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It's Friday, January 7, 2022 . . . |
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. . . and as we leave "the holidays" (and 2021!) behind and enter the "Sundays after Epiphany," the liturgical calendar enters the first of two blocks of "ordinary time" this year. |
Of course, "ordinary" is a word that hasn't applied to much of life at all since early 2020. What's ordinary about "ordinary time" is that we're not in a particular season of the church year like Advent or Lent, just numbered "Sundays after Epiphany" on the calendar like the numbered "Sundays after Pentecost" later in the year.
Meanwhile, even as so many of us felt the relief of vaccines and dropping infection rates last summer and a return to something closer to ordinary, the Omicron variant emerged and then eclipsed Delta around the world, ultimately convincing much of the country that "ordinary" would be delayed again. (At least one of our congregations let us know last week that they would be suspending on-site worship again "until further notice," and others have returned to earlier mask-wearing policies or requirements.)
All of you --- but especially pastors/moderators and elders on church sessions --- are in my prayers as you wrestle with conversations and decisions all of us hoped never to have again.
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Here in the Presbytery of Tampa Bay, we also enter our first block of "ordinary" time without our full-time Coach and Coordinator of the past seven years, Patrice Hatley. We enter it without a new full-time General Presbyter (a more familiar title across our denomination) as the search for her successor continues. We also enter it with our Associate Presbyter for Emerging Ministries, Libby Shannon, at work while she's on maternity leave starting life with the addition of "Baby Kat" (who is already a month + one week old!🤗) to her family.
Please join me in praying for all of them, too, as they adjust to other new realities in their lives in this new year. (And please pray for me, Ann Marie in the office, and Kim our bookkeeper, as we lean on some of you a little more for a little while. 😏)
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Finally, as this new year begins, life goes on around the presbytery. There are a couple of pastoral transitions underway, a couple of Pastor Nominating Committees being formed, an installation or two and the ordination of a new minister to schedule, and more. In the meantime, scroll down in this eNews for info on:
- a webinar on January 13 to help smaller congregations fulfill their missional calling through partnerships
- upcoming events at Cedarkirk Camp and Conference Center
- the Association of Smaller Congregation's annual conference in March
- a new monthly livestream event from the Presbyterian Mission agency on "Being Matthew 25"
- some resources to better understand "per capita" and how it supports the mission and ministry of both local congregations and the larger church
- and a couple of other things, too.
No matter how "ordinary" 2022 may or may not turn out to be, it's still a new year!
Blessings,
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Rev. William A. Wildhack III
Stated Clerk and Temporary General Presbyter
(813) 868-4800, opt. 2 (landline; no text messages)
P.P.S. If you missed Patrice's "farewell" letter last week, you can read it by clicking here.
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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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Our offering for RIP Medical Debt last month totaled $4,000! |
The offering collected at the worship service at our December presbytery meeting, coupled with online gifts before and after the meeting totaled just under $2,000. In keeping with past practice, we rounded that up and, with the matching grant approved by the Commission on Church Vitality, sent $4,000 to forgive about $1.4 million in medical debt through RIP Medical Debt. In doing so, we've joined with other donors around the country in mitigating significant financial and mental distress for millions of people.
Thank you!
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LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP for Jan 13 webinar: 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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2022 Cedarkirk Calendar of Events |
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The 2022 Calendar is here! |
In case you didn't know it, Cedarkirk is a year-round camp and conference center and ministry of the Presbytery of Tampa Bay and Peace River Presbytery to our south. It includes 170 acres of woodlands, wetlands, and uplands along the Alafia River in Lithia, FL (near Brandon).
Cedarkirk is dedicated to providing a place for individuals and groups to have the opportunity for spiritual renewal and growth in a natural environment.
Click here or on the image of the calendar for more and visit Cedarkirk's website and click the "Our Programs" tab for information, details, and registration for all Cedarkirk events. They update those pages continually as they roll out registration and track the status of COVID in our region.
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RENEW Retreat at Cedarkirk, February 4-8 |
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Renew: Learn, Listen, Live |
From Cedarkirk:
Our faith calls us to seek justice and correct oppression. How might we do that in our communities today?
Join us in February for a challenging and engaging retreat on how we honor our commitment to Christ's call by being agents of justice and love in this world. Register for the whole event, or any of the three parts individually!
NOTE: This event is structured so you can participate in as many of the programs as you’d like. During the registration process you’ll have the option to register for the full experience, or select any one or more of the three options individually.
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RENEW Retreat
RENEW is a series of opportunities led by an exceptional group of presenters, musicians, and writers to examine our past and present, and explore ways to move forward with intention and foresight.
Read more
cedarkirk.org
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Join us in honoring Patrice Hatley by dedicating a rocking chair at Cedarkirk |
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The group of ministers and elders celebrating Patrice at our December meeting asks that you consider a donation in her honor to Cedarkirk's Capital Campaign |
In celebrating Patrice’s ministry and retirement, we 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.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!
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Association of Smaller Congregations Conference, March 18-20 |
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Building Bridges for Smaller Congregations: Offering Help, Hope, and Healing |
The Association of Smaller Congregations invites you to join them and re-energize with worship and prayer at its 35th Annual Conference and Retreat.
