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Presbytery of Philadelphia E-News
June 26, 2009 |
Presbytery Calendar : Summer 2009 June 29 - Strategy Team - Immigrant/NCD July 2 - Congregational Nurture Team July 3 - Independence Day Observance (Presbytery office closed) July 15 - Commissioned Lay Pastors Meeting July 28 - Session Records Reading Site July 28 - Presbytery Meeting at Supplee Memorial Church | For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. Ephesians 1:15-16 Please keep the following congregations in prayer this week: Leiper Lenape Valley Leverington Levittown Llanerch |
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| The Mission Development Resources Committee of the PC (USA) announces its 2009 Mission Program Grant Recipients The Mission Development Resources Committee of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has awarded Mission Program Grants totaling $820,000 to 19 congregations and church-related projects across the United States.
Broad Street Ministry is one of the grant recipients for congregation based ministries. They have received a $25,000 grant to support the expansion and sustainability of this ministry. It will help to fund a hospitality and kitchen manager to relieve the strain on over-extended staff and volunteers, and build capacity for the banquet tradition that defines this ministry’s approach to service and community-building. |
Presbytery of Philadelphia News |
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| Space Available on Zambia Partnership Trip The Newtown Presbyterian Church in conjunction with the Zambia Partnership Mission Action Network is planning a trip to Zambia from about June 29, 2010 through July 12, 2010 – about 2 weeks total time depending on airline schedules and the capacity of our partners in Zambia to host us. Total cost of the trip should not exceed $3,500 including round trip airfare, local travel and accommodations. The trip will include about a two day visit to Victoria Falls and the local game park outside of Livingstone, Zambia.
The purpose of the trip is to get to know Christian brothers and sisters in Zambia and learn about their faith, the vitality of their churches, their ministries, and the local economic, political and social context in which they do ministry. |
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| WEI Holds 2nd GED Graduation
The Women’s Empowerment Initiative, a ministry of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, held a service to recognize the women (and a few men) who had earned their GED certificates after taking part in preparation sessions at the Women’s Empowerment Center on Aspen Street in West Philadelphia. Nearly 30 (mostly) women have achieved their GEDs since the last service of recognition was held in November, 2008. |
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| New Spirit Community Church, Presbytery, and Cornerstone Christian Academy Hold Conversation
Three members of the session of New Spirit Community Church in Southwest Philadelphia met with members of Presbytery staff and representatives of the Cornerstone Christian Academy on Thursday to discuss mutual opportunities for ministry around 58th and Chester Streets. |
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| Mission Opportunity From Bruce Barstow, Stated Clerk of the Presbytery: "Recently, I was driving to work and listening to Philadelphia's NPR station. There was a news report on the nationwide closing of car dealerships. The reporter stated that one of the local impacts not discussed was the loss of sponsors for youth sports teams. Well, did that get me thinking. With presbytery staff and COMO enthusiasm, I encourage each local congregation to seriously consider meeting this need by sponsoring a youth sports team!" For more information, please follow the link. |
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| 2020 Vision
Moving towards the church that God imagines for us
Recently a cohort of church leaders excited about congregational transformation and change gathered to vision and re-imagine the church for 2020. After several days of exciting and passionate conversation and debate, the group developed a vision for the Church of 2020.
Congregational teams are invited to participate in four events focused on
taking the next steps to becoming the Church of 2020.
2020 Vision is sponsored by Synod of the Trinity, Presbyteries of Philadelphia, Donegal, Carlisle, Lackawanna and Lehigh |
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| Partnership for Missional Church Date Change
Because of scheduling conflicts the PMC Alpha Cluster Event 8 will be on October 9 & 10 at Oxford Presbyterian Church. More information is available on the webpage.
