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A weekly newsletter from the Presbytery of Minnesota Valleys
June 23, 2021
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We are congregations who seek to be a collective expression of the Body of Christ, joyfully participating in Christ's ongoing life and work. "Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing."
(I Thessalonians 5:11)
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Congregation of the Week of June 27 - July 3
First Presbyterian Church of Kasota
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We are the church of Kasota; embracing God and God's Word through worship, fellowship, service and helping our community.
Session Elders and Committees are:
Trustees: Jeff Gunderson and Brad Wobbrock
Music & Worship: Donna Gomez, Vacancy
Christian Education: Kathy Wobbrock and Ryan Gunderson
Outreach & Spiritual Life: Jeannette Baker and Kathy Sondergaard
Moderator: Rev. Hank Campbell
Clerk of Session: Marleen Goettl
Church Secretary/Treasurer: Jess Gunderson
Prayers for our joint Pastor Nominating Committee (we yoked with Lake Crystal to search for a Pastor), for healing, peace and justice in our communities. For our recent school graduates, our Vacation Bible School Program being held this week, our workplaces, livelihoods for all, and for peace in the world.
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Karen Lange is normally available Monday through Friday from 7:30 - 3:30, checking emails until 4:00 or 5:00 (except after 2:00 on Thursday afternoons for banking).
Karen will be out of the office on Friday, June 25.
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Presbytery Office Moving
New mailing address:
Presbytery of Minnesota Valleys
PO Box 431
Kerkhoven MN 56252
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Filming and Recording Worship Services
Over the last year and a half, many churches have gone public on the internet. Whether you are showing your sermons live or recording them and publishing later, it might be important to let people know. Most in your congregations already know what is going on, but visitors may not. It might be wise to include an announcement in your bulletin or on your screen at the beginning of worship to let everyone know that they could end up being internet sensations. I especially think of our young ones who are up front, cute and funny during children's sermons.
Possible wording: Notice of Filming: Worship services are filmed and recorded. (include where they will appear: Church website, Facebook, YouTube, etc.) While most of the footage will feature worship leaders, video of the congregation may also appear. Children during children's sermons may be seen. If you have concerns, please contact:_______
Kathy Terpstra
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The Academy Offers Hope for the Future
Many churches across America, including here in Minnesota, are finding it difficult to find and/or afford a full-time ordained pastor. Several churches, however, are finding what might even be a better solution: Commissioned Ruling Elders (CREs). CREs are commissioned by the Presbytery to fulfill the role of a pastor for a specific ministry or congregation.
The Presbytery is responsible for training CREs and the Presbytery of the Minnesota, working with the Synod, have developed The Academy. The Academy is a series of 11 courses over two years, designed to develop and equip ruling elders to serve in the Presbytery.
However, these classes are not limited to people in the process of becoming a CRE. They are open to anyone who wants to explore becoming a CRE, current CREs seeking continuing education, or any member of the Presbytery who would like to go deeper in their faith journey or strengthen their leadership skills.
Two classes will be offered during Synod School: “Introduction to New Testament,” taught by Rev. Dr. Sarah Henrich, a retired professor of New Testament from Luther Seminary, and “Introduction to Spiritual Formation,” taught by Dr. Gary Neal Hansen, author of “Kneeling with Giants,” and “Love Your Bible: Finding Your Way to the Presence of God with a 12th Century Monk.”
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Transitional Ministry Education for All Pastors—A message from TMEC (Transitional Ministry Education Consortium)
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From Transformation & Development
The Commission on Transformation and Development is working to make sure we are serving you and your churches the best we can in this next year.
The Commission on Congregational Transformation and Development exists to resource congregations. We have identified six critical areas: discipleship, evangelism, mission, spiritual leadership, stewardship and worship. Please feel free to contact any of the members of the Commission on Congregational Transformation and Development as to what might be areas that you may be seeking assistance with locating valuable resources. Those currently serving on the Commission on Congregational Transformation and Development are: Randy Knuth, chair, Anne Veldhuisen, Michael Hartwell, Darlene Scherbing, Barb Wawrzyniak, Lindsay Jacaruso, Rollin Haynes and Steve Anderson. Please let us know how we can come alongside of your congregation. Please contact Randy Knuth, the chair, at 712-540-8243 or via email at knuthr758@gmail.com.
