meaning photos should be wider than tall, and high resolution photographs, with a minimum resolution of 2000 x 1500 pixels (no smaller than 1 MB), are requested for best printing. Please include caption and photo credits with all image. If children are pictured, please ensure the use and distribution of your photo complies with your safe church policy.

     Submission deadline is January 15. Photos should be emailed to J [email protected]. Call 502-569-5772 with questions.

Door to Davis Memorial Church's Blessing Box is always open

By Mike Givler, Synod of the Trinity

      "Take what you need. Leave what you can. Above all Be Blessed!"

 These are the words that are written on the glass door of a "Blessing Box" that stands outside  Davis Memorial Presbyterian Church in Elkins, WV. Inside are canned goods and other non-perishable items that are free to the community, not only now during this holiday season but throughout the entire year.

     "This church definitely feels called to serve the community and feels it's part of God's mission here in the community to feed folks," explained the Rev. Dr. Peter Vial. "It's part of our call."

     Davis Memorial is home to a long-running food pantry that is open 5 ½ hours each weekday. That means that if someone needs food and is not available during those hours, they must go somewhere else to find food. This Blessing Box, which holds roughly 20 total cans and boxes, allows those in need to be able to get food every day and at any time of the day. Click here to read more

Rev. Joan Stewart named Summersville Presbyterian's permanent pastor

     On November 12, members of Summersville Presbyterian Church (SPC) voted unanimously to call The Rev. Joan Stewart as their permanent part-time pastor. Presbytery approved the call at the November stated meeting. Pastor Joan is no stranger to SPC since she has preached and assisted with pastoral duties for more than a year and a half as the interim pastor. She plans to continue her work as executive director of WVMAW, assisted by her husband, Tim. Joan and Tim are already residents of Nicholas County. The SPC Pastor Nominating Committee felt Spirit-led to call Pastor Joan, and the congregation agreed! May God continue to bless SPC and The Rev. Joan Stewart.

Resource Center News

Winter choices for adult study, Part II

By Nellie Howard, Resource Center Director

      Winter is here, and with it, a new season of study for our adult classes. Here are some choices available through the Resource Center. 

• The Jesus I Never Knew: Six Sessions on the Life of Christ by John Yancey
• Everything is Spiritual by Rob Bell
• Modern Parables: Living in the Kingdom of God, Volume 1 by Thomas Purifoy Jr. and Jonathan Rogers
• When Your Life is on Fire: What Would You Save by Erik Kolbell
• Animate

Click here to read more