This date replaces the Alpha Cluster Event 8 schedule of September 25 &26. |
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| SDOP Reports on Presbytery of Philadelphia’s Work with Agape African Senior Citizens Center
by Sanford Hull "Your country is bleeding, dying. Bands of boys, some as young as 10 years old, stoked with marijuana and cocaine, roam through bush and village with AK47s, bringing terror wherever they go. Who knows which of the several rebel factions they belong to? After years of this horror, there is still no end in sight. You’re old — much too old to imagine relocating from the village where you have spent your life eking out a living from the soil. But now the unimaginable has become urgent, and after a mind-boggling, body-exhausting journey, you find yourself dumped in an alien landscape and culture thousands of miles from home. " |
| Resource Center News Now that the summer is here and schedules are (hopefully) becoming a bit less hectic, it’s time to think about clearing off your desk and returning the resources you’ve used this year to the Resource Center.
If you currently have a resource or resources checked out that you’ve had for a month or more, would you please return them as soon as possible? You can return your resources in person, or by mail.
Thank you! |
 | Read more about how you can be an advocate for the hungry. |
| Hunger Action This Week
This Week: June 26, 2009
Here is what you can do to advocate for strong policies to fight hunger… IN OUR STATE! - The State Food Purchase Program
- Other Policies
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 | | Click on the image to link to the recent edition of The Peacemeal |
| The Peacemeal
The Presbytery of Philadelphia Peacemaking Committee regularly publishes a newsletter – The Peacemeal. The May 2009 edition of the Peacemeal, highlighting summer conference opportunities, is now available online. |
Presbyterian Church (USA) News and Congregational News |
| Thomasina James at Wissinoming Church on July 5th
Thomasina James, a musician and singer well-known in the Philadelphia area and beyond, will participate in the worship services at Wissinoming Presbyterian Church (5825 Torresdale Avenue, Torresdale Avenue and Howell Street, Philadelphia, PA 19135) on Sunday, July 5th during Wissinoming’s weekend celebration of Independence Day. Ms. James will play and sing several spirituals as part of the 10am worship service. Don’t miss out on this special opportunity! If you would like more information, please contact Rev. Anderson E. Porter, pastor of the Wissinoming Presbyterian Church, at 215-476-7493. |
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| 38th Annual Scottish Communion at Doylestown Presbyterian
Doylestown Presbyterian Church will celebrate its 38th annual Scottish communion Sunday with services at 8:30 and 10:00am on Sunday, July 12, 2009. The DPC Chancel Choir will sing at both services under the direction of Bev Fulgham, Director of Music and the Arts, accompanied by Jinhee Shim, organist. Traditional Scottish music will be provided by Charlie Rutan, bagpiper, and Doug Agnew, drummer.
DPC’s Associate Pastor for Congregational Education, the Reverend Bryant M. Anderson, will preach and Kayla Richards, 8, will serve as Scripture bearer. After services, the celebration continues with music, lemonade, and homemade shortbread in the churchyard. Everyone is invited and encouraged to wear family tartans and Scottish attire. |
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| "Read and Meet the Author" at Church on the Mall
Our next “Read & Meet the Author” offers an engaging conversation with Rev. Dr. Al Tizon on Monday, August 10, 2009, from 1:00 – 5:00 pm at Church on the Mall, Plymouth Meeting Mall, Plymouth Meeting, PA.
The cost is $25 (which, thanks to our guest author, includes the cost of his book [retails for $15], coauthored with John Perkins, Ron Sider & Wayne: Linking Arms, Linking Lives: How Urban-Suburban Partnerships Can Transform Communities [Baker Books 2008]). The expectation is that attendees will have read Dr. Tizon’s book prior to the discussion so that we can maximize our conversation with him. Space is limited to 25 to facilitate interaction, so sign up early and enjoy your summer reading.
You can register and pick up your copy of Linking Arms, Linking Lives at Church on the Mall Monday through Thursday, 9:30 am – 2:30 pm, or at the Evangelicals for Social Action office (at Palmer Seminary in Wynnewood, PA – call ahead for summer office hours at 484/384-2990), or make special arrangements with Phil Olson (609/284-2202 cell).
