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The Weekly E-Newsletter of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area
| February 7, 2013
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Prayer RequestsFebruary 10, 2013
 - We pray for the family of Teaching Elder Bill Livingston who passed away on Monday. A memorial service will take place on February 16.
- We pray for Teaching Elder Tammy Rider who is dealing with health issues.
- We pray for Ruling Elder Bob Cross of Valley Community Presbyterian in Golden Valley who will have both kidneys removed February 12.
- We pray for PC(USA) Missionaries Jay and Nancy Adams who serve in Kandern, Germany. Jay's mother, Beverly, died last month in St. Paul.
- We pray for Teaching Elder James Sanders as he struggles with a neuro-muscular disorder called Pompe Disease.
- We pray for our New Church Developments, Chain of Lakes in Blaine and Familia de Fe in Minneapolis as well as their pastors, Paul Moore and Walter Chuquimia, as they share the good news of Christ in their respective contexts.
We now have a new weekly prayer email that arrives in your inbox on Tuesdays. Click here to find out this week's prayer concerns or go to Presbytery website to get a monthly printable version of the prayer calendar.
If you have a prayer concern you'd like to share with the wider Presbytery, please contact us by email at communications@ptcaweb.org .
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Death Health and TaxesConversations on Changes to the PC(USA) Health Plan Continue.
The continuing discussions surrounding the proposed changes to the PC(USA) Health Care Plan continue and are ramping up as the date for the annual meeting of the Board of Pensions takes place next month.
The Presbytery has collected several resources to help pastors and clergy understand what is at stake. Click on the links below to find out more.
Webinar on Recommended Changes to 2014 Medical Dues - The webinar covers such topics as why the change to medical dues was recommended, what the key considerations to the recommended approach were, and what the dues amounts are projected to be. You can email or call the Board at communications@pensions.org or 800-PRESPLAN, about this or any other benefits-related matter.
Letter to Mid Council Executives: Two Presbyterian leaders concerned about the proposed in the dues structure of the Board of Pensions medical plan wrote a letter to presbytery and synod executives in early January. Written by John Fife, moderator of the 1992 General Assembly, and by Deborah Fortel, who led an Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy team which wrote a report approved by the 2010 General Assembly called “Neither Poverty Nor Riches: Compensation, Equity and the Unity of the Church," the letter warns the changes run "counter to the values of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)." You can read the text of the letter by clicking on the link above.
"Board of Pensions Plans to Eat Its Young:" That's the rather provocative title of a blog post by Presbyterian pastor Seth Normington. He explains how the changes amount to generational warfare that benefit the Baby Boomers at the expense of Generation X and the Millennials. Here's a snippet:
"To those who have paid attention to how generational issues impact government policy and economics this isn't a new concept, but now the PC(USA) Board of Pensions is on the cusp of being ahead of the game by formally telling the younger generation of members: cough up your lung or cough up a bunch of money (in fairness, you wouldn't cough up a lung, it would be your spouse or child(ren)."
FAQs on the Dues: The Board of Pensions has put together a list of Frequently Asked Questions on the proposed changes.
The Presbytery will continue to look for more resources in the coming weeks.
It's tax time again and that means churches and pastors are trying to figure out our complex tax system. The Board of Pensions has some tips to help. Click here for tax help.
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Informational Gathering on Proposed Amendments
Find Out About all the Proposed changes to the PC(USA) Constitution including the Heidelberg Catechism.
On Saturday, February 16, Bills and Overtures will host a gathering at The House of Hope Presbyterian Church from 9 am to 11 am. The purpose of this gathering is for the Committee to listen to those wishing to speak on the amendments and the Heidelberg translation, and answer their questions. The material presented at the January Presbytery meeting will be available.
At the March meeting, the Presbytery will vote on the Heidelberg Confession translation and all other amendments.
The Bills and Overtures Committee have materials to help you and your congregation as we prepare for the upcoming votes on the amendments. You can go to the Bills and Overtures Page to download the documents or you can click here.
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Resource Update February Recommendations from Resource Center for Churches; Cokesbury Twin Cities location to set to close.
 Here are some recommended resources from the Resource Center for Churches (A PTCA Mission Partner):
Lillian Daniel makes a case for church-based spirituality in When Spiritual But Not Religious Is Not Enough: Seeing God in Surprising Places, Even in Church(Jericho Books, 2013). A video clip and interview with Daniel is here.
In Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self (Jossey-Bass, 2013), Richard Rohr provides tools to uncover the True Self. A short video of Rohr on Prayer as Communion is here.
You learn about more of RCCs February choices by clicking here.
