Properly implemented and resourced, the church financial and administrative ministry can operate efficiently in the background - providing accurate information that is both timely and transparent - in support of our mission today and into the future. In this interactive session we will share questions, experiences and practical solutions that seek to "demystify" this critical aspect of our work together.

This workshop explores spiritual components of stewardship development and offers 10 immediately do-able and transformative steps. The conversation will also include discussions of narrative budgets, year-round stewardship education, the roles of pastors and sessions in stewardship, the Biblical basis of healthy stewardship and the theology of abundance in a world focused on scarcity.

There are a myriad of changes and new requirements to healthcare coverage and related qualified reimbursable expenses. This workshop discusses the impact of 2015 changes in the (PCUSA) Board of Pensions plan and reviews tax-advantaged benefit plans that can allow both church employees and employers to save on the cost of healthcare.

Join the Carroll County Presbyterian Churches as they host a General Assembly Commissioners' Presentation & Conversation.  

This hour long program will provide an opportunity to learn more about what occurred at the 221st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) this summer in Detroit, Michigan. There will be a brief presentation by the commissioners from the Presbytery of Wabash Valley followed by a question & answer conversation.

Here are the specifics:

What:    GA Commissioners' Presentation & Conversation

When:   Wednesday, 9/10/14 from 7:00-8:00pm EDT

Where:  Burrows Presbyterian Church; Burrows, Indiana (map) 

I hope you and members of your congregation can join us for this conversation. If you have any questions or need additional information please contact:  

Rev. William "Bill" McLean, II

Pastor

First Presbyterian Church

213 S. Indiana Street

Delphi, IN  46923

765-564-2371 (church)

pastor@delphipres.org

Thank you so much for your support of PC(USA) mission co-workers!  We are grateful for your help in witnessing to the Good News, which reaches around the world.

This August, 2014 edition of Window Into World Mission features a portion of a letter from Kate Taber in Israel-Palestine, who shares her on-the-ground perspective of life amidst conflict.  You can read Kate's full letter, as well as a more recent update on the current violence, through the letter links at http://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/missionconnections/taber-kate/

In 2008, native Jerusalemite Sahar Vardi had recently graduated from high school. She was 18 years old.  And she was in prison, punished for refusing to be conscripted into the Israeli army.  She wrote to Prime Minister Netanyahu, "The bloody cycle in which I live-made up of assassinations, terrorist attacks, bombings, and shootings-has resulted in an increasing number of victims on both sides.  It is a vicious circle that is sustained by the choice of both sides to engage in violence.  I refuse to take part in this choice."

Sahar recently described the occupation and why she believes it must end.  She told a story of a sick horse from a village whose only access has a checkpoint on it.  The soldiers at the checkpoint have a list of every object and person allowed in the village.  When the owner brought the horse to the checkpoint on his way home from the vet in Bethlehem, the soldier refused to let the horse through, saying it wasn't on the list.  The villagers had to call an Israeli friend who made calls to the military, and eventually the commander gave the soldier permission to let the horse through.  "This isn't a tragic story," Sahar said, "No one was hurt.  No one did anything wrong; the soldier was just following orders.  But it gives a glimpse of the total control the occupation has over the lives of Palestinians."  I was left saddened by Sahar's picture of the pervasiveness of fear and hostility in Israeli society, but heartened by her commitment to making her country what it could be-an equal and fair society free of all the burdens of war.

Meeting Sahar humbled me about the vast knowledge and experience I do not possess around this conflict.  It was easy for me to be casual about my move to Israel-Palestine, as I've done it twice before.  A lot is familiar-the smell of the spice shops, the sound of the call to prayer, the sight of Orthodox Jews, Palestinians, and internationals all trekking around the same streets surrounding the Old City.  But there is much that remains new and unfamiliar.  This time I must understand the ongoing politics within Israel and the Palestinian-occupied territories. This time, I must become familiar with the culture and politics of the various Christian factions here.  This time, I must learn what it means to represent the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in this particular place.

As God promises in my favorite passage from Isaiah, "I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight...no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress (Isaiah 65:18b and 19b)." The people I have met have convinced me that God truly is in the midst of this process, guiding and leading all of us to a future of peace and justice for all.

For information about supporting mission co-workers serving in Presbyterian World Mission, please contact Bruce Whearty (toll-free!) at 1-800-728-7228, ext. 5157, or at bruce.whearty@pcusa.org