Having a difficult time finding pulpit supply? Have you considered a virtual sermon?
A Sermon for Every Sunday ( asermonforeverysunday.com) is a website that provides lectionary-based video sermons by America’s best preachers for use in worship, bible study, small groups, Sunday school classes, or individual use. All you do is push the button. If you have a computer and a projector, these professionally recorded sermons can be downloaded and viewed on Sunday mornings. The site features nationally known preachers from multiple denominations. Although donations are accepted, the sermons are free. Check out asermonforeverysunday.com.
Technology Grant
Thanks to the gracious generosity of the Budget and Finance Committee, we are now able to offer technology grants up $750.00 each year, not to exceed ½ of the cost of the total project. So, the total project will have to be over $1500 in order to receive that amount. This is effective May 27, 2021. Again, thanks to the Budget and Finance for graciously increasing these funds that churches may apply for in regards to technology upgrades or new projects. Please use the new form which is specific to the Technology Grant.
The above resources are shared by the Commission on Congregational Transformation and Development
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Registration links
Synod School July 25-30
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Presbytery of Minnesota Valleys
FY22 ACPE Extended Unit Program
VA Midwest Health Care Network (VISN 23) ACPE System (St. Cloud VA Hospital)
We are in a Veteran Administration hospital setting in Saint Cloud. We serve veterans of all ages, sexual orientation, ethnicities, and religious/spiritual preferences. We have long-term care, mental health and addictions, women’s issues, out-patient medical services, and a host of other services for veterans. What is unique about a VA hospital is that it serves our veterans who have served our country in war and in peace time. One experiences the stories of veterans through their military and civilian lives, hears about and has contact with families, works with the interdisciplinary team as a team member, and deals with crises as they arise. Obviously, one brings one’s own life experiences into the pastoral encounter as well. In CPE, one will work to gain self-awareness and then how to use that in ministry to help build the bridge between oneself and others in ministry. Our program will use family systems theories and other theories of human and faith development, theories on aging, grief, etc.
Rev. Dan Duggan is a new member of the Minnesota Valleys Presbytery and lives in St. Cloud.
St. Cloud VA FY22 CPE Extended Unit Program
October 12-2021-April 22, 2022
- Group time: Tuesday, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
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Ministry time: An additional 12 hours per week, Monday-Friday, of which 4 hours per week need to be done at St. Cloud VA Hospital, and the remaining 8 hours per week can be spent in one’s own ministry setting. One may do all of their required ministry hours at the VA if desired. Ministry hours are scheduled at student’s convenience.
- One worship commitment on a Sunday
For further information contact Dan Duggan at the information below:
Rev. Daniel R. Duggan, M.Div., BCC, ACPE Certified Educator
Chaplain, ACPE Certified Educator
St. Cloud VA HCS
4801 Veterans Drive
St. Cloud, MN 56303
320-255-6480 x7543
FAX: 320-202-2309
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Matthew 25: The theology of congregational vitality
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God’s gifts of Word and Sacrament establish and equip the church as the body of Christ in the world. The mission of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church flows from baptism, is nourished at the Lord’s Supper, and serves to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to all.
Worshiping communities experiencing congregational vitality will find themselves following Jesus into places of injustice and struggle bearing light and hope, demonstrating love and mercy, and working faithfully for justice and peace. Their efforts will be sustained by personal and congregational patterns and practices of prayer and worship, learning and reflection. They will be stewards of God’s abundant gifts in service to God’s children here and everywhere. They will demonstrate to the world God’s promises and life-giving power in this age and the world to come.
