John Nelson and Laura Newby
Church of All Nations
Over the past three years, the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area, through its Congregational Development Grants, has awarded about $300,000 to 21 congregations to support “innovative, and perhaps risky, ministry initiatives at the congregational level.” Periodically, we will feature reports on the ministries made possible by these grants. Today, we feature "Rooting Our Faith,” a permaculture project at Church of All Nations supported by a 2019 grant.
The Rooting Our Faith project has been a huge success with our congregation. Twenty people joined a core team for permaculture education and training from November 2018 through April 2019, then helped us lead the installation over the summer. We hosted four "permablitz" work days, inviting the whole congregation to come out on a Saturday from 9:00am – 5:00pm (one each month from May-August) to help implement larger parts of the project. We also hosted permaculture work nights from 6:30-8:30pm every other Wednesday night throughout the summer.
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Please NOTE:
As a part of sharing our work with PTCA congregations and other local churches, on March 23, from 7:00-9:00pm, we are offering an introductory workshop on permaculture: "
In the End, the Beginning: Climate, Church, and Permaculture
." Anyone from your group or other PTCA congregations are welcome to join us at Church of All Nations, 4301 Benjamin St NE, Columbia Heights, MN 55421.
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Congregational Development Grants Enter Fourth Year of Awards
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Has your congregation been noticing a need in your community, kicking around a new ministry idea, or dreaming about partnering with a neighborhood organization—but a tight budget makes you set that vision aside? Consider applying for a Congregational Development Grant from the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area.
Entering its fourth year of grants, the PTCA’s Congregational Grant Fund (sometimes known as Bucket #1) has already given out nearly $300,000 in grants funds to 21 PTCA congregations. This year, proceeds from this endowment fund will allow for up to $105,000 in grants for ministry initiatives at the congregational level. Applications are due May 1, 2020, with awards to be announced in September.
Successful applications will build on the current gifts, abilities, passions and callings of congregations by enabling innovative new or expanded ministries. Individual grants will be awarded for up to $20,000 each. Last year’s grant award winners included plans to implement a permaculture design on the grounds of Church of All Nations, converting it into an ecological sanctuary… adding a youth music ministry program for Anuak refugees through the Foundation of Life New Worshipping Community… sanctuary technology improvements at New Life Presbyterian Church to enable new worship and education offering. In previous years, Congregational Development grants have funded new community service projects, partnerships with neighborhood non-profits, congregational revitalization initiatives, and building alterations needed to allow a bold new ministry partnership to begin.
The Committee on Congregational Vitality will again oversee the grant process. Questions can be addressed to one of the grant review team co-chairs, Rev. Karen Larson (
larsonkarenrose@gmail.com
) or Rev. Scott Larson (
scott@salmail.net
), or to Executive Presbyter Jeff Japinga (
ep@ptcaweb.org
).
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The Rev. Bruce K. Hillyer
He served at Hope Presbyterian Church, Richfield; Oliver Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis; and First Presbyterian Church, Belle Plaine MN. He transferred his membership to ECO - A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians in 2014. A service was held Friday, February 28, at 11:00 am at Christ Presbyterian Church, Edina.
JoAnn Kruger
She served alongside her husband, the Rev. Ray Kruger (PTCA, Honorably Retired) at First Presbyterian Church in Shakopee from 1976-1990, as well as at Presbyterian and Reformed Church in America congregations in Iowa. A service will be held Friday, February 28, at 6:00pm at First Presbyterian Church in Shakopee, with visitation an hour before the service.
Carolyn Yow Cuthill
She served alongside her husband, the Rev. Robert Cuthill (PTCA Honorably Retired), including his time as executive for the Synod of Lakes and Prairies. A service celebrating Carolyn’s life was held Monday, February 17, 2020.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
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Jeff's Jottings:
Zoom, zoom, zoom!
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"This Presbytery is in the midst of re-envisioning structures and practices in ways that will continue to point us outward toward our congregations and leaders, allowing for more hands-on partnerships. It’s a model that lessens the expectation, in many cases, for regular, monthly meetings, and increases it in outreach and issue-specific gatherings... Using the tools of telecommunications, we allow room for more participation."
How might you use your gifts and passions to be a part of this 'zoomed' process.
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Climate Catastrophe, Church and Permaculture
In the End, the Beginning
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"In the End, the Beginning": Climate Catastrophe, Church, and Permaculture. Monday, March 23, 7-9pm. Church of All Nations.
Churches are struggling to respond in the face of climate catastrophe. We face massive crises—global warming, rising oceans, species extinction, degraded soil, polluted waters, and the resulting political upheavals of racism, fascism, and war. The Western capitalist way of life undergirding this apocalyptic moment is dying, but we struggle to cultivate alternatives.
