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Merry Christmas
Week of
December 20, 2010 | | |
| News around the Synod of Lakes and Prairies | |
 SYNOD ANNOUNCES HOLIDAY OFFICE HOURS: The Synod of Lakes and Prairies' office will be closed Dec. 23 through Jan. 2. While several staff members will be monitoring email and voice mail during the break, response may be a bit longer. Routine office hours resume Jan. 3.
TWIN CITIES AREA CANDIDATE TO DO INVOCATION AT GOVERNOR'S INAUGURATION: In a note last week the Rev. Denise Dunbar-Perkins, co-moderator of the Committee on Preparation for Ministry in the Presbytery of Twin Cities Area, wrote, "I am proud to announce that one of our candidates, Kerri Allen, has been invited to do the invocation prayer at the inauguration of Mark Dayton for governor." She added, "No matter what our own personal politics leanings may be, I would say that this is a true testament of the quality of people we are journeying through to ministry." Allen is a member of Dayton Avenue Presbyterian Church, St. Paul.
 PRESBYTERIAN HOMES MAKES LOCAL NEWS: Presbyterian Homes and Services, Roseville, Minn., has been making the news in the twin cities area during the past couple of weeks. The news stories noted that PHS, which is in covenant with the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, plans to redevelop an old Burnsville, Minn., shopping mall and will deliver meals to the homebound residents in two metro counties. This Week newspaper noted, "An outdated Burnsville shopping mall with a white-elephant reputation will be redeveloped for senior housing.The project is a partnership between the Dakota County Community Development Agency and Presbyterian Homes." The complete story is at "Burnsville Development." The Twin Cities Daily Planet noted, "After Jan. 1, Meals on Wheels friendly volunteers will no longer deliver a daily hot meal to elderly and homebound residents in Ramsey and Washington counties. Instead, the Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging has decided to contract with Presbyterian Homes to deliver frozen meals once a week, using paid drivers." This complete story is at "Meals on Wheels." The Presbyterian Homes and Services' mission statement notes that it exists "to enrich the lives of older adultss through services and communities that reflect the love of God."
 CHASKA, MINN., PASTOR WRITES OF REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH: The Rev. Gordon C. Stewart, pastor of Shepherd of the Hill Presbyterian Church in Chaska, Minn., is a frequent contributor to Minnesota Public Radio's Public Insight Network. His recent column addresses redistribution of wealth and class warfare - an ongoing struggle. He writes, "Those who own the language rule the world. Words can ignite the spark of hope; they can also light the fires of fear. Take, for instance, the phrases 'redistribution of wealth' and 'class warfare.' The visceral response in the American psyche is fear -- fear of communism. And those who cry the loudest are those who have already waged class warfare, albeit quietly.' Stewart's complete column can be found at "Redistribution."  RACHELLE MCCALLA NOMINATED FOR 2 FICTION AWARDS: Rachelle McCalla of Wayne, Neb., has had two books nominated for Romantic Times Book Reviews Readers' Choice Awards for 2010. Her nominated books are "Survival Instinct" for best first series romance and "Out on a Limb" for Steeple Hill love-inspired suspense. She is a graduate of Norfolk (Neb.) High School, Hastings (Neb.) College and the University of Dubuque (Iowa) Theological Seminary. McCalla and her husband, Ray, have served a variety of ministries in Iowa, South Carolina, Illinois, Wisconsin and Nebraska. The author's website can be found at "Rachelle McCalla" and the complete Omaha World-Herald story can be found at "Nebraska Authors."
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| News around the PC(USA) | | |
 SYNOD OF LIVING WATERS ENCOURAGES ALTERNATIVE CHRISTMAS GIFT: For Presbyterians rushing to find last-minute Christmas gifts, there's a better option than fighting the crowds and heading out to the nearest big-box store. Living Waters for the World, a mission resource of the Synod of Living Waters, will provide an e-card for each donation made as an alternative gift for a family member or friend. LWW trains and equips mission teams to share clean, sustainable water to communities in need around the world and in the Appalachian United States. The complete Presbyterian News Service story is at "Living Waters."
CAFÉ JUSTO OFFERS 'FAIR TRADE PLUS' COFFEE, EDUCATES OTHERS: The Just Trade Center on the Arizona/Mexico border promotes a new model of fair trade - fair trade plus - that goes above and beyond the traditional benefits of the system. Instead of only paying a fair price to the farmers for their coffee beans, Café Justo, using the fair trade plus model, also keeps the processing, roasting, packaging, shipping, marketing and management of the coffee in Mexico. This system allows farmers to participate in and profit from the entire process, increasing profits and providing more local jobs. The complete Presbyterian News Service story can be found at "Fair Trade."
RASH OF TEEN SUICIDES PROMPTS CALL FOR CHURCH TO TAKE ACTION: A reverent silence filled the room as Presbyterian Elder Michael Adee, barely containing his emotions, stood at the podium and solemnly read the names of six young people who in recent months have taken their own lives. "There are people that didn't understand that Tyler Clementi, age 18, Asher Brown, age 13, Raymond Chase, age 19, Billy Lucas, age 15, and Seth Walsh, age 13, were children of God," said Adee, addressing the hundreds in attendance at the Believe Out Loud Power Summit in Orlando, Fla., sponsored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. The complete Presbyterian News Service story can be found at "Teen Suicides." |
| And just two more | | |
THE FIRST NOWELL - CHRISTMAS SONGS REVISITED: The Rev. Tom Willadsen, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Oshkosh, Wis., takes a look at a popular Christmas song in a recent column. He wrote, "It's that time of year when people are weighing in on their least favorite Christmas songs. 'The Little Drummer Boy' is often at the top of the list. How many 'rum pa pum pum's' does a person need to hear in December? Or a lifetime? 'Feliz Navidad' also makes many people's lists. In the true spirit of unity, this song manages to be irritating in two languages." Willadsen's complete column can be found at "The First Nowell."
'HEROIC IMAGINATION PROJECT' TRIES TO CREATE HEROES: A recent column by Jonah Lehrer in The Wall Street Journal noted, "Can modern science help us to create heroes? That's the lofty question behind the Heroic Imagination Project, a new nonprofit started by Phil Zimbardo, a psychologist at Stanford University. The goal of the project is simple: to put decades of experimental research to use in training the next generation of exemplary Americans, churning out good guys with the same efficiency that gangs and terrorist groups produce bad guys." The complete column can be found at "Creating Heroes." |
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