Minnesota congregation anticipates successful Christmas marketplace despite COVID-19 |
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Oak Grove Presbyterian Church continues to faithfully support the Presbyterian Giving Catalog
by Emily Enders Odom, Mission Engagement & Support | Special to Presbyterian News Service
Oak Grove Presbyterian Church’s Alternative Christmas Marketplace is pictured in December 2019. (Contributed photo)
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LOUISVILLE — When Dr. Seuss’s iconic Grinch famously declared that he must stop Christmas from coming, Sue Powers would hear nothing of it.
Just not in the usual way.
For many years Oak Grove’s Mission Committee, on which Powers serves, has organized an Alternative Christmas Marketplace in the 500-member church’s social hall on the first Sunday in December.
“Sponsoring a Christmas Marketplace was an opportunity for our members to support organizations that were not necessarily part of the Mission Committee’s budget,” said Powers, a retired special educator who grew up in First Presbyterian Church in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, attended college in Iowa, and later relocated to Minneapolis for graduate school and professional opportunities. “In many instances, the purchases made by our members were to be Christmas gifts for friends and family.”
Powers said that “mission” was the reason she joined Oak Grove 13 years ago. ...
“Because Oak Grove has such a strong commitment to racial justice, the Giving Catalog gave us an opportunity to select gifts that give people dignity, such as a Mzuzu drill and a sewing machine,” said Powers. “Not only can gifts like these be put to good use, but they also take away the idea of ‘white saviors.’ Having taught in inner city schools, I have a special place in my heart for the poor, the struggling and the disenfranchised.” ...
When it became a reality that the marketplace could not proceed in the usual way, Powers knew “it was time to think creatively and get busy with the planning!”
“2020 would be the year for us to make the changes necessary for a successful fundraising event in spite of the pandemic,” said Powers. “We did it by sending out an order form to our families, along with other materials they would need to continue their Christmas giving.”
Due to the risks associated with COVID-19 and the delta variant, because Oak Grove is not yet resuming in-person services, the church will once again conduct its Christmas Marketplace by mail. Powers and her committee colleague, Sara Egan, are more than ready to lead the effort with the full support of the church’s pastoral leaders, the Rev. Bart Roush, pastor/head of staff, and the Rev. Mary Koon, associate pastor.
“Because the response to last year’s event was amazing, we are hoping our members will receive this opportunity with the same amount of enthusiasm in 2021,” Powers said. “Last year we raised almost twice as much money as our previous alternative gift markets had raised.”
Powers said that because there was a surprising benefit to the mail-in Christmas Marketplace — namely that it gave families a chance to sit together at home, apart from the commotion, to study the giving possibilities — she fully expects the church to continue to mail packets even when in-person events resume.
“We got a great deal of positive feedback from our families,” she said. “They liked having the extra time to discuss the options as a family in the quiet and comfort of their home without feeling rushed. Many thought it a great opportunity to teach their children and youth about our world and the need for and importance of sharing with others.” ...
Now is the time to unite with thousands of others using the Presbyterian Giving Catalog to support the ministries closest to their hearts: feeding the hungry, comforting the brokenhearted and sharing our faith with young and old. Give today by clicking here.
For further information on hosting an alternative giving market with the Presbyterian Giving Catalog, click here.
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The schedule for Synod meetings has been set by the Steering Committee.
Spring Meeting, May 1-3
This is the annual meeting and it will take place in person at a location to be determined. This meeting will include a full worship service, educational time, committee meetings, and business meeting. We encourage commissioners to attend in person. Any one attending in person must be fully vaccinated against COVID or have a negative COVID test result 72 hours prior to the meeting. There will be a virtual option to attend for observers and anyone for which an in person meeting creates a hardship.
Fall Meeting, October 2-3
This will be a virtual meeting beginning at 6:00 PM both days. This will be a business meeting and will include worship.
January 2022 - Welcome & Orientation for new commissioners and anyone interested. Details to follow.
Synod committee meetings will likely take place virtually prior to the Synod meetings.
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First woman ordained by Presbyterian Church reflects on 65th anniversary |
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The Rev. Dr. Margaret Towner featured on ‘A Matter of Faith’ podcast days before historic anniversary
by Rich Copley | Presbyterian News Service
Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery ordained Margaret E. Towner the first woman minister of word and sacrament in the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America on Oct. 24, 1956. (Photo courtesy of Presbyterian Historical Society)
LEXINGTON, Kentucky — Maryland’s Takoma Park Presbyterian Church was getting ready to celebrate Christmas Eve, but leadership wasn’t quite sure what to do.
Then the church’s director of Christian Education, Margaret E. Towner, had an idea, inspired by a Christmas pageant her choir at the Congregational Church in Winnetka, Illinois, had presented when she was in high school.
The choir director didn’t like the idea. The senior pastor didn’t think anyone would come. But, with support from the session and membership, the pageant went on and the church was packed.
“That was a great success, and we had a wonderful thing,” Towner said. “It was mostly music, music with pantomime action, and some great hymns and anthems and stuff. And the music director actually liked it.”