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| Tully Memorial starts the Togo Immigrant Faith Community
Tully Memorial has had about 15 people from Togo attending worship including a pastor ordained by the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Togo, Pastor Komlan Enzunkpe. The church discovered that there was a need for a service in Ewe, the dialect of Togo and also of some people in Benin and Ghana. At its June meeting the Session voted to establish the Togo Immigrant Faith Community.
On June 21st the first worship service in Ewe was held with 40 people attending! Tully Memorial plans to continue this worship service as part of the Faith Community and to start English as a second language classes. They expect further programs to come out of this Faith Community. |
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| Parish Associate Position at Abington
Mid sized church in a Philadelphia suburb looking for a Part Time Parish Associate, who will participate actively in the pastoral care of the congregation including visits to homes, hospitals, nursing homes, and retirement homes. This person will also occasionally lead the congregation in worship as well as perform some weddings and funerals.
This person must have pastoral experience and a Master of Divinity degree from an accredited seminary and ordination in the Presbyterian Church or a denomination in communion with the Presbyterian Church.
This will be a yearly renewable position that will start around mid-Fall of 2009. Please send resume or PIF to before August 31st, 2009.
For more information on this and other opportunities in the Presbytery of Philadelphia, please follow the link.AssocPastorSearch@gmail.com |
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| Women’s Empowerment Initiative Seeks Directors
The Women’s Empowerment Initiative is seeking two persons to help to launch their Workforce Training and Placement Initiative. The Presbyterian Workforce Training and Placement Initiative operates under the auspices of the Presbyterian Corporation for the Women’s Employment Empowerment Initiative (WEI), a 501(c)3 entity of the Presbytery of Philadelphia. The focus of the Presbyterian Workforce Training and Placement Initiative is preparing and placing unemployed and underemployed women through (1) training, (2) workforce readiness, (3) job placement, and (4) employment retention. The key to achieving these outcomes will be an aggressive pursuit of business relationships with leading corporations and organizations within greater Philadelphia. |
| Installation Service for Montreat’s New President On Sunday, June 14, 2009, worshippers gathered in the Anderson Auditorium at Montreat Conference Center to celebrate the installation of the Rev. Dr. Albert G. “Pete” Peery, Jr. as the sixteenth president of the Mountain Retreat Association.
Peery, who has served congregations in Georgia and North Carolina for the past thirty years, comes to Montreat Conference Center after fourteen years as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Asheville, NC. For over a decade, he has been serving on the Board of Trustees of St. Andrews Presbyterian College and was the first alumnus to be elected board chair. Peery’s service to the denomination includes service on the staff of the General Assembly of the PC (USA) as a Peace Associate in Europe, where he worked to helped churches with reconciliation toward the end of the Cold War. In addition, he served a five-year term on the General Assembly’s Nominating Committee.
Dr. Peery is married to the Rev. Margaret Barnes Peery, a pastoral counselor in Asheville, who also participated in the service along with guest preacher and long-time family friend of the Peerys, the Rev. Dr. Agnes Norfleet, pastor of Shandon Presbyterian Church, Columbia, SC. |
| News from the Office of the General Assembly Evangelism & Church Growth is offering a series of free monthly webinars produced by The Columbia Partnership. These webinars will discuss issues surrounding congregational transformation. On Tuesday, July 21, at 2 p.m. EDT, presenter Eddie Hammett, a leadership and discipleship specialist, will coach you on how to make shifts of transformative change within your church without making waves. Learn how to anticipate and then minimize those destructive comments that often come when change is mentioned. The final webinar in this summer series is August 18. For more information and to register, please visit http://www.presbygrow.net/ You are invited to join Mission Crossroads, an online community facilitated by Presbyterian World Mission's Equipping the Church for Mission Involvement (EMI) work area. With this site, EMI "seeks to bring Presbyterians together as branches of the same vine, connecting people with resources and tools for engaging with each other and with God's mission in the world." For more information, visit http://missioncrossroads.ning.com/ Celebrate John Calvin's Jubilee - John Calvin is well known by Presbyterians, but he is not necessarily well understood. As we celebrate the 500th anniversary of Calvin's birth in 2009, we Presbyterians have an opportunity to reintroduce ourselves to Calvin's legacy - his monumental contributions to theology, church government, education, language, music and politics as well as the more troubling aspects - by participating in a conference on Calvin's legacy July 8-11 at Montreat Conference Center. We will explore Calvin's continuing influence on Reformed faith and life through lectures, panels, discussion and worship. For more information, please visit http://www.pcusa.org/theologyandworship/ |
