Your Weekly News & Updates |
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From Rachel Yates, Presbytery Executive |
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Our trek held great promise. The report was in. The location was named, and we knew the way. With great anticipation, we drove to Grafton and the Lion’s Den trail to search for what others had already found: a Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher. This wayward bird, normally found only in the South-Central US, would soon be ours to claim on our life lists.
We traipsed around the park where people were hiking, running, and walking dogs. We saw people admiring fish in the lake and families enjoying an outing. My husband and I, however, were the only people with...(read more)
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TRIGGER: THE RIPPLE EFFECT OF GUN VIOLENCE
"VIRTUAL" VIEWING AND DISCUSSION
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The traumatic impact of gun violence can be seen in almost every community. We may hear briefly about the victims of these shootings, but what happens after the media attention moves on and the wider public becomes numb to 'just another shooting'? Drawing upon conversations with ER chaplains and trauma surgeons, police officers and ATF officials, survivors and victims' families, students and school counselors, and others, TRIGGER: The Ripple Effect of Gun Violence shares the story of how gun violence impacts individuals and communities and examines the 'ripple effect' that one shooting has on a survivor, a family, a community and society.
We’ll gather via Zoom on Thursday, July 15, from 5:30 - 7:30 PM to watch the award-winning film from Presbyterian director, David Barnhart, and then have guided discussion around the film.
As the content is powerful, you will be invited to join from somewhere comfortable and view the film with your computer’s camera off. We’ll make space for some silence when it ends and then turn on our cameras as desired and enter into our discussion time with prayer.
Register today for this Zoom event at
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IT'S TIME TO START THINKING ABOUT TRIENNIUM! |
Every three years, thousands of High School age youth from across the PC(USA) and Cumberland Presbyterian Church join for several days of fellowship, learning about who they are, learning how they can make a difference in the world, worshipping God, and having FUN at an event called Presbyterian Youth Triennium.
The next event is coming up next summer, July 24-27, 2022 and we hope that you will encourage your High School age youth to join with other youth from Milwaukee Presbytery for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Read the letter that was recently sent to our churches in anticipation of Triennium.
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ANNOUNCING A VIRTUAL INTRODUCTORY MEETING ON THE WORK OF COMMON GROUND |
The Milwaukee Presbytery is a member of Common Ground for the next four years. This gives our congregations access to participation in the many productive campaigns Common Ground undertakes to improve Southeastern Wisconsin – www.commongroundwi.org.
Common Ground also offers training which helps leaders strengthen their own congregation as well as relate to people they may be serving in their community.
Presbytery Clergy, Staff, Session and Mission Committee Members are invited to join us Wednesday, June 23 from 6:30 to 7:45 on Zoom.
At this meeting Members of the Presbytery, who are also Common Ground Leaders, will introduce the organization, and also listen to what you believe are the pressing social issues in your community.
Any questions can be directed to
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JOIN COMMON GROUND FOR UPCOMING HOUSE MEETINGS |
Common Ground will be hosting House Meetings where you can share the issues that are most important in your life. House Meetings are confidential, relational, small-group sessions for sharing and listening with community leaders.
Find the list of upcoming House Meetings and Zoom information here.
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PRESBYTERY TREASURER SEARCH |
The Presbytery of Milwaukee is currently in search of a treasurer. Bookkeeping skills and comfort with numbers are required and computer skills to quickly be able to adapt to the financial software (ACS) will be a plus. This is a volunteer position of about 8-10 hours per month. If you know of someone who has the necessary skills and interest in serving the presbytery in this way, please have them contact the presbytery office. The sooner we have someone in this position the more time they have to train with Gail, our current treasurer. Thank you for helping us in this important matter.
Lance Loveall
Nominating Committee
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Matthew 25: I was hungry and you gave me something to eat... |
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FOREST PARK SIGNS ON AS MATTEW 25 CONGREGATION |
Congratulations to Forest Park Presbyterian Church for signing on as a Matthew 25 church! Forest Park joins Heritage, Tippe, Calvary, Southminster, Forest Park, and Covenant in making this commitment.
Jesus calls us to act boldly and compassionately to serve people who are hungry, oppressed, imprisoned and poor. By joining us on this journey, we are uniting in common mission to become a more relevant presence in the world. To learn more and sign on, please visit the Matthew 25 website.
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RESOURCES FOR MATTHEW 25 STUDY AND WORSHIP |
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MATTHEW 25 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION MATERIALS |
Using an interactive template, the PC(USA) Store now offers these resources for Christian education at all age levels on the three Matthew 25 pillars: building congregational vitality, dismantling structural racism, and eradicating systemic poverty.
