EMerge is a newsletter of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area. Through most of the year it is published weekly and distributed to congregations, teaching elders, ruling elders, church members, committees and friends of the presbytery. Please send submissions and address corrections to office@ptcaweb.org.
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Presbytery meeting set Nov. 15;
pre-meeting to address FLSA
 The Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area will meet Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 4 p.m. at The House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul. The meeting docket and supporting materials will be posted in advance of the meeting on the presbytery's website. A pre-presbytery meeting, planned a 3 p.m., will address issues important for churches relative to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Ordination service planned
this Sunday for Lisa Larges
On behalf of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area, Lake Nokomis Presbyterian Church is issuing an  open invitation to a service of ordination for Lisa Larges as its associate pastor for congregational care. The service will take place at the church, 1620 East 46th Street, Minneapolis, on Sunday, Oct. 30, at 2 p.m. There is also an invitation to sing in the service choir. The choir will rehearse Saturday, Oct. 29, at 10:30 a.m., and again Oct. 30 at 12:30 p.m. Those planning to attend are asked to register at "Ordination." Those who plan to sing in the choir are asked to register by email to jeanne@rylander.info.
Jeff's Jottings
Where is the church being called?
 By Jeff Japinga
Transitional Executive Presbyter
I am on my way to Louisville, Kentucky, this morning - early this morning - for what is known as the Polity Conference: an annual gathering of Presbyterians from across the country doing the work of the organized church structure. So just two quick thoughts.
The complete Jottings is at "Called."
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Around the presbytery ...
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Holiday Fair Trade Market set
Nov. 5-6
to benefit artisans worldwide
Handicrafts and food items from fair trade artisans and food producers around the world will be  featured at the annual Holiday Fair Trade Market on Nov. 5 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Nov. 6 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at New Life Presbyterian Church in Roseville. The event features handmade goods including jewelry, knit products, home décor, crafts, toys, and food items, while providing marginalized artisans a fair price and an opportunity to earn vital income. Soup and snacks will be available in the café. Additional details are available by calling 651.488.5581.
Author Griffith Lund to keynote
mental health conference
First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Minneapolis will be host to the Rev. Dr. Sarah Griffith  Lund on Nov. 11-12 for the second installment of its conference series, "VOICES: Addressing Issues that Affect the Church and Wider Community." The conference takes place at SpringHouse Ministry Center, 610 W. 28th Street, Minneapolis. Griffith Lund is the author of "Blessed are the Crazy: Breaking the Silence about Mental Illness, Family and Church." Details about the conference are available at "VOICES." Registration can be completed online at "Register."
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Resources, conferences ...
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Stated clerk to lead live-streamed
Reformation service Nov. 2
"Write the Vision -- Reclaim the Call" is the theme of a church-wide Reformation worship service being led
 by the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II on Nov. 2 at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville and live-streamed to the public. "This is an opportunity in this Reformation season to call for a reform within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A)," said Nelson, stated clerk of PC(USA)'s General Assembly. "It is my hope that we, as a denomination, can embrace a spiritual reformation that breaks down the walls that separate us within the national church and those that divide us from the communities where God has placed us." The complete announcement from the Office of the General Assembly is available at "
Reforming."
APCE's Annual Event set in January
 The 2017 annual event of the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators promises to be a time of grounding, a place of renewal and rest, and a refuge of peace. The event runs Jan. 25-28 at the Denver Marriott Tech Center. Speakers include the Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, the unconventional Lutheran minister and author of "Pastrix: the Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner and Saint." Details, along with links to registration information, can be found at "Annual APCE Event."
Winter Pastors School planned
in February in Nebraska
 The Rev. Dr. JC Austin, vice president for Christian leadership formation at Auburn
Theological Seminary in New York City, will be the featured speaker at the 2017 Winter Pastors School planned Feb. 6-9 at Hastings (Neb.) College. Austin works with faith leaders across the country through a range of programs and consultations to develop the personal resilience, entrepreneurial spirit and practical wisdom needed to lead social and congregational change. Winter Pastors School is sponsored by the Omaha Presbyterian Seminary Foundation. Details are available at "Winter Pastors School."
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Helen Brink, longtime member of North Presbyterian Church of St. Paul, died Oct. 20. Brink had been active in the presbytery and Presbyterian Women during the 1970s and 80s. She had served as chair of the then-titled Council on United Action and General Council. An obituary can be found at "Helen Brink."
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Service opportunities ...
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The First Presbyterian Church of Claremont is seeking an organist to serve as a worship leader on Sunday mornings and occasional other traditional worship services. This is a part-time position. The ability to work with a small choral group is welcomed but not required. Pay is on a per diem basis and the church is open to the possibility of job sharing. Those interested are asked to contact Pastor Jonathan Zielske at 651.247.2826 or prjzielske@gmail.com with a resume or for more information.
First Presbyterian Church of Maple Plain
is seeking a faith-centered, youth-loving, fun person to lead youth ministry programming for grades 6-12. The youth director will lead Wednesday night programming, youth activities, and annual mission trip, as well as discipling individual youth in their walk with Christ. Good organization and communication skills needed. Part-time salaried position, 10-15 hours per week. For full job description go to "Catch Our Spirit," or contact the church office at 763.479.2158. Send resume to pastor@catchourspirit.org.
Trinity Presbyterian Church in Woodbury
is looking for an administrative assistant. The job requires 20 hours per week, Monday through Friday. Applicants must exhibit excellent communication skills, proficiency with Microsoft Word and Excel, and ability to support pastor and Christian education/youth director, update website and compile newsletters. The position is listed online at "Administrative Assistant." Those interested should send a resume and cover letter Trinity Presbyterian Church, Attention: Marie Skinner, 2125 Tower Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125.
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Church food shelves
are disappearing in Minnesota
Headlined "Changing church demographics put some food shelves out of business," a story by Hannah Covington of the Star Tribune of Minneapolis notes: "Each apple, loaf of bread and slab of ribs that Audra Koel selected from tables in the church sanctuary brought her one grocery basket closer to the end. For the past four years, the 48-year-old Coon Rapids resident has spent most of her Friday nights at Good Shepherd Covenant Church in Blaine for a hot meal and fresh groceries. But last Friday marked the last supper for Good Shepherd and its food distribution project, Manna Market. ... Lacking resources or volunteers, a growing number of small churches across the metro area are closing food shelves, leaving other nonprofits to pick up the hunger-relief slack." Covington's complete story, which ran Oct. 27 in the newspaper, can be found at "Out of Business."
Black grandmother of Macalester professor was NASA 'computer'
Duchess Harris, an author, legal scholar and professor and chair of American studies at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., is the granddaughter of one of the first African American "human computers" at NASA. Her grandmother worked for NASA as an expert mathematician from the 1940s to the 1960s, using slide rules and pencils to calculate the flights for early astronauts. Macalester College is one of seven Presbyterian-related institutions of higher education in the Synod of Lakes and Prairies. A Washington Post article by Tanya Sichynsky, first published in September, and reprinted recently by Minnesota Private Colleges news, noted, "
Have you ever seen a computer in a skirt? Duchess Harris has. In a photo submitted to Historically Black, a project by The Washington Post, Miriam Daniel Mann walks with purpose down a Hampton, Va., street in 1943, clutching a thick, hardcover book. She sports heels, a fashionable turban and a coat with two large buttons, the hemline of her plaid skirt peering out underneath. Mann was one of the first black female computers employed by NASA's predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)." The complete story is at "Human Computer."
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