Presbytery of Wabash Valley

PWV Office Hours:  Monday - Friday 8 - 4 

December 16, 2015   
God
Calls

2016 PER CAPITA 

$39.38 total

General Assembly - $7.12 
Synod of Lincoln Trails - $3.81 
Presbytery of Wabash Valley - $28.45  
Passage to Ponder... Psalm 8:5-9 (CEB)

5 You've made them only slightly less than divine, crowning them with glory and grandeur. 6 You've let them rule over your handiwork, putting everything under their feet- 7 all sheep and all cattle, the wild animals too, 8 the birds in the sky, the fish of the ocean, everything that travels the pathways of the sea. 9 LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the earth!

 from the  2015 Monthly Bible Study of Presbytery of Wabash Valley   

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OUR MISSION
Nourished by the living waters of Jesus Christ,
we awaken, enliven and enhance worshiping communities to courageously extend their branches  and bear new fruit in the Spirit.

Faith &  
Leadership
Leadership Education at Duke Divinity
Doing More with Less 

Free music lessons strike a chord for at-risk kids

This story is part of an occasional series about individuals who don't have much money or power but do have a big impact on their communities.

Saginaw, Mich., is one of those places where economic recovery has been slow to arrive. The city has been hit hard over the years by factory shutdowns. Unemployment is high. And people have left, by the thousands.

Now, residents John and Katrina Vowell are trying to help turn things around - with music.

The couple says they love Saginaw, despite its many problems, which include high poverty, drugs and drive-by shootings.

The city doesn't look that bad - there are tidy, modest homes, small fenced-in yards and some new restaurants and luxury apartments.

But there are also plenty of boarded-up buildings and empty lots, where abandoned houses have been torn down to reduce blight.

"This was a car town," says John, as he drives around the city. "This was GM, and everything and all the companies that built parts for GM, and it's all pretty much gone."

But he and his wife have stayed. They both grew up around here. John is 56, with a thick sweep of gray hair. Katrina is 49, with short dark hair and bright eyes.
 
As they drive past a long line of cars outside a funeral home, Katrina wonders if the funeral might be for Laquavis Cooper, a teen shot at a local park a few days earlier.

"He had just gone to Chicago, and was back visiting his aunt and got killed," she says.

Such incidents have raised concerns about the fate of the city's youth. The Vowells say people are trying to improve life in Saginaw, but there isn't much for kids to do in their spare time.

piano_guitar_hybrid.jpgSo when the Vowells were trying to turn their own lives around a few years ago, they decided to start a program called Major Chords for Minors. It provides free private music lessons - and instruments - to kids who can't afford them. That's a lot of people in Saginaw, where the poverty rate is more than 37 percent.

Major Chords for Minors has almost 130 students so far, and a long wait list.

Still, it's a shoestring operation. The Vowells started the program using their meager savings and help from friends. Now they rely on grants and donations. Instructors, who teach drum, guitar and piano, get paid only $10 a lesson.

Classes are held in an old public elementary school, which was shut down for years due to lack of enrollment.

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2016 COUNCIL 
Tuesday, January 19 - Rossville PC
Tuesday, March 15 - La Porte PC
Tuesday, April 19 - TBA
Tuesday, June 21 - TBA
Tuesday, July 19 - TBA
Tuesday, August 16 - TBA
Tuesday, October 18 - TBA
Tuesday, December 6 - TBA


2016 ASSEMBLY
Saturday, February 20 -
Rossville PC
Tuesday, May 17 - TBA
Saturday, September 17 - TBA
Tuesday, November 15 - TBA



Ministry Quick Links


PRESBYTERY OF WABASH VALLEY
UPDATED

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June 18 - 25, 2016
222nd General Assembly (2016)
Portland, OR


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Center for Congregations 
Helping Indiana Congregations find and use resources



CONGREGATIONAL EVENTS

Community Presbyterian Church
Rochester, IN 46975
Community Concert
Wanda Carter,
Down-Home, Gospel Singing with a Comedy Twist
Sunday, January 17, 2016
at 4:00 pm

 
PRAYERS of the PRESBYTERY
May the peace of the Lord go with you, wherever Christ may send you. May Christ guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May Christ bring you home rejoicing at the wonders he has shown you.
 
