The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) meets June 30 - July 7, 2012, in Pittsburgh, PA. Every two years, presbyteries elect teaching elders and ruling elders to come together to discern God's will for the church. "Presbyters are not simply to reflect the will of the people, but rather to seek together to find and represent the will of Christ." (F-3.0204)

 

The theme of the 220th General Assembly is "Walking, Running, Soaring in Hope." The commissioners elected by the Presbytery of East Tennessee are the Rev. Emily Anderson (New Providence), the Rev. Michael Stanfield (Sequoyah Hills), Elder Jack Danner (Rivermont) and Elder Connie Umbach (First, Lenoir City). Our Young Adult Advisory Delegate is Jennifer Carter, who is a member of Erin Presbyterian Church and attends Highland Presbyterian Church as a part of her Church and College Scholarship at Maryville College.

 

Each of the commissioners will be assigned to a committee of the General Assembly.  Emily Anderson has been selected from among the 688 commissioners to serve as the moderator of the Church Polity Committee. Please pray for our commissioners, delegates, and observers, as well as the hundreds of other faithful Presbyterians who will be attending General Assembly.

 

To learn more about the General Assembly, please explore these resources:

 

The General Assembly - What is it and what does it do?

 

The 220th General Assembly webpage - all you need to know about this year's GA

Register for Summer Camp! 

 

Go to the John Knox Center website to learn about all the exciting camp sessions available and register! 

 

Keys for Camp

 

It is spring cleaning time!  That means it is time to empty out the drawers that have collected dust and treasures over the past year.  If your drawers are anything like mine, you will wind up with more dust and less treasures.  You may also find yourself with a collection of keys that don't seem to have a purpose anymore. Instead of throwing those keys away think about collecting them and donating them to Camp John Knox.  This year's summer camp curriculum is Keys of the Kingdom.  We have a team of pastors and Christian educators from the presbytery who are working with John Knox staff to develop Bible studies centered on Matthew 16:15-19.  Campers will discover together the Kingdom of God and the keys to being disciples of Christ in our world today. In order to help them remember what they learned at camp, we would like each camper to leave camp with 5 keys.  This means we need over 1000 keys!  We need your help. Once you find the keys, please mail them to camp or contact Penny Laitos, Program Coordinator, and she will arrange a way to pick them up.  Thank you for your love and support of this ministry.  With your help it promises to be a great summer!

 

Camp Chaplains Needed

 

It is hard to believe that this month our summer camp season will officially begin when staff arrives for 2 weeks of staff training. We have hired an amazing group of young people to serve at camp this summer in a variety of positions. Those of us who are lucky enough to call John Knox home have spent the past few months planning for the arrival of staff and campers. We have exciting activities, crazy games, engaging Bible studies, and experiential worship planned. However, we are missing a vital part of our ministry team this summer, you! We are looking for pastors, children and youth directors, and others in the Presbytery to serve as a chaplain for a week at camp. If you feel called to spend a week this summer serving God in a new and different setting, please let us know.  

             

We like to have a chaplain on site to assist with Bible studies, help plan worship and be available for our campers and staff. While there is quite a bit of flexibly in this position here is some basic information. The chaplain position is a volunteer position with onsite housing and food provided. While we would love for someone to commit to the whole week we understand that this may not be possible. During a day at camp the chaplain has 2 primary responsibilities. They will help the staff lead Bible Studies with their campers and work with those Bible study groups to plan worship. The Bible studies will happen in the morning typically with worship happening at night. The other part of the job is an opportunity to participate in camp activities as either a leader or a participant yourself!

             

If this opportunity is something that you would like to consider, please contact me, Penny Laitos, at penny@johnknoxcenter.org or 865-466-8525. I would be more than happy to talk to you about the job and answer any questions you may have. I am looking forward to working with folks this summer as we serve the youth and families of TN!  

 

Camping for Christ,

Penny Laitos, Program Coordinator 

Randy Webb, a member of New Prospect Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, has a passion for Knoxville College.  He is eager to share the history, mission, and current needs of the small liberal arts college that was founded in 1875 as an outgrowth of the missionary effort of the United Presbyterian Church of North America.  Knoxville College is in need of support (monetary gifts, goods and services, work crews, prayer) as they work toward re-accreditation. Read Randy's message and review the College's history and current needs - call Randy at 865-984-6367 for more information about how you can help.

Summer Youth Get-A-Way - June 17-22 

 

Do you have talented high school students in your church or youth group that may have a gift for church leadership? Summer Youth Get-A-Way at Maryville College (June 17-22) will offer these young people a place to explore, a place to grow and a place to serve, returning to your church with new appreciation of their gifts  and enhanced skills for leadership and service.  Partnership scholarships available. Space is limited. Registration Deadline: May 15

 

More information at www.maryvillecollege.edu/events/syga 

 

Summer Youth Get-A-Way flyer 

Bulletin insert  

Support Living Waters for the World on May 12  

 

The Wartburg and Lancing Presbyterian Churches are hosting a booth for Living Waters for the World at the Sunbright School Carnival (Sunbright is located in Morgan County, and is about 15 miles from Lancing) on Saturday, May 12, from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. There will be lots of fun and games, vendors and silent auctions. We will be selling homemade barbecue sandwiches with a bag of chips and Carolyn Anderson's  "famous" brownies, plus a bottle of water for $3.00. All proceeds will go to support Living Waters for the World. We hope to see you there! Let clean water flow!

 

For more information, please contact Carolyn S. Anderson, CRE for Lancing and Wartburg at canders@utk.edu 

Health Luncheon on May 16th - Topic: Osteoporosis

A Health Luncheon will be held at 12:00 noon on May 16th at First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge. Dr. Elaine Bunick, Endocrine Associates, P.C. will speak about "Osteoporosis." First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge is located at 1051 Oak Ridge Turnpike. The program is free and open to the community. There is a $5.00 charge for the lunch. Please call 865-483-1318 for reservations.



Sunset Gap Community Center featured on WVLT Online

The food pantry at the Sunset Gap Community Center in Cosby, TN is featured in an article on WVLT's online news page.

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.