Kenilworth Presbyterian will be hosting an online celebration of Dr. King and Black History Month. This year will be a little different, obviously but will no doubt be fun. For 2 weeks we will be curating interesting content about artists, film, history, etc. and posting it on the FaceBook event page for people to explore. Here is the link to the FaceBook event page: MLK Facebook Event

We are also pleased to share that Byron Wade, General Presbyter of the Presbytery of Western North Carolina, will be the keynote speaker at the Association of Asheville and Buncombe County Candlelight Service on Monday, January 18th at 6 p.m. Below is the YouTube link for the service which will be live-streamed: MLK Candlelight Service

Fairview and United Presbyterian Churches in Lenoir are happy to announce the installation of their new shared pastor, Rev. Leah E. Epps.  Since this is her first pastoral call, she was ordained on December 5th in an outdoor service at United. Those participating in the service were Rev. Mary Katherine Robinson, Rev. Dr. J. Mark Stanley, Rev. Becky Stanley, Rev. Dr. Harold Bennett, Rev. Kelly Lindsay, Rev. Bob Forsythe, Lois Clark, and Tom Gibson. Rev. Epps is a 2016 graduate of Union Theological Seminary, and she has served as a supply pastor in several other congregations prior to this call. As yoked congregations, these churches are able to remain viable in spite of smaller attendances and other factors. Both churches have long histories in the Lenoir community. When these churches are again able to meet in person, United's service will be at 10:30 and Fairview's will be at 11:30 on Sundays. In the meantime, they are sharing Zoom services.

Our General Presbyter, Byron Wade, is available for more virtual lunch dates! These were highly successful last year and he would like to get to know more people in the Presbytery. The lunch dates will be at noon each Thursday using Zoom and will last up to an hour. Available dates are listed below –

February 4, 11, 18, and 25

March 4, 11, 18, and 25

The virtual lunches are open to ministers, Commissioned Ruling Elders, Christian Educators, youth workers, or anyone! If you would like to schedule a date, please contact Byron at bwade@presbyterywnc.org or call/text his mobile at 828-430-1515. Looking forward to an enjoyable lunch with you!

For other youth news and information, visit our website.

Union Presbyterian Seminary shares the following continuing education opportunities for consideration:

Click here for more information.

Explore other online workshops at the following link: Continuing Education - Union Presbyterian Seminary

NEW Course Offering Polity & Administration II (Pathways Online Course)

More information can be found here.

The Soul Repair Center at Brite Divinity School is offering a series of free monthly webinars designed to support veterans who have experienced moral injury in their service to country. Center director, the Rev. Dr. Nancy Ramsay who now lives in Black Mountain, describes the webinars this way: “The programming is to provide resources for religious leaders, chaplains (military, VA, and hospital), and professional caregivers who seek to support veterans and their families affected by moral injury. There are very few congregations in the PCUSA without such veterans since moral injury is a new term for injury as ancient as war. There are also lots of resources at the site. All webinars will be available at our site after they air and they’ll also be on the VOA YouTube channel.”

A link to upcoming seminars as well as recordings of previous ones are available here.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is providing resources for pastors and leaders of congregations in this time of rising COVID rates. The resources offered include –

• A Faith Leader Tool Kit which includes sample talking points for congregational

leaders

• Places of Worship Guidance

• Mental Health Helplines

• No-Cost Community Testing Events

For further information please click on the following link - https://files.nc.gov/covid/documents/info-for/faith-leaders/Resources-for-Places-of-Worship-and-Faith-Communities.pdf

Along those same lines, the Task Force on Returning to Face to Face Gatherings recently sent out a communication with helpful information about returning to in person gatherings. To read what was shared, click here to access the file.

A special section has also been designated on Presbytery's website to share information relative to COVID-19. Click here to access material that has been pooled for our members and churches, and to find other helpful resources for ministering in these unprecedented times.

It's that time! The Annual Statistical Report information has been shared with our churches and Clerks of Session. If you missed that important material, click here to find the information.