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REPENTANCE, REPARATIONS, AND REDEMPTION -- A MESSAGE FROM RESTORATIVE ACTIONS |
Registration is now open for the upcoming foundations level class series “Repentance, Reparations and Redemption.” Please spread the word about this Zoom series on Sunday afternoons, June 6, 13, and 20 from 12–1:15 pm Central.
The class will look at compelling theological, ethical, and political questions:
- Does our Christian faith compel us to support reparations for the descendants of enslaved people? While politicians and pundits argue over the policy and economic impact, they miss the theological implication: does God present America with reparations as opportunity to repent for centuries of race slavery?
- Do reparations offer at least a step toward the national redemption that will begin to heal the racism that divides the nation and tempts millions to turn to authoritarian leaders?
This is part one of a two-part series, a foundations level class; part two, an advanced class, will be offered in the fall. Each session will provide ample time for audience questions. A class bibliography is being put together for the class and will be provided to all participants.
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News from the Denomination |
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RESOURCES TO STRENGTHEN CHURCH VITALITY |
The Foundation’s Program, Church Financial Literacy and Leadership, provides pastors and church leaders with resources, tools and other support to help address the financial and leadership challenges of congregational ministry and mission in the 21st century. These resources help pastors to navigate the changing cultural context they face and to seek to strengthen the financial vitality of their congregations.
We invite you to explore each of these Church Financial Literacy and Leadership Program resources and engage with the tool(s) that suit your congregational goals:
Stewardship Navigator - A free tool that offers resources and customized materials for your congregation, including usable templates, year-round guidance, a narrative budget builder, and assistance from your Ministry Relations Officer. We encourage pastors and their stewardship teams to sign up. www.stewardshipnavigator.com
Church Financial Leadership Academy - E-learning platform ready to provide pastoral leaders with financial literacy education in a convenient online format that’s available whenever you are ready. As a member of the Church Financial Leadership Academy, pastors will be able to create their own schedule of courses. You can also share the customized playlists with your stewardship team or your session! Get started today! Go to churchfla.org and use code PCUSA to sign up.
The Church Financial Literacy and Leadership Program is made possible from the Foundation’s work as part of a generous grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.’s National Initiative to Address Economic Challenges Facing Pastoral Leaders.
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SUMMER OF SONG: A CONCERT SERIES FROM THE PRESBYTERIAN GIVING CATALOG |
Music teaches the theology of the Church — not simply through the words we sing, but by connecting us to ourselves and one another.
The Presbyterian Giving Catalog celebrates all the ways we come together, especially in mission and, this summer, with music.
Music has been sorely missed by so many during the pandemic, with many church choirs quieted and Sunday hymns sung in homes rather than in sanctuaries.
Inspired by musicians throughout the Church, Presbyterian Giving Catalog wants to thank you with a Summer of Song! The folks at Presbyterian Giving Catalog hopes you’ll join them on June 21 at 6:00 p.m. CST for the first performance by Elizabeth Stockton Perkins. In this concert, Elizabeth — a rising sophomore at Vassar College and a lifelong member of First Presbyterian Church in Wooster, Ohio — will lift her voice in song with accompaniment by Cameron Edmiston.
This link grants you access to the premiere on June 21. Can’t make it at that time or want to include your Church or family? This online concert will be available all summer long! Stay tuned for updates on other series concerts in July and August.
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To mark its 50th anniversary, Milwaukee’s Juneteenth Day Parade will take place Saturday, June 19 parade at 8 a.m. staring at 14th and Atkinson and traveling to Burleigh and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Opening Ceremonies, signaling the start of the festival, will kick off at 9:30 am with festivities running along King Drive, between Burleigh and North Avenue. All activities will end by 4 p.m.
Northcott Neighborhood House is working with its health partners, Milwaukee Health Department, and the Milwaukee Heritage Health Center, to set safety standards as well as follow the guidelines set by Center for Disease Control. All attendees will be required to wear face masks. Volunteers will be handing out free masks to those who need them. Anyone who is not wearing a mask will be asked to leave by NNH security.
