Meditations with Calvin
I shall start, then, with the church, into whose bosom God is pleased
to gather his sons, not only that they may be nourished by her help and
ministry as long as they are infants and children, but also that they
may be guided by her motherly care until they mature and at last reach
the goal of faith. For those to whom [God] is Father the church may
also be Mother. (4.1.1.)
Read more about the John Calvin's Jubilee
|
Your Help is NEEDED by Oct 17!
The Presbytery Office is in the process of updating it's printed directory. We need ALL clergy, Ministry Team members and Congregations (anyone listed in the directory) to login to their account at the new website.You should have received your login information through email. If not, feel free to register for an account. Click here to login. A step by step tutorial on what you need to do can be found by clicking here.Please contact Jane McGookey, news@lakemichiganpresbytery.org if you have any quesitons, concerns, problems, etc. Thank you!
|
Presbytery Meeting Notification Update
As the presbytery office does more things electronically we want
to alert you that we are adjusting some dates for posting material.
The docket posting for stated meetings will now be two weeks prior
rather than three weeks. We will have the location and
reservation/lunch instructions and any available material when it is
ready, and then add the preliminary docket two weeks before the
meeting. Don't forget that everything you need is available online
now: EXCUSED ABSENCE REQUESTS, REGISTRATION, CHILD CARE NEEDS, LUNCH
RESERVATIONS on the Presbytery Packet page (located under the Home button).
|
Top Ten Giving Per Member to Presbytery
Benton Harbor, First - 94 members, $106.38/member
Grand Rapids, North Park - 164 members $85.37/member
Muskegon, First - 296 members $71.62/member
Three Rivers/Centreville, 1st - 281 members $71.17/member
Holland, First - 548 members $68.43/member
Grand Rapids, Westminster - 1,244 members $68.33/member
Edwardsburg - 82 members $58.54/member
Lansing, Delta - 171 members $58.48/member
Mattawan, Pine Island - 60 members $58.33/member
McBain, First - 57 members, $52.63/member
|
Missionary Visits Presbytery
Amy Robinson, U.S.
coordinator of Pasos de Fe, one of six sites along the U.S./Mexican
border that are part of the PC(USA) Presbyterian Border Ministry, will
be visiting our Presbytery the week of Oct. 2-9. She facilitates
the visits of church groups that want to participate in mission, scheduling
and coordinating the visits and working with her colleagues from the
National Presbyterian Church of Mexico to plan the work, worship and
living arrangements.
Everyone in the Presbytery
is welcome to attend any of the scheduled events. Her schedule
is as follows:
Oct. 2 - travel
from Lake Huron Presbytery
Oct. 3 - Grand
Rapids
Oct. 4 - Grand
Rapids Westminster, 8:30 & 10:55 worship; 9:30 Adult Ed.
Oct. 5 - Grand
Rapids
Oct. 6 - Mason
First, 12 noon luncheon, 7 pm desert meeting.
Oct. 7 - Paw
Paw First, 11 am gathering, 12 noon lunch,
Kalamazoo
First, 5:30 free will offering dinner, 6:15 worship service with program
following.
Oct. 8 - Benton
Harbor First, 5:15 prayer circle, 6:00 dinner with program following.
Oct. 9 - travel
to Detroit Presbytery
This is an extremely
unique opportunity to hear about the experience of our missionaries
directly! Please consider fitting this in your busy schedule.
|
Opportunities
Check out paying and volunteer positions on our Opportunities page. Click here to look for an opportunity for you!
Happenings
21st Century Reformation:
Seven Trends Shaping and Changing the Nature of Ministry Today
Sunday, October 4, 2009, 12:00 Noon, First Presbyterian Church of Holt
2021 N. Aurelius Road, Holt, MI 48842
In
celebration of World Communion Sunday, all are invited to arrive a
little early to enjoy the "International Taste Fest" which will take
place
between worship and Dr. Nishioka's presentation.
Please let us know what's happening at your church so we can share it on the Happenings page.
|
Centering Prayer Group
Rich Lawther is facilitating a group at the St. Francis Retreat Center located in De Witt, MI. The group is entitled Empowering Parish Ministry through the Practice of Centering Prayer. The
group will focus upon the practice of centering prayer as a means of
empowering ministry in the local church and partnering with God to do effectively the work of minister or priest. The group will follow the practice of centering prayer as described in the Cloud of Unknowing and supplemented by Thomas Keating's Open Mind Open Heart.
The cost will be $15.00 per person, which includes lunch and refreshments. Overnight stay is $30.00 and arrangements are made directly with the center for a room.
The group size will be limited to ten persons and is limited to those who are in active ministry.
If you or anyone is interested, please contact at lawthrd@sbcglobal.net or by calling either 989.528.0954 or leave a message at 989.693.6043.
|
Educator Fellowship
The Educator Fellowship provides support and nurture for anyone
involved in educational ministry in the presbytery. Please join us
for any of these events.
Saturday, October 3 at the Pennfield
Presbyterian Church from 9:30 a.m. to noon. "Where Do the Children
Play?" looks at the vital importance of open ended play for the healthy
development of children. Activities and discussion will address the
ways that the Pennfield Church has adapted its program to celebrate the
outdoors. To register, please call the church office at 269-965-0818.
Thursday,
January 14, 2010 at the Presbytery Office in Portage from 10:00 a.m. to
2:00 p.m. We will gather to share ideas for Lent.
