Each week we pray for a ministry or ministers in the PTCA.    Click on the button below to find who we are praying for this week.

• We give thanks new life: Teaching Elder Kim Goodman gave birth Monday, January 30 to a baby boy at 9:22pm (2 weeks early), 5 lbs, 18 in!    

Pray for the PTCA

If you have a prayer concern you'd like to share with the wider Presbytery, please contact us by email at communications@ptcaweb.org  .

• February 4 at  The House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul. 10AM-Noon.

• February 9 at the  Minnesota Church Center, in Minneapolis, 7-9PM.

• February 11 at First Presbyterian in Rochester. 10AM-Noon.
• February 16 at Macalester-Plymouth Church in St. Paul. 2-4PM.

We would also like for you to share your concerns and questions electronically. Send them to graciousseparation@ptcaweb.org.  Please remember to keep your comments civil and respectful. We look forward to hearing from you!

Amy Blumenshine, a nationally recognized speaker and writer on the concerns of returning military personnel and their families, will be the keynote speaker for a morning workshop at Community Presbyterian Church in Rochester on February 25, 2012 from 9:30-Noon.

Although daily news stories report on the injuries and trauma experienced by veterans, most Americans are feeling little personal impact of our present wars.  Many veterans and their families are paying a high price physically, spiritually, and mentally.  For them, war is a "disability machine."

Where is the church in this picture?  Do we have a role?  Are there ways we can reach out?  Can we be a force for justice and healing?

The workshop is sponsored by the PTCA Disability Concerns Ministry.  A $5 donation is suggested. To register, send an email to: disabilityconcerns@ptcaweb.org. A flyer is available for distribution by clicking on the link below. 

 2012 Veterans Ministry Workshop Flyer  

The Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area Nominating Committee is now accepting applications for the position of Stated Clerk, with election for a 3 year term being held at our Annual Meeting on May 8, 2012.  A link to the  Position Description follows.

To apply, please send a Cover Letter, Resume, and Contact Information for two Reference persons to office@ptcaweb.org by April 2, 2012.  A search committee from the Nominating + Personnel Committees will review the applications.  We hope to be able to name a candidate one to two weeks before the May Presbytery meeting.

Stated Clerk Position Description 

Sister Helen Prejean at House of Hope:  Sister Helen Prejean is an anti-death penalty activist, the author of the nonfiction best-seller Dead Man Walking and the inspiration for the Academy Award-winning movie of the same name will be speaking Sunday, February 12 at The House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul at 2PM.

Sister Helen has been instrumental in sparking national dialogue on the death penalty. She travels around the world giving talks about her ministry. Keep reading...

Workshop on Ministry Set For March 31: The Presbyterian Partnership Task Force is proud to sponsor the Presbyterian Partnership Workshop which will be held on March 31 at First Presbyterian Church in White Bear Lake from 9AM-Noon.  

Under the theme "Networking and Collaborating Together in Ministry," the event will include breakout sessions on such topics as church communications, facilities/building management, Christian Education and Mission.  A keynote is also being scheduled during the Saturday morning conference.Information on cost and registration will follow shortly.

The Presbyterian Partnership is made up of six Presbyterian Church (USA) congregations in the Northern Twin Cities Metropolitan area.  These include: Arlington Hills Presbyterian in St. Paul, Chain of Lakes New Church Development in Lino Lakes, North Como Presbyterian Church in Roseville, Presbyterian Church of the Way in Shoreview, and First Presbyterian Church, White Bear Lake.

Father Gregg Boyle to Speak in Plymouth:  Father Gregory Boyle, founder and executive director of Homeboy Industries, will speak on "Faith & Compassion: Love and the Gangs of East L.A." on Friday, February 3, 2012, at 7:00 p.m. at St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church, 17205 County Road Six, Plymouth, 55447. Free and open to the public. Keep reading...   

Presentation on Social Media at First, Hastings: On Sunday February 5, Rev. April Davis Campbell will share the results of her final project for the Doctor of Ministry in Christian Spirituality Degree from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.  The project focused on technology and spirituality and is titled "Meeting People Where They Are: How Internet-Based Technology and Spirituality Intersect."  The lecture takes place at First Presbyterian Church in Hastings, starting at noon. 

Interested in a Conference or Workshop, but don't have the money? The Mission and Witness Committee of the PTCA is ready to help! A new streamlined 2012 Application for Scholarships to Conferences in the areas of Peace and Justice, Missions, Education, Disability Ministry and Leadership Development, is available online throughout the year. You can fill out the application online by going to www.presbyterytwincities.org/presbyteryforms.

Three PTCA Teaching Elders Receive Study Grant:   

A group of local pastors,  applied for and received a grant for $10,000 from the Presbyterian school, Austin Theological Seminary.  The grant covers monthly retreats, books, and transportation costs over the next two years, plus a trip for the group to Austin, Texas, this coming October.  Six local pastors were awarded grants and three of them are local Presbyterians: Phil Gebbengreen, Co-Pastor at Edgcumbe Presbyterian in St. Paul,  Kara Root, Pastor of Lake Nokomis Presbyterian in Minneapolis and  Jamie Schultz, Pastor at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis.

 

The study topic for these two years is called "Belonging to the Body," where the group will ask questions about what it means to belong to a church or to any community in this modern age of technological over-connection and spiritual alienation.  Each month the group will spend the fourth Wednesday and Thursday at the ARC retreat center outside of Cambridge, MN.

 

Congrats to Phil, Kara and Jamie!

 

Common Prayer: As many of you know, the staff of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area gathers daily for prayer and devotions.  Join us every Tuesday at 10AM to pray! Called "Common Prayer" we will come together as we discern God's message for us and lift each other and the whole world in prayer. Join us at the Presbytery office for Common Prayer, January 17 at 10AM. We are located at 122 W. Franklin Avenue  in Minneapolis. 

Discount on Alban Institute Books and Courses:  Are you interested in purchasing a book or taking a class sponsored by the Alban Institute?  The Presbytery has a membership which can offer a discount if the order is placed by the PTCA.  For more information, please contact Stated Clerk Nancy Grittman at statedclerk@ptcaweb.org. 

Forum on Sex Trafficking @ Church of the Apostles: Monday, February 27, 2012 at 6:30PM. Panel Discussion on Human Trafficking in Minnesota hosted by iCAN and The Center for Wholeness at Presbyterian Church of the Apostles. Experts on the issue in Minnesota will discuss recent data on human trafficking in our community, legislation that has already been passed, and what needs to be done to end trafficking in our state. Read on...

Congregational Ministry Seminar Scheduled for April: April 28, 2012 at Valley Community Presbyterian in Golden Valley. Please save the date  for the one-day Our Ministry in a Changing Worldseminar for pastors and church leaders of all churches in the presbytery - an opportunity to help your church leadership recognize and realize your church's potential for ministry. More information to follow. Sponsored by the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area.

Find out about other events taking place in our presbytery by going to www.presbyterytwincities.org/events.