Presbytery of Lake Huron
Bi-Weekly Brief 
 
"The mission of the Presbytery of Lake Huron is to partner with congregations, helping people to know, grow, share and serve as disciples of Jesus Christ." 
 

June 24, 2015 

 

 

That we can glimpse you within creation 
is a beautiful thought, 
but also tells us that you desire to be seen, 
to be found and known.
Open our eyes, Lord, 
as we walk through this world, 
feel the wind and sunshine, 
see the majesty of creation 
unfolding before our eyes.
Help us to see you

 

� John Birch

 

Used with permission from:

http://www.faithandworship.com

 

We Pray For 
We Lift Up In Prayer... 

Prayer2
Please note: The Communications Manager is out of town this week so this newsletter was written last week. There may have been updates to these items that occurred in the meantime. We apologize for any inconvenience and/or outdated information.

New:
Elder Caroline Johnson, long-time Clerk of Session for Beaverton-First, whose husband Tom recently passed to the larger life. 

Ben Offrink and Shelby Offrink, son and daughter in-law of the Rev. Jim Offrink (HR) and wife Sally Ben and Shelby are both battling cancer. They have two young daughters ages 4 and 1. We lift up the entire family in prayer. To follow their journey click here. Shelby's health has deteriorated recently. Prayers are needed now more than ever for everyone.

The Rev. Ken Hetzel (Croswell-First) who is recovering from rotator cuff surgery he had last week.

Ongoing:
The Rev. Peter Russell, Honorably Retired, who is recovering from surgery last month. He and his wife, Verna greatly appreciate all of the prayers lifted up for them.

The Rev. Larissa Kwong Abazia, Vice Moderator of the 221st General Assembly who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and began chemotherapy last week.Click here for more information.
 
Tom and Pam Brackbill Tom is Pastor of Alma-First. Pam has Younger Onset Alzheimer's Disease. In addition to the cognitive issues she is also experiencing significant health concerns related to the disease. She is now under the care of Masonic Pathways.

The members of the General Presbyter Search Committee as they continue their work of finding the right leadership for the presbytery. 

Michael and Rachel Ludwig, our Mission Co-Workers who are serving in Niger.

   
  

We ask that you consider including these requests each week in your bulletin and/or newsletter.

 

We also encourage everyone to send a card or e-mail or make a phone call to those listed.  Sometimes a small gesture creates a big smile. 

 

Contact information for anyone on this list may be obtained by calling the presbytery office at 800-621-6905 or 989-799-7481   

 

 

For those Teaching Elders (Ministers of Word and Sacrament) and Commissioned Ruling Elders (CREs) who are celebrating Ordination or Commissioning Anniversaries in June and July:

 

Elder Stephen Baillie (6/4) - Commissioned Ruling Elder of Flint-First

The Rev. Dr. George Baird (6/21) - Honorably Retired and Parish Associate at Bay City-Westminster

The Rev. John Barkett (7/1) - 25 years - Member-At-Large

The Rev. David Blackburn (7/1) - Honorably Retired

The Rev. Jim Browne (6/24) - Interim General Presbyter

The Rev. Roger Browne (6/1) - Honorably Retired

The Rev. Bert Clark (6/5) - 60 years - Honorably Retired

The Rev. Annie Duncan (7/27) - 20 years - Temporary Supply of Swartz Creek-Mundy

The Rev. Dr. Bob Emrich (6/7) - 45 years - Honorably Retired

The Rev. Fred Gates (6/3) - 25 years - Honorably Retired

The Rev. Dr. Sharlyn Gates (6/15) - Pastor of Holly

The Rev. Ron Grimes (6/13) - Honorably Retired

The Rev. Bob Lakey (6/8) - Honorably Retired

The Rev. Mike Loenshal (6/18) - Member-At-Large

The Rev. Dr. Rhonda Myers (7/28) - Pastor of Midland-Chapel Lane

The Rev. Jim Neumann (7/1) - Pastor of Saginaw-Second

The Rev. Donald Neuville (6/19) - Honorably Retired

The Rev. Seth Normington (6/27) - 5 years - Pastor of Linden

The Rev. Joseph Novak (6/24) - Pastor of Ithaca-First

The Rev. Jim Offrink (7/25) - Honorably Retired

The Rev. Ken Parker (6/24) - 25 years - Pastor of Saginaw-Countryside Trinity

The Rev. Teresa Peterson (6/3) - Pastor of Flushing

Elder Kathleen Rowe (6/4) - Commissioned Ruling Elder of Twining-Maple Ridge and Tawas

The Rev. Peter Russell (6/29) - Honorably Retired

The Rev. Dr. Tom Schacher (7/17) - Pastor of Midland-Memorial

The Rev. Noel Snyder (7/31) - Alma College Chaplain

The Rev. Robert Taylor (6/29) - 35 years - Honorably Retired

The Rev. Jim Williams (6/1) - Temporary Supply Pastor of Saginaw-Warren Avenue

The Rev. Paul Ytterock (6/8) - Associate Pastor of Flint-First

   

Presbytery Office
From Jim's Desk...

