Presbytery of Southeastern Illinois Newsletter - April 9, 2019
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Presbyterian Women Spring Gathering on April 27th
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The Spring Gathering of Presbyterian Women of Southeastern Illinois Presbytery will be Saturday, April 27, at Memorial Presbyterian Church in Assumption, Illinois, beginning at 10 am.
The featured speaker will be Amanda Craft, Manager of Advocacy in the Office of Immigration Issues, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Her topic is:
Getting in Line: Is there a line to seek asylum in the U.S.?
Media and politicians frequently ask, “Why don’t they just get in line?” This session will delve into the asylum statute of the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Protocol on the Status of Refugees and compare those standards to what is actually happening as asylum seekers approach the U.S./Mexico border. What is the nation doing? What should the nation do? And how do people of faith respond?
Click the link below for the PSEI PW Newsletter for additional information about the Mission Project, Book discussions, Registration, and more!
Invite your friends and neighbors to hear this very timely and thought-provoking presentation!
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All Session Records must be read prior to the November 21, 2019 Presbytery meeting. These events are held in regional locations, but you may attend one in another region if that day is better for you.
CLERKS - If none of these dates work for you, then send your moderator to the reading with the records of another member of Session or a previous clerk.
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Hope and Clarity: Recharge Your Spirit
Registration Opens April 1st
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Ready for a reset?
Just in time for summer, Hope & Clarity: Recharge Your Spirit will be offered June 2-4, 2019 in Peoria, IL. This is your chance to join female colleagues in ministry for about 40 hours of relaxing, re-energizing and restoring. We'll begin with a reception Sunday night at 7 pm Central, and end on Tuesday morning by 11 am Central.
We can't promise that you'll leave the retreat irrevocably transformed, but our intention is that you will leave strengthened, refreshed, and more connected with your self and with others.
The Synod of Lincoln Trails
is directing its financial resources toward this event, regardless of your presbytery membership, so that YOU can enjoy the resources of ONE ANOTHER. You must be a teaching elder or certified ruling elder in good standing to attend. Whether the setting in which you serve is a congregation, a hospital, a university or college, or another missional organization, we welcome you.
Total cost to you, for two nights' lodging and all food and conference fees, is $50 if you share a hotel room and $150 if you'd like your own hotel room. This fee is non-refundable beginning May 1st. Some partial scholarships are available - contact Sara for more details.
Spaces are limited, and registration will go live on April 1st. We are asking that colleagues from synods beyond SOLT wait until April 10th to register.
We are proud to subsidize $250+ of the actual cost per participant, for all participants regardless of synod membership. We are stronger together.
For logistical questions, contact Wynesia (wynesia@lincolntrails.org). For other questions, contact Sara (sara@lincolntrails.org).
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Online Giving Now Available on the Presbytery Website
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Submitted by Wade Meranda, Presbytery Treasurer
Online Giving is now available on the Presbytery website. The “Give Now” tab is located at the top of the home page (and every page of the site) and will accommodate those who prefer the convenience of electronic banking. Our online giving service is a relatively new ministry provided by the Presbyterian Foundation and is available for use by all congregations. Contact the Foundation if your church might like to use its service.
Individuals can give online using the usual online payment options: bank account withdrawal, credit card, or debit card. One-time gifts and recurring gifts can be set up. All gifts go directly to our Presbytery’s bank account and the Treasurer is notified right away.
By selecting the “Give Now” tab, you will see that we have set up several funds to give to, including a fund for the offering received during worship at all four Presbytery meetings. Offerings will continue to be received in the pews of course, or you can give online before or after worship.
Another fund is available to receive support from individuals for our Presbytery’s Operating Fund. If you want to support the overall ministry of the presbytery, give to the Presbytery Operating Fund. And for those who wish to give a gift at an Ordination and Installation Service, a fund is available for that as well. The Ordination Service Offering supports the Committee on Preparation for Ministry (CPM) as it nurtures and prepares candidates for ordained offices.
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For use at Presbytery gatherings/meetings. Authored by Rev. Bill McLean, Presbyter for Congregational Care.
Matthew 12:9-14 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
He left that place and entered their synagogue; a man was there with a withered hand, and they asked him, “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?” so that they might accuse him. He said to them, “Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a human being than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.
- When have you decided not "to do good on the sabbath" because you thought it was against the "law"?
- How do we know when it is appropriate, maybe even required, that we violate the "law" or rules or norms "to do good on the sabbath"?
- How might the Presbytery/congregation/committee be guided by this Scripture?
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(From Facebook Group by Bill McLean)
Great gathering of Presbyterian leaders at the first Small Church Forums as together we worked to gain “A Clearer Look at Today’s Church.”
Hope you will join us in Philo on May 14 or in Marion on May 15 for the next forum.
If you attended the Forum, remember to do your homework. And if you weren't able to attend, but would like to attend the next forum meeting, you will also want to complete the homework also.
- Have a person who is very well acquainted with your finances complete the Financial Health Assessment by May 1st. It is found at assessment.presbyterianfoundation.org.
- Discuss the results of the Financial Health Assessment with the session and begin drafting a plan. If you need assistance, contact Lisa Longo, Ministry Relations Officer, at Lisa.Longo@PresbyterianFoundation.org or by calling 1-866-710-5094.
- Read Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Unchartered Territory by Tod Bolsinger (2015 IVP Books) before Forum sessions 3 and 4, but even better if you can read it before session 2.
- Other books that are highly recommended to read and discuss are Can Our Church Live? by Alice Mann (1999, Alban Institute - AL 217) and Crisis and Renewal: Meeting the Challenge of Organizational Change by David K. Hurst (1995, Harvard Business School Press)
- Sign up for the next Small Church Forum on the Presbytery webpage.
Forum meeting #2 will focus on the life cycle of a congregation, and we will discuss the Financial Health Assessments.
Forum #3 and #4 will focus on the following areas: Identity (Who are you as a congregation?); Context (Who is your neighbor?); and Purpose (Who/What is God calling you to be/do?)
Hope to see more Pastors and Ruling Elders in Philo and Marion!
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(Click on church name for church website; click on address for Google map)
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