2023 Shared Mission pledge request

The 2023 Shared Mission pledge request and Per Capita notice letter were recently mailed to the treasurer, Clerk of Session, and pastoral leader of each church. Please watch your mailbox for them, and please return the pledge card to the Presbytery office at your earliest convenience. We encourage each Session to thoughtfully consider our request. The information provided when a church returns their pledge card, no matter the response, is essential to our effective management of the presbytery’s financial resources. So, we urge treasurers, Clerks of Session, and pastoral leaders to make sure that their church has returned their pledge card to this office by January 31, 2023. If you have any questions about shared mission pledge, Per Capita, or other benevolences, please contact Rocky Poole at 304-744-7634 or treasurer@wvpresbytery.org.

2023 Per Capita rate information

The 2023 Per Capita rate will be $30.30 per member, according to the church’s membership in the most recently filed statistical report. The 2023 Per Capita was approved at the August presbytery meeting. With the total rate at $30.30 per member, the Presbytery of West Virginia will keep $18.05 and sending $9.85 and $2.40 to the General Assembly and Synod of the Trinity, respectively. Helping us understand the importance of Per Capita to our connectional church is this excellent article from Presbyterians Today, titled (coincidentally enough) “Understanding Per Capita.”

FEMA Nonprofit Security Grants available

Learn more at free webinars on Dec. 8 and 13

FEMA's Nonprofit Security Grant Program gives faith-based and nonprofit organizations, including churches, an opportunity to apply for physical and cyber security resources to help them prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks. The NSGP also seeks to integrate nonprofit preparedness activities with broader state and local preparedness efforts. Examples of congregations making their facilities more secure include surveillance equipment, physical protective measures like fences and concrete barriers, Active Shooter Training, and security training for employees or members.

The webinars, which both begin at 3 p.m., will introduce the grant program and the application process. (Each webinar will present the same content.) Advance registration is required. Click to register for Dec. 8 and for Dec. 13. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Adobe Connect meeting. Check your junk/spam folder as some email filters may redirect the attendance confirmation email there. Click here for more information and helpful resources.

Expanding Your Ministry Toolbox: How to Be a Hybrid Church

9:30-4:30 Jan. 19, 2023 on Zoom

The pandemic taught churches and their congregations that we can worship, learn, pray, and gather virtually. Today, churches are faced with a new challenge as they consider how to minister both in person and online. Churches are beginning to build the bridge between what they did, what they’re doing now, and what they will do in the future. Discover why becoming a hybrid church is about more than the addition or maintenance of a virtual worship service. Learn how to honor both parts of your congregation equally and to engage those who worship primarily online. Presenter Christen Kinard is the creator of Digital Congregations, which sits at the intersection of her desire to do meaningful work, her belief in the importance of faith communities, and her talents and experience. The cost per person for this course is $40. Register by Jan. 12; registrants will receive the Zoom link on Jan. 17. Questions? Contact Susan Sharp Campbell at susan_sharp_campbell@hotmail.com or 304-667-9428.

2023 ECCA Retreat: Gift vs. Grasp with Richard Boyce

Feb. 20-21 at St. John XXIII Pastoral Center in Charleston

This retreat is for educators, clergy, Commissioned Pastors, and Authorized Lay Preachers. Led by Richard Boyce, Associate Professor Emeritus of Preaching and Pastoral Care at Union Presbyterian Seminary, it will explore shifts in power throughout the church and society using stories from the Succession Narratives in the Hebrew scriptures as we think about getting and letting go of power and influence, and the ways these decisions reflect our experience and understanding of God. It will run from lunchtime Monday to lunchtime Tuesday. Register by Feb. 10. If you have questions, please contact Susan Sharp Campbell at 304-667-9428 or susan_sharp_campbell@hotmail.com.

Getting to Know Our Newer Pastors: Jennifer Anderson

“They asked me to preach because I was the only one there that wasn’t terrified of public speaking,” Jennifer joked. It was 2016, and her home church, the First Presbyterian Church of Whitesville, was looking for someone to do pulpit supply because their preacher, Michael Lykens, was unable to preach the next Sunday. So Jennifer preached and found that she enjoyed preaching and leading worship. Michael was not able to return, so Jennifer kept on doing pulpit supply for them. All joking aside, Jennifer had been sensing that God was calling her to ministry for many years. 

Davis & Elkins students were grateful to choose from a variety of hats and gloves provided as gifts by the Presbytery of West Virginia at their recent meeting on campus. (Photo by Tina Vial.)

Charleston First's Hope Village bazaar ends Sunday

Hope Village is in its final weekend at Charleston First Presbyterian Church, 16 Leon Sullivan Way. Featuring 17 artisans from around the world, it includes kitchenware, unique jewelry, batiked textiles, African market baskets, stone carvings, ornaments, and more. Hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today through Saturday and from the end of worship through 3 p.m. Sunday. This mission outreach features vendors who support subsistence farmers in Africa, rescue women and children from sex and human trafficking, support refugees, educate children, provide support to the only Christian college in Bethlehem, teach trades to otherwise unemployable folks, and provide living wages to the artisans.

News from the Presbytery's Treasurer

• 2023 PWV Budget
• Sending Benevolence to the Presbytery
• Board of Pensions news
• That time of year...

• Finding a Church Insurance Broker
• Minister and staff Christmas gifts
• 2022 Special Offerings

Enslow Park seeks office manager

Enslow Park Presbyterian Church in Huntington is seeking an office manager. This is a flexible full-time position. The individual must have exceptional interpersonal and organizational skills; a comprehensive functional knowledge of Microsoft Office Word and Excel; typing, editing, bookkeeping and data collection skill; and the ability to use a computer for word processing and financial accounting. Click for full job description.

Listening for Racial Understanding in Lewisburg through Dec. 10; more locations to follow

Working from the idea that personal experience may be the only thing that can open us from unconscious or conscious bias to a place of empathy and understanding, 23 people of color were paired with white partners for one-on-one conversations using active listening. Each conversation was recorded and portrayed by an artist. From there, an exhibit of these pieces is now traveling to venues across the state; it is at the Greenbrier Historical Society's North House in Lewisburg through Dec. 10. The project was developed by Morgantown First Presbyterian members Eve Faulkes and Susan Eason, a retired WVU Professor of Graphic Design and a former Christian Education Director respectively, with financial support from the church. Click here for more information.

Apply for a PHS Heritage Preservation Grant by Dec. 31

Each year, the Presbyterian Historical Society offers Heritage Preservation Grants to PC(USA) congregations for up to $500 of free digitization services. The deadline to apply for this year's grant is Dec. 31.

Getting to Know Our Newer Pastors: Rev. Steve Peters

Perhaps it is easier to see the hand of God when things happen suddenly and unexpectantly. Yet, we can also see the hand of God when things are moving more slowly but surely. Steve became acquainted with Beechwood Presbyterian Church through his wife, Tina, who has served as their secretary for several years now. When the church found out Steve was ordained, they ask him to fill the pulpit while their pastor was on vacation. Over time, Steve became a regular pulpit supply for when the pastor was away. Shortly after the former pastor, Rev. Rick Johnson, retired, the church asked Steve to be their regular Sunday preacher. That was in May 2021. In April 2022, Steve was asked to be their Stated Supply Pastor. He agreed. This new relationship was officially recognized with a special service in July 2022.