2019 Summer and Fall Educational Events
for Congregations of every Size and Shape!
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You can register for any--and all--of our classes by clicking here!
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Flint River Presbytery
is committed to
encouraging, empowering and equipping local congregations
so they may vibrant witnesses to the love of God in Jesus Christ
in their communities and in the world!
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Navigating the Organizational Labyrinth:
Tools for Pastors and Sessions
offered by Glenn Cobb of All Saints (Columbus)
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Friday, July 12 (2-6 pm) and Saturday, July 13 (9 am - 5 pm;
lunch included)
Cost is $40 per person or $20 per session | Location: Presbytery Office
Designed for Pastors only (July 12) and Pastors & Session (July 13)
Registration Deadline is Wednesday, June 26
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This class is focused upon strengthening Sessions
because stronger Sessions enable stronger congregations
.
*****
Have you ever wished that you possessed additional skills to lead and navigate tricky conversations during a Session meeting?
Have you pondered how to begin building, refining, or changing your church’s identity, while balancing your Session’s and congregation’s needs for confidentiality and transparency?
Have you yearned to know more about how to deal with bubbling conflict or unresolved issues in a congregation?
Have you wondered how best to communicate difficult information to the congregation after an important decision has been made?
"Navigating the Organizational Labyrinth" is designed to address these issues
and many more
.
Candid conversations and case studies will be a part of this two-day workshop.
As a retired US Army research team leader, senior research consultant, and retired U.S. Air Force officer,
Dr. Glenn Cobb
has over 38 years of experience in designing, directing, evaluating, and advising civilian and military organizations. Glenn has taught a wide range of graduate and undergraduate psychology and leadership courses at Auburn University, and the USAF Academy. He and his wife, Michelle, have been married for over 37 years and have three daughters, Megan (San Diego CA), Brittany (Navarre FL), and Aubrey (Midland GA). Glenn is an active elder at All Saints and serves in a variety of capacities there.
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Intergenerational Advent Workshop
offered by the Elmodel women
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Saturday, July 20 from 10 am to 3 pm
(lunch included)
Cost is $20 per person | Location: Presbytery Office in Albany
Designed for all ages
Registration deadline is Monday, July 8
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Advent in July provides time to both ponder and prepare
long before the push-and-pull of the holiday season begins!
*****
This workshop provides thoughtful, practical, and creative practices to consider. Not only will there be an opportunity to talk about cherished traditions, but also time to incorporate new ideas for the coming season. Attendees will take-home loads of ready-to-try resources in preparation for the holidays (which are less than six months away!)
The women of Elmodel (to which our office manager
Elizabeth Cantrell
belongs) are renowned for their impeccable hospitality and remarkable stories. For generations, they have been hosting events in a way that reminds us all of God's lavish love.
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Smaller Church Forum
hosted by Presbyterian Foundation
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Wednesday, July 24 (12 pm - 2 pm;
lunch included)
No cost | Location: Presbytery Office in Albany
Designed for anyone who wants to be sure that their small church
will survive -- a
nd thrive
-- in the 21st century!
Registration Deadline is July 15
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Designed for congregations of 50 members or fewer, clerks of sessions, treasurers, pastors and ANYONE who cares deeply about their congregation thriving in the 21st century.
This wonderfully informative workshop will provide a wide-spread network of local and regional experts so that deep-rooted support and practical advice may be catalysts for a creative future.
Learn more about the ways in which the Presbyterian Foundation can help your congregation by clicking
here.
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Step-by-Step Online PR Training
for Congregations
offered by Marilyn Tucker-Marek
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Thursday, August 15 from 11 am to 5 pm
(lunch included)
Cost is $20 | Location: Northminster Presbyterian Church in Macon
Designed for solo pastors, office administrators, ruling elders and volunteers responsible for creating and sending regular congregational communications
Registration Deadline is Wednesday, July 31
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Want to create clear and beautiful digital newsletters
without having to be a technology expert?
This class is for you!
*****
What will be offered?
- A walk through two Canva creations (of different styles), along with a discussion of the uses of Canva products, which are generally free or have minimal fees attached
- A walk through the creation of a MailChimp account, setting up e-mail lists, and creating 1 campaign
- Posting to a church Facebook page (including the scheduling feature, and event creation)
- A brain-storming session about how to use these applications in specific church contexts.
What is required?
- Participants should already have a church Facebook page of which they are an administrator or publisher
- Participants should bring a device (ideally a laptop) on which to work
- Participants should bring the details of one special church event (date, time, location, etc), and one weekly or monthly church event.
- Participants should bring (saved on their device), photos of the church events or church groups they feel comfortable using on social media.
This will be an incredibly hands on, step-by-step training and participants will not get nearly as much out of it without a laptop on which to work. (Mobile devices will not be a helpful alternative.)
A woman who knows how to move in several directions at once,
Marilyn Tucker-Marek
is the diligent and deeply faithful pastor to both the Forsyth flock and UKirk students at Mercer. An individual who has often struggled with using technology, she is graciously sharing all that she has taught herself so that congregations can benefit from inexpensive, attractive, and engaging digital publicity.
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Worship for the Wee Kirk:
Worship Planning
with an Emphasis on Music
offered by Tom and Doris Granum of Northminster (Macon)
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Friday August 23 (4-7 pm)
and Saturday, August 24 (10 am - 5 pm;
lunch included)
Cost is $40 or $20 per session | Location: Presbytery Office in Albany
Designed for pastoral leaders, church musicians, and ruling elders responsible for the planning of worship and music
Registration Deadline is Wednesday, August 7
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With particular attention to small congregations who may assume they have limited resources,
Doris and Tom Granum
will share plans and proven techniques for engaging, meaningful worship
with an emphasis on musi
c for the coming seasons of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany Sunday.
