Your Weekly News & Updates
From Rachel Yates, Presbytery Executive
LOOKING FOR HOPE AMONG THE DEAD
Side-by-side, two executions are relived this week in agonizing detail:  the death of one fully human and fully God, perfect; the other fully human, a man who loved God, imperfect.  We hear again the testimony of witnesses before a tribunal intended to ensure justice, describing torture and suffocation:  one by hanging on a cross; one by the force of a knee across his neck.  Their lives were taken violently, with force and taunting.  For both, their execution came under the sanction of the state.  In these two executions, we hear the cry of a...(read more)
Presbytery Pulse
SERVICES FOR HOLY WEEK
Maundy Thursday
The congregations of Heritage, Greenfield Avenue, and Forest Park invite you to their Maundy Thursday service: https://youtu.be/EjCGChRT-j4. The liturgy is based on John 13 with portions adapted from the Again & Again series Maundy Thursday service by Rev. Sarah Are.

Living Hope Presbyterian Church will be holding a Maundy Thursday service live via Zoom on Thursday, April 1st at 6:30pm CDT. If you would like access to the Zoom link, please contact the church at office@livinghopepcusa.org or pastor@livinghopepcusa.org.


Good Friday
On at 3:00 pm CST, musicians and pastors will offer a gift to the church: An online service, hosted by the Presbyterian Association of Musicians and organized by the PCUSA office of Theology and Worship.

Participants from across the Milwaukee Presbytery also offer a special Good Friday service of the stations of the cross. The service is a powerful complement to our Matthew 25 focus on criminal justice.
Easter Sunday
A special Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Easter service is now available for streaming or download at www.pcusa.org.

For the second year in a row, the PC(USA) is offering an online Easter service in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As churches continue to meet virtually, church leaders wanted to provide opportunities for Presbyterians to worship in their own homes.
PRESBYTERY OF MILWAUKEE STATEMENT ON ANTI-AAPI VIOLENCE
On March 25, 2021, Reverend Nicole Farley, Presbytery Moderator, Reverend Dr. Christian Boyd, Presbytery Stated Clerk, and Rachel Yates, Presbytery Executive, released the following Statement on Anti-AAPI Violence:

We, the Presbytery of Milwaukee, lament for all who were killed in the shootings on Tuesday, March 16, in Atlanta, Georgia. We grieve with all those who are left to grieve the lives taken.

We grieve, too, that the murders in Atlanta have multiplied the already heavy communal trauma and pain of the Asian American / Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, nationwide and within our churches.

We regret that it has taken such events to prompt us to speak in support and defense of our AAPI siblings, despite more than 3,800 hate incidents reported against the AAPI community since the beginning of the pandemic, with many more unreported incidents suspected. We declare as false any association between AAPI persons and the pandemic.

To our AAPI siblings, our congregations and communities are richer and our lives are more whole because you are in them. We are no longer asleep and we stand and act, awake, with you.

We call on all of our faith communities to condemn anti-AAPI violence, in word and in deed, and to seek ways to support and show up for the AAPI community. To help in your work, a list of resources is attached.

Today, we cry, “How long, O Lord?” and “Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.” Tomorrow, we persist in co-creating a more just world.

UPCOMING PRESBYTERY CLOSURES
The Presbytery Office will be closed Friday, April 2, and Monday, April 5, in observance of the Easter holiday. Presbytery staff will resume normal working hours on Tuesday, April 6.
PRESBYTERY GATHERING HIGHLIGHTS
Weren't able to make it to the last Presbytery Gathering, but interested in the good work happening in the Presbytery? Checkout the Presbytery Gathering Highlights, a two-page synopsis of the March 9, 2021 Presbytery Gathering.

Find information about upcoming Presbytery Gatherings here.
CELEBRATING THE INSTALLATION OF THE REV. KIM TRIMBOLI AT FOREST PARK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Dear friends of the Milwaukee Presbytery, as the new moderator of the Presbytery, I would like to share with you that on Sunday, April 11, at 2:00 PM, we will celebrate the installation of the Rev. Kim Trimboli at Forest Park in New Berlin. I hope you can join us for this service of worship of the presbytery, from the comfort of your home. 
  
