Elder Kathleen Rowe, Commissioned Ruling Elder of Tawas, who is recovering from major hand surgery.

The Rev. Peter Russell, Honorably Retired, who is residing at Abbey Park in Grand Blanc.

Cathy Chang and family serving in the Philippines.

Rev. Dawn Russell (2/9) - Pastor of Linden

Rev. Larry McMellen (2/12) - Honorably Retired

Rev. Cathy Chang (2/17) - 15 Years - Mission Co-Worker serving in the Philippines

Rev. Mary Anne Evans-Justin (2/25) - Honorably Retired

Rev. Chris Moody (2/25) - Member-At-Large

Elder Liz Long (3/5) - 10 Years - Commissioned Ruling Elder of Ithaca-Lafayette

Rev. Karen Blatt (3/12) - Honorably Retired

Rev. Jamie Milton (3/18) - Pastor of Bay City-Westminster

The Rev. Hakbae Moon (3/19) - 20 Years - Pastor of Flint-Unity

Elder Mark Garavaglia (3/24) - Commissioned Ruling Elder of Sandusky and Yale-First

Rev. Linda Graham (3/25) - Temporary Supply of Davison-St. Andrews

Rev. Janice Chambers (3/29) - Honorably Retired and Pastor Emerita of Tawas-Tawas-Area

We are very excited to have two new staff members onboard! The Rev. Brenna Overland and the Rev. Dr. Joseph Novak joined us on February 15th. They are the new Pastors To Pastors. We will meet them in their new roles at the March 4th presbytery meeting. Both will continue to still serve their congregations as full-time heads of staff, but we wasted no time in putting them to work here by asking them to write the column for this week's Bi-Weekly Brief. Welcome to the staff Brenna and Joseph!

Over the years I (Brenna) have learned that, for me, yoga is not relaxing. Instead, it basically comes down to putting myself into a bunch of uncomfortable positions and learning to breathe through it. It is an exercise in physical and mental endurance.

 

Far too often, those of us in pastoral positions find that examples like these is how our calling as clergy and CRE’s can feel at times; like an ongoing exercise of mental, emotional, and physical endurance.

 

For me (Joseph), training for and running my first marathon last year showed me the limits of what my human body can handle. All was going well until I was about five miles to the finish and my leg muscles began cramping up severely. As a result, I had to walk, weeping for exhaustion, to the finish line well past my target time. At first, I felt like a failure because I didn’t make my goal. A runner-friend would later remind me that my identity as a runner isn’t wrapped up in how fast I finish races. “It’s the running that makes you a runner, not the finish times,” he said.

 

In the midst of our pastoral vocations, we can quickly forget that while God has called us to ministry - God also first calls us beloved children. It is easy to stop

believing that our happiness, our well being, our thriving as humans matters just as much as the happiness and thriving of the people we serve.

 

That is why we are so honored to begin our new role as Pastors to (for) the Pastors of Lake Huron Presbytery. Both of us know what it is to be a caregiver in need of care. To experience deep sorrow, and wonder who is there to care about us as people first, regardless of our call.

 

Both of us have long held a passion for serving our fellow clergy and CRE’s. We come to this role with excitement and humility, looking forward to finding ways to connect with you and support you in the ways that make you feel valued and heard.

 

Over the next few months you will hear more about our dream and vision for this role; but in the end our vision only matters as much as it meets the felt needs of those serving in pastoral roles in this presbytery.

 

We are here to listen to you, to hear you; so that we can serve you better and hopefully make your time in ministry not a practice in endurance and surviving, but a season of finding joy and thriving.

 

We can’t wait to connect with you, and in the meantime, we offer this prayer to all from Every Moment Holy: 

 

Meet me, O Christ, in the stillness of the morning. Move me, O Spirit, to quiet my heart.

Mend me, O Father, from yesterday’s harm.

 

From the discord of yesterday, resurrect my peace. From the discouragement of yesterday, resurrect my hope.

From the weariness of yesterday, resurrect my strength.

From the doubts of yesterday, resurrect my faith. From the wounds of yesterday, resurrect my love.

 

Let me enter this new day,

aware of my need,

and awake to your grace, O Lord.

This is a Zoom only meeting and as always, pre-registration is required. Link to register is with the meeting documents.

Thank you to all the Clerks of Sessions and others who worked so hard at getting this year's Annual Statistics compiled and entered. We appreciate your faithful service!

While we have had a (thankfully) mild winter so far, we have also not quite made it to spring just yet. As a reminder, the Presbytery Office will be closed when the Saginaw Township Schools are closed due to the weather. Our main voice mail and Facebook page will also indicate when we are closed.

The McCabe Charitable Foundation Scholarship assists Jewish or Presbyterian residents of Bay, Saginaw, or Midland counties in Michigan who are enrolled or planning to enroll in undergraduate studies at Delta Community College or Saginaw Valley State University.

Summer Service Learning Opportunity: Incoming high school through incoming first-year college students are invited to experience a week of community engagement with Alma College's Plaid Serves Camp! We'll spend the week learning about different levels of community service and organizing. Throughout the camp, we'll speak with and work alongside volunteers, organization directors, grant writers and government officials. Contact Alissa Davis (davisac@alma.edu or 989-463-7996) with any questions or sign up at the link below.

The Synod’s overarching theme is “In our Synod, we’ll try anything to equip leaders who attend to God’s creative, emerging future.” Working toward this goal, we offer regular equipping opportunities, beyond our monthly workshops to equip preachers. We are grateful for each of our partners in providing these ministries.