United Theological Seminary Closes Cokesbury Store on March 15, 2013
Cokesbury Christian Resources will continue to be available through our Call Center at 800-672-1789, our website Cokesbury.com, plus a Cokesbury Sales Representative will soon be hired for the Minneapolis/Saint Paul market. The Cokesbury Store staff would like to express appreciation to the New Brighton and Twin Cities Christian communities for your support.
Come by and take advantage of our 30% off inventory liquidation sale.
Shop early for best selection. Click here for a map to our store
3000 Fifth Street, NW New Brighton, Minnesota
*In-Stock Items Only *While Supplies Last *All Sales Final *Excludes VBS and Dated Curriculum *Some exclusions apply.
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Evangel Returns!
Evangel, the blog on social media and church communications, is back after a hiatus. This week's blog post is about communication in small churches. You can read it by clicking here.
Transformation, One Thursday at a Time
Webinars Each Thursday in February.
 "Transforming Ourselves and The World One Thursday at a Time" NextChurch and The Ecclesia Project are offering FREE webinars each Thursday in February. Webinars and online conversations can't replace the power of face-to-face interaction with its embodied intimacy, but they can facilitate real connections between people and provide an engaging forum for sharing thoughts and ideas. These conversation venues are one of the emerging tools for harnessing the power of social movements, cultivating collaborative networks and making critical connections.
Please click here for more information and to register.
Wear Your PDA Shirt to Church!
Wear Your T-Shirt on the First Sunday in Lent.
We are thankful for the tens of thousands of volunteers who have offered themselves in service helping to clean, repair and rebuild homes of families affected by numerous disasters throughout the United States.
While it has been three months since Hurricane Sandy struck New Jersey and New York; thousands of families are still homeless and the recovery - like Hurricane Katrina - will take years. As with Hurricane Katrina, many families will need the faithful witness and service of volunteers to help rebuild their homes.
Therefore, as an act of solidarity with families affected by Hurricane Sandy and other disasters throughout the United States, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) is asking that you designate February 17, 2013 - the first Sunday in Lent (and beginning of the One Great Hour of Sharing offering promotion) - as "wear your blue PDA T-shirt Sunday". We know there are thousands of you who have 'earned' a PDA T-shirt through your faithful service of ministering to survivors of other disasters.
Please contact the PDA Call Center at pda.callcenter@pcusa.org or call 866-732-6121 to discuss your team's interest in Hurricane Sandy volunteer opportunities or to register to work at one of the sites in need of volunteers now and in the future.
One more thing; please broadly share this note and take photos of your congregation wearing their PDA t-shirts so that we can make a collage of congregations participating in this initiative. Thank you.
Save the Date #1
PTCA Forum on Sex Trafficking in April.
 The Kwanzaa Task Force of the Mission and Witness Committee will hostCritical Conversations: the local mission effort to deal with sex trafficking and the prostitution of children in the Twin Cities on Tuesday April 2, 6-8PM at Valley Community Presbyterian Church in Golden Valley. Speakers will include Rev. Alika Galloway of the Northside Women's Project and Dr. Lauren Martin from the University of Minnesota. More information to come.
Save the Date #2
Presbyterian Women Spring Gathering in Rochester. 
The Spring Gathering of the Presbyterian Women of the Greater Twin Cities Area will be held on April 13 in Rochester, MN at the First Presbyterian Church. The event starts at 9:00 a.m. with check-in, coffee and conversation. Registration forms will be available in the next Connections publication.
The speaker this year will be Linda Hora, a Synod Representative from Boone, IA. She participated in the 2011 Global Exchange to India and will reflect on projects, people and experiences she had while there.
Mark your calendars and plan to attend this special event which has been prepared just for you as women of faith. It is a great experience to meet people from other churches in our presbytery and share with them the missions we support, the accomplishments we have made, and the impact we have had on our own community in the name of Jesus Christ.
Save the Date #3
Communication and Technology Workshop on April 13.
 Are you responsible for the church website or run the media and sound for worship? Come to the Communications and Technology Workshop which will be held Saturday, April 13 at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis. More information will follow.
Find out what's going on in the larger world of the Presbyterian Church (USA) by reading the latest stories from Presbyterian News Service. Click here to read new and recent articles.
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News of the Kirks
What's Happening in PTCA Churches.
| Looking for a job or open pulpit? Visit our employment page to see our job listings. | Find out what events are taking place in our presbytery by going to the Presbytery Calendar . |
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 EMerge is a weekly publication from the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area (PTCA). Recipients include congregations, teaching elders, ruling elders, church members, committees, and friends. Please send submissions and e-mail corrections to Dennis Sanders, editor, at communications@ptcaweb.org . Usual distribution: Thursdays. You can find out more at the PTCA website: www.presbyterytwincities.org
122 W. Franklin Ave.
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404
Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area
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