The Zoom link will be shared closer to the date. Whether you are able to Zoom in or not, you are invited to lift up prayers for Kim and the Forest Park congregation at 2:00 PM on April 11, when a small Commission of the Presbytery and members of the congregation will be gathered for the installation. And, if you didn’t already do so for our first attempt (waylaid by COVID-19), you are also invited to send notes/cards of welcome or find other creative ways to reach out to Kim and friends at Forest Park in celebration.

Rev. Nicole Farley, moderator, Milwaukee Presbytery (she/her/hers)
REV. KAREN HAGEN DELIVERS OPENING PRAYER FOR WI LEGISLATURE
Rev. Karen Hagen (Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church) was given the honor of offering the opening prayer for the Wisconsin legislature Tuesday, March 24, 2021. Her reflective prayer follows:
 
There’s a difference between preaching and praying.  
 

So in preparation for praying, let’s reflect together for a moment….like we are doing at Tippe Church…reflect on what we’ve each learned about ourselves this year…learned about what it means...(READ MORE)
Matthew 25: I was in prison and you came to visit me...
TIME: THE KALIEF BROWDER STORY LUNCH DISCUSSION
As part of our Matthew 25 commitment to criminal justice reform, for four weeks, members of your Presbytery Planning Commission will lead lunch-time discussion on episodes of Time: The Kalief Browder Story, beginning on April 9 and continuing through April 30. Discussions will begin at noon.
  
To participate, watch episode 1 before April 9, episode 2 before April 16, episode 3 before April 23, and episode 4 before April 30. The series is streaming on Netflix. (If you don't have access to Netflix but wish to participate, contact the office and we will try to assist.) Then, come for a guided discussion about each episode. 
  
Also, please be sure to register at the link below in order to be sent the Zoom link.
THREE CHURCHES SHARE THEIR STORIES OF HOUSING GOD'S CHILDREN
Three PC(USA) pastors -- the Rev. Jake Medcalf, lead pastor and head of staff at First Presbyterian Church of Hayward in Castro Valley, California; the Rev. Brian Hamilton, co-pastor (with his wife, the Rev. Ruth Hamilton) of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C.; and the Rev. Jon Brown, pastor of Old Bergen Church in Jersey City, New Jersey -- who serve congregations that have made significant strides helping to provide their neighbors with safe and affordable housing formed the centerpiece of a recent national Matthew 25 webinar.

Read about how their congregations and communities worked together to begin to bring about needed change in the local housing market.
JOSHUA GLOVER JUSTICE FUND PANEL DISCUSSION
Were you unable to attend the recent panel discussion with team members from the Joshua Glover Justice Fund? You can learn more about the cash bail system, the disproportionate impacts of cash bail on people with lower incomes and People of Color, and how we, as people of faith, can take action to address the specific injustices in criminal justice around this issue by viewing the recording of the March 20th discussion.

The Racine, Wisconsin, based Joshua Glover Justice Fund was established in 2021 and exists to provide bail support, primarily for those incarcerated at the Racine County Jail. For the past two months, the JGJF has been in its initial fundraising phase and has been raising enough funds to effectively operate. This month, March of 2021, it will go live with accepting requests for bail support and will begin the work of releasing people from the Racine County Jail who otherwise simply can't afford to get out.
YOUNG, PROUD, AND SUNG-JEE: A CHILDREN'S BOOK ON FIGHTING ANTI-ASIAN RACISM DURING COVID-19
The purpose of Young, Proud, and Sung-Jee is to provide a resource to help generate meaningful discussions between adults and children about anti-Asian racism. An incident involving anti-Asian racism is directly introduced in the story of this book. The book is available now free to download
COVID-19 News
INVITATION TO THINK ABOUT THE CHURCH AS IT EMERGES FROM COVID-19
The University of Dubuque Theological Seminary is offering Not Going Back to the Old Normal, a series of six hour-long workshops April 15-17. The Workshops each try to answer the question, "What comes next for the church?" They will help pastors and church leaders to reflect, brainstorm, and plan for emerging from the pandemic beyond returning to in-person worship. Participants may attend the entire event or pick and choose workshops that are relevant in there church. The event is free and open to all, but participants must register. Please note on the event and registration websites that workshops are in Central Time.
HOW TO BE A HYBRID CHURCH
As we emerge from the pandemic, there is a possibility we will continue worship virtually for a time, or possibly long-term. This series by Union Presbyterian Seminary helps us explore how to be hybrid church.  https://www.upsem.edu/event/online-workshop-how-to-be-a-hybrid-church/
WHERE TWO OR MORE ARE VACCINATED: ADVICE FOR CHURCHES IN 2021
After one year of limited in-person gatherings or online programming, church congregants—like the rest of society—feel pandemic fatigue. There is much hope that the availability of COVID-19 vaccines will allow our society and churches to return to normal. But a return to normalcy will take time.