| Pittsburgh Theological Seminary's new evening classes
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary invites new evening students to take their first class at half price. Pick from Historical Studies or the Study of Prophets and Psalms. Classes meet on evening a week from 6:30-9:00pm. Discern the ministries of preaching and teaching and experience theological study with seminary professors. Incoming students must complete the standard admissions process. Download the application online at www.pts.edu/application-request. Applications will be accepted until August 1st. Contact the seminary at 1-800-451-4194 or at admissions@pts.edu. Learn more about the evening program online at www.pts.edu/evening. |
Kirkwood Camp News |
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| Parents and Youth: Time to Register at Kirkwood Camp! IT"S NOT TOO LATE TO REGISTER!!! Kirkwood Camp and Retreat Center is Philadelphia Presbytery’s neat “paradise in the woods,” located at Stroudsburg in the Poconos.
Kids in grade 1 – 12 spend time as summer campers with other campers their age and with one or more counselors. Their experience will include Bible study, worship, and outdoor activities. And this year, Kirkwood will use its own curriculum, written expressly for the needs of our campers.
This summer's camps:
Beginners Camp Parent & Child Camp. Traditional Camp Night Owl Camp Adventure Camps Joy of Creation Camp
For more information about Kirkwood Camp www.kirkwoodcamp.org |
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| Help Spread the Kirkwood News!!!! Kirkwood has prepared a flyer for use by churches to promote their summer camping program. Click on the image to download a copy for your bulletin board or church newsletter. Financial assistance is available! You can request up to 50% off of your registration fee by providing a brief description of your circumstances to the camp administrator and attaching it to your registration form.
If you need more brochures, would like to request a visit to your church, or would like to volunteer, please contact Carolyn Jeffrey at kirkwood@presbyphl.org or call 215-732-1842. |
| Pastor In Residence at Kirkwood Camp
There’s still an opportunity to serve this summer by volunteering to be a pastor in residence the week of July 12-18. Contact Carolyn at the office if you are interested in serving that week. Contact Carolyn Jeffrey at or call 215-732-1842Kirkwood@presbyphl.org |
| ON LINE REGISTRATION IS AVAILABLE
Go to the Kirkwood website: . Click on the Online Registration button. If you registered on line last year, click on the Account Login button and sign in with your email and password. The system retains all your personal information. Pay by credit card or debit card.
www.kirkwoodcamp.org |
Information about the Presbytery E-News This is our newest edition of the Presbytery E-news. We encourage you to invite your friends and colleagues to sign up for their own copy. When you sign up you can ask for a text only version (useful for our dial-up members) or a full graphics version with pictures and formatted text. We do encourage you to forward the E-News to others. Churches and other organizations within the Presbytery of Philadelphia: Please note that we publish on Friday afternoons (the publication date varies during the holidays). We do this so that by Monday morning all of our churches have access to the information. Please include items that you feel are important for your congregations in your own newsletters and bulletins for the week. Please send your information to be published by NOON ON THURSDAY. Anything received after this time may or may not be able to be published until the following week. - We can include pictures but they must be in JPEG format. Other formats cannot be used.
- Please send article and announcement information in a WORD document. Please do not send your information in other formats such as WordPerfect or HTML. We would appreciate it if you sent the information as an attachment and not embedded in the email.
- We will accept hardcopies sent by mail.
Please send announcements, special events, and other information for the newsletter to Rev. Michelle Grunseich at resources@presbyphl.org. Thank you! All announcements and articles are subject to editorial review and all decisions made by the editors are final. |
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