Both children of this presbytery,
Doris and Tom Granum
are members of Northminster(Macon).
With a long and fruitful career in public school music,
Doris
will share how the Americus Dairy Queen motivated her early forays into worship and music leadership.
Tom
has served a variety of congregations, ranging from a Roman Catholic congregation in a Yupik (Eskimo) village, to a small Jewish temple in Athens, Georgia. Currently working at Mulberry Street UMC, Tom is exuberant about co-directing, with his daughter Meg, the 2021 Montreat Worship and Music Conference.
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Faith Formation Across Generation
offered by Vickie Caro Dieth of First (Columbus)
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Saturday, September 14 (10 am - 3 pm;
lunch included
)
Cost is $20 | Location: Presbytery Office in Albany
Designed for any adult who cares deeply about creating space for multi-generational faith formation
Registration Deadline is Wednesday, August 28
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Is intergenerational ministry simply a current trend or might it be the very best we have to offer in faith formation?
What does it have to offer our smaller congregations?
*****
Join us for a dialogue on the merits and challenges of learning, worshipping, and growing together as God’s people of every age. We’ll use video segments from a panel presentation given at the 2019 Association of Presbyterian Church Educator’s (APCE) Annual Event in Galveston, TX, to inform our conversation. In the videos, we’ll hear from Karen DeBoer, the Creative Resource Developer for Faith Formation Ministries.
Vickie Caro Dieth
is new to our presbytery, so let’s give her a big welcome! Her first year working in ministry could be described as a comedy of errors, complete with a Montreat rental house that burned to the ground, a church van with a broken speedometer in Atlanta traffic, and waking up on Youth Sunday, not sure who would preach that morning. Her father told her, “If you still think you want to work in the church, there might be something to this!” He was right. Over 20 years later, she’s still passionate about educational ministry, and recently received her Doctorate in Educational Ministry from Columbia Theological Seminary. She serves on APCE’s Annual Events team and is the editor of Montreat’s Youth Conference Small Group Leader Manual. She is married to Danny Dieth, pastor at First (Columbus). They have two daughters, Ellie and Abby, and two guinea pigs, who serve as marvelous conversation starters.
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Global Church IS Small Church
hosted by The Outreach Foundation
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Saturday, September 28 (10 am - 3 pm;
lunch included)
Cost is $20 or $10 per session | Location: Presbytery Office in Albany
Registration Deadline is Friday, September 13
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Good News from Hard Places
(10 am to 12 noon)
Come learn why the Church in difficult places has much to teach us about both the cost of discipleship, as well as its fruits! Marilyn Borst shares first-hand experience behind global headlines as she sheds light upon the work and witness of the Presbyterian Church in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Egypt, as
she has visited all of these places in the past year!
She will also show us how congregations of
any
size can develop and nurture dynamic global relationships as she draws upon her experience in long-term partnerships.
The Church and God’s Mission
(1 pm - 3 pm)
The church at its best has recognized that it is a missionary society and that each person is a member of that society. In this second session, we will look at concrete ways that each person in the small church can participate in God’s mission to the world. Citing two incredible churches that moved forward in mission, Mark will tell the story of one elder and one mission committee and how those churches “got going” with global mission. Mark will draw upon his extensive global travel as a PC(USA) pastor and help you connect with deep global church relationships. These global relationships have the potential to change the ethos of one’s life as well as revitalize your congregation!
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Marilyn Borst
is Associate Director for Partnership Development of The Outreach Foundation, a Presbyterian mission agency which celebrates its 40
th
anniversary this year. She works with churches around the USA to help them discern God’s call to global engagement while connecting them
to
that work alongside the global church in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Middle East. She travels extensively, nurturing relationships with church leaders, assessing ministry initiatives and leading short-term vision teams especially to Cuba, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Syria and Israel/Palestine. Her heart for the church in difficult places has also brought her to Iran, Pakistan and North Korea. Prior to joining The Outreach Foundation staff, Marilyn served for over 6 years as Director of Global Ministry at Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta where she oversaw the international partnerships of this 8,000-member congregation in over 33 countries. Marilyn holds a B.A. in Classical Studies from Calvin College (Grand Rapids, MI), an M.A. in Art History from Michigan State University, and an M.A. in Theology from St. Thomas University (Houston). She has participated in four archeological digs in Jordan and Egypt and taught as adjunct faculty at the University of Houston for 20 years. She is ordained as an elder and has been married to Mark Borst for 40 years. The Borsts reside in Atlanta where they are endlessly entertained by the antics of their precocious cats, Anthony and Cleopatra
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Rev. Dr. Mark Mueller
serves The Outreach Foundation as Director of Development. After working for ten years as a teacher and school administrator, Mark heard God’s call to pastoral ministry, and he served congregations for twenty-three years. Mark earned a B.A. from the University of Arizona, a M.Ed. at BYU, a M.Div. at Louisville Theological Seminary and a D.Min. at Columbia Theological Seminary with an emphasis on Evangelism and New Church Development. Mark and his wife, the Rev. Dr. Toby Mueller, have two married daughters and one grandson.
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Flint River Presbytery
826 Liberty Expressway SE
Albany, Georgia 31705
229-435-9726
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