As we continue to live and work in a time of pandemic, the Coordinating Team has again decided to hold our Presbytery meeting online while CDC and Florida Department of Health still recommend avoiding large indoor gatherings, especially when social distancing is difficult to maintain and ventilation challenges may increase rather than decrease the chances of unknowing transmission of COVID-19.

Maximo Presbyterian Church will be our "host church" and most of the worship service will be led from there as we gather online from across the presbytery..

All of our ministers and clerks should now have seen an email for them on how to register themselves and/or elder commissioners from their churches. If you are a minister member of this presbytery or a clerk of session and did NOT see that email, please get in touch with me ASAP.

In August, the Presbytery of Tampa Bay adopted "Special Rules of Order and Standing Rules for Electronic Meetings of the Presbytery of Tampa Bay," and we'll be using them again for this meeting.

As we did in August, to maintain the integrity of the meeting while also conducting an open meeting, we'll limit registration and participation in the Zoom meeting environment to those with privilege of the floor. We'll also again make a live stream available for observers and guests who might have attended in person may still watch (that link will be in a future eNews).

We will NOT have display tables or opportunities for outside organizations to speak at this meeting. We are able to share PDFs of materials that other organizations would have put out on display tables at an in-person meeting. If that applies to you, please contact me to discuss that.

We will offer online training (both live and by video) for new participants; watch for more details on those opportunities in the next eNews.

P.S. to church treasurers, admins, and finance committees: The Commission on Ministry approved new forms for reporting ministerial compensation in 2021. Click here to read all about it. (We sent an email about this to ministers, clerks of sessions, and some other folks the other day, so you might have already heard about this.)

Sign up today for a panel presentation on Race, Faith, and Climate Change on Wednesday, October 21, 6-7:30 pm. This panel brings together experts from multiple faith traditions to explore pressing issues surrounding climate change and its disproportionate impact on communities of color.

Click here for the full flyer and click here to sign up.

You can email Neddy at neddy@greenfaith.org with questions about this event or her work.

You can read more about the 12th Edition and order a copy (hardback, paperback, or searchable eBook for Kindle at the official Robert's Rules website. You should also be able to get it at your favorite local brick-and-mortar book store now, too! There is a list of major changes, key section changes, and a PDF to download of all significant changes on the Newly Revised 12th Edition webpage.

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NOTE from Bill: After responding to nearly identical questions from different churches recently about how to hold congregational meetings online when large group gatherings, I put some thoughts together that some may find helpful for congregational, session, and other meetings on Zoom (which you can get by clicking here). In the file, you'll find background info on electronic meetings in general and in the PC(USA), some reminders from the most recent edition of Robert's Rules of Order, and some nuts-and-bolts of setting up and running a formal business meeting on Zoom (complete with links to Zoom's help screens).

Continuing to honor the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, we open our new season with a performance of the stunning Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, “Pathetique”. You will also hear works by Chopin and Liszt. The rich acoustics of the Peace sanctuary and the full concert grand Baldwin piano will enhance your experience of these exciting works for piano.

Pietro is a highly acclaimed pianist, having started performing at the age of nine. He obtained his Bachelor’s diploma at the Conservatory G. Martucci in Salerno, Italy and later a Master’s degree with distinction at the renowned Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome. Recently, he has been busy teaching and concertizing in Europe and the USA. He recently moved to Florida and we are excited to have him opening our series.

WHERE: Peace Memorial Presb. Church (the pink church downtown) 110 S. Ft. Harrison Ave., Clwr. (corner of Pierce and Ft. Harrison).

For the rest of what you need to know about attending this concert, the rest of the series, and the COVID-19 procedures, visit www.peacememorial.org/concerts

Crossroads Antiracism Training

Our goal is to provide participants with capacity-building tools and resources to work for antiracist transformation in their churches and institutions. Participants will finish this antiracism training with concrete action steps for their congregations and local communities.

This Crossroads antiracism training will specifically address the political challenges facing the church in light of how the coronavirus pandemic has laid bare the acute structural inequities of the USA and their impact on communities of color, particularly Black, Indigenous, and Immigrant communities. Given the coronavirus pandemic and its disproportionate impact, our antiracism training will also address how the church is called to be a political actor. What and where is the Church being called to do and be?

Click here for more information about this event.

Visit Montreat's full Program and Events Calendar for more in 2020 and 2021!