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***UPDATE***
This issue of the eNews has been updated to include promised links to two videos featuring the Confession of Belhar shown at our Presbytery meeting on December 2. You'll find them added immediately after the meeting summary below.
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We had an onsite Stated Meeting of the Presbytery --- and pretty much remembered how to do so! |
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It was really nice to see so many of you -- again or for the first time -- onsite at Palma Ceia last week. |
THANK YOU to the staff and volunteers of Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church for their openness and hospitality that made our first onsite meeting since February 2020 a reality last week.
Thank you, too, to all who pre-registered for the meeting! I hope that worked at least as well for you as it did for us (and it worked very well for your staff 🙂).
It was a joy to be able to gather to elect and install Moderator Paula Salter and Vice Moderator Haemin Lee, recognize Rev. Peg Roy's retirement, approve Eileen Jewell's ordination to the ministry of Word and Sacrament, hear about Zach Grant's ministry with the Bethlehem Inclusive New Worshiping Community as a candidate for ministry, and celebrate Patrice Hatley's ministry with us as Coach and Coordinator for the last seven years or so as she retires.
FYI, here's the current plan for Stated Meetings of the Presbytery in 2022 (as approved at the August 14 stated meeting):
But, for now, we're still in Advent.
I hope this time of preparation for the past and future coming of Christ is meaningful for you.
Christmas is coming.
I pray you will find joy in the midst of all of the overlapping, intersecting, and sometimes challenging sacred and secular meanings of the day.
2022 will be here before you know it . . .
. . . but in the meantime, the Presbytery meeting summary and more --- including another opportunity to add to our worship offering and contribute to Cedarkirk's Capital Campaign in Patrice's honor --- is waiting for you to scroll down!
Blessings,
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Rev. William A. Wildhack III
Stated Clerk and Manager of Communications
(813) 868-4800, opt. 2
P.P.S. One final "proud papa" moment for 2021: Last Friday, I flew to western New York to attend the installation of Rev. Evan Wildhack as the new pastor of Corfu United Presbyterian Church in Genessee Valley Presbytery. The church hosted a community spaghetti dinner and Christmas Tree lighting on Friday night, and a parade of over 30 fire and emergency vehicles all lit up with Christmas lights drove through town, around the church, and filled the arched driveway of the school across the street from the church for the tree lighting. What a way to formally kick off a new ministry in a small town!
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My work---and this newsletter---is supported by per capita funds from congregations in the Presbytery of Tampa Bay, which also help unite all Presbyterians in sharing God’s love through mission and ministry. Thank you!
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12/2 Presbytery Meeting Summary and Update |
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Did you attend our onsite meeting at Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church on Thursday, December 2?
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The summary recounts all the actions taken by the Presbytery during the meeting last week along with some of the flavor of it.
One promised update:
Ruling Elder Kathy Sandy's provisional election to serve as a commissioner from our Presbytery to the 225th General Assembly (2022) was endorsed this week by the session of Village Presbyterian Church, so she's official now!
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Here are the promised links to the two videos shared at our meeting! |
Both videos feature the Confession of Belhar in the voice of Rev. Norm Hatter and were produced by Rev. Jody McKewen.
- One is the abridged version of the Confession used as our Affirmation of Faith during worship at the meeting.
- The other is the video previewed as we thanked Rev. Bobby Musengwa for his service as our moderator in 2021. This version includes the full text of the Confession recorded over scenes of Bobby's life from South Africa to his current ministry in our Presbytery today.
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Abridged version used as an Affirmation of Faith |
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Full text recorded in tribute to Rev. Bobby Musengwa |
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The powerful Confession of Belhar, which grew out of life in 20th-century South African apartheid, was added to the Constitution of the PC(USA) as part of our Book of Confessions in 2016. |
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Want to add to last week's Presbytery Meeting Worship Offering and/or the gift to Cedarkirk in honor of Patrice Hatley? |
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Two opportunities to give were highlighted at our meeting -- and THANK YOU to those who chose to give to a third that we didn't even mention!