Scriptures for study and reflection
Matthew 25:31–46
Acts 2:42–47
John 4:1–41
John 13: 2–17
Isaiah 6:1–13
Acts 6:1–7
2 Corinthians 5:11–21
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Prayer List
- For Rev. Mark Chamberlain, retired pastor, Willmar
- For Rev. Bob Bartlett, First Presbyterian Churches of Brewster & Round Lake
- For Rev. Michael Roys, retired pastor, Winnebago
- Pray for our brothers and sisters in the Occidente Presbytery of Guatemala - for their health, safety, and recovery from the effects of the Covid pandemic
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Pastoral Leadership Opportunities
First Presbyterian Church, Lake Crystal; First Presbyterian Church, Kasota - Pastor, yoked parish
Maine Presbyterian Church, rural Underwood - Solo Pastor
Faith Presbyterian Church, Silver Lake - Solo Pastor
First Presbyterian Church, Slayton - Pastor
Harrison Presbyterian Church, rural Spicer - Pastor, yoked parish
First Presbyterian Church, Winnebago - Interim Pastor
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Women Church Leaders’ Retreat
Women’s Leadership in the Church: Ongoing Challenges and Unspoken Joys
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A retreat for women clergy and women working on staff in churches, led by the Reverend Dr. Karoline Lewis. Based on her books, SHE: Five Keys to Unlock the Power of Ministry and EMBODY: Five Keys to Leading With Integrity, Karoline will guide participants in discussing the particular opportunities and obstacles faced by women church leaders. How can we navigate lingering sexism and patriarchy as we return to a new normal? How can we be replenished and empowered for ministry? This retreat will focus on theological issues and practical strategies to embolden authentic and embodied leadership in the church today. Rev. Dr. Karoline Lewis is the Marbury E. Anderson chair in Biblical Preaching at Luther Seminary (St. Paul, MN) and an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. An accomplished author and widely-sought-after preacher and teacher, Karoline also is the host of Working Preacher.
Single occupancy cost: $500, Double occupancy cost: $450, Dorm room cost: $375. Cost includes two overnight stays, six meals, programming and activities, complimentary book, EMBODY: Five Keys to Leading with Integrity by Karoline Lewis, use of amenities, and tax.
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PW's Justice and Peace Book Club
Contact Kathleen Keefer ( kathleenkeefer20@gmail.com) to register for discussions of the books by Zoom, which are 12:30 - 2:30 PM OR 6:30 - 8:30 PM. ANYONE can join! |
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The Color of Law will be discussed on August 9
In this groundbreaking history of the modern American metropolis, Richard Rothstein, a leading authority on housing policy, explodes the myth that America’s cities came to be racially divided through de facto segregation—that is, through individual prejudices, income differences, or the actions of private institutions like banks and real estate agencies. Rather, The Color of Law incontrovertibly makes clear that it was de jure segregation—the laws and policy decisions passed by local, state, and federal governments—that actually promoted the discriminatory patterns that continue to this day.
Through extraordinary revelations and extensive research that Ta-Nehisi Coates has lauded as "brilliant" (The Atlantic), Rothstein comes to chronicle nothing less than an untold story that begins in the 1920s, showing how this process of de jure segregation began with explicit racial zoning, as millions of African Americans moved in a great historical migration from the south to the north.
As Jane Jacobs established in her classic The Death and Life of Great American Cities, it was the deeply flawed urban planning of the 1950s that created many of the impoverished neighborhoods we know. Now, Rothstein expands our understanding of this history, showing how government policies led to the creation of officially segregated public housing and the demolition of previously integrated neighborhoods. While urban areas rapidly deteriorated, the great American suburbanization of the post–World War II years was spurred on by federal subsidies for builders on the condition that no homes be sold to African Americans. Finally, Rothstein shows how police and prosecutors brutally upheld these standards by supporting violent resistance to black families in white neighborhoods.
The Fair Housing Act of 1968 prohibited future discrimination but did nothing to reverse residential patterns that had become deeply embedded. Yet recent outbursts of violence in cities like Baltimore, Ferguson, and Minneapolis show us precisely how the legacy of these earlier eras contributes to persistent racial unrest. “The American landscape will never look the same to readers of this important book” (Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund), as Rothstein’s invaluable examination shows that only by relearning this history can we finally pave the way for the nation to remedy its unconstitutional past.
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Our Summer Worship Series Is Here!
The first of our three-part Summer Worship Series includes Rev. Tyler Sit (New City Church, Minneapolis; UMC) preaching Staying Awake: How Jesus Calls Us to Show Up for Justice; Show Up, a video from Minneapolis-based Spoken Word Artist, Joe Davis and The Poetic Diaspora; and Awake, Awaken/Here in This Ordinary Place, a sing-along song led by local composer/musician Bret Hesla.
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