LAST CHANCE: Order copies of 2023-2025 Book of Order

The 2023-2025 Book of Order includes the fully revised Church Discipline section as well as significant changes including new congregational policies. The Presbytery will place a bulk order for a cost of $9 per book, which includes the cost of shipping to the Presbytery. This price is for those books picked up from Charleston or a “regional” delivery location; any books mailed from the Presbytery to you will incur an additional delivery fee. Deadline for all orders is Monday. All pastors, especially those who moderate sessions, are strongly encouraged to update their Book of Order.

Dialog sermon in West Virginia allows Presbyterian, Muslim pastors to share pulpit

By Mike Givler, Synod of the Trinity

Davis Memorial Presbyterian Church in Gassaway, WV, has an average attendance on Sunday mornings of 11. However, don’t let the size of this small, rural congregation fool you because this worshiping community is doing and experiencing great things. In late June, the Rev. James Riggs, a United Methodist pastor who is a temporary member of the Presbytery of West Virginia who is filling the pulpit these days at Davis Memorial, invited a leader from the Islamic Association of West Virginia to participate in a dialog sermon with him centered on the Biblical story of Hagar and Ishmael. This discussion provided different viewpoints for the congregation to hear and reflect on surrounding this conflictual passage.

Coach training opportunities

Loaves & Fishes Coach Training, a certified coaching program for organizations, is offering three upcoming trainings to become a coach and develop your coaching. The Presbytery has previously contracted with Loaves & Fishes to provide introductory coach training to a group of Presbytery-appointed moderators and mentors. Coach Training, to become a coach, begins Oct. 16-18 and runs through May 6-8. Mentor Coaching, to develop your coaching, is 2-4 p.m. Oct. 4 and 11 and Jan. 3; register here, and if more than 10 people sign up, a second cohort will be formed. Also to develop your coaching, there is Team Coach Training Continuing Education, a 10-hour course offered in 2-hour blocks once a month for five months (October through February) that explores the different aspects of Team Coaching. Additionally, Loaves & Fishes will lead Columbia Theological Seminary's Coaching Institute starting this fall.

Seeking Presbyterian Men's groups

The Synod Council of Presbyterian Men seeks a representative from the Presbytery to serve. Time involvement is a single annual meeting, normally the third Saturday in October, lasting approximately 90 minutes on Zoom. If your church has a Presbyterian Men's group and is interested in this opportunity, please contact Raymond Why (pjgwhy@gmail.com) with the name and contact information of your interested individual.

News from the Presbytery's Treasurer

• Church Financial Leadership Grants available
• Selecting Board of Pensions benefits for 2024
• Assets and Liabilities: Managing Your Church’s Balance Sheet
• Paying guest speakers

• Stewardship Kaleidoscope 2023
• 2023 IRS mileage
• 2023 Per Capita
• 2023 Special Offerings

For Ed Thompson, the people made it special in WV

By Mike Givler, Synod of the Trinity

When the Rev. Ed Thompson began his second tenure in the Presbytery of West Virginia – the latest stint starting in 2016 as the mid council’s general presbyter – he had a goal of worshiping with all of the churches in the region. Seven years later, as Ed heads into retirement, he is on the cusp of achieving that goal. It’s been time well spent.

“One of the things I’ve really enjoyed is just visiting churches and seeing how everyone is doing ministry,” said Ed, who estimated he has been to 120 churches in the presbytery. “There’s some really creative things going on and things that are flying under the radar screen, so to speak."

New Presbyterian campus pastor at WVU

The Rev. Will E. Myers has been named campus minister of the Presbyterian Student Fellowship at West Virginia University in Morgantown. Myers, 28, assumed leadership of the ministry on July 17, said Tina Vial, president of the Westminster Foundation of West Virginia, a 501(c)(3) organization that has provided campus ministry to state-supported colleges and universities for more than a century.

Go bowling with Kanawha United's BraveHeart Fellowship

From 3-5 p.m. Aug. 3, BraveHeart Fellowship will be at Charleston's Galaxy Lanes, 6545 MacCorkle Ave. SE, for some bowling fun. BraveHeart Fellowship provides age-appropriate social activities for young adults (16+) living with cognitive and developmental challenges in an inclusive, safe environment. Activities are planned for maximum participation by all, regardless of ability level and are solely intended to provide opportunities for social interaction and community inclusion.

Enslow Park hosts Faith Flow Yoga

Savasana, Tree Pose, Warrior 1, Warrior 2, Windshield Wipers, the Bread of Life. These are just a few of the words you will hear at Enslow Park Presbyterian Church’s Faith Flow Yoga class in Huntington. Faith Flow Yoga was started at the church by Pastor John Yeager in March 2021, after he wanted to provide a non-traditional worship experience. He spoke with Joan St. Clair, owner of local yoga business Studio 8, and she immediately liked this new idea and was eager to help get it started. John had learned about this idea from an Episcopal church that had a yoga worship service in Knoxville, TN. 

Local professor travels to Kenya

By Robert McCutcheon, For The Inter-Mountain

It was a typical February day — 98 degrees and sunny. My hosts were about average height, just under seven feet. I was in Kakuma, Kenya, after a long day of driving, from Lodwar north to Lokichoggio and halfway back. Kakuma is the site of one of three Presbyterian churches in Turkana County, two hours apart from each other along a desert highway under construction, with dusty detours and stops for crossing goats or camels every few miles. And, once in a while, an African crew and Chinese foreman in hard hats.

For the past 15 years I have traveled to Kenya in several capacities. Usually I visit Nyeri, in the Central Highlands, home of West Virginia’s sister presbytery, with its kindred landscape of green hills and hollers. Except there the crops are tea and coffee, and cars get stuck in mud instead of snow.

Charleston's Elk Hills Presbyterian seeks part-time secretary

Elk Hills Presbyterian Church in Charleston is seeking a part-time secretary, approximately five hours per week. Must be available on Thursday mornings. If interested, please email elkhillschurch@aol.com with your contact information, and details will be provided. Good opportunity for a retiree or stay-at-home parent.

Critical Incident Stress Management training

8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 3-5 in Scott Depot

Led by Dr. Naomi Paget of National VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster), this 3-day program will offer thorough training in crisis intervention protocols. Often referred to as "emotional first aid," crisis intervention is a specialized form of acute emergency mental health intervention. The training, which is limited to 100 participants, is at Good Shepherd Baptist Church, 162 Tiger Lane in Scott Depot. Registration is $60, which includes course materials and lunch each day. Register here.

Bronwen Boswell named Acting Stated Clerk of the PCUSA General Assembly

The Committee on the Office of the General Assembly has announced that the Rev. Bronwen Boswell has been named Acting Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Boswell, who is currently general presbyter/stated clerk at Shenandoah Presbytery, will serve until the election of a new stated clerk at the 226th General Assembly in Salt Lake City, Utah, next summer. She will fill the unexpired term of the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, who announced his decision to step down at the end of June.

SAVE THE DATE

2023 Small Church Conference

This year's Small Church Conference will take place on Saturday, Oct. 7, at Elk Hills Presbyterian Church, 109 Church Rd., Charleston, WV 25302. The theme is Ministry in the Wilderness. Stay tuned to future newsletters for more information.