Permaculture is one small but concrete avenue for responding to the climate crisis. Drawing from traditional knowledge, permaculture is a way of growing food while simultaneously healing water, regenerating soil, and fostering species diversity. Industrial agriculture and manicured grass lawns result from the values of individualism, profit, production, and consumption, but permaculture returns us to the values of diversity, interconnectedness, reciprocity, and balance.
In addition to exploring permaculture, we’ll review the history that has led to western culture’s disconnect from nature. Through the lessons of our spiritual ancestors, we will also see how the Bible is a powerful resource for living restoratively within our local ecosystem amidst the pressures of empire.
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The New Cosmic Story: Inside our Awakening Universe
Didier Seminar at House of Hope Features Theologian John Haught
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On Saturday, February 29 and March 1, The House of Hope Presbyterian Church (797 Summit Avenue, St. Paul / (651) 227-6311) will host the 2020 Didier Seminar on Religion and Contemporary Thought.
An informed and compelling Christianity is the goal of the Didier Seminar. Every spring for more than 20 years, our Didier Seminar has reached out for fresh voices of the Spirit. This year, it’s
internationally-known theologian John Haught, Ph.D
. Georgetown University professor and foremost thinker on science and religion, Dr. John Haught argues that to understand faith you must understand that the universe is still “awakening.”
Scientific advances are making it clear that the universe is a story still unfolding. How does science inform faith and vice versa? How has our idea of the universe changed over the past 2,000 years? What is the new cosmic story and how does it invite a new understanding of the religious quest? Do the stories we’ve been telling about the universe and religion still work? Do they compete or interact? Does human experience—what we now know, how we feel, what we do—have an impact on the evolving universe?
Saturday, February 29
6:30 p.m. – Welcome Reception
7:30 p.m. - Lecture:
The New Cosmic Story and the Meaning of Faith
Sunday, March 1
10 a.m. - Sermon:
Faith and Ecology for an Unfinished Universe
11:15 a.m. - Lecture:
Evolution and Faith: What Is at Stake?
The Calvin W. Didier Annual Seminar on Religion and Contemporary Thought
was endowed in 1993 as a retirement tribute to Reverend Didier in honor of a ministry mindful of the many voices of the spirit and the profound changes we continue to experience in contemporary thought and culture. This yearly seminar is dedicated to the spiritual growth through the best comprehensive thinking in religion, the arts, letters and science. We seek to present inspiring and acknowledged leaders in their various fields.
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Featuring discussion of "The Second Mountain"
Author David Brooks featured on March 29th
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The House of Hope Sunday Series welcomes commentator, columnist and author David Brooks on Wednesday, March 29th. Brooks will preach in worship and speak at 2:00 pm. Note that seating is limited.
Brooks possesses a special gift for bringing audiences face to face with the spirit of our times with humor, insight, and passion.
His book
The Second Mountain
explores the four commitments that define a life of meaning and purpose: to a spouse and family, to a vocation, to a philosophy or faith, and to a community. He was part of a university-wide conversation at Yale on the subject of joy: What makes for a joyful life? Brooks believes that God is a crucial part of discovering joy. Joy is found in community, in commitments, in service. In a speech at St. Olaf College last year, Brooks said, “Once we were in a culture where we were all in this together.” We can’t recapture past history, but we can have something far more profound than the tribalism that afflicts us now. In that sense, this book is a starting place for a new American redemption story of cohesion and national purpose.
Whether in the pages of
The New York Times
, on the airwaves of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” or on the shelves of bookstores with his bestselling titles like
The Road to Character
, David Brooks is always a compelling observer and analyst of politics and foreign affairs. Both of these topics are top of mind for many of us as we enter this election year, and Brooks will bring his unique insights and perspectives on current affairs to House of Hope.
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Celebrate Earth Day Everyday!
Train Your Rain Garden Program at Trinity/Woodbury
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“Train Your Rain Garden”
Celebrate Earth Day every day!
Saturday, April 18
th
, 2020 at 9:30am
Location:
Trinity Presbyterian Church, 2125 Tower Drive
Woodbury, MN 55125
*Concerned about our community water supply?
*Want to help our local pollinators? Heard about “Lawns to Legumes”?
*Interested in learning more about native plants, & how to have a Blue Thumb?
*Need to earn some volunteer service hours or CEUs?
*Looking for a fun Saturday morning family project?
Come join us! For all of the above AND a bonfire!
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What are rain gardens and why are they important?