We hold in prayer...
  • Rev. Frank Vardeman, Minister Member at Large, who is facing yet another surgery on Thursday at University Hospital of Minneapolis after discovery of infection. Read update on Caring Bridge 
  • Rev. Heidi Vardeman, Minister Member at Large, as she cares for Frank.
  • Dot Smook, wife of Presbytery Moderator Rev. David Smook, as she travels from Rochester to Kokomo through Friday to receive her radioactive treatments.
  • Rev. Terri Thorn, Lebanon First Presbyterian Church, is grateful for all of your prayers as she provides support for her father who is in a rehabilitation facility and as she deals with her own health issues.
  • Rev. Jack Hess, Honorably Retired, as the treatment to help his vision had to be stopped.
  • Rev. Ellis Gasser, Honorably Retired, as he continues his recovery at home and would welcome cards and letters at 912 Terrace Ln., Delphi, IN 46923.
  • CRE Jene McVay, Milligan Memorial Presbyterian Church Crawfordsville, continued care and concern for his brother, Bruce, with his decision not to continue chemo and placing himself in God's hands.
We give you thanks and praise to you Lord for Crawfordsville Wabash Avenue Presbyterian Church who has faithfully served their community and you since 1824.

In your name we pray. Amen. 
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Thank you for your ministry and your service...
  • December 18, 1994 - Rev. Bobbi Tobin, Honorably Retired
  • December 21, 2003 - Rev. Ericka Kilbourne, Michigan City First Presbyterian Church
If you have been omitted or your information is incorrect please accept my apology. Help to update our records by sending your current information to [email protected].

PRESBYTERY OF WABASH VALLEY CHURCH MEMBERS
SEND US YOUR STORIES

Every week, we publish this eNewsletter to hundreds of Wabash Valley and PC(USA) members and also post online!  The Church Relations Coordinator  accepts articles for entry and is always actively seeking new and original content sharing how your congregation is engaged in ministry. We would especially like to share photos and stories of your confirmands, new members, VBS,  mission trips and other special ministries that are occurring in your congregation and community. Please forward your stories and photos to [email protected], due each Friday.

 

EDUCATIONAL EVENTS
Making Space for God
January 18-21, 2016
Tradewinds Island Grand Resort St. Pete Beach Florida


"Making Space For God"  sponsored by the office of Evangelism in the Presbyterian Mission Agency.

Registration (still open) is $325.  
To secure lodging at conference rate, reservations must be completed by December 21, 2015, so...

Learn More 

 

2016 Confirmation Retreat
Friday evening January 8 through Sunday noon January 10, 2016 at Geneva Center

Registration Deadline
Monday, December 21st

 
The retreat can serve as an "all in one" confirmation event for your confirmands or as an anchor experience for a longer confirmation process.
 
- For more information, contact Rev. Dr. Justin Schlesinger Devlin at
  [email protected]
- Click here to check out the retreat schedule of events
- To register for the retreat, click here
- Confirmation Retreat scholarships are available. Please contact Justin.

February 29 - March 2, 2016
Stewardship Kaleidoscope


GA News and Opportunities
The time is now
Join the Conversation!

Discuss the identity and purpose of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as part of a church-wide conversation initiated by the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly. "Please share your insights, wisdom, hopes and dreams for the PC(USA)," said Margaret Elliott, moderator of the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly. "Through careful listening and honest sharing we can create a church for this time and place."

Join the Conversation

Upcoming Events and Meetings
Severe Weather Policy
The PWV office follows the Rochester Community School Corporation's weather delay and/or cancellation decision. Voice mail at the office will include the status of meetings scheduled.
To confirm meeting status don't hesitate to call 574-223-5678 or 574-205-2086. 
 
Thursday, December 17
CANCELLED - Commission on Ministry (Go-To-Meeting)

Monday, December 21
3:30 pm - PWV Move Team (Go-To-Meeting)

Thursday, December 24 through Friday, January 1
Presbytery Office Closed for Christmas and New Year Holidays

Tuesday, January 5
10 am - Confirmation Retreat Planning Team (Conference Call)

Thursday, January 7
10 am - Commission on Ministry - Bethlehem Presbyterian Church Logansport (map)
10 am - Commission on Preparation for Ministry - Bethlehem Presbyterian Church Logansport (map)

Friday, January 8 - Sunday, January 10
6:30 pm - Confirmation Retreat

All meetings & events posted on the PWV Calendar are eastern time (ET) unless noted otherwise. Please visit
  http://www.ourpresbytery.org/calendar.htm for more information regarding meetings and events or call 574-223-5678.
                  

Presbytery of Wabash Valley Contact Information

Stated Clerk ~ RE Linda Long ~ 219-926-7098
Presbytery Moderator ~ TE David Smook ~ 574-343-0568
Presbytery Vice Moderator ~ TE Sarah Sanderson-Doughty ~ 574-264-3109
Council Moderator ~ RE Jill Kitowski ~ 219-325-0039
Office Manager ~ Gladys Sargent ~ 574-223-5678 ext 102
Financial Consultant ~RE Eric Herzog ~ 574-223-5678 ext 105
Church Relations Coordinator ~ RE Vicki Dreibelbis ~ 574-223-5678 ext 100

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