Apply now to be part of the 2024 General Assembly

Application deadline: Sept. 29

The 226th General Assembly will hold committee meetings online June 25-27, 2024, and the Plenary Business Meeting in person in Salt Lake City, Utah, June 29-July 4, 2024. The Committee on Representation is  now accepting applications for Minister of Word and Sacrament and Ruling Elder Commissioners, as well as Young Adult Advisory Delegates (YAADs). Ruling Elder and YAAD applications require a Session endorsement. Click here for more information, including application forms.

News from the Presbytery's Treasurer

• Day of Learning - Stewardship: Back to Basics
• Board of Pensions: New Medicare Advantage plan replaces Medicare Supplement
• Church Financial Leadership Grants available
• Selecting Board of Pensions benefits for 2024

• Assets & Liabilities: Manage Your Church’s Balance Sheet
• Stewardship Kaleidoscope 2023
• 2023 Special Offerings

Death of John Goodman

John R. Goodman, the former Stated Clerk of the Presbytery, passed away the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 8. He was living in Massanetta, VA. John began as Stated Clerk on Sept. 1, 1993. Arrangements are pending, and we will share service details as soon as they are known.

Getting to know our newer pastors: Rev. Steve Elderbrock

Rev. Steve Elderbrock has served three other Presbyterian churches before coming to Bridgeport. However, this is the first time he has been interviewing and seeking a new call since he and his wife Deb were married on Oct. 22, 2022. This is Steve’s first marriage, and he noted that it was a different experience to be interviewing for a position with a wife. Part of what attracted him to the Bridgeport congregation was the wonderful way that the PNC included Deb and any concerns she might have in the process. Steve says the PNC was positive and upbeat about the church but also very open about who the church was and its history. Steve says that he is “too old to be pretending that I am someone I am not.” He, therefore, found the lack of pretense on the part of the PNC very refreshing.

Dialog sermon in West Virginia allows Presbyterian, Muslim pastors to share pulpit

By Mike Givler, Synod of the Trinity

Davis Memorial Presbyterian Church in Gassaway, WV, has an average attendance on Sunday mornings of 11. However, don’t let the size of this small, rural congregation fool you because this worshiping community is doing and experiencing great things. In late June, the Rev. James Riggs, a United Methodist pastor who is a temporary member of the Presbytery of West Virginia who is filling the pulpit these days at Davis Memorial, invited a leader from the Islamic Association of West Virginia to participate in a dialog sermon with him centered on the Biblical story of Hagar and Ishmael. This discussion provided different viewpoints for the congregation to hear and reflect on surrounding this conflictual passage.

Coach training opportunities

Loaves & Fishes Coach Training, a certified coaching program for organizations, is offering three upcoming trainings to become a coach and develop your coaching. The Presbytery has previously contracted with Loaves & Fishes to provide introductory coach training to a group of Presbytery-appointed moderators and mentors. Coach Training, to become a coach, begins Oct. 16-18 and runs through May 6-8. Mentor Coaching, to develop your coaching, is 2-4 p.m. Oct. 4 and 11 and Jan. 3; register here, and if more than 10 people sign up, a second cohort will be formed. Also to develop your coaching, there is Team Coach Training Continuing Education, a 10-hour course offered in 2-hour blocks once a month for five months (October through February) that explores the different aspects of Team Coaching. Additionally, Loaves & Fishes will lead Columbia Theological Seminary's Coaching Institute starting this fall.

Seeking Presbyterian Men's groups

The Synod Council of Presbyterian Men seeks a representative from the Presbytery to serve. Time involvement is a single annual meeting, normally the third Saturday in October, lasting approximately 90 minutes on Zoom. If your church has a Presbyterian Men's group and is interested in this opportunity, please contact Raymond Why (pjgwhy@gmail.com) with the name and contact information of your interested individual.

SAVE THE DATE

2023 Small Church Conference

This year's Small Church Conference will take place on Saturday, Oct. 7, at Elk Hills Presbyterian Church, 109 Church Rd., Charleston, WV 25302. The theme is Ministry in the Wilderness. Stay tuned to future newsletters for more information.