Thanksgiving
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
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We Lift Up In Prayer...
New:
Elder Kathy Grimes, Commissioned Ruling Elder of Elkton-Chandler and Kinde-First, as she continues treatment for breast cancer.
Mission Co-Workers:
The Rev. Cathy Chang and family who are serving in the Philippines.
Michael and Rachel Ludwig
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our Mission Co-Workers
who are serving in Niger.
For those Teaching Elders (Ministers of Word and Sacrament) and Commissioned Ruling Elders (CREs) who are celebrating Ordination or Commissioning Anniversaries in November and December:
Elder Kathy Grimes (12/5) - Commissioned Ruling Elder of Elkton-Chandler and Kinde-First
Elder Chris Wolf (11/14)
- Commissioned Ruling Elder of Marlette-First and Marlette-Second
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Who Is My Neighbor?
Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
- Luke 10:36-37
There are three questions any church or organization must ask itself as it discerns a new future:
- Who are we? (The identity question)
- What are we called to do? (The vocation or mission question)
- With whom are we called to do it? (The partnership question)
Not surprisingly, these are also the questions each of us must answer as we navigate the journey from adolescence to adulthood: "What is my unique identity as an adult, independent of my parents?" "What is my life's work and purpose going to be?" "With whom am I going to share this journey and this work?" They are questions that chart the trajectory of the life of individuals and congregations.
When a church or presbytery considers God's call, it always returns to these three questions. In our consideration of what it means to be an "inside-out" presbytery, we have already begun conversations on the first two of these questions during the equipping time at recent presbytery meetings. At our upcoming meeting December 6, we will begin the conversation on the third question, the partnership question.
Sometimes, the third question is formed in biblical terms: "Who is my neighbor?"- the question that prompted Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus answered that neighbors are those who show mercy to others at personal cost, even when racial, ethnic, or cultural differences are present. This is critical for the church in our age to hear. If the church is to embody the love of Christ in the world, we do so in the same way as the Samaritan of the parable: even and perhaps especially towards those whose cultural backgrounds are different than our own. Becoming an inside-out church means that we don't settle for attracting people who are just like us; it means we meet people as neighbors in the world, wherever God is at work.
That is why our equipping time at the presbytery meeting December 6 will focus on understanding and addressing racial and cultural differences. We will be led by the Rev. Dr. Rhashell Hunter, Director of Racial-ethnic and Women's Ministries for the Presbyterian Mission Agency, and a member of our presbytery. Dr. Hunter will lead us through exercises that will help make us aware of the invisible barriers and filters that prevent us from seeing others as people to whom we can be neighbors, or that make us invisible to others.
In addition to the equipping time during the meeting, a special opportunity will be offered for presbyters and others to go deeper during a two-hour workshop immediately following the meeting that will have concrete suggestions for bringing this awareness into your congregations.
Our recent national elections laid bare the deep divides of race, class, privilege, and opportunity that afflict our nation. These are especially raw in mid-Michigan, where many communities have suffered neglect and decline, sometimes setting neighbor against neighbor. As Presbyterians we have a calling to be repairers of the breach, peacemakers who follow a vision of a different kind of community, gathered around the welcome table where our Savior is host and all are equally loved and valued.
Let's be that kind of church. I look forward to sharing this journey with you at our presbytery meeting December 6, and in the months and years to come.
Faithfully,
Dan Saperstein,
Executive Presbyter
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He will touch on the following topics:
- recent changes at the Board of Pensions
- the current pension funding and experience apportionments
- Medicare Supplement costs, and
- the challenges of providing affordable drug coverage.
Rev. Dr. Portz will then be available to answer your questions and concerns. Please come for some good fellowship, good food, and to hear how the Board of Pensions, celebrating its 300th years of service to the church, continues to serve those who answer the call to serve our Lord Jesus Christ.
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December Presbytery Meeting
All of the documents for the December 6th presbytery meeting at
Saginaw-Second will be posted on the
Presbytery Meetings page of our website
next Wednesday, 11/23. A separate email reminder will be sent out once they are available. A link will also be listed on our
Facebook page. Looking forward to seeing everyone next month!
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Presbytery Office Coverage
Just a reminder:
Except for the Executive Presbyter, the entire staff are part-time employees and are not typically in the office everyday. Because of this there may be times when the office is closed briefly during normal office hours. (Generally at lunchtime.) We encourage you to call the office at 989-799-7481 before making an unscheduled trip here.
We have listed the normal work days and times on the Staff page of our website.
Click here
for details.
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| Continuing Education Opportunity |
N.T. Wright Coming To Grand Rapids
January 26-28, 2017
Grand Rapids, Michigan
The annual Calvin Symposium on Worship is a three-day conference sponsored by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and the Center for Excellence in Preaching.
The conference brings together a wide audience of artists, musicians, pastors, scholars, students, worship leaders and planners, and other interested worshipers. People come from around the world for a time of fellowship, worship, and learning together, seeking to develop their gifts, encourage each other and renew their commitment to the full ministry of the church.
On Thursday, January 26, 2017, N. T. Wright will be one of the presenters.
