Issue 186 | February 25, 2021
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I was impressed by the talk from Diane Moffett – as well as the sermon by Dawn Adamy – at this past Saturday’s presbytery meeting. I found myself wishing that we had recorded them so that I could listen to them again. While I’m sure that Rev. Moffett has given that talk before to other presbyteries, that did not make it any less powerful or any less challenging. I started to wonder whether we should sign on to become a Matthew 25 presbytery and whether we should encourage our churches to become Matthew 25 churches.
Presbytery office reopening to the public
Starting Monday, the Presbytery office will have two staff members present each day during our regular hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday). Though we will be allowing visitors, the door will be locked, so please ring the bell for access, and someone will let you in. Masks are required; hand sanitizer is available inside the door.
Last chance! Share your favorite church joke or funny story by Sunday!
One of the workshops at Festival of Faith is "Keep That Sense of Humor; It's Critical!" It will consist of people from the presbytery sharing their favorite church-appropriate jokes and funny stories. The best way for us to do this is to have each person video themselves telling their joke/story, and then send it to Don Parker, who will put all of the content together. If you have a favorite joke or story you'd like to share, please make a short video of yourself telling it and send the video to Don Parker at dparker@spilmanlaw.com or 304-545-0666 no later than SUNDAY!
Summer fun at Bluestone (Click either image for a brochure.)
On March 20, Festival of Faith, with keynote speaker Diana Butler Bass, an award-winning author and internationally-known public speaker and thought leader on issues of spirituality, religion, culture, and politics, promises to be a good day for learning, worship, and fellowship, with a variety of workshops available, and all from the comfort of your own home, thanks to Zoom. Besides Bass' workshop, others include ones on intergenerational church, next year's PW Bible study, and knitting/crocheting, as well as opportunities for church treasurers, clerks of session, and ruling elders. Click here for complete information, including online registration. Questions? Contact Susan Sharp Campbell at susan_sharp_campbell@hotmail.com or 304-667-9428. Register by March 11, which will be here before we know it. 
Now is the time to consider who in your congregation you might encourage to apply to serve on the PWV Youth Council, which is an integral part of our ministry with youth. We have openings for 10 youth, who will be in grades 10-12 in the fall, and 5 adults who enjoy working with youth; we are particularly in need of male adults. Applications and session nomination forms are due to the Presbytery office by March 31.
  • Board of Pensions tax resources
  • Festival of Faith
  • Money-saving maintenance tips for church shutdowns/limited use
  • New round of PPP loans
  • IRS Standard Mileage
  • 2021 Per Capita
  • 2021 Shared Mission Pledge Request
  • Special Offerings calendar
Sympathies to Rev. Claire Butler, the pastor of Ravenswood First United Presbyterian Church, on the death of her father, Lester A. Butler, Jr., on Feb. 22 in South Carolina. Click here for an obituary.

Claire is a member of the Nurture Committee; last year, she was the Presbytery’s Minister of Word & Sacrament Commissioner to the PCUSA General Assembly, and previously, she served the Presbytery as the Interim Associate for Older Adult Ministry and Hunger Action Enabler.

Memorial donations may be made to Presbyterian Heritage Center, 318 Georgia Terr., Montreat, NC 28757; First Scots Presbyterian Church, 53 Meeting St., Charleston, SC 29401; or Montreat Presbyterian Church, 304 Lookout Rd., Montreat, NC 28757. Please keep Claire and her family in your prayers.
Earth Day Sunday resources
This year, Creation Justice Ministry’s Earth Day Sunday (April 18) theme is "A New Heaven, and A New Earth," focusing on health, environmental racism, and eco-justice. The resources will be available to download here in early March, or if you would like a hard copy, fill out this form by WEDNESDAY.
We invite you to print and include this newsletter in your bulletin or church newsletter, share it with members, and/or distribute it in your community. Click for the MARCH newsletter in color or grayscale.
The Presbyterian Disaster Assistance 2020 report shows the many ways PDA helped others in 2020. Of course this included COVID-19 response, but it was also disaster preparedness training, emotional and spiritual care webinars, and development of new resources to educate and guide congregations in their local refugee and asylum ministries. Also, PDA's Flint: The Poisoning of an American City documentary was streamed more than 1 million times on Amazon Prime.
Critical need for volunteers
Do you have time to help with COVID vaccine shot distribution? West Virginia VOAD is looking for volunteers to help with everything from parking to paperwork, phone calls to people herding. Interested? Just fill out the volunteer form here, and then a coordinator will call you about your availability and special skills. Counties are organizing now and will likely need volunteers for the next several months.
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Editor's Note: In order to keep PWV News fresh, articles will generally run for two consecutive issues. If you would like a piece to run longer, please update (with refreshed content, new wording and/or a different photo) and resubmit.