In the spring we are planning a retreat for pastors and educators, focusing on sabbath time and self care.
If you have any questions, contact
Eileen Best,ebest@lakemichiganpresbytery.org
|
Small Congregation Leadership
Applications are now available for the Summer Collegium, a project in
support of small congregations at Virginia Theological Seminary in
Alexandria, Virginia. Clergy (and their spouses or partners) from 25
small churches of all Christian denominations are invited to spend nine
days at Virginia Seminary for encouragement, education, rest and
renewal. All expenses, including travel, books, meals, lodging, child
care at home and pulpit supply, are paid by a grant from the Lilly
Endowment. The theme of the Summer Collegium this year is Leadership in
the Small Congregation. Keynote speaker will be Alice Mann, a prolific
writer on congregational ministry, and John Bell from the Iona
Community in Scotland will join our worship team for the conference.
The dates for the Summer Collegium are June 23 - July 1, 2010.
Application forms at www.vts.edu/education/collegium. Applications must
be postmarked by December 15, 2009, to be considered. |
Stewardship
Save the Date! 2010 Stewardship Kaleidoscope Conference
The
2010 Stewardship Kaleidoscope Conference is a training event for
pastors, committee chairs, and middle governing body staff members to
learn from the best practices of others who work in the field of
stewardship. The 2010 conference, planned in partnership with several
presbyteries, synods, and the General Assembly Mission Council, will be
held March 15-17, 2010 in Indianapolis, Ind. Click here for more updates. |
CONNECTIONAL and CONNECTED!
Thanks to technology we have the ability to not only be a
connectional denomination, but also to be connected! The staff of the
Presbytery of Lake Michigan wants to ensure that members in every
congregation are included when we send out news about the things you need to know. We especially want
to reach out to the leaders in the congregations -- pastors, elders and
deacons, key office personnel, Christian Educators, Clerks of Session and Treasurers often
need to receive directed communications. Please say "YES" when invited
to be on our "Constant Contact" lists! Our lists are private, never
shared, and you will notice with "Constant Contact" that there is no
lengthy list of other email addresses when you receive something from
the presbytery.
|
|
About Us
Presbytery of Lake Michigan is a middle governing body of the Presbyterian Church (USA) serving over 70 churches . If you wish to have something included in the newsletter, please read our Electronic Communication Policy then use our online form. Deadline for this newsletter is the 12th and 27th of each month.
Presbytery of Lake Michigan
1511 Helen Avenue
Portage, Michigan 49002
888.271.6567
|
|
OCTOBER is Pastor
Appreciation Month!
|
2009 Presbytery Retreat
|
Michigan Presbyterian
Pilgrimage #11
October 22 - 25, 2009
Camp Henry, Newaygo,
MI
For more information please contact:
Rich Yeckley, Rector
(269)651.1352
rkyeckley@yahoo.com
|
Happenings at Journey
Click here to learn more about Journey Center for the Church's learning at Western Theological Seminary in Holland MI.
|
Resources
Click here to view Linda Valentine's latest newsletter, One in the Spirit.
Click here to view the September newsletter from Transformation Spirituality Center, Kalamazoo MI.
Click here to view Lansing area resources compiled by Deb Smith-Powell.
Click here to view the Presbyterian Communicators latest newsletter.
Click here to view the most recent Synod newsletter.
Click here to download the Presbytery Pastoral Care Network toolbox.
|
Youth Events
2009 Urban Plunge-Go Light Your World!
Come and join other youth from our presbytery for a weekend of service and fellowship. The dates are November 6-8 (Friday-Sunday) at
Westminster Presbyterian Church in Grand Rapids. The cost is $35 per
youth which includes a t-shirt! Adult leaders are free! A flyer and
registration forms are available at the Youth Page website (www.lakemichiganpresbytery.org/youth). Contact Nate Roosien (nater@westminstergr.com) for more information. The registration deadline is October 14.
2010 Presbyterian Youth Triennium
Youth Triennium is held every three years at Purdue University in W.
Lafayette Indiana. It is a gathering of Presbyterian youth from the
USA and around the world. Youth entering 9th grade through
graduated seniors may attend. The 2010 Youth Triennium is being held
July 20-24. Information is available at the Triennium website (www.presbyterianyouthtriennium.org).
The presbytery is planning on paying a portion of the $409 registration
fee per youth. Lynn Barger Elliott is the Triennium Registrar for our
presbytery. Please e-mail Lynn (lbe2504@comcast.net) by November 1 and indicate the number of youth from your congregation that are interested in attending.
|
Order your Advent Calendar Today!
TO ORDER:
Call (800) 524-2612 and ask for item #12116-09-11 or order online.
Single copy $3;
$1.50 each for 10 or more copies;
$1.25 each for 100 or more copies;
$1 each for 250 or more copies, plus shipping and handling.
Subscribers to Presbyterians Today will receive the 2009 Advent Calendar in their November issue.
|
Communication Corner: What does your facility say about your church? Look at signage (outside and inside), entrances, parking lot, and lobby (foyer/narthex)
- In what ways are they welcoming? Can people easily find restrooms, nursery, coat room, etc?
- In what ways do they the create unnecessary barriers?
- What impression is created?
- What forms of access are available for people with disabilities?
- In what ways are people from the community welcomed?
Also consider lighting and the quality of sound system and the ability of hearing assistance for the hearing impaired.
 Are you on Facebook? Join our Group!
|
|
