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The Weekly E-Newsletter of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area
| March 28, 2013
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Greetings!
Please note the Presbytery office will be closed on Friday, March 29 in observance of Good Friday. The office will reopen on Monday, April 1.
Sincerely,
Dennis Sanders
Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area
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Prayer RequestsMarch 31, 2013
 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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Resources for EasterIt's More than Just a Day.
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Youth take part in flowering the cross at Randolph Heights Presbyterian in St. Paul.
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Easter is March 31 this year. Some will be wearing their finest spring outfits to church, covered up with a coat (ahh, Easter in Minnesota). But Easter is more than one day. In fact, Easter is a season in the church year, a 50-day observance leading up to Pentecost, the day when the Holy Spirit was sent to the nascent church. There are several resources available for those who want to observe Eastertide. Check out some the links below to find out how to celebrate the Risen Lord and Savior in our lives. The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship has a number of resources for Worship Planning. Presbyterian pastor Mark Roberts has a webpage of Easter resources appropriately titled "Easter: More Than Just a Day."The magazine Reformed Worship has a liturgy that can be used anytime during the Easter season.
One Great Hour of SharingConsider Giving Online Today.  Thank you for your continued dedication to the important work of the church done through the Presbyterian Hunger Program, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, and Self-Development of People ministries which are supported by your gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing
which is collected during Lent and Easter.
If you haven't given already, consider sending a donation via phone or online. Last year we introduced the ability to give via text messaging. This option still remains for those unable to give when the offering is received at your church. Individual $10 gifts can be made by texting OGHS to 20222. You can also give online by going to the Presbyterian Mission Agency website. Please click here to give online.
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InPrint Returns!
The PTCA's journal of mission and ministry focuses on new and renewing congregations.
InPrint, the Journal of Mission and Ministry in the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area is now available. You can either read the magazine online or download it for reading or sharing. Please click on the links below to start the download.
This issues includes:
- Stories on Chain of Lakes New Church Development and the Revival of Grace-Trinity
- Making Presbytery Meetings Millennial-Friendly
- Mission taking place in Austin, Albert Lea and St. Paul
- Lenten Thoughts
- and much more.
Have a story to share? We are looking for stories of mission and ministry taking place in the PTCA. Please send your stories ideas and completed copy to communications@ptcaweb.org. The due date for copy for the June 2013 issue is at the close of business on May 15, 2013.
Please let us know what you think of InPrint and how it fits into the media ministry of the PTCA. Feel free to send an email to communication@ptcaweb.org
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Dismissal Policy Draft Released
How to allow congregations to be dismissed to other denominations.
A draft policy that explains the process of allowing a congregation to be dismissed to another denomination was released yesterday. We hope you and your congregations will take the time to study the document and also take advantage of the comment period to share your concerns. Stated Clerk Bill Davnie will be accepting your comments between now and April 19. Share your concerns by email: statedclerk@ptcaweb.org.
To download the draft policy and introductory letter, please go to the Gracious Separation page on the Presbytery website.
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Healthy Boundaries Training
April 4 at Church of the Apostles in Burnsville.
The Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area will host a Level One Boundaries Training Event on Thursday, April 4 at Presbyterian Church of the Apostles
in Burnsville from 8:30am to 2pm. Lunch will be provided and the cost for the event is $30 which will cover materials and lunch.
This training is presented two times a year, April and October, by Advocates for Integrity in Ministry (AIM). All clergy are required to take the training. New incoming pastors have a year from their reception to fulfill the requirement. Churches are encouraged to send elders, deacons, all staff, lay and clergy, and any other persons engaged in any form of ministry in or on behalf of the church.
1. All youth leaders who wish to attend Triennium are required to take this training.
2. All participants are required to attend the entire day of training, from opening welcome and worship through closing, or no credit will be given.
You must sign-up for the event online before the close of business on Tuesday, April 2.
If you have any questions, please contact the Sandra Stuart Gray or Peter Soulen, co-chairs of the Advocates for Integrity Committee at aim@ptcaweb.org.
Click here to register for the event.
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2013-14 Presbyterian Planning Calendars Order them now through the Presbytery Office.
 It's time to order your 2013-2014 Presbyterian Planning Calendars. Each year, the Presbytery offers to consolidate orders in order to give you a better price. We receive a price break with an order of at least 50 calendars then pass the savings on to you.
Calendar features include:
- Monthly calendar pages from June 2013 through December 2014
- Lectionary for the Lord's Day and special liturgical days
- Colors for the liturgical seasons
- Liturgical days, programmatic emphases and secular holidays
- Monthly planning suggestions and resources
- Synod, presbytery and GA staff directories
- Foldout synod/presbytery and world maps in color
The new calendars will be available in May 2013. The price will be about $8.75 per calendar. Your order will need to be picked up at the Presbytery office with payment due at that time. Sorry, no exceptions.
Please let me know how many calendars you wish to order through the Presbytery no later than April 19, 2013. I can be reached by email at office@ptcaweb.org, by phone at 612-871-7281 or you can send a note to me at Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area, 122 W. Franklin Ave., Suite 508, Minneapolis, MN 55404.
Thank you,
Risa Anderson
Office Manager
A Note About Mission and Witness Congregational and Scholarship Grants
Send those applications in early.
A note about 2013 Congregational and Scholarship Grant requests:
Please plan ahead!
