Seven years ago, Hurricane Katrina swept through the Gulf of Mexico, destroying homes, devastating the economy, and claiming the lives of many. Because of your generous gifts to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and One Great Hour of Sharing, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has truly been able to help these communities heal and rebuild from that disaster, as well as from the Gulf oil spill in 2010.

Now communities like Plaquemines Parish, profoundly impacted by both Katrina and the oil spill, are in great need once again as a result of Hurricane Isaac. We respond in faith and affirmation that God's might is greater than any storm.    

 

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) stands ready to immediately respond to needs identified by mid councils in the affected areas. Trained National Response Team members are being deployed to provide a ministry of presence and help with assessments and other identified needs. Cleanup buckets and  Gift of the Heart kits are being assembled for the cleanup and recovery process. Your generosity will make a big difference in the effectiveness of our response.

 

How You Can Help

 

We ask that you stand in the GAP for those who are being affected by this devastating storm:

 

GIVE. Isaac has both national and international impact; we ask that you prayerfully consider giving online to DR000148. You can give $10 now by texting PDA to 20222.

 

ACT. Volunteer work teams may be needed to help with cleanup efforts. Contact Eden at the PDA Call Center, (866) 732-6121, to let her know of your team's skills and availability. You can also download and share this bulletin insert with others to inform them of the needs brought about by this situation.  

 

PRAY. Please pray for those who have already been impacted by the storm and those who will face coastal and inland flooding. Pray for affected families and those who will help with emergency, relief, and recovery efforts. Pray that the hope of Christ will be evident in our response.  

 

Read more about how PDA is responding and download a bulletin insert for use in Sunday services 

At the Stated Meeting of the Presbytery on August 18, the following dates for Stated Meetings in 2013 were approved:

Saturday, February 23 

Tuesday, May 7

Saturday, August 24 

Tuesday, November 12

Churches that would like to host a meeting of the Presbytery should contact Judd Shaw, General Presbyter - judd@presbyteryeasttn.org or 865-688-5581 ext. 103.

On August 18, Northminster Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga proved that a smaller church can successfully host a Presbytery meeting. We appreciate their well-organized and gracious service!

Summer is over!

 

Wow! It is hard to believe that just a few months ago we wrote to you all asking for your old or unidentified keys to use with our summer camp curriculum. Over the past few months those keys were put to use as we welcomed 200+ campers, staff and volunteers to Camp John Knox. We are blessed by the churches who partner with us in ministry by sending campers, chaplains and volunteers to be a part of our program.  

 

 

At the recent Presbytery meeting we honored our top 3 sending churches with the Gold, Silver and Bronze S'more Awards. We are grateful for congregations like Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville (14 campers), Fountain City Presbyterian Church in Knoxville (13 campers) and Bethel Presbyterian Church in Kingston (11 campers) who are committed to sending campers to John Knox.  

 

Fall is here!

 

Now as we get ready to start our busy fall environmental education and retreat season, we invite families, campers and congregations to join us at our upcoming events and retreats.    

 

 

   JKC Family Picnic: September 16th from 1pm until 5pm

   Family Campout: October 12th-14th

   Haunted High Ropes: October 27th

 

Family Picnic Flyer 

Fall Events Flyer 

  

"Like" John Knox Center on Facebook to get the most recent updates and see pictures of what is happening at camp!    

 

River Ridge Environmental Education Program

 

It's school time again all across Tennessee. For John Knox Center, it means one thing: River Ridge Environmental Education Program is already welcoming students! For those of you who may not know, River Ridge is a program of John Knox Center that offers science, teambuilding, and recreation classes to school groups of all ages. We offer curriculum that's correlated to the Tennessee Course of Study, as well as faith-based curriculum. Groups can stay for the day or a whole week! We serve many schools ranging from public, private, to home school groups as well.  

 

Currently, there are a few dates still available for groups to attend:

                      September 10th, 11th, 17th, and 18th

                        October 1st-5th, 19th, 22nd-26th

                        November 5th-9th, 12th-16th

           
Please visit http://johnknoxcenter.org/riverridge.asp to learn about all of our classes and to get more information about our program.

The Presbytery's Youth Committee has planned an exciting Middle School Youth Retreat at John Knox Center, Sept. 28-30. Registrations are being collected by Hannah Norris at First Presbyterian Church in Oak Ridge, but checks should be made payable to the Presbytery of East Tennessee. The deadline is Sept. 12.

 

Middle School Retreat flyer 

Registration/release Form 

 

Future Youth Events...details to come! 

 

High School Lockout - Oct. 26-27, 2012 at Maryville College and other locations  

 

Youth Summit - March 1-3, 2013 in Gatlinburg, TN

 

Presbyterian Youth Triennium - July 16-20 at Purdue University 

New Hope Presbyterian Church

7301 Shallowford Road Chattanooga, TN  37421

(423) 892-0853

 

A Presbytery Healing and Wholeness Service will be held on Sunday, October 7 at 6:00 p.m. at New Hope Presbyterian Church, Chattanooga.  All are invited for prayer, Scripture reading, and silent meditation organized by the Support Mission Team.

