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Our Mission:
To identify and strengthen leaders
so that every congregation
makes new and mature disciples for Jesus Christ.
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(Sorry, but the deadline for special meals or other requests has passed.)
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The meeting packet is available for
download . . .
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. . . but first a few reminders!
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This special issue of the eNews is focused on the upcoming Stated Meeting of the Presbytery of Tampa Bay, but there are also a few other reminders following the meeting info!
I know not everyone who get the eNews is interested in the packet, so feel free to delete and move on with your day --- but if you're a minister member of the presbytery, a commissioner from on of our congregations, or a clerk of session responsible for getting the packet to your commissioner(s), please read on!
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From the Welcome Letter at the start of the Packet:
This meeting will be different from other recent presbytery meetings. We’ll be interweaving our work and worship throughout the day, so instead of a docket in the packet and an Order of Worship handed out at the meeting, you’ll find them together as “
Docket and Order of Worship & Service” both in the packet (starting on page 3)
and as a handout for you to carry with you throughout the day (and also as portions inserted between reports as you scroll through during the meeting). Also, instead of the networking groups we’ve been having for the last few meetings, this month’s breakout groups will be organized around the Seven Marks of Vital Congregations; you can read more about the Seven Marks starting on page 7 immediately after the “Docket and Order of Worship & Service” (and may want to print out those two pages to keep with you all day, too).
(NOTE: I've included Libby Shannon's comments about weaving liturgy with business at our stated meeting on August 29 from last week's eNews as a reminder of how we intend to do that interweaving at our meeting.)
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And don't miss this in the welcome letter about the offering:
The Coordinating Team has designated our worship offering on August 29 as a gift to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) in grateful appreciation for the work it is doing around the country and world today and that it has done in Florida in the past. Some highlights from “Mission Mosaic,” PDA’s 2018 annual report, are included in the packet starting on page 39, and we will be hearing briefly from Kathy Broyard, Executive Director of the Florida Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Network (FLAPDAN) (read more from her on page 42) and Sally Campbell-Evans, a member of this Presbytery, former moderator of FLAPDAN’s board, and who now serves at Hyde Park United Methodist Church.
Checks for the offering should be made payable to “
Presbytery of Tampa Bay.
”
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And, finally, some highlights of the meeting from the end of the welcome letter:
- The Commission on Ministry (COM) will recognize upcoming retirements of Rev. Ramiro Ros-Mitchell and Rev. Mark Salmon. (Scheduled for 2:00 p.m.)
- COM will also be presenting Rebecca Bryan, a candidate under care of this presbytery, to present a brief sermon and be examined for ordination. Pending this examination, Becky has been offered a call to serve as associate pastor at Forest Hills Presbyterian Church in Tampa. (Scheduled for 9:30 a.m.)
- The Commission on Preparation for Ministry will be introducing Eileen Jewell to the presbytery; Eileen made the transition from Inquirer to Candidate late last year but has not yet been introduced to the Presbytery. (Scheduled for 2:30 p.m.)
- The Coordinating Team (CT) will recommend a new position description and title for “Stated Clerk and Manager of Communication,” and the Committee on Nominations and Representation (NRC) will nominate a search committee to find and recommend a candidate for election to a three-year term (see p. 71 for CT’s report and page 73 for the proposed position description).
(
IMPORTANT
: "Scheduled for" times noted above may slip a little depending on other items of business; if you're coming for one of those, please come early!)
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Blessings,
Bill
Rev. William A. Wildhack III
Acting Stated Clerk
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Not just a docket, it's a "Docket and Order of Worship and Service"
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Click on the image of the welcome letter or
this link to download a copy of the full Packet for the August 29 Stated Meeting.
Click here if you'd like to read the welcome letter and "Docket and Order of Worship and Service"
without downloading the whole packet.
And, if you want to know more than just highlights of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance's work in 2018, you can click on
this link to download a full copy of Mission Mosaic 2018.
Click here to visit PDA's webpage.
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Next-to-the-last minute reminders
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Registration opens
(with coffee and refreshments!) at 8:15 a.m. and the meeting starts at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 29, at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Sun City Center
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One more time . . .
- Registration opens at 8:15 a.m. on Thursday, August 29, at St Andrew Presbyterian Church, 1239 Del Webb Blvd W, Sun City Center, FL 33573, so you should have plenty of time to get there and sign-in before the meeting starts at 9:00 a.m.
- It's time to assign commissioners if you haven't already. Consult this document for your church's number of Ruling Elder commissioners.
- I plan to host a brief online orientation session for first time commissioners on Monday, August 26th, at 7:30 p.m. For the live webinar introducing the August 29, 2019, Stated Meeting. Find out more about that at http://presbyteryoftampabay.com/orientation/ and plan to sign in a little before 7:30 p.m. to check your connections before the meeting starts. If you'd prefer to watch a recording of an earlier orientation session at a more convenient time, you can find a link to that on that same page.
- You can also let us know you’ll be attending by contacting Ann Marie in the Presbytery office at office@pbty.com or (813) 868-4800.
- Need an excused absence? Minister members and session commissioners who cannot attend the Presbytery meeting should request an excused absence by filling out the same online form as early as possible—but no later than the day before the meeting, please!