Dear Friends -

 

When I was pastoring a congregation near Columbus, Ohio, one of the parishioners was a businessman who traveled a lot. He was on the road too much, by his own description. He was an interesting man and one for whom Sunday without church was not Sunday. Wherever he traveled, whenever he was gone on Sunday, he found a church and went to worship. Sometimes these churches were Presbyterian, often they were not. But he went, and he made a point of bringing back a bulletin for me.

 

Sometimes one could figure out the denomination without even looking at the front of the bulletin, other times it was not so simple. These bulletins varied from single sheets printed on one side to folded legal sized bulletins with multiple pages. Some had no inserts, some had many. As a working pastor it was wonderful to see what sort of things others were writing for prayers of confession, words of assurance, responsive readings and unison prayers. Although I had many useful reference books on the bookshelf, very often I learned by reading how others had phrased things.

 

When you are on vacation this summer, and I do hope that you take your vacation, why not make it a practice to find a place to worship? Whether you prefer Low Church or High Church, early worship or late morning, you can probably find a service.


 

Your soul benefits in worship in the same way that your thirst is slaked by cool water and your hunger is reduced by a wonderful meal. I encourage you to find a local gathering of the people of God wherever you are!

 

Grace and peace,

 

Jim Browne

Interim General Presbyter

 
Presbytery Office
Minutes Available
   

The minutes of the June 2nd presbytery meeting are now available on the Presbytery Meetings page of our website

 

PC-USA Seal Round
Order The 2015-2017 Book of Order
   

The presbytery will be ordering a bulk order of the 2015-2017 Book of Order to allow churches to purchase them at the reduced rate of just $8 per copy.

 

Orders must be received by the presbytery no later than July 31st.

 

Click here for the order form with complete details.

 

If you have any questions, please contact Rose Onan at 989-799-7481 x6 or [email protected].

 

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Funds Available
   

As was presented for information as part of the Coordinating Team report, the presbytery has $7,953 available for disaster relief. These funds are available to churches within the bounds of the Presbytery of Lake Huron. Each request will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the Coordinating Team. Please direct any questions to Stephanie Cervini at 989-799-7481. 

 

Communications Corner
Headlines of Interest
   

Here are links to articles that we hope you will enjoy and perhaps spend some time discussing them with others:

  

 

13 Ways To Stay Connected with College Students

Going to college brings significant change to a young person's life. Students often leave the communities where they have grown up, breaking the bonds with their local church. Finding a new church home that is a good fit can be difficult. It is often easier simply to drop out of church. 

 

Even if we don't have degrees in English, most of us notice typos, particularly embarrassing ones in the church newsletter. And if you're a communications manager, those proofreading mistakes fall on you. But typos don't have to be there; you can catch them if you take another glance. Here are the most common places typos lurk.

 

How to Unleash the Creative Potential of Your Church

Napoleon once pointed to a map of China and said, "There lies a sleeping giant. If it ever wakes up, it will be unstoppable." Today the American church is a sleeping giant. Each Sunday, church pews are filled with members who are doing nothing with their faith except "keeping" it. 

 

Regarding ruling elders: ministry in changing neighborhoods

Ruling elders play a key role in any outreach to a church's changing community. They are called to ministry in partnership with teaching elders. This series seeks to lift up the specific responsibilities while also providing an opportunity to reflect upon how they are lived out.

 

I was a VBS kid. From the time I was in preschool all the way through high school, I never missed a week of vacation Bible school (VBS). It was like Christmas for me! I even accepted Jesus as my Savior at VBS. Whatever you call it-VBS, kid's week, backyard Bible club, etc.-dedicating a week of your summer schedule to focus solely on serving and sharing Christ with kids is important and deserves all the energy and resources we can muster.
 