Rain gardens are low areas designed to capture storm runoff from rooftops, driveways, parking lots, and roadways. By doing regular rain garden maintenance, we make it possible for the garden to keep doing its job of filtering contaminated water and reducing flooding and erosion.
Native plants in the rain gardens help soak up more water and attract a variety of pollinators. The rain gardens at Trinity Presbyterian Church protect the water in the Tamarack Swamp Nature Preserve, Battle Creek, and Battle Creek Lake.
Infiltration of storm water runoff helps our lakes and wetlands, and recharges groundwater. See
www.groundwater.org
for more information.
Event Schedule:
9:30 – 9:55am - Gather & Greet: Treats and mingling
10:00am to Noon - Rain garden maintenance training for CEUs, with instructor Simba Blood; hands-on demonstrations and maintenance work outside. Please bring your own gloves, water bottle and favorite weeding tools if you have them.
*
Child care is available during the training.
Noon – 12:45 p.m. Bonfire and music; bring your own bag lunch and/or something to roast over the fire. WEATHER-dependent! Please come prepared!
To help, please
RSVP by April 16
th
with the number of participants who will be attending, to:
WaterCarrier42@gmail.com
Questions and input are also welcome.
THANKS!
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Seminars, Retreats, Programs
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Public Theology for the Common Good
Rev. Dr. Phil Tom to Speak at Hope PC
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The Rev. Dr. Phil Tom, Executive Director for the International Council of Community Church, will lead a program at Hope Presbyterian Church, 7730 N. Shore Dr., Spicer, MN on Tuesday, March 24th from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. The $15 registration cost includes program materials and lunch.
"Public theology is the Christian engagement and dialog with the church and especially. It seeks the welfare of the state and a fair society for all by engaging issues of common interests to build up good. This is Christian theology that talks with society, not just to society."
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Practicing Reconciliation in Divisive Times
Christians United to Heal Impeachment Divides
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The Minnesota Council of Churches (MCC) and United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities (United) are partnering to host a panel discussion on "The Christian Art and Practice of Reconciliation in Divisive Times" on Tuesday, March 24th at 6:30 p.m. at United in St. Paul. This event features Rev. Dr. Curtiss DeYoung, MCC executive director and author. DeYoung's talk will include panelists, United professors Carolyn Pressler, John Lee, Justin Sabia-Tanis, and alum Rev. Elizabeth Macaulay, lead pastor of Christ United Church of Christ in Rochester.
“The Christian Art and Practice of Reconciliation in Divisive Times” will be held at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, 767 N. Eustis Street (in the Case Building) in St. Paul. Anyone interested in healing the political divides within the church and broader society are welcome to attend. Rev. Dr. Curtiss DeYoung leads a radically diverse network of 25 church denominations. United professors educate leaders from various denominations and religions.
Read more via the link below.
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New Speakers Announced
Compassion Peace and Justice Training Day
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Imagine! God's Earth and People Restored
April 24-27
Washington, DC
We believe that God created this world, called it good, and told humans to care for it. We are blessed to have this sacred task.
On April 24, 2020, join together with Presbyterians from across the nation in Washington, D.C. to learn how Presbyterians and partners are answering this call and working for the restoration of God’s creation and people. Through plenaries, workshops, and networking opportunities, this Compassion Peace and Justice Training Day offers the chance to explore the various ways we are addressing climate change, ecological destruction and environmental racism. Advancing climate justice and just transition to value and protect people who have historically been made vulnerable by economic and environmental injustice will be a special focus.
Many will continue the learning by attending the Ecumenical Advocacy Days: Imagine! God’s Earth and People Restored from Friday evening on April 24 through Lobby Day on Monday the 27th. Almost 1,000 Christian advocates join us every year for a weekend of workshops, lectures and concrete actions addressing movements for social change.
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Family-Intergenerational Ministries Coordinator
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First Presbyterian Church of Hudson, Wisconsin is seeking a Family-Intergenerational Ministries Coordinator to join the staff of our growing congregation.
Located in Hudson, WI, FPC is an active a Christian community dedicated to sharing God’s love and growing in faith. We are committed to intergenerational worship and learning; creativity, diversity, and balance in worship, music, and art; caring for one another as family (in all the best senses of the word family); the welcome and inclusion of all people; and more! Please visit
www.fpchudson.net
to explore the story of our family of faith past and present and get a better glimpse of our hopes for the future!
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EMerge is a newsletter of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area. Through most of the year it is published biweekly and distributed to congregations, teaching elders, ruling elders, church members, committees and friends of the presbytery. Please send submissions and address corrections to
office@ptcaweb.org
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