Issue 196 | July 22, 2021
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The book Quietly Courageous by Gil Rendle has been one of the most helpful ones I have read in the last year. Even though it was published in 2019 before the pandemic, it helps me to better understand the world around us. In a number of different ways, Rendle points out that the postwar era or perhaps the years from the Depression until the late 1960s/early 1970s were an aberration. That’s the time when churches were growing. (...) However, that era is over. We need to do things differently. We need to shift our expectations. 
Saturday, Sept. 18 at Clarksburg First Presbyterian
The Small Church Conference has returned after its forced hiatus last year due to the pandemic. The theme is Saved to Serve...Thy Kingdom Come on Earth." Held in-person, it will run 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sept. 18. Rev. Dr. Judi Slater (pictured), who was with us at the 2019 conference, will present the keynote, as well as a workshop on racial justice. The other two workshops to choose from are Becoming a Matthew 25 Church and Congregational Vitality & the Christian Education Associate Process. Registration information for this free event will be available July 28.
Next mission lunchtime speaker is WVMAW Executive Director Joan Stewart on Aug. 26
The next Mission Committee lunchtime speaker will be WVMAW Executive Director Rev. Joan Stewart, who is also the pastor of Summersville Presbyterian Church. She will discuss what is happening with this ministry of advocacy and workcamps, now in its 20th year, as groups have returned to this mission work in 2021 after the pandemic forced a year off. Joan's presentation will begin at noon Aug. 26 on Zoom. Register here.
From the Stated Clerk:
The Presbytery recently learned that the incorporation of churches is legal in West Virginia. Per the Book of Order (G-4.0101), where permitted by state law, each congregation shall incorporate. Therefore, all churches in the Presbytery should begin the process of incorporation as soon as possible to comply with the Book of Order. To assist with this process, all pastoral leaders and Clerks of Session received an information packet following the May 20 Presbytery meeting that included template Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and Board of Trustees Consent, plus instructions for completing these documents. As churches begin the work of incorporation, we are learning new things and wish to provide some clarifications to assist churches in the process.
We invite you to print and include this newsletter in your bulletin or church newsletter, share it with members, and/or distribute it in your community. Click for the August newsletter in color or grayscale.
  • Board of Pensions (BOP) 2022 benefits
  • Checking your benefits accounts
  • American Rescue Plan Act
  • Free information from Church Law & Tax
  • Stewardship Kaleidoscope: Stewardship Education for Everyone
  • Staying on budget during the summer giving slump
  • Church financial leadership grants available
  • News from the BOP Connections newsletter
  • 2021 Special Offerings
This year, emails falsely claiming to be from General Presbyter Ed Thompson have increased in frequency. These emails, called spoofs, are a favorite trick of scammers since they appear to come from someone you know and trust. They will show some variation of Ed's name as the sender, but the attached email address is not his official wvpresbytery.org one. If you receive a suspicious email claiming to be from Ed (or, really, anyone from the Presbytery), do not respond. If you are concerned, you can forward it to the alleged sender, and they can reply to verify the request's authenticity.
Part of the February 20 Presbytery meeting was an inspiring talk by Presbyterian Mission Agency President and Executive Director Dianne Moffett about the PCUSA's Matthew 25 initiative. It has three foci - building congregational vitality, dismantling structural racism, and eradicating systemic poverty - and Edgewood has been and still is doing a lot of work in these three areas, so at its May session meeting, a motion was approved for the church to become a Matthew 25 church. Later that month, the PCUSA made it official, so congratulations to Edgewood, the fourth Matthew 25 church in the presbytery and the second in Greenbrier County.
On July 11, Enslow Park Presbyterian in Huntington held a community-wide COVID-19 memorial service with the goal of bringing closure to the suffering that many have experienced as a result of the pandemic. Photo by Ryan Fischer for the Herald-Dispatch. Click the title link for more photos.
Faith and Family Night at WV Power Park on Saturday
On Saturday, the WV Power will hold a Faith and Family Night promotion at the Charleston ballpark. Gates open at 5:30 p.m., with concerts both before and after the 7:05 p.m. baseball game, including Huntington Christian pop/rock group Render the Hearts. There will also be games and fireworks. General admission tickets are $4, and for groups of 20 or more, box seats are $6. A meal deal is $22 for all the food, water, and soda you desire. Call 304-344-2287 or visit wvpower.com.
Creation Care Buffet: Come to the Table is the theme for this year's conference, which will be held Aug. 1, 8, and 15 on Zoom. Each day will feature one session from 4:30-6 p.m. Eastern, followed by a one-hour dinner break with special presentations, then a second session from 7-9 p.m. Click here for a full schedule with workshop and presenter information. NOTE: Aug. 8 features a David LaMotte concert, and Aug. 15 includes a workshop by former WVU campus pastor/current Capital Trees Executive Director Dr. Shelly Barrick Parsons. Register here; there is a suggested donation of $20 per Sunday or $50 for all three.
On Aug. 5-7, the Kenya Mission Network (KMN), which is moderated by former PWV Mission Committee chair and Davis Memorial (Elkins) ruling elder Bob McCutcheon, will host its 2021 conference, For Such a Time as This, which will be held on Zoom and run 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern daily. It will include daily praise and worship led by PCUSA and Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) congregations, sessions on Revitalizing Our Communities Using Micro Credit and Sharing Ministry Together: New Opportunities in Virtual Connections between the PCUSA and PCEA, and several panels related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Register here; cost is $10 per person. Get more on the KMN.
Is your livestream worship service copyright compliant?
Find out with this Zoom webinar from the Presbyterian Communicators Network at 2 p.m. Aug. 10. It will provide information to make sure you are taking the necessary steps to help make your livestream event copyright compliant, and PCUSA staff attorney Andrej Ajanovic will discuss the dos and don’ts of copyrights and licenses for performances on various social media platforms and other mediums. Register here.
By Michael Givler, Synod of the Trinity
Bill Likens has spent the majority of his life in the Dunlow, WV, area of Wayne County. He knows the people, the traditions and the culture of this very rural area that sits as the westernmost county in the state. That’s what makes him the perfect person to lead Cabwaylingo Presbyterian Chapel, which he has done as the chapel’s outreach director for the last 19 years.
PCUSA is offering free resources specifically selected to help households with younger children engage in Scripture and story books that highlight the vision of being a Matthew 25 faith community. While the offer is intended for smaller congregations, it is open to all. Apply by filling out the survey linked above; chosen congregations will receive an email that they've been selected, followed by shipment of the resources.
Sept. 26-29 at the Calvin Crest Conference Center, Fremont, NE
Omaha Presbyterian Seminary Foundation will host this event for women clergy and Christian educators. A time of renewal, prayer, skill sharing, and fellowship with other women in ministry, it will feature workshops on giving voice to the stress of the pandemic, sabbath and sabbath styles of rest, God care (not self-care), and prayer forms by Revs. Kathy Noble and Suzanne Gorhau, plus worship services led by Rev. Sara Tonje, a night of creativity, and time for story sharing, enjoying nature, and naps. Register by Aug. 31.
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Editor's Note: In order to keep PWV News fresh, articles will generally run for two consecutive issues. If you would like a piece to run longer, please update (with refreshed content, new wording and/or a different photo) and resubmit.