 
NOTE: The articles listed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of or intended to be an endorsement by the Presbytery of Lake Huron but are shared to encourage discussion of various topics.
You're Invited
Leadership Summit
   

Flint-Trinity United invites all to 


A Leadership Summit:
Developing and Executing a Strategy for Growth and Discipleship

 

July 18-19, 2015
Saturday: 9:30am-3:00pm

Sunday: 10:30am - 3:00pm


Facilitator, Teacher, Preacher: The Rev. Hurmon E. Hamilton,
New Beginnings Community Church of Mountain View, California (former Pastor of Roxbury Presbyterian Church USA, Boston, Massachusetts)

 

Rev. Hamilton was a Presbyterian pastor for 23 years. In April of 2014, he began a new church development in the Bay area. One year later his congregation has doubled in size. He is coming to share his strategies for growth and discipleship. Come and be a part of this two-day experience and gain some insightful and helpful information.

  

Rev. Hamilton will help us think through our next steps. He will help us design and implement a process for growth.

  • Why do we exist?
  • How do we behave?
  • What do we do?
  • How will we succeed?

These are some of the critical questions we will discuss as we prepare to move our congregations into the next phase of ministry!

  

If this interests you, please contact the Rev. Desiree Lawson at Flint-Trinity United at [email protected] or 810-720-5152 

Seating will be limited! Click here for more information and a printable flier.

 

Presbyterian Youth Triennium 2016
   

The Presbyterian Youth Triennium is a five day event for high school age youth (entering freshmen through graduated seniors) and accompanying adult youth leaders. The 2016 Presbyterian Youth Triennium, which is sponsored by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Cumberland Presbyterian Churches, will be held from July 19-23.  Registration for the event will begin late 2015/early 2016.

 

Organizers for Presbyterian Youth Triennium have announced their theme for the 2016 event, with one word-"GO." 

 

"We felt God leading us to help some 5,000 young people take their next steps of faith," says Gina Yeager-Buckley, Triennium director and associate for Ministries with Youth in the Presbyterian Mission Agency

 

"To focus not on the event itself, which we like to call 'the greatest five days,' but on what happens to them after the Triennium, as they 'GO' back into the world." 

 

From opening worship on, the 2016 Presbyterian Youth Triennium will explore "GO" in a daily "thematic mapping" through various experiences of people in scripture, such as: click here to continue reading.

 

Connections
Desk
Connect With Other Churches In The Lake Huron Presbytery

There are so many wonderful things going on in all of our congregations.  Several of our churches have set up Facebook pages to help spread the good news not only to their members but to all who may be interested.  Liking other church Facebook pages is a great way to connect with others in the presbytery and to share ideas with each other.  Here are some of the churches that have Facebook pages:

Saginaw-Warren Avenue
Sandusky
Vassar-First
Yale-First

If your congregation has a page and it is not listed here, please contact Staci Percy at [email protected]

FB2
'Like' Us On Facebook

The presbytery has a Facebook page and would like you to join us.  Get updates and information faster. Connect with others to share ideas and to post information about events happening in your congregation.  Join us today! 

Contact Information

Staci Percy

Communications Manager/Recording Clerk

[email protected] 

989-799-7481 x2

In This Edition
In Our Prayers
From Jim's Desk
Presbytery Minutes
Book of Order
Funds Available
Get Talkin'
Leadership Summit
Youth Triennium 2016
Connect With LHP Churches
Join Us On Facebook


Who We Are

 

 

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About the

Bi-Weekly Brief

 

Hundreds of elders, educators, and church leaders read the Presbytery of Lake Huron's email sent out every other week. 

 

You can reissue or modify this content for your own church bulletin or newsletter, without crediting the Bi-Weekly Brief, but please credit any organizations, photographers, etc, that we credited.

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NOTE: The Presbytery of Lake Huron retains permission to modify submissions for clarity and length. Inclusion of an item in the Bi-Weekly Brief means that we think it's interesting and/or important, and does not constitute an endorsement of its point of view or its journalistic accuracy.

 

   

 

 

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Upcoming Meetings 

and Events 

(All meetings are at the Presbytery Office unless otherwise noted) 

  

  

    

Commission on Preparation for Ministry

June 24

10:00 am

 

 

 

Commission on Ministry

(Outreach and Administration Only)

June 24

11:00 am

 

 

 

General Presbyter Search Committee

June 24

2:30 pm

 

 

 

Presbytery Office Closed in Observance of Independence Day

July 3

 

 

 

Commission on Preparation for Ministry

July 15

10:00 am

 

 

 

Commission on Ministry

(Outreach and Administration Only)

July 22

11:00 am

 

 

 

Personnel Team

July 27

10:00 am

 

 

 

Presbyterian Women

July 30

10:00 am

 

 

 

 

Details on these meetings can be found on the presbytery's website on the calendar.