N.T. (Tom) Wright
is a leading British New Testament scholar and retired Anglican bishop. Following his tenure as the Bishop of Durham (2003-2010), he serves as research professor of New Testament at the University of St. Andrews. He is the author of numerous books, including the The Case for the Psalms, which was developed out of work he presented at the 2012 Calvin Worship Symposium, and his forthcoming book, The Day the Revolution Began: Reconsidering the Meaning of Jesus's Crucifixion.
If going as a group (three or more) there is a discount rate of $70.00 which includes lunch. When registering include your church name and Presbytery of Lake Huron to receive the discount.
Click here for more details and a link to register.
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This month we got good news about the Rickshaw business being right on track, the CHE training program took some big steps, and we hit our stride with homeschooling, our work and church routines. We also had fun with Halloween and we're enjoying the freedom of not having our guard living with us during the day! In all these things we give thanks to God for the provision of just what we've needed and we appreciate your prayers and support that keep us going.
Blogs - In this month's blog posts we share more tangential news of Zach's healthy surgery last month, along with more observations about being in a hospital in Niger, and an amazing earwig infestation at the hospital compound. The stress of living here has also given us more reflections on the balance between protecting "me time" that our culture views as important and serving/relationship building time that is important from a faith and mission perspective. The stakes are now raised for the Men's Fellowship group in our church that Michael is part of, and that goes along with other reflections on church and time commitments. We also tell the story of the next CHE lesson that Michael practiced for building an energy efficient cooking stove. While that stove project was a big hit with our guard's family, we also are dealing with the trickiness of hiring people to help you. We've been surprised at how little Zach knows about Niger even though he's grown up here. And we ended the month with an uplifting story of a surprise new church that we heard about at the General Assembly meeting of the EERN, which goes along with thoughts about neglecting the word "victory."
If you would like to follow their adventures and their mission work in Niger, please contact Staci Percy at
spercy@presbylh.org
or 989-799-7481 x2 for their blog address.
(They have asked that the link to it not be published online.)
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Here are links to articles that we hope you will enjoy and perhaps spend some time discussing them with others. Click on the title to read the entire article.
Christmas is both a wonderful and a stressful time of year for church staff members. You've got Christmas services to plan, decorations to hang, volunteers to recruit (and train), candles and other supplies to order, Facebook ads to create, etc. The list goes on - it might rival Santa's in length!
While it's difficult to avoid the long to-do list this time of year, there are a few things you can do to make life less stressful. Here are four tips for giving yourself the gift of a peaceful Christmas this year
...
continue reading.
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It's here. The most wonderful, weight-gaining, money-spending, schedule-packed time of the year is upon us. Here are three simple ways to manage the overwhelm and keep a positive perspective this year......
continue reading
.
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As we head into the busiest season for churches, now is the time to wrap your head around Facebook as your new best friend for church event outreach. It's one of the best (and least expensive) ways to share your event, be it a Fall Festival, Trunk or Treat, Harvest Party, or holiday event, getting your church message seen on
Facebook is becoming more challenging every day.
Facebook Organic Reach, the number of people reached without having to pay, is on the decline. Recent stats put your unpaid reach at 3-6% of the people who have "liked" your page.
While it's frustrating, the reasoning is simple.
The average Facebook user has 1500+ possible posts to see every time they log in. Facebook knows the typical user would never scroll through that many posts, so they narrow it down. Picking the top posts, they believe you will engage with, based on your previous visits. The more you visit, the more Facebook refines what they show in your feed.
With such a small percentage of your followers seeing your posts, getting seen by your community requires paying for reach.
Thankfully, Facebook ads are one of the best values available for targeted reach into your community in order to get in front of the exact group of people you want to.
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NOTE: The articles listed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of or intended to be an endorsement by the Presbytery of Lake Huron but are shared to encourage discussion of various topics.
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Connect With Other Churches In The Lake Huron Presbytery
There are so many wonderful things going on in all of our congregations. Several of our churches have set up Facebook pages to help spread the good news not only to their members but to all who may be interested. Liking other church Facebook pages is a great way to connect with others in the presbytery and to share ideas with each other. Here are some of the churches that have Facebook pages:
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'Like' Us On Facebook
The presbytery has a Facebook page and would like you to join us. Get updates and information faster. Connect with others to share ideas and to post information about events happening in your congregation. Join us today!
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| Staci Percy Communications Manager/Recording Clerk spercy@presbylh.org 989-799-7481 x2 |
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About the
Bi-Weekly Brief
Hundreds of elders, educators, and church leaders read the Presbytery of Lake Huron's email sent out every other week.
You can reissue or modify this content for your own church bulletin or newsletter, without crediting the Bi-Weekly Brief, but please credit any organizations, photographers, etc, that we credited.
NOTE: The Presbytery of Lake Huron retains permission to modify submissions for clarity and length. Inclusion of an item in the Bi-Weekly Brief means that we think it's interesting and/or important, and does not constitute an endorsement of its point of view or its journalistic accuracy.
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Presbytery Office Closed in Observance of Thanksgiving
November 24-25
Personnel Team
November 28
10:00 am
Presbytery Meeting
December 6
9:30 am
Saginaw-Second
Commission on Preparation for Ministry
December 21
10:00 am
Presbytery Office Closed
December 23 to
January 2
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Details on these meetings can be found on the presbytery's website on the calendar.
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