The Charleston Atlantic Presbytery Children's Retreat is coming soon! Plan now to join us on March 10-11, 2012, for this annual retreat.  This is a great time of music, games, s'mores, learning and friends that every child in your congregation would love!  

Register and pay online today!

Click here for more retreat information.

• Visit: http://oga.pcusa.org/stats where you can go to download the information and input your data. 
• Passwords have been changed and you need to add an "!" at the end of the previous year's password.
• The deadline is February 22, 2012.
• If you don't have access to the internet, contact Barbara Burger at the presbytery office.

Got gospel? The Charleston Symphony Orchestra Gospel Choir will be leading the Second Presbyterian congregation in worship this next Sunday, February 6th at 11:15 am.

Everyone is welcome to join in on the jubilation at 342 Meeting Street!

CAP High School Youth Day on March 24th!

The Youth Council challenges YOU! On March 24, on the CAP High School Youth Day, we will participate in Water Missions International's Walk for Water!

We'll walk as one team (Team CAPY-Charleston Atlantic Presbytery Youth!) BUT each church is challenged to a fundraiser challenge! The Youth Council has set a fundraising goal of $1000 for Team CAPY, and have an AWESOME prize for the church who raises the most for our team! Trust me, you DON'T want to miss out on this prize!!! (Youth Leaders, keep your eye out for more information on the High School Youth Day! Contact Rae Epps with any questions you may have!)

Our next meeting is Tuesday, February 28th at 12:30pm in the fellowship hall of Westminster church. It is a great lunch for $5 and even greater conversation!  We hope to see you there!

I am excited about the opportunity to speak of the Transformation of Zion Olivet at the Winter Meeting of the Charleston Atlantic Presbytery. I believe that this will be an opportunity for the Congregational Development Ministry Unit, Charleston Atlantic Presbytery and Zion Olivet to showcase the level of care, stewardship, support and intentional commitment it takes to actively transform an existing congregation.

It should be understood that this effort is not just about the relocation of a church building but the changing of the spiritual, cultural and traditional identity of a community of faith. It should be highlighted that Zion Olivet and the Presbytery is not looking to maintain a distinct racial institution but is seeking to establish a diverse multicultural community of faith that will be a model of what the church should look like both now and in the future.

We have been excited about the newness of spirit, the refocusing and redefining of our mission and ministry. We have been aggressive in our efforts to achieve the goals and objectives of transformation and transfiguration.

It has been because of our partnership with the CDMU and the Presbytery that we have been able to place our current property on the market, locate a transitional home for our congregation and a possible site for the future church edifice. It has also been because of our partnership that we have committed ourselves to repay in full any funds to the CDMU and presbytery that are used to acquire a new site for the transformed congregation.

We deeply appreciate the commitment of the Congregational Development Ministry Unit and the Charleston Atlantic Presbytery and pray that we may continue our partnership to complete our noble task.

Click here to download a trip flyer.

What is our presbytery doing to help our congregations grow in their spiritual lives? At our presbytery meeting on February 18th at Lowcountry Church in Bluffton, our keynote speaker will be Rev. Stan Ott, founder of the Acts 16:5 Initiative. 

Stan Ott travels the country consulting with presbyteries and he will share with us what is working in many of our churches and where the spirit is moving.  His talk will focus on 'The Seven Habits of a Burning Heart".  Stan will also be our preacher for opening worship that day

If you have ways your congregation is engaging in "spiritual disciplines", e-mail those to Mike Fitze and he will pass them along to our churches.

Lenten Studies in the CAP Resource Center

• Embracing the Prophets in Contemporary Culture - Join Walter Brueggemann and Tim Scorer in this six session DVD study through the poetic prophecy of the Hebrew Scriptures identifying cultural contexts, putting a framework to Israel's history, and drawing connections between Israel's sociological, economic, and spiritual status and that of America today.
• 24 Hours That Changed the World by Adam Hamilton- a step by step guide through the last day of Jesus' life. This series includes a book, DVD with a 7 session leader's guide, and a 40 day Lenten devotional 
• The Drama of Easter: An Anthology of Royalty-Free Easter Plays for All Ages edited by Rhonda Wray- This resource contains plays for Lent, Holy Week, and Easter.
• Sharing the Easter Faith With Children: Helping Children Observe Lent and Celebrate Easter by Carolyn Brown- This resource helps adults see the Easter story from a child's point of view and offers worship suggestions for the church and home.
• Final Words From the Cross by Adam Hamilton- As Jesus hung on the cross he spoke seven "final words"- statements that have much to teach us about Jesus, his Father, and ourselves. This series includes a book and DVD with a 6 session leader's guide.
• The Thoughtful Christian has two new Lenten studies this year: What is Lent?- a one session study for youth and Walking the Way of the Cross with Paul- a six session study. These may be purchased from www.thethoughtfulchristian.com.

Extra Inventory at Mt. Pleasant Church

Free for the Taking!

Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian has several items they do no need and wanted to offer to other churches in the presbytery.

Items Include: 

• 16 boxes of Cokesbury Offering envelopes - they are "generic" with no church printing or envelope numbers printed on them.
• Approx. 250 plastic cassette tape holders (4" x 2 ½")

If interested, contact Val Marmillion at vmarmillion@mppc.net.

Presbyterian Association of Musicians (PAM)

Offers Special Gather on Saturday, February 25th

Presbyterian Association of Musicians (PAM) offers a special Gathering-Saturday, February 25 at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Greenville-A gathering which will focus on the new hymnal and other resources to use in worship and with your Music Ministry-See more information about the conference and PAM at presbymusic.org  Not a member of PAM, join today.