During this transition period in the US, how should church leaders decide on in-person gatherings for their churches? Because vaccination will proceed at different rates in different communities and vaccination of church congregants will vary even among churches within the same community, there is no single approach to regathering.
A SHOT OF HOPE
As we begin the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are reasons for hope, including vaccines approved for emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Yet even 95% efficacy for a vaccinated individual means that, statistically, 19 out of 20 people are effectively covered against becoming seriously ill from coronavirus, but 1 in 20 is not.

News from the Denomination
SYNOD SCHOOL, JULY 25-30, 2021
A beloved summer tradition returns this year: the Synod of Lakes and Prairies Synod School! This is a learning and personal enrichment experience designed for laity and clergy and for individuals and families. More than 60 different classes will be offered on a variety of topics, from Bible study to bird watching, and from discipleship to tie-dye, as well as multiple opportunities for worship, fellowship and recreation. There are also programs for children and youth.

Synod School may be held in-person (at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa), virtually, or in a hybrid format. For the most up-to-date information, or to register beginning April 1st, visit http://www.lakesandprairies.org/SynodSchool.
WALKING THE PATH OF RECOVERY WITH THE PSALMS
Inspired by his own journey, Jeff Dafler offers his new daily devotional “Psobriety: A Journey of Recovery through the Psalms” to those struggling with alcohol and substance abuse. “These beautiful, stirring songs of faith bolstered my resolve, channeled my anguish, and comforted me,” Dafler writes in the introduction.

This daily devotional features the beloved, comforting words of all 150 psalms to encourage and support those in recovery. Readers will find that these ancient poems give voice to the full array of human emotion, seeking the mercy and guidance of a Higher Power. Along the way, Dafler shares about his own journey to sobriety, as well as wisdom from 12-step programs, to inspire others walking the brave path of recovery. (READ MORE)
Have Some Fun In '21!
MAKING ART WITH ADWOA: CREATING IN COLOR
Thursday, April 8, 3-4 pm
Join local artist, Adwoa Asentu, to learn how to create art using different mediums, including sketching in pencil, using mixed media, and drawing in color. Learn how to create a work of art based on the illustrations in a children's picture book that will be shared at the beginning of the program. Discuss Hair Love written by Matthew Cherry and illustrated by Vashti Harrison and create a colorful work of art. After registering, you will receive an email with a link and a phone number to join the program. 
Supplies needed: 4 sheets of white paper, scissors, glue, and your favorite crayons, markers, colored pencils, or watercolors).
MEET THE FURRY PIGS THAT LOOK LIKE SHEEP AND ACT LIKE DOGS
If you could combine three animals into one, which ones would you pick? A pig, a sheep, and a dog? Well, there's no need to camp outside of the geneticist cloner's office any longer, because the Mangalitsa pig fits the bill! Its curly hair give it a sheep-like appearance, and some breeders say it's as good natured as a dog. But wait, there's more.
Hot Links
Grapevine - Presbyterian Women's Newsletter
Keeping In Touch - Newsletter from the Synod of Lakes and Prairies 
Life in the Labyrinth - Inspirational Website by Michelle Henrichs
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance - Current Information
The Sower - February 2021 Newsletter for the Presbyterian Women in the Synod of Lakes and Prairies
UCCI Newsletter - December 2020 Newsletter from United Church Camps, Inc.
Employment Opportunities
Future Presbytery Gathering Dates



  • SATURDAY, May 22, 2021
  • WEDNESDAY, September 22, 2021
  • THURSDAY, November 18, 2021 

Presbytery of Milwaukee
414-292-2740