The Christmas pageant was one of several stories Towner ended saying, “that’s something I wish that had been written down in my memoirs,” or something like that. But the Rev. Dr. Margaret Towner, the first woman ordained as a minister of word and sacrament in the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, was putting those stories on the record in Thursday’s episode of “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast.”
The episode dropped just three days before the 65th anniversary of her ordination on Oct. 24, 1956, by Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery in New York. While “A Matter of Faith” usually tackles several topics an episode, the Oct. 21 edition focuses solely on Towner and her stories.
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Who Owns Rights to the Pastor’s Sermons?
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash
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Author of ‘White Fragility’ and ‘Nice Racism’ shatters comfort zone
Robin DiAngelo ‘dives deep’ at National Council of Churches gathering
by Darla Carter | Presbyterian News Service
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LOUISVILLE — New York Times bestselling author Robin DiAngelo, who coined the phrase “white fragility,” gave a provocative presentation on systemic racism, white culture and white dominance during a two-day gathering of the National Council of Churches (NCC) this week.
“Unlike I was taught to see it, it’s not just an objective, neutral or even innocent social position,” she said. “It is deeply infused with meaning.”
Later in the presentation, which was aimed at white people, she said, “We’ve all been taught by white people, who’ve been taught by white people, who’ve been taught by white people, who’ve been taught by white people, using curriculum written for, by, about and centering white people but presented as objective and neutral,” and anything else as biased, she said. “… I want you to feel the weight of that whiteness. It means something. It shapes us. It is ongoing work for us to uncover how it shapes us.” ...
Although everyone has prejudice, the systemic part comes in “when one group’s collective bias — in this case, racial — is backed with legal authority and institutional control, and that transforms it into a far-reaching system that becomes the default, it becomes the status quo, business as usual, unremarkable. The water we swim in, and the currents we move in,” she said. It also becomes embedded into “cultural norms and definitions, standards of beauty, measurements of intelligence and so on.”...
White supremacy and anti-Blackness are not just something linked to men in white hoods, she said later, but “rather a highly descriptive sociological concept for the society we live in” that holds white people up as the ideal and the standard by which all others will be measured.
Instead of thinking of yourself as non-racist, “I think a much more constructive way to think about it is that you’re either more or less racist in any given moment,” she said. “That’s how I think about it. How am I doing right now? Right? Am I choosing silence and comfort, or am I choosing courage and action?”
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Reformation Sunday
Presbyterians celebrate the tradition that grounds their faith on Reformation Sunday. It is always the last Sunday in October, marking the occasion in 1517 when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany.
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All Saint's Day
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In the Reformed tradition, we give glory to God for the ordinary, holy lives of the believers in this and every age.
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The Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) program is an ecumenical, faith-based year of service for young people (ages 19–30) in sites across the United States and around the world. YAVs accompany local agencies working to address root causes of poverty and reconciliation. Alongside this work, volunteers explore the meaning of their Christian faith and accountability to their neighbors in the community with peers and mentors.
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Preaching Practicum with Rev. Dr. Tom Long
November 19-21, 2021
This weekend class, through The Academy, invites participants to explore the craft of preaching from one the Presbyterian Church’s “master” preachers, Dr. Tom Long.
This in person course provides the opportunity to walk through the practice of preparing a sermon alongside colleagues with the inspirational presence of a mentor.
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Overcoming Racism Virtual Conference |
The Synod of Lakes and Prairies is a sponsor of this conference.
Dates: November 12 & 13
Organized and created by the volunteers of The Facilitating Racial Equity Collaborative (FREC)
Keynote Speaker, Ruth Buffalo
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Opportunities
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has several openings for which we are seeking qualified candidates looking for a call working at the national level.
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The Ministry Lab is hosting a "Gentle" Re-Opening - and celebrating with a slough of free resources!
~In-person hours resume October 20 & 21, from 12:00-5:00 PM.
*Meet our new assistant, Bridgette Weber on Thursdays.
*Visitors are asked to be vaccinated and wear a mask at all times.
~Find hidden treasures in our Gently-Used Book Give-Away - Wednesdays, Oct. 27 & Nov. 3.
~Let us soothe anxieties with fresh, new, FREE resources, for Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, and more!
~AND: the labyrinths are available again! Reserve one for Advent, New Years, Lent, etc., by emailing Emily Meyer.
We look forward to moving gently through the coming seasons with you!
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Save the Date!
June 16-19, 2022
PW Synod Gathering
Hilton Garden Inn
1132 Larsen Park Rd
Sioux City, Iowa 51106
PW: Better Together Tied Together With Love
A cord of three strands is not easily broken
Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NIV)
Watch for registration information in The Sower
Worship Leader: Rev. Danelle McKinney
Hotel block has been reserved:
$125 +tax per night.
Registration cost to be announced.
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Justice and Peace Book Club
- Read a J&P recommended book every two months
- Receive study guides to inform your reading
- Discuss the books with others via Zoom
The "Club" is open to all regardless of gender.
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Presbyteries and churches share your news with the synod.
Are you doing something in your presbytery or synod from which others might learn? You have a standing invitation to send Tricia Dykers-Koenig articles to share.
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To subscribe email: office@lakesandprairies.org
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