Overview of the Old Testament - Sept. 29 & Oct. 27 

 

The Presbytery's School of the Laity has just finished its inaugural course cycle. Over the last two years, 38 laypeople have participated in one or more classes including Overview of the Old Testament, Overview of the New Testament, Bible Study for Interpretation and Application, Christian Ethics, and Reformed Theology. Students who have attended several of the classes have learned more about their faith heritage, have held spirited discussions, and have made new friends. Many have requested additional courses, and some plan to attend the previous courses again. It has been a very rewarding journey.

 

This fall, the School of the Laity will begin its course cycle again, with Overview of the Old Testament, taught by professors Dr. Philip Sherman and Dr. Peggy Cowan on the campus of Maryville College. If you would like to participate, for this one class or for the whole cycle, now is the time to act. Class sessions will be held on September 29 and October 27 from 9:30am to 3:30pm. Registration is $65, which includes lunch both days, and is due by September 15. If you have questions, please email Elizabeth Wilson at Elizabeth@bewilson.net.

 

Online information and registration 

Mail-in Registration Form 

Bulletin board flyer 

Bulletin Insert 

 

International Peacemaking Speaker here Oct. 6-9

             

Our Presbytery is fortunate to have Arda Aghazarian, an Armenian Palestinian Christian, as our visiting International Peacemaker Oct. 6 through 9. The voluntary denominational Peacemaking offering supports visits from representatives of many countries who have been on the front line of peace and justice issues.

             

Arda was born and reared in the Old City of Jerusalem and studied at Birzeit University in the West Bank. Inspired to work for human rights and conflict resolution, she was a producer/presenter for a radio station whose aim was to build bridges between Palestinians and Israelis. She is currently the media and advocacy coordinator at the YWCA of Palestine.

             

The Peacemaking Committee encourages you to attend one of the presentations by Arda. (Note, there is still time available Sat. afternoon or Tues. morning if your church would like Arda to speak to a group.)

 

Saturday, October 6

AM - Presbyterian Women Fall Retreat, Graystone Presbyterian Church, Knoxville (contact: Rev. Ann Brunger)

 

Sunday, October 7

AM - Erin Presbyterian Church, Knoxville, Adult Sunday School (contact: Donna Schall)           

PM - Westminster Presbyterian Church, Knoxville (contact: Dr. Ellen Anderson)

 

Monday, October 8

AM - New Hope Presbyterian Church, Chattanooga (contact: Marilyn Suber)

PM - Bethel Presbyterian Church, Kingston (contact: Rev. Wendy Neff)

 

Tuesday, October 9

AM - AVAILABLE

Afternoon - Maryville College class in Internat'l. Aid & Organizs (contact: Prof. Scott Henson)

Evening - Maryville College meal & discussion (cont: Rev. Anne McKee)

 

This International Peacemaker visit is in conjunction with World Communion and Peacemaking offering Sunday, Oct. 7.   If your church has not been participating in the Peacemaking offering and would like more info, please contact Donna Schall (schalldon@att.net or 865-531-1788) or Rev. Ann Brunger (brunger@mindspring.com or 865-577-0287 at Graystone). 

Saturday, November 16
7:30p.m. (Central Time)
Cumberland County Playhouse Crossville, TN

Cost: $27 per person; $24 (15 or more)

Join us for a Presbytery-wide Gathering of fun and fellowship for a wonderful theatrical experience. Andres Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's amazing joyful Bible tale of Joseph and his brothers set to an exciting pop beat is one to be remembered in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." We are encouraging every church in the Presbytery to get a bus or carpool to Crossville for this event.

 

Meal arrangements have been made, with a room for us to gather, a the "LaCosta Mexican Restaurant. Take Exit 317 off I-40. Turn toward Crossville. Located just off the interstate, on the right next to Walmart in The Crossing Center. We will be served from 5:00-6:45pm (Central Time).

 

Reservations and tickets: Please contact Mary Wilson by September 30 at 865-680-2239 or mqwilson47@gmail.com with the estimated number of tickets for the performance as well as reservations for LaCosta Restaurant. Final Confirmation by October 31st. 

 

Event Flyer

Classes have begun and we are in full swing here at the UTK Presbyterian Campus Ministry!  We have a lot planned for this school year including a partnership with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity to build a house, a new program called "Brinner" in which friends from First Presbyterian Church, Knoxville will bring the students breakfast for dinner and we will facilitate a bible study.  We will also have worship and dinner on Wednesday nights!  We hope you check out our website www.pcmutk.org to find out more about what is going on here!