The M&W Committee has determined that it can only consider church or scholarship grant applications that arrive prior to the date of an event. Requests made through the online applications should be submitted with proper approvals at least 6 weeks prior to the date of the event. The next meeting of M&W is March 21st, regular meetings are the 4th Thursday of every month.
Also, the deadline for Congregational Grants has changed. The date to turn in your application is September 1, 2013.
To apply for either grant online, please click here.
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Young Adults Praying at Pine Ridge
Bus Available for Pilgrimage to Pine Ridge Reservation.
 Monday, April 22, is a Crucial Deadline for those wanting to go on the Bus to the Taizé Brothers' "Pilgrimage of Trust across the Earth," at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, Memorial Day Weekend. Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis has offered to subsidize a 50-passenger bus to take young adults to this very special gathering next May 24-27. In the words of Brother John, "It will be a rare opportunity to discover a culture very different from mainstream America, with its gifts and its problems, to see what we can learn from one another, and to search together for what the Spirit is saying to us as we try to create a more human world." (A flyer with more information is attached.) To make the bus happen, Westminster needs to know how many people want to take the bus: o If there are not at least 40 going, the bus possibility will have to be cancelled. o If there are more than 50, additional options will have to be explored. Accordingly, if you intend to go to the Pilgrimage and would like to go/come on the bus, it is essential that you let us know by Monday, April 22. Keep reading for more information.
Bossman Scholarship
Deadline is April 1.
Each year, the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area provides assistance to future pastors through the Carl H. Bossman Scholarships. Applicants must be currently under care of PTCA, enrolled in seminary to be eligible, and scholarships are paid directly to the seminary. Preference is given to those willing to serve in small churches, and in Wisconsin. The due date for the application is Monday, April 1 and should be mailed or emailed into the Presbytery office. For more information or to apply, please go to the PTCA Forms page and look for the forms for the Committee on Preparation for Ministry.
CPM Summer Gathering
June 24 in South St. Paul.
 The Committee on Preparation for Ministry (CPM) is hosting a Summer Gathering for individuals exploring a sense of call to Teaching Elder in the PC(USA), including Seekers, Inquirers, Candidates, Pastors and Session Liaisons . The event will take place Monday, June 24, 2013 4:00pm to 9:00pm at First Presbyterian Church in South St. Paul, MN.
If you are a pastor or church member who has been in conversation with a member of your church who has expressed an interest in becoming a Teaching Elder, or if you know of someone in your congregation that you believe may have gifts and skills for ministry as a Teaching Elder, please share this invitation with them and encourage them to register for this event. For more information or to register, please click here.
Splash!
Energize Your Congregation's Children's Ministry.
Featuring speaker Mark Burrows, the theme will be children and family ministry--more specifically, including children in worship. Christian educators as well as pastors are encouraged to attend.
Critical Conversations
PTCA Forum on Sex Trafficking in April.
 The Kwanzaa Task Force of the Mission and Witness Committee will host Critical 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. For more information, please read this article by Teaching Elder Bebe Baldwin.
"God's People Crying Out for Justice"
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.
The cost for the event is $15. For more information and also to register for the event, download the Spring 2013 issue of Connections, the Newsletter of Presbyterian Women in the PTCA.
The Wired Church
Communication and Technology Forum on April 13.
 Are you in charge of the audio/video for Sunday morning service? Or maybe you put together the church newsletter or website? Do you have questions on how to do your job better or do you have tips to share with others. If you are involved in either technology or communication in your church, we hope you will take time to come to the Wired Church, a forum on the role of technology and communication in congregations. It's a time to come with questions or tips on how to improve your ministry. Join us April 13 at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis from 9AM-Noon. The event is free, but we would like you to register. Registration for the event is now available! Please click here to register.
Men's Spring Retreat on April 20
University of Minnesota President to Speak.
Men's Spring Retreat
Faith in the Future
Saturday, April 20, 8:00am to Noon
Westminster Presbyterian Church
 All Twin Cities-area men are invited to a half-day gathering for food, fellowship, inspiration, and worship.
Our speaker will be Dr. Eric Kaler, President of the University of Minnesota and Westminster member. Dr. Kaler will reflect on how his Christian faith informs his work as both a scientist and educator.
The morning begins with breakfast and table conversation, followed by Dr. Kaler's presentation and a time for questions. The morning concludes with a brief worship service.
Reservations required:
* Contact Dan Franklin (dfranklin@wpc-mpls.org or 612.332.3421)
* Sign up at Westminster on Sundays March 31, April 7 & 14
Cost is $10 (to cover the cost of breakfast, payable on the day of the retreat)
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. You can also read the latest goings on in the Presbyterian Church by going to our Storify Page.
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News of the Kirks
What's Happening in PTCA Churches.
Edgcumbe Presbyterian joins Humble Walk Lutheran in sharing stories and songs of the resurrection ( more) United Seminary to Inaugurate President Barbara Holmes on April 12 ( more) Noted Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin to Speak at House of Hope on April 14 ( more) Conference for Mainline Christian Educators Set for October ( more)
Workshop on Ministering to Youth with Autism Set for April 8 ( more) Michigan-based bell choir to perform at First-Rochester on April 14 ( more)
Looking for a job or open pulpit? Visit our employment page to see our job listings. |
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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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