This year's keynote speaker is Rev. Dr. Jonathan C. Augustine—a pastor and professor, as well as an author and advocate. He is part of a group of national social justice leaders who speak for the equality of all human beings while advocating for policies of diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
Workshop presenters include Beth Lindsay Templeton, “Uncharted Journey;” Steve Adkins; Rev. Maeba Jonas; and Liz Perraud, “Intergenerational Ministry Pathways.”
Click here or on the flyer below for more information and to register.
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The Association of Smaller Congregations (ASC) was organized in 1987 to serve congregations in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina having fewer than 200 members. The group seeks in their conferences to lift up these smaller congregations, offering tools and support, promoting their unique strengths and needs, and providing opportunities for fellowship, education, creative thinking and sharing. For more information and registration find them online and join the conversation on Facebook.
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"Being Matthew 25": a new monthly livestream series premiers January 20 |
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Being Matthew 25 is an interactive online event that makes space for stories, reflections and conversations about what it means to live out the Matthew 25 vision. The livestream will be available for viewing on the PC(USA) Facebook page or PC(USA) YouTube Channel during the event and after.
More than just talking heads, Being Matthew 25 includes video storytelling, song, poetry, art, guest interviews, case studies, testimonials and Q&A sessions that invite the Church to consider how to be a relevant presence in the world and to more fully live into Matthew 25.
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Being Matthew 25 in word and deed | Presbyterian Mission ...
by Melody K. Smith | Presbyterian News Service LOUISVILLE - Being Matthew 25, a new Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) monthly livestream series, begins at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on Jan. 20. Being Matthew 25 is an interactive online event that makes...
Read more
www.presbyterianmission.org
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"Per capita" is a term that's not unique to Presbyterians, but it's also one that many have never really understood. In its simplest form in the PC(USA), "per capita" is described in the Book of Order as how we fund the operating and personnel costs of supporting congregational, regional, national, and international ministries --- including Presbytery of Tampa Bay staff support to our congregations, new worshiping communities, commissions, committees, and ongoing engagement with covenant and mission partners.
The links below will take you to an article from Presbyterians Today last fall and a blog post from another presbytery leader from earlier this week. Clicking on the "Per Capita Sunday" image will take you to some other resources to help understand more of what per capita enables us to do.
As approved at our presbytery meeting last August, the Presbytery of Tampa Bay asks each of our congregations to contribute $33.48 in 2022 for each person ("per capita") on the roll of active members of the church, and here's what's in that total:
- Presbytery Per Capita: $23.00 (first increase since 2017)
- Synod Per Capita: $1.50 (unchanged from 2019)
- General Assembly Per Capita: $8.98 (unchanged from 2021)
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Understanding per capita | Presbyterian Mission Agency
BUILDING A BELOVED COMMUNITY By Timothy Hart-Andersen | Presbyterians Today One evening 20 years ago, I was in a meeting with two local church sessions. They were discussing the congregations' differing views on a matter before the General...
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www.presbyterianmission.org
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The Case for Denominational Giving
I remember telling friends - when I first started a denominational position after 27 years as a parish pastor - that they might throw up a little in their mouths when they hear about my new ministry. I was not A Denominational Person. I was all...
Read more
achurchforstarvingartists.blog
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The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), in G-3.0106 Administration of Mission, includes this guidance:
- The administration of mission demonstrates the unity and interdependence of the church, in that councils share with one another responsibilities, rights, and powers (F-3.0203). Through their members and elected commissioners, lower councils participate in planning and administration of the work of higher councils, and in consultation between bodies concerning mission, budget, staffing and fair employment practices, and matters of equitable compensation.
and:
- Each council above the session shall prepare a budget for its operating expenses, including administrative personnel, and may fund it with a per capita apportionment among the particular congregations within its bounds. Presbyteries are responsible for raising their own funds and for raising and timely transmission of per capita funds to their respective synods and the General Assembly. Presbyteries may direct per capita apportionments to sessions within their bounds, but in no case shall the authority of the session to direct its benevolences be compromised.
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Resource Guides from the PCUSA Store |
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Digital Guides from PC(USA) Store
With these guides, you can easily compare products, click through directly to product pages, and read excerpts. You can also email or print these to use for personal research or with committees.
Read more
www.pcusastore.com
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Blogs and E-newsletters from PC(USA) |
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New year, new blog? Check out this list of blogs and e-newsletters. You never know when you'll find just what you didn't know you were looking for! |
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Blogs and E-newsletters
Eco-Journey : Learning, sharing, advocating with PC(USA) Environmental Ministries Food and Faith : Food and Faith In Spirit and Truth :...expanding horizons of representation and participation in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Read more
www.pcusa.org
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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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- 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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St. John Presbyterian Church located at 4120 N. MacDill Avenue, Tampa 33607, seeks to fill a temporary position for an organist/musician, from Jan, 2nd until mid-April. Our present musician is on an extended leave of absence.
Payment is $80 per service. Our church office telephone number is 813-872-0333.
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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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HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The next regular issue of the eNews will come out the third week of January. Thanks for reading all the way to the end! -- Bill
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