Because of the funds we received from the Presbytery to fix up our facility, we were able to pave our driveway and parking lot, rewire the upstairs so that it is up to code, refinish the floors in our resident's apartment, and update our fire alarm.  We have several more projects on the horizon to accomplish that will help to update our aging facility!  All of this work is in addition to the new roof we put on the facility this winter.  The roof was replaced through an insurance claim made after the 2011 hailstorm. 

We are also really excited about the renovation of our basement made possible by a generous grant from First Presbyterian Church, Knoxville and the McMurray Estate.  Our basement was in serious need of a major renovation.  It was dark, moldy, and dingy and nobody wanted to go down there anymore.  After our renovation project is complete, we will have a new kitchen, new utility area, game area, and lounge area.  We hope the completed project will demonstrate to students that we want them to find a home here!

We are so thankful for these generous funds given to us by the Presbytery of East TN and First Presbyterian Church, Knoxville.  Our facility was in dire need of renovation and updating!  Though we have finally been able to do some updating to our facility we are still in need of funding for our operating budget and programming!  We ask that you prayerfully continue to support the Presbyterian Campus Ministry! 

Some of our current needs are:
1.  A new flat screen TV for our living room.  College fellowship usually begins with, "Hey, you wanna watch this show with me..." and then a group of students gathers around a TV to watch a show.  However, we do not have a TV around which the students can gather.  We are hoping to be able to provide a TV this semester!

2.  Funding for student interns.  Our student interns are a very important part of the leadership at the PCM.  Because we work our interns so much during the school year we like to pay them a stipend.  We rely on your donations to be able to pay our student interns.

3.  We need a lawn mower!!!  Our lawn mower walked away from our property one day this summer.  We need to be able to cut our grass!  We would love a gently used lawn mower! 

Call the Presbyterian Campus Ministry at UT-Knoxville at 865-394-9242 or email pcutk@utk.edu 

Music lovers are invited to a concert on Sunday, September 9, at 3 p.m. at Graystone Presbyterian Church, Knoxville.  This season's first offering of the John Ribble Fine Arts Series will feature soprano Jami Rogers Anderson, who has been praised for her "flawless coloratura line" and her "remarkably sweet voice."  She has performed extensively in opera in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Latin America, and also in Knoxville, her home.  Graystone is located at 139 Woodlawn Pike, off Chapman Highway in South Knoxville.  The cost is $10 for adults; $5 for students.  For information call 865-577-0287.

 

Too tired to cook? Come join us at our first ever spaghetti supper on Friday night, Sept. 14 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at the Lancing Fellowship Hall. For $5.00, you'll be treated to spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread, a beverage and dessert. Plus, there's no dishes for you to clean up afterward! For folks living in and around the community, we will also be making orders to go, or we will deliver to shut-ins. Proceeds from the dinner will go toward one of the mission works we support.

 

Lancing Heritage Days will be held Saturday, September 29th from 11:00-4:00 in the Lancing Town Square. We hope you join us for a day of fun, food, and fellowship. There'll be lots of entertainment, vendors, and of course our booth for Living Waters for the World. We'll have baked goods for sale and items for silent auction. The church will be open for people to walk through, and you can get a meal in our fellowship hall. Hope to see you there!

Thursday, September 20

12 Noon in Room #102

First Presbyterian Church

1051 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge  

 

Dr. Lawrence Mccree, Neurosurgeon at Cumberland Neurosurgery and Spine Center, will speak about Back Pain. 

 

Health Luncheon programs are free and open to the community. There is a $5.00 charge for the lunch.  Please call 865-483-1318 for reservations.   

 

The new Presbyterian hymnal, Glory to God, will be published this fall.  Samplers of the new hymnal were distributed at the August Presbytery meeting and are available to order for the price of shipping at  www.presbyterianhymnal.org. There will be a hymnal workshop offered in our Presbytery on the evening of Tuesday, November 13 at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Knoxville.  More details will be available soon.  Our neighbor, Holston Presbytery, would welcome you at their Hymnal Workshop and Hymnsing on

Saturday, Sept. 29, starting at 10am at First Presbyterian Church of Morristown.   Event flyer 

 

Benevolence Training - Oct. 9

 

Have you become overwhelmed by the needs of families in your community? Do you have a need to know additional strategies and resources to help these families? If so, the Tennessee Valley Coalition to End Homelessness would like to invite your church staff, leaders, and members to participate in a FREE training on Tuesday, October 9, 2012. During this three hour session (9am-12pm), participants will be better equipped to serve this population through crisis intervention education and an increased awareness and connectedness to other community resources which already exist within your community. For more information or to request a pre-registration form, please contact Amy Rimmer with TVCEH at arimmer@tvceh.org, visit our website at www.tvceh.org, or call us toll-free at 1-877-488-8234. Thank you!  Training Flyer 

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.