VOLUME V NUMBER 48
December 4, 2019
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Presbytery Pledge
Waiting During Advent: Notes in Transition

O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,
    so that the mountains would quake at your presence
-[Isaiah 64:1]


Advent, we remind ourselves, is a time when we wait. The prophets pointed people who lived in darkness toward hope. They spoke of light shining in darkness as if it had already happened, even though the people still longed for fulfillment (you who have studied Hebrew remember those verbs that can be past or future). We know that Jesus has been born of Mary, and we know the story, but we still long for something more, something we have not yet seen. Linger in Advent. 

I have written elsewhere that, serving a congregation, I sometimes found the distinctive themes of the season a hard sell, the more so when Christmas decorations went up at Wal-Mart, oh, back in September, and the all-Christmas-all-the-time radio stations started playing "Silver Bells" the day after Halloween. I have never been as as strict as a proper Episcopalian, but I found value in singing "Savior of the Nations, Come" and lighting the candles on the wreath, one more each Sunday, for four weeks, before "Silent Night." 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, by then a captive, wrote, "A prison cell like this is a good analogy for Advent. One waits, hopes, does this or that - ultimately negligible things - the door is locked and can only be opened from the outside."

Congregations across Salem Presbytery are singing "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" and beginning to light candles on Advent wreaths. You are engaged in ministry in the busiest time of the church's life, and sometimes it feels like a frenzy. We who serve on your staff have come to realize this is a season when things slow in mid-council ministry. Please know that we remember you in our prayers. We pray that you might wait and enjoy the anticipation as you lead congregations in looking toward Christmas. Take such time along the way as you can to care for yourselves as you lead and serve others too. 

In Advent hope,

Steve Scott
Transitional General Presbyter
We Grow In Support of Salem Presbytery

Ministry Leaders and Pastors,

Thank you for sharing your appreciation for Salem Presbytery and Christian Stewardship at the last Presbytery Meeting.  You shared some great stories and ideas.  It was so inspiring to hear how Salem Presbytery had reached out and helped each congregation. We even shared an abundance of leftover Halloween candy! Most importantly you rekindled for us all energy and passion for the shared ministry that is Salem Presbytery.

We also asked something monumental of you. We asked for each one of our churches to come together and make up the difference in our budget for 2019. We are asking for $120,000.00 that we had to pull from reserves above the planned budget. For some congregations, that means catching up on your pledges or your regular annual giving. For others, it means making an additional gift here at the end of the year. For some congregations, it is simply a request to give anything at all. At the meeting, we asked for you to think of a number, pray about it, and to write it down to take home with you. That was the easy part. 

The hard part comes next. Now, we are challenging you to talk to your pastors and your church leadership about that number. We are asking for you to be bold enough to ask them to help Salem Presbytery. We want you to share some of the stories you heard and some of the great ideas lifted up during the meeting. Try our strategy! Have the whole church spend a few minutes reflecting on the ways the Presbytery has made a difference in your church. Invite your members to make an extra gift in honor of your pastor. Find ways to get more members involved in the work of the presbytery. Ask for matching donors to support Presbytery's mission. Find a way to do it differently than simply asking those faithful finance volunteers to figure out how to do more than the budget would ever allow. Find a way! 

And the good news is if you're having trouble finding that way, you now have Salem's Stewardship Committee to help. Feel free to call on us. (Follow the links below to email.)

Kim Priddy, Sedgefield (Committee Co-chair)
Kyle Goodman, Alamance (Committee Co-chair)
Ken Broman-Fulks, High Point First
Myles Fish, Greensboro First
Bill Hoyle, Clemmons
Jeff Sockwell, Shallowford
Stephanie Williams, Burlington First



Inlighten Your Congregation?

Consider taking advantage of Inlighten Films for use in worship or educational activities. Produced by award-winning filmmakers, they are based on the lectionary, with more being added to the library all the time. The first five churches in Salem to subscribe will receive a 50% discount. See the link to Inlighten Films and the linked brochure as well. 

Salem Online Resources

Take advantage of this handy resource, to which you have access through the Salem Presbytery website. As our staff grows smaller, and as fewer are available to answer the phone, you will find this directory easier to use (password = clemmons3950) than calling the presbytery to get phone numbers and email addresses of committee members or others you want to be in touch with. If using a list you received an email that bounces back, check the directory.

Click HERE for the 
2019 Prayer Calendar
December Prayers for:

SEND Mission Committee
Diane Givens-Moffett, President and Executive Director of Presbyterian Mission Agency
Elkin
Alamance - Greensboro
First Presbyterian - High Point
Westminster - Greensboro

Mission Leaders In Salem Presbytery

Salem Presbytery is compiling a list of "Mission Leaders" in each of our congregations. We seek contact information for mission committee chairs, mission coordinators (staff or volunteer), or those excited about the mission of the church. Click the link below to add your info. 
 
Add Your Information Here
Become a Peace and Justice Church!

Become and Peace and Justice church! Let your Salem Presbytery Peace and Justice Task Force help, inspire, equip, and send you on a journey. Contact Frank Dew at the link below.
 
Email Frank Dew
2019 Prayer Calendar

Click the link below for the 2019 Prayer Calendar for Congregations and Ministries of Salem Presbytery.

Other Special Events

Are you hosting a special event *(concert, speaker, training, etc.) at a time OTHER than on Sunday morning worship? Submit your event through the link below to be included on our SPECIAL EVENTS Calendar.

Meeting Calendar Available

Don't forget to use our Calendar of Meetings for planning your 2019 monthly agenda. 

Hunger Action

Become a Hunger Action Congregation! Check the links below for more info.
Church Anniversaries

If your congregation is celebrating a significant anniversary (25, 50, 75, 100, etc.), please let the presbytery office know.
Board of Pensions

Click below for Board Bulletin - Fall 2019

  Board Bulletin
Board of Pensions Call to Health

Click the link below to join the Board of Pensions Call to Health.

Board of Pensions Call to Health
PCUSA News and Announcements

Click below for the latest news and announcements from the PCUSA.

PCUSA News
Salem Presbytery | PO Box 1753, 3950 Clemmons Rd., Clemmons NC 27012
336.766.3393 | Email | Website
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