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| Presbytery Meeting - May 4th |
 The 103rd Stated Meeting of the Presbytery of East Tennessee will be held on Tuesday, May 4th at Lake Hills Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, TN. Registration will open at 9:30am and the meeting will begin at 10:00am. The worship service will include the installation of our new General Presbyter Judd Shaw.
To go to the web page with the links to the meeting packet and supplement, click HERE.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to budget constraints, packets are no longer being printed or mailed from the Presbytery office. Extra copies will not be available at the meeting, so everyone must remember to bring their materials. |
| Loaves & Fishes 2010 |
Dayspring Dancers from Erin Presbyterian Church, Knoxville  |
"Loaves & Fishes is the best thing our Presbytery does for us," says an elder from Powell Church.
"This year's Loaves & Fishes was outstanding...from the times spent with colleagues, to the variety of excellent workshops, to the inspiring worship experiences. Thank you..." says one pastor of a smaller member church.
Close to 200 presbyterians gathered on a beautiful mid-April weekend at the Sequoyah Hills Presbyterian Church for Loaves and Fishes 2010. Cheryl Child did a phenomenal job at coordinating the thousands of details with her planning team. Susan Hyde and her cadre from the church staff and the Local Arrangements Committee made sure that we were welcomed, well fed and knew where to go. To God be the glory!
To read more about all that happened during Loaves and Fishes, click HERE. |
| Encouraging Generosity |
Attention: Pastors and Church Stewardship Chairpersons
Karl Travis | SAVE THE DATES!
Friday, June 4 in the Knoxville area
Saturday, June 5 in the Chattanooga area
Karl Travis, a nationally known speaker and pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Ft. Worth, Texas will talk on "Encouraging Generosity in Difficult Times." Details to follow soon.
Bill Keeler, Treasurer
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| PET Rocks! | |
Orientation for the New and Not-So-New
 Pastors and educators who are new* to the Presbytery will gather Thursday, May 27, 2010 for "PET Rocks," an orientation session designed to help build a solid foundation of presbytery support. (*Your definition of "new" is up to you - if you still feel "new" after several years, please come!) Sponsored by the Support Mission Team, the event will be at the Presbytery office in Knoxville from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. including lunch. There is no charge. Participants will get acquainted with our camp, resource center, hunger program, staff, and structure. They will also receive a goody bag full of informative and practical items to help with the transition. (Note: includes chocolate, gifts from the Board of Pensions, a hot-off-the-press resource, and did we mention chocolate?) Reservations are needed by May 21. RSVP to Sharon Carter, Moderator, PET Support Mission Team: revscarter@comcast.net or 865-385-5003. Churches, please encourage your staff to attend! |
| Campus Ministry News |
High School Seniors - Learn about Campus Life
The Presbyterian Campus Ministry @ UT-Knoxville invites high school seniors to join us for an evening of worship, dinner, and conversation about campus ministry! If you have questions about college, greek life, campus ministry, living in the dorms, partying, classes, anything related to the "college life", this is the place to ask those questions!  When: Sunday, May 2nd @ 5:30pm- 8pmWhere: The Presbyterian Center @ UTK What: Worship, dinner, and conversation Who: High School Seniors Why: Because you're going to college next year! RSVP to Kally: pcutk@utk.edu or 865-525-7475
Reusable Grocery Bags for Sale
 The Presbyterian Center has reusable grocery bags for sale! Don't buy your reusable bags at Wal-Mart! Buy them from the Presbyterian Center and help us raise money for the ministry! Suggested donation is $5/first bag, $4/second bag, $3/third bag and so on! Email pcutk@utk.org or call 865-525-7475. |
| Hunger Action! |
Update on the Pinto Bean Project
 Individuals and congregations can become part of the Pinto Bean Project by sending donations to: The Presbytery of East Tennessee, P.O. Box 5436, Knoxville, TN 37928-0436 (memo section: Pinto Bean Project). The cost of one bag 50 pound bag is $25, but if someone would like to donate $12.50 for half a bag or $6.25 for a quarter of a bag, that would be wonderful, too. I will purchase the 50 pound bags from Sysco and make arrangements to deliver them to food pantries within the Presbytery as needs are brought to my attention. To date, 26 bags have been purchased and delivered. To follow updates on the project, go to the PETNET, the Presbytery's social network site: http://presbyteryeasttn.ning.com $1000 in Cents-Ability Grants Sent to Chattanooga in April
 Chattanooga Area Food Bank's Sack Pack Program ($500 grant) On Friday afternoons, bags of nutritious, kid-friendly food are placed discreetly in the backpacks of school children who face hunger issues over the weekend. www.chattfoodbank.org
Deborah Phillips
Hunger Action Enabler
"Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8 |
| News from Maryville College |
Women of Courage Celebration - May 7
Amanda Ingram |
Special concert featuring mezzo-soprano
Amanda Ingram
7:00pm
Lambert Recital Hall
Clayton Center for the Arts
All proceeds from the concert will benefit the Women of Courage Scholarship, which is awarded to a non-traditional female student recognized for her drive and initiative to overcome personal, professional or financial burdens to complete her degree. For additional information, click HERE.
