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The weekly newsletter from the
Presbytery of Minnesota Valleys
September 11, 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 September 15-21
Ebenezer Presbyterian Church of Renville
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Pastor Anna Williamson
Clerk - Carol Beekman
Treasurer - Pam Kjersten
Elders - Tom Bakker, Wendell Bakker, Tim Beekman, Todd Broberg, Pam Kjersten, Ryan Ross, Joyce Swanson, Kraig Winzenburg, Lenae Wordes
Upcoming events - Sunday/Wednesday School classes beginning, Les & Cindy Morgan visiting in October
Some mission work that is done - Bingo at Renville Health Services on the last Wednesday of the month, PWC hymn sing and serving apple crisp at Meadows on Main, Soles 4 Souls, Ecumenical Vacation Bible School with 3 other area churches, Bible Studies at Meadows on Main.
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Karen Lange will be on vacation from September 12 - 16.
SanDawna Ashley will be out of the office teaching The Art of Transitional Leadership in Buffalo September 16-20.
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Prayer List
- For the family of Mary Hansen of Browns Valley
- For Rev. Steve and Gen Tyykila on the death of Steve's mother
- For Rev. Michael Roys, pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Winnebago
- For Rev. Elaine and Kent Boyd at First Presbyterian Church of Amboy
- For the family of Rev. Don Crissinger-Clark, who passed away July 24.
- For Rev. David Poppen, who had a motorcycle accident on July 21. He has served churches in Ellsworth, Rushmore Emmanuel, Slayton and Iona.
- Sue Thompson, Clerk of Session at First Presbyterian Church, Maynard
- Rev. Araceli Itzep from the Occidente Presbytery
- For Beatriz (Betty/Beti) Cifuentes, the treasurer of the Partnership Committee, who is beginning chemotherapy.)
- For the "Men in the Mirror" program. Men from Occidente that MVP supported financially to attend the classes a couple of years ago are going to share the information they gained with different churches in the eastern and central parts of Guatemala. They, along with the chaplains of the national Presbyterian church, will also be training Christian policemen in what they learned from "Men in the Mirror."
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Upcoming events at a glance
Oct 3: "Preaching in Times of Transition" webinar by Gerald Lui begins at 10:00 (email
Karen Lange
to register)
Oct 15: Boundary Training at FPC Redwood Falls
Nov 2: Presbytery meeting at FPC Redwood Falls
Nov 11-13: Pastor Retreat at Presbyterian Clearwater Forest
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Making the Ask Recording is available
Thanks to Shirley Carter for her presentation on "Making the Ask" on Tuesday, September 10. If you were not able to take part in the webinar or would like to review the information, the recording is linked below. The first few seconds of the video is audio only, but when Shirley begins, you can see the video.
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The Judgment of the Nations
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
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UKirk
[YOO-kerk]
U =
University
Kirk = Scottish
for
Church
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First Presbyterian Church in St. Cloud would like to extend an invitation to all Minnesota Valleys congregations: Please connect your Young Adults with us if you know of any who will be returning to St. Cloud, or headed here for their first semester of college. We will strive to be their
University Church
while they are in our community. We offer times for worship, fellowship, and volunteering. If you have a young person to connect, please contact:
Mark Giese, Director of Youth & Campus Ministry
First Presbyterian Church
340 5
th
Avenue South
St. Cloud, MN
Ph. 320-251-8277
Email: mark@fpcstcloud.org
Worship
: Sunday mornings at 10:00am
Fellowship & Service for students
: tba
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Books of Order now available
The PDF of the 2019-2021 Book of Order has been added to the PCUSA Store website and is available for free
download
The Presbytery has ordered Books of Order for congregations at a cost of $8.50 each. We will ask for postage reimbursement if we mail them.
Planning Calendar Orders
The PC(USA) Store will ship out Presbyterian Planning Calendars in August, and we have ordered calendars for congregations for $9.50 each. This 16-month calendar will begin in September and end December 2020. We will ask for postage reimbursement if we mail them.
Results from the GA amendments
Here is a link to the Presbyterian Outlook’s article on the General Assembly amendments:
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Our Next Webinar in Transformation Going Beyond Change
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Thursday, October 3
1:00pm
Preaching in Times of Transition: Imaginative Preaching
Gerald Liu
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Gerald C. Liu is assistant professor of worship and preaching at Princeton Theological Seminary. He earned his BA in Music at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, his Master of Divinity from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University (during which time he was also a theological fellow at Georg-August Universität in Göttingen, Germany), and his PhD from Vanderbilt University with a concentration in homiletics and liturgics. He has previously served as a British Methodist Minister in Nottingham, England before becoming ordained in the Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church. Currently he volunteers as a minister in residence at Church of the Village, a United Methodist congregation in Manhattan. His classes and publications explore curiosities about the arts as theological resources and phenomena, Asian American identity, multicultural worship, and the production of believable public Christian witness.
Join Rev. Liu in a discussion about how the biblical canon can shape weekly preaching into an arc of messages rooted in the ever-expanding call to new identities in Christ, adaptive living, and welcoming all people for the glory of God.
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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. 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
:
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
Please email
Karen Lange
your attendance plans by September 30.
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
Faith Presbyterian Church, Silver Lake
- Part-time Solo Pastor
Hope Presbyterian Church, Spicer
- Solo Pastor
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