Upcoming Meetings and Events
(All meetings are at the Presbytery Office unless otherwise noted)
Presbyterian Women
February 17
10:00am
Committee on Ministry
February 22
12:00pm
Annual Statistics Deadline
February 23
Presbytery Meeting
March 1
9:30am
Saginaw-Second
Personnel Team
March 7
10:30am
Nominating Team
March 7
1:00pm
Synod Assembly
March 11-12
Synod Office
Maumee, OH
Alma Youth Mix
March 11-13
Alma College
Details on these and other meetings/events can be found on the presbytery's homepage and on the calendar
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Plans Proceed For Second Big Tent Event
Registration will be opening up next week.
More details at the
March 1st
Presbytery Meeting
and the next
Bi-Weekly Brief!
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Prayer for The Day
Gracious God, move us to use our hands and feet
to reach out to the least, the last, and the lost
in our neighborhoods, our communities, and beyond.
May the world come to know your love
through our love lived out in deeds
of kindness and words of caring.
In the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
From the 2011 Mission Yearbook entry for February 2
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For Your Prayers
CLP Sue Loenshal (Alma-Eastminster) who is undergoing treatment for cancer.
CLP Gloria Watson's (Swartz Creek-Mundy) great-granddaughter who is being treated for an inoperable tumor on her brain stem.
CLP Gloria Watson and the congregation of Swartz Creek-Mundy who recently began their Commissioned Lay Pastor relationship.
Elder Charles Richter (Saginaw-First and Committee on Ministry Member) who is being treated for CMML (Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia).
Elder Roger Terrill (Fenton-First and Coordinating Team Member) whose 17-month-old grandchild is undergoing chemotherapy.
Rebecca Francek and Cassie Todd (Candidates Under Care of the Presbytery) whose husbands are currently deployed to Afghanistan.
The Rev. Clint Cozier and the congregation of Vassar-First who just began their Interim Pastor relationship.
The Rev. Sharlyn DeHaven Gates and the congregation of Holly who will begin their pastoral relationship on March 1st.
We encourage everyone to send a card or e-mail or make a phone call to those listed. Sometimes a small gesture creates a big smile.
Contact information for anyone on this list may be obtained by calling the presbytery office at 800-621-6905 or 989-799-7482.
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Just One Week Left to Complete 2010 Annual Statistics
Time is almost up! There is only one week left to enter your congregation's Annual Statistics and Clerk's Questionnaire online and return the Necrology Report form to the presbytery office. The online system is really slowing down due to the high volume of users trying to enter data. If you have dial up service you are unlikely to be able to access the system soon. Remember, you can change data anytime before you hit submit. Enter what you have as you get it and don't hit submit until you are done. (Just an FYI...it is no longer necessary to even click the submit button. Once the system closes on February 23 any data entered will automatically submitted.)
Just a reminder: Your Per Capita payment is based on these figures and having an accurate record will affect your church financially.
Links to the online reporting site and the form that need to be filled out and returned to the presbytery can be found on the Annual Statistics page of our website. We are here to help you so should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact either Staci Percy or Ted McCulloch at 800-621-6905 or 989-799-7481. |
VBS Preview Kits Are Here!
 The 2011 Vacation Bible School preview kits are now available. You are invited to look at the various kits in the Resource Center. As a reminder, these kits cannot be checked out like our other resources. They must be viewed here in the presbytery office.
Here is a summary of this year's VBS kits: Shake It Up Café: Where Kids Carry Out God's Recipe (Abingdon/Cokesbury) Participants learn how to shake up their lives to become better followers of God through exploring the Bible as a cookbook filled with God's recipes. They celebrate biblical festivals (two Old Testament and three New Testament) and discover ingredients for living Christ-centered lives. Island Odyssey: To the Ends of the Earth with Jesus Christ (Abingdon/Cokesbury) This program links biblical island stories with the culture of popular island vacation spots. Sessions focus on locations in Paul's journeys and the island of Patmos. These locations are paired with modern islands, and participants learn about these cultures where the Gospel has spread. Inside Out and Upside Down on Main Street (Standard) This program is based on five of Jesus' parables and how Jesus' teachings turn life upside down. The chosen parables focus on the themes of gratitude, compassion, forgiveness, grace, and faithfulness. Please visit the Resource Center page on our website. It is under the Resources tab. |
Our Active Congregations! - Part 1
First Presbyterian Church, Alma is launching a program of respite care for adults. This ministry will involve providing stimulating programs for people with memory deficits, and at the same time, will allow their care-giving family member time for themselves. The program involves providing four hours of age appropriate socialization and recreation, three days a week. The purpose of this program is to cognitively stimulate the participating individuals, and at the same time, provide their caregiver private time to join friends for lunch, go shopping, attend appointments, or possibly just take a nap. We will begin the program with a group of 12 adults. We plan to have this program up and running by April 1, 2011. |
Our Active Congregations! - Part 2