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A reminder from last week about the "Docket and Order of Worship and Service"
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Weaving liturgy with business at our stated meeting on August 29
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Friends,
The two most common connotations of the word “vital” imply necessity and energy. As the Presbytery of Tampa Bay continues to invite congregations, pastors, elders, deacons, and members into a deeper exploration of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Vital Congregations initiative, we are asking, in part, about the ways we are necessary in our communities and the ways we can and ought to offer our energy to God’s beloved world.
During the August 29 stated meeting of the Presbytery of Tampa Bay we will take a deeper dive into Seven Marks of Vital Congregations. Our agenda for the day will honor the importance of coming together as a worshiping body and a working body by weaving together the elements of the liturgy with the business of the day. Our liturgy will point towards the seven marks, our business will remind us of our sacred calling in all we do, and our worship will celebrate the theology we live out as Presbyterians.
At our breakout time, all will be invited to choose a discussion group based around one of the seven marks of a vital congregation, led by members of the Commission on Church Vitality, so that we all might leave with a deeper theological, scriptural, and practical understanding of this invitation to vitality.
It can sometimes be a challenge to see the ways our worship and our work are both necessities and energizing, but it is our hope and prayer that through this particular stated meeting all who attend might be nourished and empowered to be Christ’s hands and feet in the world.
If you’d like to learn a little more about the Vital Congregations initiative before our August 29 meeting, please visit their website
by clicking here. You are also encouraged to engage with the marks as a daily ritual practice on the
Presbytery’s Facebook page.
-- Libby
Rev. Elizabeth Shannon
Assoc Presbyter for Emerging Ministries
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Still important . . . and becoming more urgent. The deadline to apply is September 19, 2019!
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224th General Assembly is in Baltimore next summer. Want to go as a commissioner or Young Adult Advisory Delegate?
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In search of . . .
Commissioners and a Young Adult Advisory Delegate for the 224th General Assembly (2020) in Baltimore
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The Presbytery's Nominating and Representation Committee (NRC) needs your help in preparing a slate of commissioners for election at our
November 2019 Stated Meeting.
GA224 is now less than a year away, so it's almost past time to think about nominating someone --
or yourself -- to serve as a commissioner or Young Adult Advisory Delegate.
The deadline to apply is September 19, 2019 -- but, because you'll need an elder's endorsement AND your session's recommendation, don't wait to the last minute to decide to apply!
Links to the NRC's GA224 Commissioner/YAAD Nomination Procedure
and Application are right here :
(NOTE: BOTH THE INSTRUCTIONS AND THE APPLICATION FORM ARE IN BOTH VERSIONS OF THE FILE; YOU DON'T NEED TO LOOK FOR ANOTHER FORM ELSEWHERE ON THE PRESBYTERY WEBSITE.)
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It's also almost time for these events!
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More conversation about the Poor People's Campaign is coming up on Tuesday, August 27
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If you are interested in learning more about the
Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
nationally and in Florida, please plan to attend the next St. Petersburg conversation on Tuesday, August 27, at 9:00 a.m.
Danyelle Holmes from the PPC National Office will be with us for this one-hour meeting in the IMA Building at 2900 1st Avenue South, St. Petersburg.
We will also be meeting at Missio Dei Community on Sunday evenings, August 4 and 25, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
For more information on any of these events, please contact Doug McMahon, Director of the Center for Spiritual Life and Chaplain at Eckerd College, by email at
mcmahodh@eckerd.edu
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For more on the Poor People's Campaign and it's "Moral Agenda Based on Fundamental Rights,
click here
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You've been saving the date; now it's time to sign up --- and it's filling fast!
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Come out for a fun day of golf and help support Cedarkirk’s effort to build a new dining hall strengthening a special ministry and setting a place for all. To register,
download a form and return it to Cedarkirk or contact Julie Poulin at
campaign@cedarkirk.org for more information.
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Still looking for a new Book of Order?
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Book of Order 2019-2021 is now available!
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Amendments approved by a majority of the presbyteries took effect on June 23, 2019, one year after the 223rd General Assembly adjourned last summer and are published in the new Book of Order. A few highlights:
- G-2.0401 in the Form of Government clarifies the minimum size and makeup of a congregational nominating committee.
- W-4.0202 in the Directory for Worship reinforces welcoming children to the Lord's Supper and the need for ongoing instruction for them about its meaning and mystery.
- D-2.0203b. in the Rules of Discipline has new language clarifying the definition of sexual abuse as "contrary to the Scriptures or Constitution of the [PCUSA], and therefore an offense for purposes of these rules."
Our geographically large Presbytery makes it impractical for the Presbytery Office to coordinate larger bulk purchases and pickup/deliver arrangements, but you can save $1 per book by partnering with a neighboring congregation or two (or three) for a bulk order of 10-24, and save $1.50 each if you can get together to order 25-49.
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Remember, there's always a lot of content on the Presbytery of Tampa Bay website, with info about all the presbytery commissions and committees, resources for clerks of session, news and announcements, and more. Click the button below to start exploring!
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Deadline for submitting something to the bi-weekly eNews is
as early as possible
😉
but no later than Monday morning
the week it comes out.
(Because of the Presbytery meeting on Thursday, August 29, the next "regular" edition may not hit your inboxes until September 5.)
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Thanks for reading all the way to the end! -- Bill
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