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The weekly newsletter from the
Presbytery of Minnesota Valleys
June 26, 2019
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We are congregations who seek to be a collective expression of the Body of Christ, joyfully participating in Christ's ongoing life and work. "Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing."
(I Thessalonians 5:11)
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Congregation of the Week of June 30 - July 6
First Presbyterian Church of Madelia
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Clerk of Session: Doug Teigum
Treasurer: Jan Ulmen
Custodian: Jessica Holm
Pianist: Lorraine Sill
Pastor: Penny Johnson
Please pray for our members and friends with ongoing illnesses and those recovering from surgeries. We also have military folks in our congregation who are currently serving, so please remember them as well.
We just finished our work with the Mission Redevelopment Fund for the year and were able to contribute to some worthy projects. We actively contribute to the Watonwan County Weekend Backpack Food Program as well as the high school food pantry. We have had special offerings devoted to Christmas for Children and the local cemetery.
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Karen Lange will be out of the office on Friday, June 28.
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Life Is Complicated
Just a few weeks ago, the New York Times featured an article describing Willmar as a model town of openness, diversity and true American Spirit. Last week, the New York Times featured an article about St. Cloud. The article highlighted a less-than-positive image of a town busting with growth and challenged by the influx of immigrants and old feelings that it is “us or them attitudes.” With this said, there are many sides to the immigration story. One is a story that comes from compassion. The other is a story deep in suspicion of the other. This is my way of saying that much of the debate around immigration is about resources, access, and power. There is also the issue of what religion is right or which is the true religion? Unfortunately, throughout history, the Church has perpetuated many values that set persons against persons with stories of superior groups and inferior groups. In Scripture, many narratives describe the answer to difference as genocide, demonizing and subjugating of the other. The inspired Word of God can be made to read in many ways depending on the lens you bring to the text. Many elderly African people would not read the words of Paul because of Ephesians 6:5 “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.” Slave owners prohibited the full narrative of Ephesians 6 from being preached. When the entire text is properly exegeted the narrative speaks about fair treatment of enslaved persons and God as the ultimate judge.
It is inevitable that this subject makes us uncomfortable. There is no way to talk about this issue without stepping on the toes of those on either side of the political spectrum. Where do you imagine Jesus landing in this story? This is truly the theological question. The matters of race, immigration, declining resources, the good and bad of history, ignorance, and hospitality are complicated. Interwoven in partially told stories, place, bad theology, culture, and pride are the elements that make reconciliation around the issues difficult. One simple thing to consider is —
Are we afraid of those who are different from us just because they are different?
It is my hope that we as a presbytery will continue to grow in cultural proficiency. Cultural proficiency speaks of tools and policies to ensure equity and places intentional restrictions on practices within systems that perpetuate advantaging others while disadvantage some. Below, Terry Cross offers six points on the Cultural Competence Continuum that provide unique ways of seeing and responding to difference:
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See the difference, stomp it out
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The elimination of other people’s cultures
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See the difference, make it wrong
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Belief in the superiority of one’s culture and behavior that disempowers another’s culture
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See the difference, act like you don’t
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Acting as if the cultural differences you see do not matter or not recognizing that there are differences among and between cultures
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See the difference, respond inadequately
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Awareness of the limitations of one’s skills or an organization’s practices when interacting with other cultural groups
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See the difference, understand the difference that difference makes
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Interacting with other cultural groups using the five essential elements of cultural proficiency as the standard for individual behavior and organizational practices
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See the difference and respond effectively in a variety of environments holding esteem for culture; knowing how to learn about individual and organizational culture; interacting effectively in a variety of cultural environments
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Movie and book recommendations for group discussions:
The Best of Enemies
When They See Us
In America
Race
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the Power of an Illusion (PBS)
Americanah by Chimamanda Gnozi Adichie
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan (Juvenile fiction)
Can we take the lead in setting the space to talk about difficult topics? A strong faith calls us to grapple with social issues that make us uncomfortable. Race, immigration, and human identity are gargantuan subjects that deserve our time and attention. Let us keep talking in the Spirit of Christ!
Blessings,
SanDawna
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Two new resources are available for your review, the most recent webinar on Leadership and Resiliency and PNC Training.
June 4 - Resiliency: Building Spiritual Fortitude by Laurie Ferguson
LINK
April 4 - PNC Training by SanDawna Ashley
LINK
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Church Leadership Connection to get an overhaul
New data system to enhance pastor/church matches
Rick Jones | Office of the General Assembly - June 10, 2019
For years, churches seeking pastors and pastors seeking churches have relied on the Church Leadership Connection (CLC) to make that happen. The computer database and matching system allows call seekers to fill out personal information forms online and provides churches and church-related organizations with the opportunity to provide information on what they seek in a pastor or staff member.
