Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;.
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen

Contact information for anyone on this list may be obtained by calling
the presbytery office at 800-621-6905 or 989-799-7481.

 

Geneva Presbyterian Church in Canton, MI is searching for a part-time Director of Children's Ministry.  Please see our Help Wanted page for details.

We also have a couple of positions listed for churches in LHP on the page.

If your congregation has a position available, please e-mail  the details to spercy@presbylh.org so that it may be posted on our site for you.

Saturday, October 17, 2009
Have you been to Costa Rica on a mission trip?  Does your congregation participate in the "Two Coins a Meal" hunger ministry? Would you like to know more about our Presbytery's partnership with the Presbyterian Church in Costa Rica (IEPC)?


Then you are cordially invited to attend "A Gathering hosted by the Friends of IEPC"
 
 
Please bring a dish to pass for the Potluck Meal
 
This is an opportunity to gather with those who share the vision and mission of our partnership with the Presbyterian Church of Costa Rica. We are excited that the members of this July's delegation to Costa Rica will share special stories of their visits to a number of the feeding programs supported by Lake Huron's "Two Coins a Meal" program.  This is an opportunity to see our partnership in action!  Come share in this special time of fellowship.
 
R.S.V.P. to Marquietta Davis, by October 14  (1-800-621-6905) or mdavis@presbylh.org

From Yvon Prehn's Effective Church Communications Website.  No one would deny that Halloween has become big business. Even the 99 cent store in my town has a whole aisle devoted to scary masks and decorations. It has become a time to celebrate evil in a way that honestly sickens many believers in Jesus.

But it is more than that! It is also an opportunity to turn the attention of people away from the scary and silly to the serious issues raised at this time: death and the afterlife.

In the same way the Apostle Paul used the pagan idols in Athens as a pivot to sharing the gospel, so we too can use Halloween as an opportunity to share with people the one person who conquered death: Jesus.

Please take a few minutes to look at this video and share it with those in your church who are hesitant to do Halloween Outreach.

 

"Emergence NOW," Columbia Theological Seminary's annual January Seminars, takes place January 26-28, 2010, on the seminary campus in Decatur, GA. Leaders include acclaimed editor, author, and lecturer Phyllis Tickle, along with pastor and moderator of the PC (USA) Bruce Reyes-Chow, and author/ theologians Tony Jones and Philip Clayton. Barbara Brown Taylor, renowned preacher and author, will lead worship on Tuesday afternoon and Thursday morning. Offered by the Center for Lifelong Learning, "Emergence NOW" will feature plenary sessions, daily worship, and workshops. The $265 program fee includes two lunches. More information and online registration for the event and housing is available here. You may also register by calling 404.687.4587.
 
Event leaders

Phyllis Tickle, founding editor of the Religion Department of Publishers Weekly, the international journal of the book industry, is an authority on religion in America and a much sought after lecturer on the subject. In addition to numerous lectures, essays, articles, and interviews, Tickle is the author of over two dozen books in religion and spirituality, most recently The Great Emergence, How Christianity is Changing and Why and The Words of Jesus, A Gospel of the Sayings of Our Lord. She is also the author of the notable and popular The Divine Hours series of manuals for observing fixed-hour prayer.
 
Bruce Reyes-Chow, moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the PC (USA) and one of the leading voices of post-modernism within Christianity, is the pastor of Mission Bay Community Church, a Presbyterian church located in the Excelsior District of San Francisco. Reyes-Chow is also the co-Host of a weekly Internet radio show, The God Complex: Where fully divine runs smack dab into fully human. In process is his first book, which will be self-published: Embracing the Gray: musings on faith, family, and the pursuit of an American dream.
 
Philip Clayton holds a triple appointment at Claremont: in the department of religion, the department of philosophy, and as Ingraham Professor at Claremont School of Theology.  Clayton has published widely in the fields of theology, the history of philosophy, and the philosophies of science, religion, and the mind. A series of discussions and research centered around an emerging transformation of religion in America is the subject of his upcoming book, Transforming Theology.
 
Tony Jones is the author of The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier and is theologian-in-residence at Solomon's Porch in Minneapolis. The author of many books on Christian ministry and spirituality, including The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life, he is a sought- after speaker and consultant in the areas of emerging church, postmodernism, and Christian spirituality. He is also a small business owner.
 
