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 pray for the families of Teaching Elders Ethel Kay Livingston, Lyndon Lloyd Schendel and C. Ray Fenton who have died recently.
• We pray for Teaching Elder John Curtiss and the youth of Community Presbyterian Church in Plainview, MN who are on a mission trip to help people recover from last year's tornado in Joplin, MO.  They will return on August 4.
• We pray for Ruling Elder Cindy Hanson (Edgcumbe Presbyterian, St. Paul) as she battles cancer.    
• We continue to pray for those who are experiencing illness at this time including Dan Johnson (Teaching Elder, Honorably Retired), Joy Smith (Teaching Elder, Church of the Apostles) and Tim Held (Teaching Elder, Honorably Retired).  

Congregations in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Wisconsin have indicated a desire to be part of the pilot effort of Just.Good.Food., a mission initiative of the synods of Lakes and Prairies, Lincoln Trails and Mid-America. Sarah Moore-Nokes, associate executive presbyter in Winnebago Presbytery, is leading the pilot effort. She noted that congregations participating in the pilot program will be committing to the following:

(1) Receive curriculum. There will be two sets of curriculum - one in the fall consisting of stewardship/creation/theology of abundance themes as well as information about connecting in the community, and one in the spring consisting of how to/hands-on information about planning and planting gardens, and distributing food.

Keep reading... 

The 2012 Mission and Witness Grants are still  available to help congregations in the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area engage in ministries of justice and care.

Questions?  Please call Karen Kennerly at (651) 735-9691 or email the committee at sdop@ptcaweb.org. You can find out more about SDOP and to download the application  by going to www.presbyterytwincities.org/sdop .

Teaching Elders in the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area are invited to attend a Teaching Elder Retreat, September 24-25 at Cragun's resort on Gull Lake.  

Click here to register for the retreat and to get more information.   

On October 14-16, 2012 there will be  a Sabbath Retreat at Presbyterian Clearwater Forest for Educators, Youth Directors, and Pastors in educational ministry.  The retreat will be a time for rest, relaxation, fellowship, discussion, and worship.  Activities will not begin until early evening on the 14th so educators don't have to miss a Sunday morning (unless you want to).

For more information, please contact Martha Rockenstein at martha.rockenstein@gmail.com.

Memorial Services for Livingston, Schendel and Fenton: In the midst of a week, the Presbytery has lost three pastors. This weekend, there will be time celebrate to lives these three and hope for the coming ressurection. Below are the times and locations of the memorial services:

• Lyndon Lloyd Schendel: Friday, August 3, 11AM, Waverly Gardens, North Oaks
• C. Ray Fenton: Saturday, August 4, 11AM, Peace Presbyterian, St. Louis Park
• Ethel Kay Livingston: Saturday, August 4, 2PM, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis 

Scholarship Set Up in Honor of Livingston:  A fund has been set up in honor of Ethel Kay Livingston to help those enrolled in the Preparation for Ministry program in the PTCA. Livingston served on the Presbytery's Committee on Preparation for Ministry. If you would like to support this fund, you can mail a check (made out to the PTCA) to the Presbytery office, Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area, 122 W. Franklin Avenue, Suite 508, Minneapolis, MN 55404. Please write "Ethel Kay Livingston Fund" on the memo line.

August PTCA Church Educators Gathering Focuses on Bullying:  The August PTCA Church Educators Gathering will be on Thursday August 9, 2012 from 11:30am-1:00pm at Plymouth Presbyterian Church in Plymouth, MN. Elona Street Stewart will give a presentation on bullying and how churches can respond. The cost is $5 for lunch.  For more information contact Martha Rockenstein at martha.rockenstein@gmail.com.  

PTCA Youth Initiative Update:  Earlier this year, the Presbytery Council called for youth leaders across the Presbytery to come together to find ways to support each other and stregnthen the presbytery's outreach to youth and young adults. Since that time, presbytery youth leaders have gathered to talk and they plan to present a proposal at the November Presbytery Meeting.  

Sarah Bigwood, the Director of Family Ministries at Valley Community Presbyterian in Golden Valley shared what has gone on since the spring and how you can be a part.  Click here to read her blog post.

Triple Duo Bible Study at Dayton Avenue:   You are invited to attend Triple Duo. This class will be divided into four interrelated parts, each of which can also be enjoyed on its own or with any of the others. The series, led by Candidate for Ministry Jermaine Ross, will take a look at encounters, overlaps and fallouts between duos and trios in the family stories found in the Book of Genesis and one of Paul's Epistles. We will examine and discuss some of the complications that result from these interactions- complications that reveal questions with striking relevance to our contemporary situation. Keep reading for more information about the series. 

Watch This Space:  On July 20, the Presbytery closed on property in Blaine, MN which will someday house the building for Chain of Lakes Presbyterian Church. To commemorate this historic event Chain of Lake is inviting the Presbytery to the site on Wednesday evening, August 22, 2012. People are free to will join with the "Sundaes on Wednesday" worship of Chain of Lakes at which time we will celebrate the newly purchased property and unveil the new signs located on the new church site. The property is located on 125th Ave. NE (County Hwy. 14) in Blaine. For directions, please contact Chain of Lakes Church at 763-208-8049 or by email at info@colpres.org.  

Senior Retreat at Clearwater:  Clearwater Forest is hosting a retreat for Mature Presbyterians August 27-30 at Clearwater Forest in Deerwood,MN.  PTCA Teaching Elder Anita Cummings will lead a small group study. For more information, please download the  retreat brochure.  

Revamped Forms Page:  Looking for Presbytery forms.  Please go to the Presbytery Forms page, which has been recently updated.  You will find forms such as Skill Bank Forms, Expense Forms and forms from the Committee on Ministry, Committee on Preparation for Ministry, Commissioned Ruling Elders Committee, the Stated Clerk and the Board of Trustees. A revamped Presbytery Policies Page is now online. 

• Lyndon Lloyd Schendel Memorial Service, Waverly Gardens, North Oaks  
• First Friday Film Forum, First Presbyterian, South St. Paul   
• Summer Movies on the Lawn, North Como Presbyterian, Roseville  

• Disability Concerns Taskforce, Westminster Presbyterian, Minneapolis
• C. Ray Fenton Memorial Service, Peace Presbyterian, St. Louis Park 
• Ethel Kay Livingston Memorial Service, Westminster Presbyterian, Minneapolis

August 6

• Vacation Bible School, Associated Church, Owatonna (ends August 11)

August 7

• Common Prayer, Presbytery Offices, Minneapolis

• Lunchtime Organ Concert, Dayton Avenue Presbyterian, St. Paul
•  Lectionary Bible Study , First Presbyterian, Belle Plaine
• Personnel Committee, Minnesota Church Center, Minneapolis 
• Sundaes on Wednesday, Chain of Lakes, Lino Lakes
• Midweek Bible Study: Exploring Theology Through Dylan and U2, First Presbyterian, South St. Paul
• Triple Duo Bible Study, Dayton Avenue Presbyterian, St. Paul 
• Worship on Wednesdays, First Presbyterian, Hastings 

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