Jihyun Oh, manager for call process support for the Office of the General Assembly, says plans are underway for a complete overhaul of the data system.
“CLC is a 90s era program and there are a lot of limitations to it. Some of it is a user interface issue and people have a hard time using it,” said Oh. “It was designed for a time when our denomination looked different. It doesn’t offer us the flexibility that we need, especially given the flexible form of government that we have now.”
Over the past 20 years, church polity and the landscape of the denomination have changed and Oh says it’s time to catch up.
“We’re finding lots of variations in titles and it makes sense to talk about pastoral and leadership experience differently,” she said. “In the 90s, people were going straight through college and seminary into ministry and that is not as common now. There are a variety of timelines in which people come into pastoral leadership and church professional work. We need to look at how we can paint a better picture of people’s experiences and what they offer churches and their calling.”
Oh says the Office of the General Assembly is changing the way it thinks about the call process in general to offer a better model for mid councils, congregations, ministers, and lay professionals.
“As we roll it out over the next 18 to 24 months, it will have multiple components,” she said. “The first piece will be a survey that we will send out to mid councils and pastor nominating committees that have completed their work as well as call seekers who have also completed their search, to get feedback from them.”
The survey is scheduled to go out mid-summer.
“Once we have the results, we can give a vision of what we are trying to accomplish to the developers and they will then begin the work of overhauling the CLC in late summer,” said Oh. “We hope to have the development work substantially completed by the end of summer or early fall 2020, so we can unveil it at the Mid Council Leaders Gathering in October 2020.”
Oh’s team provides matching and referrals and she hopes they can do that with more flexibility and specificity.
“Ten years ago, there were four, full-time CLC consultants within OGA and now there is only one and there are no plans to increase that number,” said Oh. “This system should sufficiently meet the users’ needs and they will not have to call the office every time they run into a problem. We just don’t have the person support in the office anymore to take the volume of calls that we get.”
Oh is hopeful the new system will have the flexibility to help women, people of color, and people over the age of 52, who have had a harder time finding a call to ministry.
“This will help us support PNCs and call seekers in the search process to find one another, and do that for mid councils. We want our backend component to be much stronger,” she said. “Our hope is that it will be a seamless, easier-to-use system where people can see what pieces are still outstanding and get their forms online. We’ll provide more features that serve a function that everyone needs.”
Plans are to increase support for more church professionals.
According to Coordinator of Technologies Vicente Guna, CLC has between 3,000 and 4,000 active users, each with multiple sessions, in any seven-day period. Over the course of the year, CLC is used by more than 13,000 users, some of whom are overseas.
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Prayer List
Rev. Araceli Itzep from the Occidente Presbytery
Sue Thompson, Clerk of Session at First Presbyterian Church, Maynard
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Counting Down to Presbyterian Youth Triennium 2019
The 2019 Presbyterian Youth Triennium is getting closer. On July 15, 60 youth and 7 adult leaders representing 14 congregations in Minnesota Valleys presbytery will board two buses to travel to the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. There they will join with thousands of youth from the Presbyterian Church USA and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for five days of worship, Bible Study, games and activities.
The congregations sending youth to the 2019 Presbyterian Youth Triennium are Blue Earth; Browns Valley; Ellsworth; Foley; Lismore; Luverne; Pipestone; Randall; Redwood Falls; Renville; St. Cloud; St. Peter; Spicer, Hope; Willmar; and Worthington. The Adult leaders this year are Jill Boeyink, Willmar; Sheila Erwin, Lismore; Amy Gasca, Renville; Mark Giese, St. Cloud; Calvin Lebakken, Foley; Shawna Seaman, St. Cloud; and Galen Smith, Worthington.
A packet of information including bus schedules and roommate assignments has been mailed to each of the registered participants from Minnesota Valleys.
Prayer
Holy God, through never ending streams of mercy, guide and protect our young people and their leaders as they attend the Presbyterian Youth Triennium. Tune their hearts to sing your praise and fill them with your wondrous grace. Transform their lives through this experience so that they may further build your Kingdom through their gifts and leadership. Through Christ, we pray. Amen.
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Join the movement of Presbyterians in Baltimore for a Big Tent like no other.
The theme, Called to a Movement beyond Institution, will emphasize our hope of the Gospel and its power to challenge institutional conventions. The goal is to come together and live in this moment, immersed in our current cultural context of racial division, gender inequality, and economic disparity to be renewed, refreshed and reformed, so that we may be sent out to affect change in our own communities. Big Tent will provide a place where our Presbyterian polity and identity is the foothold by which we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in action and answer the call to discern the will of God together.
Through worship, Bible study, learning opportunities, and active engagement with one another and the community, attendees will encounter the Church participating in God’s mission for the transformation of creation and humanity.