Summer Youth Get-Away - June 6-11
 Developing High School Leadership in the Church is the Heart of Summer Youth Get-A-Way
For High School Students
Rising 10th, 11th, 12th grades
June 6-11
Certificate Program in Ministry and Church Leadership
Faculty at Maryville College recently approved a new certificate program in ministry and church leadership, available to students in all majors.
Proposed by the College's Faith and Learning Committee, the program is designed to equip students with a set of intellectual and practical skills that will help prepare them for future work in ministry, including youth ministry, social outreach and other forms of parish and pastoral work.
Students are required to complete five components: a supervised and reflective internship in a church/ministry setting, a group facilitation course, a course in Biblical studies, introduction to Christian theology and one additional course outside of the student's major. The Rev. Anne McKee, campus minister, is the director of the program. Read more
Summer Institute Schedule Announced The schedule of courses for Maryville College's 2010 Summer Institute has been announced, and registration is now open to area high school students and college students wishing to get ahead or catch up on coursework, and to other adults who want to explore new fields of study.
The Summer Institute spans five sessions, with classes in sessions one, three and five getting underway May 24. Classes in session two begin June 15, while classes in session four begin June 29. Sessions last between three and 11 weeks. Instructors are Maryville College's full-time regular faculty members.
Approximately 35 different for-credit courses are offered through the Summer Institute, although students may sign up for them on a non-credit basis. Read more |
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Coming Soon... | |
Presbytery of East Tennessee
School of the Laity
Interested in learning more about your faith? Curious about Reformed Theology and our Presbyterian heritage? Thinking about the possibility of becoming a Commissioned Lay Pastor? Then we have a new, innovative program just for you.
Starting in the Fall of 2010, our Presbytery will be offering a School of the Laity at Maryville College. Classes will be held on two weekends and will be taught the first year by members of the Maryville College faculty. The program is open to all laypeople. Specific information about the 2010-11 schedule will be available soon.
For more information contact:
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| News and Events Around the Presbytery | |
Bob Hill Installed as Campus Minister at UT-Chattanooga
The Rev. Bob Hill was installed as the campus minister for the Presbyterian Center at UT-Chattanooga on March 28. Participating in his installation, which was held at Second Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga, were (l to r) Elder Terry Rawlston (Northside), Rev. Keith Jones (New Hope), Rev. Laura Becker (Northminster), Bob Hill, Elder Richard Wald (Trinity), Rev. Dr. Perry McCallen (Second) and Elder John Guthrie (Rivermont).
Morgan-Scott Project - Good Earth Garden Program
 Last spring, the generosity of individuals and congregations in the Presbytery helped Morgan-Scott's Good Earth Garden Program provide 384 low-income families with the means to grow their own food. This spring, 405 families were supplied with potato seeds, onion sets, cabbage, tomato, and pepper plants, vegetable seeds, and fertilizer. Thank you for helping to make these home gardens a reality once again! Would your congregation like to have a speaker from the Morgan-Scott Project? Please contact Morgan-Scott's Director, Ella Smith, at (423) 965-3131 or go to http://www.morganscottproject.org/
Food Justice Enthusiasts: Agrarian Road Trip to stop in Knoxville on June 15th
Our denomination's Presbyterian Hunger Program is organizing an agrarian road trip called "Heaven on Earth." This road trip will travel through several states, making stops along the way to visit local food and food justice projects. The trip will celebrate the decentralized, grassroots sustainable food and agricultural revolution that is sprouting up everywhere. The trip will end up at the U.S. Social Forum, which is being held June 22-26 in Detroit, MI.  The road trip will arrive in Knoxville on June 15th late in the afternoon. The event will begin with a tour of the Liles Acres Organic Farm in Maryville http://www.lilesacres.com/ at 6:00 pm followed by a potluck dinner at Highland Presbyterian Church http://www.highlandpresby.org/ Everyone is asked to bring a dish that includes at least one locally grown ingredient. A tour of Highland Presbyterian's vegetable garden will also be part of the evening.
To obtain additional information on the stop in Knoxville, contact Deborah Phillips, our Presbytery's Hunger Action Enabler - deborah@presbyteryeasttn.org
Conversation and Comfort in the face of Serious Mental Illness
Often the "elephant in the room" in our churches, homes, and businesses about which few of us want to talk is serious mental illness. At First Presbyterian Church, Knoxville, we found the General Assembly's Statement and Study Guide on Serious Mental Illness ("Comfort My People") to be very helpful in a five-week study that culminated in a service of healing and wholeness. A large part of the "healing" and "wholeness" that has taken place is just getting the subject out into the open. We had no "great solutions" but we were able to bear our burdens together. So many have faced and continue to face directly or through a loved one, the debilitating effects of depression, addiction, dementia, schizophrenia, bi-polar, and so forth. We found encouragement in struggling together with this very real part of our lives before God.
Do You Need Answer To A Prayer?
Answer To A Prayer (ATAP) has provided consulting, training, and third-party audit reviews to hundreds of churches and nonprofits for more than 17 years. ATAP is offering special discounts to churches in our Presbytery and has provided database consulting (PowerChurch) and audit review services for the Presbytery office. Read more |
| Spread the News! |
We invite you to share your news with us. All articles and news items must be submitted by the 20th of the month prior to publication. Send your information to Dana Hendrix, dana@presbyteryeasttn.org. |
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