Barbara Brown Taylor teaches religion at Piedmont College in  northeast Georgia and is an adjunct professor of spirituality at Columbia Theological Seminary. She is the author of 12 books, including An Altar in the World, published by HarperOne in February 2009. Her memoir, Leaving Church, met with widespread critical acclaim, winning a 2006 Author of the Year award from the Georgia Writers Association. She is also an at-large editor for The Christian Century and an occasional commentator on Georgia Public Radio.
 
Columbia Theological Seminary, located in Decatur, Georgia, was established in 1828 and is one of 10 theological institutions of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

A 10-part series for just $12.95!
Order today!
by MaryAnn McKibben Dana

The perfect resource for adult Sunday school classes or Bible-study groups.

Geography plays a fascinating role in the Bible. Human history begins in the GARDEN of Eden. Moses went up MOUNT Sinai and crossed the Red SEA. The children of Israel wandered through the DESERT. Jesus went off to pray in the WILDERNESS. Much of the Lord's ministry takes place in the CITY of Jerusalem and in the TOWNS of the Decapolis.

Did you ever wonder why God chose these locales?
Was it mere chance or part of a larger spiritual and symbolic design?

Presbyterians Today's new Bible study/discussion series, Landscapes of Faith, helps you explore these and many other fascinating questions, such as:

• Suppose the transfiguration of Jesus had taken place in a valley instead of a mountaintop -- how would the story have been different?
• What does it mean for biblical history to begin in a garden and end in a city?
• How do the varied landscapes of the Bible enrich the stories set within them?
• How do we understand God's presence amid the different landscapes of our own lives?
• What is the symbolic/spiritual significance of these biblical landscapes: garden, valley, vineyard, sea, tower, wilderness, mountaintop, road, beach, city?

Included in every guide: Scripture passages, questions for discussion, hands-on learning activities (including art projects, field trips, worship and prayer suggestions), book references and resources for further study

The author, MaryAnn McKibben Dana, is associate pastor of Idylwood Presbyterian Church in Falls Church, Va., and writes the Bible Explorations column in Presbyterians Today. Her previous series was "Biblical Themes in Children's Literature"

Georgia Flooding
Torrential rains falling on saturated soil has caused flooding throughout parts of Alabama, eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina and Georgia. Most affected in Georgia where at least 3,000 homes have been damaged. Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue issued a state of emergency for 18 counties and has asked President Barack Obama for an emergency federal disaster declaration. Four PC(USA) presbyteries are affected, Cherokee, Greater Atlanta, Northeast Georgia and Flint River.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) is responding and has sent One Great Hour of Sharing funds and members of the PDA National Response Team to help the affected presbyteries in their response and recovery efforts. The Westminster Presbyterian Church in Rome, Georgia is serving as a distribution point for relief items and Gift of the Heart kits. The church is certified to serve as a shelter for people and pets should the need arise.

Gifts to DR000015 strengthens PDA's ability to response to disasters in the United States.  Also consider making Gift-of-the Heart kits to replenish those sent to help in the response.  Read the full report.

Philippines
Typhoon "Ketsana", locally known as "Ondoy", swept across metro Manila and parts of Central Luzon on Saturday, September 26, 2009, and brought a month's worth of rain in just 12 hours. The waters rose so fast that people living in low lying areas were caught unaware and had to stay on the roofs of their houses to avoid being swept away by the floods. At least 140 died from the storm, and more than 450,000 people have been displaced and have sought shelter in schools, churches and other evacuation shelters.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is responding through with our partners, The United Church of Christ in the Philippines, and the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP). Local churches in the affected communities have been opened their premises as evacuation and relief centers to provide a safe haven for the displaced families. They are helping to provide the families with basic humanitarian assistance of food, drinking water, non-food relief items, basic medicines and personal hygiene necessities.

An international appeal by Action by Churches Together (ACT) will be forthcoming and PDA will support the appeal for addition relief items with One Great Hour of Sharing funds.

Gifts to DR000012 will help PDA's response to Tropical Storm Ketsana in the Philippines. Read the full report.


Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is now on Facebook.  Please sign-up as a Fan of the PDA page.   Sign in to Facebook, search for "Presbyterian Disaster Assistance" and become a FAN.