Organizers for this year’s Big Tent celebration have lined up the guest preachers and leaders for the three-day gathering in Baltimore this summer. The Rev. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah will be the featured speaker at the
opening plenary
on Thursday, Aug. 1.
“Conversations are taking place about the changes that are occurring in our society, especially in terms of our demographics. Churches are experiencing change, including decline and diversity,” said Rah. “I will touch on those, but I really want to touch base on what the appropriate response to these changes should be.”
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The FPC Mankato invites whoever might be interested to hear Mission Co-Workers in August
Charles and Melissa Johnson, mission co-workers in Zambia, are visiting First Presbyterian Church of Mankato on Wednesday, August 14th. The event will be from 5:00-8:00pm. We're going to have a potluck supper and will enjoy time with Charles and Melissa as they share about God's mission happening in Zambia, how they were called into mission partnership, and how churches might hear their call into mission partnership.
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The Synod of Lakes and Prairies Presents
The Art of Transitional Leadership
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Learning Ministry Skills for Today’s and Tomorrow’s Church
Pastors, Staff, COMs and Congregational Leaders
September 16-20, 2019
Christ the King Retreat Center in Buffalo, Minnesota
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Track 1: September 16-20, 2019
Whether it is a change in leadership or a changing community, leading a congregation through change is both challenging and rewarding.It takes knowledge, skill, resilience and spiritual strength to navigate the waters of change in a way that leaders and congregations thrive. This training is for individuals who are considering ministry in temporary settings (as an interim, transitional or designated pastor) or are experiencing ministry in these transitional times. Materials presented will include the basics of transitional ministry and will be of value to all congregational pastors regardless of their ministry setting. Best practices in transitional ministry include ways to enter the congregation and community, how to analyze a congregation’s strength and growing edges, and how to assist a congregation in moving toward a vibrant future. This training will delve into navigating change, the pastor as a spiritual interpreter of transition, family systems, mission focus ministry, conflict mediation, and building resiliency.
Track 2: September 18-20, 2019
Congregational leaders seeking to serve God faithfully are invited to Part Two of the Art of Transitional Ministry Event. The Wednesday–Friday training is for ruling elders, deacons, and other congregational leaders. Workshops for this group will focus on the vital role you play in collaborating with pastors to lead congregations through ministry transitions. Participants can expect to learn about core value mission planning, leadership development, congregational systems, stewardship, and creating spiritual energy in congregations.
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Save the date for Boundary Training
Tuesday, October 15 from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
First Presbyterian Church of Redwood Falls
Boundary Training is required for all minister/teaching elder presbytery members and commissioned ruling elders. The Presbytery of Minnesota Valleys will be holding a boundary training on Tuesday, October 15 from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Redwood Falls. The Rev. Mark Sundby from Leaderwise will be leading the boundary training. The training will focus on a holistic approach to boundaries, looking at overall resilience and well-being as the best prevention against impaired decision making and boundaries violations. More information will be coming.
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Save the Date
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Pastors’ Retreat
November 11-13, 2019
Leaning Tree Lodge
Presbyterian Clearwater Forest
16595 Crooked Lake Rd
Deerwood MN 56444
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Begins with lunch on Monday and ends before lunch on Wednesday.
Cost: $40, includes meals and lodging
Come and enjoy the fall beauty of Presbyterian Clearwater Forest and spend time with presbytery colleagues. We will reflect on the year of transformation and take a deep breath. The retreat is in the planning stages, but mark your calendars to attend.
Retreat Speaker Rev. Jennifer Hope Kottler is a spiritual director/certified life and leadership coach and yoga teacher in private practice in Florence, SC. An ordained pastor in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) with standing in the United Church of Christ, Jen serves clergy and lay leaders who want to deepen their own spirituality and lead their communities with intentionality and grace. Jen facilitates retreats and events for congregations, non-profit organizations, and church leaders. In all her work, Jen incorporates ancient spiritual practices with modern techniques including Energy Leadership Coaching and Conversational Intelligence®. Jen is married to Rev. Gavin Meek, Transitional Executive Presbyter and Stated Clerk in New Harmony Presbytery (NE South Carolina) and she enjoys hiking, tennis, cooking for family and friends, and traveling with Gavin.
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Church Staff: Schedule a Day with Karen
Associate for Administration Karen Lange is available to spend a day with church office folks to share tips on setting up bulletins, newsletters, making a Facebook page or to help with any general questions. The cost is Karen’s mileage to and from the church plus providing lunch. Please email
Karen
to schedule.
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Pastoral Leadership Opportunities
First Presbyterian Church, Fulda
- Solo Pastor, 3/4 time up to full-time
Faith Presbyterian Church, Silver Lake
- Part-time Solo Pastor
Hope Presbyterian Church, Spicer
- Solo Pastor
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Twin Cities Pilgrimage
Is civility a cudgel?
Backpacks for Refugees
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