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Since November 12, when we first published the link for the Presbytery of Tampa Bay | Online Giving webpage and invited eNews readers to give to the Presbytery Meeting Worship Offering for RIP Medical Debt, over $1,200 (through 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 8, 2021) had been collected for that effort through our online portal---representing about $120,000 in medical debt relief before a matching gift from the Commission on Church Vitality. More has been received in the mail at our office, and a check for the loose offering is in the mail from Palma Ceia along with additional checks made out to the Presbytery. Look for an update in the next eNews with the final total.
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You can add to that total by clicking here or on the "Give Now" button and entering an amount on the Presbytery Meeting Worship Offering line.
- Please make any contributions to this offering before Wednesday, December 15.
In celebrating Patrice’s ministry and retirement last week, we also invited people to contribute to Cedarkirk Camp and Conference Center’s Capital Campaign to dedicate a rocking chair at the camp in Patrice’s honor.
We've also discovered that, while on the Presbytery of Tampa Bay | Online Giving webpage in the last few weeks, some have also donated about $340 to the PTB Candidate/Inquirer Seminary Scholarship Fund. Gifts to this fund are welcome anytime but are especially welcome in conjunction with the ordination and/or installation of a new minister of Word and Sacrament in our presbytery.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!
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Together is Better: How Small Membership Churches Fulfill Their Missional Call Through Partnerships |
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The Synod of South Atlantic invites you to a free webinar, Thu, Jan 13, 4:00 p.m. EDT |
This webinar will introduce Together is Better, a new (Sept 13, 2021) book by the Rev. Dr. Lisa Baroody Culpepper, and present the rationale and methodology for working together through the missional cluster model of collaboration.
The conversation will also include the foundational principles, the rationale of urgency and necessity, the process and procedures, as well as case studies for forming missional clusters.
From the Amazon listing for the book:
In her book, Together Is Better, Lisa Culpepper addresses the need for collaboration in mission among small membership churches. This collaboration, or clustering for mission and outreach, enables declining small churches to pool their resources so that in working together in both local and global outreach, they can reclaim their missional call.
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Monthly news from Presbyterian Women in the Presbytery of Tampa Bay |
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December's issue of Glad Tidings is here! |
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REMINDER: New 2022 minimum effective salary for ministers and certain other church workers |
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Commission on Ministry increases Minimum Effective Salary for 2022 to match Social Security COLA |
For 2022, the minimum effective salary for ministers (and certain other employees is $49,102, a 5.9% increase over the 2021 encouraged minimum, and matches the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) announced on October 13, 2021.
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For comparison, the minimum effective salary for 2022 is $228 per month above the encouraged 2021 minimum of $46,366 based on SSA’s COLA for 2021, and $278 per month above the official 2021 minimum of $45,771 which the Commission on Ministry left unchanged from 2020 due to COVID.
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We're happy to share openings among our member churches and ministries (and occasionally beyond). Send information about openings to info@pbty.com with "eNews - employment opportunity" in the subject line --- and be sure to let us know if/when you fill the position! |
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**NEW**
- The Executive Assistant is to provide day-to-day advice and consultation to church Co-Pastors in regard to church operations and management. The position will require creative thinking and innovative initiative to assist in fully achieving the church’s vision and goals. Trinity Clearwater is a progressive congregation located in Clearwater, Florida, in a culturally diverse neighborhood and is actively involved in service missions at the local and world level.
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Village Presbyterian Church in Tampa, Florida is seeking a new Pastor to lead the church and its congregation in fulfilling its mission to Continue Christ's Work in the World.
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TAMPA
Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church is often looking for new people to join their team:
- Program Administrative Assistant
- Sunday Church Nursery Teacher
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CLEARWATER
Thornwell is seeking a Family Specialist for its Building Families Program
(LCSW, LMHC, LMFT Preferred)
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CLEARWATER
Northwood Presbyterian Church has openings!
As this issue of the eNews was getting ready to launch this week, Northwood listed the following open positions:
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Remember, there's always something new to see on our Facebook page and more at the Presbytery of Tampa Bay website. Click the buttons below to start exploring! |
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Have you found, "liked," and "followed" the Presbytery of Tampa Bay on Facebook yet? Click the button below to visit our Facebook page and be sure to click on "like" or "follow" to be notified of updates! |
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Our next issue of the eNews will come out the week before Christmas. Thanks for reading all the way to the end! -- Bill |
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