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DANISH BICYCLE HELMET PSA IS THE BEST VIKING MOVIE IN 63 YEARS |
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THE PATH OF SELF-DETERMINATION & LIBERATION
JUNETEENTH DAY EVENTS
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Planting Mandela's Garden
June 19th at noon - 2pm at Alice's Garden Urban Farm
In partnership with the Milwaukee Public Museum's Mandela: The Official Exhibition and to honor of the life and work of Nelson Mandela, Alice's Garden will plant a special community garden on Juneteenth DAY called, Mandela's Garden. Bring a pair of garden gloves and your favorite hand tools...and remember this act of resistance. While unjustly incarcerated, Mr. Mandela planted a garden:
“The Bible tells us that gardens preceded gardeners, but that was not the case at Pollsmoor, where I cultivated a garden that became one of my happiest diversions. The sense of being the custodian of this small patch of earth offered a taste of freedom." - Nelson Mandela
Juneteenth Genealogy With Gwen Holland
June 19th at 6pm at Alice's garden
Gwen Holland is a family historian from Chicago with a zeal for documenting and preserving African-American lineages. She has traced her family lineage to the sixth generation of slaves and their slaveholders. She studied genealogy at Chicago State University under the instruction of renowned genealogist Tony Burroughs and was certified by the Iowa Digital Association. As a result of years of collected, compiled historic and special collections of family records, FWA will launch Our House in 2021. Our House is a digital national collection of African-American Family Trees, spanning the timeline of Slavery, Emancipation, and beyond.
Freedom Farmer's
Book signing and conversation at Alice's garden with author Monica White
June 19th at 7pm
Freedom Farmers expands the historical narrative of the black freedom struggle to embrace the work, roles, and contributions of southern black farmers and the organizations they formed. Whereas existing scholarship generally views agriculture as a site of oppression and exploitation of black people, this book reveals agriculture as a site of resistance and provides a historical foundation that adds meaning and context to current conversations around the resurgence of food justice/sovereignty movements in urban spaces like Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, New York City, and New Orleans.
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Presbyterian Women in our Presbytery are seeking 3-5 sewing machines to donate to PDA/CWS Gift of the Heart Kits Distribution Center located on the grounds of Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center, a PC(USA) facility near Little Rock, AR. These sewing machines will be used by volunteer teams to make school bags for the Gift of the Heart School Kits. If you have a sewing machine to donate or have questions, please contact Marilyn Stone at mmstone52@att.net or 262-492-7921, no later than June 30th. Arrangements will be made for pick-up.
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FOOD FOR THE JOURNEY SEEKING PLANT DONATIONS |
Food for the Journey, a collaborative gardening effort of several of our congregations, is beginning work on a Matthew 25 project: a multi-church cooperative growing produce for local food pantries / outlets! Watch for the garden to be set up soon and planting to begin!
Kathy Lembke is working on behalf of our church and asking for donations of any vegetable and herb plants that you have extra. Contact the Presbytery Office to get Kathy's contact information and let her know what you have to share. She is willing to pick plants up and hold them in her greenhouse until planting.
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HELP JERUSALEM PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH START A HANDBELL CHOIR |
Does your congregation have a set of handbells gathering dust from lack of use? Jerusalem P.C. in Wales is exploring starting a bell choir and is looking to borrow a set on loan from a congregation that is not currently using theirs (nor using them in the near future). We are looking for a three octave set in decent/playable condition. If you have one, or know of one, please email Andy Holmes at revandrewholmes@gmail.com
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INTERFAITH EVENSONG FOR PEACE SERVICE |
Join the Evensong on June 24th at 7:00 p.m. with David Schultz leading the homily, Paula Hirschboeck making a presentation, and John Leonard providing music. Prajnatara Paula Hirschboeck is a Soto Zen priest and teacher who guides Sophia Zen sangha in Madison and SE Wisconsin. Paula was also a Sinsinawa Dominican sister for 25 years and was a member of the Philosophy Department of Edgewood College from 1994-2010. During those years she and Sr. Maureen McDonnell founded “Wisdom’s Well” to offer support for interfaith contemplation and action.
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REGISTRATION OPEN FOR NATIONAL BLACK PRESBYTERIAN CAUCUS 46TH BIENNIAL CONVENTION |
The National Black Presbyterian Caucus (NBPC) welcomes you to participate in the 2021 Virtual Biennial Conference June 24 - 26, 2021! You will see uplifting Devotion and Worship services. The Business Meetings will highlight work the NBPC has completed and will enable active voting after spirited discussion of the Business at Hand. There will be a two session Plenary held over two days of the conference with the ability for you to engage the Plenary Leader with questions and comments. The focus of the Youth Programming will share how youth of varied backgrounds lean on their spiritual relationship to support their need to cope, yet thrive in our world. They will speak to the clash of ministry, social justice and racism. Register now to ensure your place in this vibrant community of Presbyterians.
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The Sower - May 2021 Newsletter for the Presbyterian Women in the Synod of Lakes and Prairies
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Future Presbytery Gathering Dates |
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- WEDNESDAY, September 22, 2021
- THURSDAY, November 18, 2021
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Presbytery of Milwaukee
414-292-2740
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