Saginaw-Warren Avenue: Celebrating the Gifts of Women and Young Ladies Evelyn McGovern, President of Women of Colors Inc, will be with us in worship, 10:00 a.m. on February 27th as we celebrate the gifts of Women and Young ladies in the church and community. Women of Colors Inc, is celebrating 18 years as a volunteer organization supporting programming for children in the community. They just received a grant from the city of Saginaw that will allow them to hire a part-time secretary. They also plan on starting some workshops for parents of these children next fall. The WOC office and meeting rooms are located on the lower level of the church building. This thriving organization provides mentoring programming on Saturdays for girls and boys in the community. Visit their newly designed web page: www.womenofcolors.org The Cathedral District Youth Center, also serving children in the city of Saginaw Mondays through Thursdays, uses the Gymnasium and adjacent Sunday school rooms for after school programming. We thank the Coordinating Team for the emergency help to help the youth center keep up with their utility bills until new sources of funding can be found. |
Invitation From the Synod of the Covenant
 The Presbyterian Community is cordially invited to the installation service of our Transitional Synod Executive, the Rev. Raafat L.Zaki with Special Guest Speaker, the Rev. Gradye Parsons; Stated Clerk, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Friday, March 11, 2011 at 12:30 p.m. First Presbyterian Church 200 E. Broadway Maumee OH 43537 |
2011 Transformation/Small Church Ministry Conference
Why Attend? The 21st century church is navigating uncharted waters, faithfully seeking to be the church in the midst of God "doing a new thing." The time has come to listen, learn and move in new directions in community. The time has come when we must "be transformed by renewing of our minds." When and Where? May 5-7 Holiday Inn French Quarter 10630 Fremont Pike Perrysburg OH 43551 www.hifq.com Sponsored by: The Detroit Presbytery, the Synod of the Covenant & General Assembly (Small Church Ministry & General Assembly Mission Council) |
"Glee: A Study for Youth" by Kathy Wolf Reed
 Available from The Thoughtful Christian
High school is a critical time when youth begin to reflect on the narrative of their own lives and decide how they want that story to be told. In the end, the characters in the hit TV musical-comedy Glee find that being able to tell one's story with integrity from within a community of acceptance is far preferable to forsaking friendships and dignity for popularity.
These issues raise great questions for Christian youth today, such as: How do they see themselves and others around them as outcasts? What do stories of outcasts throughout Scripture teach us about welcoming one another into a community of radical acceptance? In this study, youth will use clips from the series and scriptural texts to reflect on times when they have felt excluded and will discuss the communities of radical acceptance in their own lives.
This study guide is just $5 and can be instantly downloaded from The Thoughtful Christian.
Click here for more information or to order
Also available: "Glee: A Study For Adults" by Kathy Wolf Reed. This is also a $5 download available here.
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Communications Tip
One of my favorite people that I met at the last Big Tent Event was Lynette Hawkins, owner of Beyond Marketing Group, Awesome Insight. She is a church communication specialist with wonderful ideas for reaching the unchurched and being a welcoming congregation. Here is one item from her website that congregations may find useful as they wade into the waters of social media.
10 Facebook Tips for Profile and Ministry Pages
- Include a photo. Remember this is for interaction one-on-one.
- Complete your profile. Don't leave a profile half done.
- Be sure to share your personal bio as it relates to your ministry.
- Make your church website address clickable. Add http://
- Feed your ministry leader's blog to the "Notes app."
- Share inspirational insights.
- Encourage interaction with discussion and open-ended question.
- Customize the look of your ministry page with a mini-website FBML app (Facebook Mark up Language) .
- Add email opt-in application to your ministry page and profile.
- Check out the apps available for your ministry page.
Visit the Awesome Insight website for more details on this and other ministry suggestions.
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Book of Order Online
The PC(USA) has the complete Book of Order available free on their website. Click here to go directly to the online version. You may also find the link to this on our website in several places, including: the Resources page and the Committee on Ministry page.
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South Africa Project Looking For Donations
Alice and CJ Merriman, members of Lapeer-First, are going to South Africa in April and are hoping to collect items for Velakukhanya Primary
School which is located in the Zululand
area of KwaZulu-Natal province of South
Africa.
"While there in 2007 we saw the really terrible conditions that so many black people endure. We saw from a distance the townships and a few of the schools. From what we observed it is our impression that if you are white, life in S.A. is very good. If you are black it is likely that you are in poverty. When we decided that we would return to the country we began exploring ways we might help. Safari Club International has a humanitarian effort called the Blue Bag project. Through this project people are encouraged to take extra luggage (blue bags) with humanitarian supplies for local people, primarily children. We will be participating in this project when we travel this spring." They are looking for basic items like: pencils, pens, crayons, rulers, toothbrushes, etc. They are also accepting monetary donations. For detailed information on the mission and how you can help, please click here. CJ and Alice can be contacted at 810-441-0444 or e-mail at
africaproject2011@gmail.com. |
Join Us On Facebook
The Presbytery has a Facebook page and would like you to join us. Get updates and information faster. Connect with others to share ideas and to post information about events happening in your congregation. Join us today!
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