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The Weekly E-Newsletter of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area
| April 4, 2013
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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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It's Not Easy Being GreenResources for Earth Day and Beyond.
 Aprill 22 is Earth Day, the day when we remember God's creation and our obligation to be good stewards of all that God has made. The Environmental Stewardship Taskforce of the PTCA has several resources on hand for you to promote in your congregation. First off, is a resource packet available from the National Council of Churches. This year's resource, Sunday Morning Sustainability, highlights the ways that individuals and congregations can transform their regular Sunday morning activities in order to better care for God's Creation and God's people. Download Sunday Morning Sustainability to learn more about creating sustainable routines and to help celebrate God's Creation on Earth Day Sunday (April 21)! Next, we go to your congregation's kitchen. It's probably equipped with a pre-rinse spray valve to manually spray off the food waste before the dishes go into a washing machine. Pre-rinse spray valves, also called dishsprayers, are attached to a hose hanging over a sink. Many dishsprayers tend to use about 3 gallons of water in a minute, which is a fair amount of money literally going down the drain. Switching to a more efficient sprayer could save a congregation about $400/year. Clean Energy Resource Teams offer this and other solutions to bring your church's water bill down, which is good for the planet and put more of your church's budget available for missions and not maintenance. To find out more, please click here. You might want to consider spending Earth Day at the Capitol in St. Paul. April 22 is a Day of Action for Clean Energy and Jobs. Spend the day talking to legislators about how we can all take care of the environment. Click here to sign up and to learn more. Finally, consider joining the team. The Environmental Stewardship Taskforce has been on hiatus for a time and is looking to restart. Part of the purpose of the task force is to empower churches and their members to become active stewards of God's Creation and build an environmental network and encourage communication. Interested? Please contact Carole Rust via email at environment@ptcaweb.org.
Big Tent 2013Ten Conferences. One Place.
Discover a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that is more exciting, more faithful, and more diverse than you have ever imagined. Big Tent will inspire you and make you proud to be a Presbyterian. The event will be celebratory, diverse, and participatory, with intergenerational activities.
Under one roof, the 2013 Big Tent will combine 10 national Presbyterian conferences and a single theme: "Placing God's First Things First" (Matt. 6:33-34). It will take place August 1-3 at the Kentucky International Convention Center and nearby hotels in downtown Louisville.
For more information or to register, please click here.
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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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The Wired Church
Forum on Communication and Technology April 13 in Minneapolis.
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.
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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.
April Presbytery Educators Gathering
April 11 at The House of Hope in St. Paul.
Our next Educator Group Gathering will be on Thursday April 11, 2013 from 11:30am-1:00pm. We will be meeting at The House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul. Directions can be found on their website www.hohchurch.org (you can park the church's parking lot on Portland Avenue). Our topic will be a discussion Including and Caring for People with Disabilities in our Educational Ministries. Cheryl Klink from FPC Stillwater will give an overview of a couple of workshops she recently attended on this topic and that will be the spring board for our conversation. Please bring $5.00 to cover the cost of lunch. Please RSVP to Martha Rockenstein by Tuesday April 12th via email at martha.rockenstein@gmail.com & let her know if you have any dietary restrictions.
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.
Synod Women's Gathering
This June in Storm Lake Iowa with Theresa Cho.
 | | Theresa Cho. |
The registration booklet, including a list of workshops and the registration form, for the 2013 Gathering of the Presbyterian Women in the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, set Wednesday through Saturday, June 12-15, is on the
synod website.
The gathering, featuring the Rev. Theresa Cho, a leader in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) who has been active in youth, women's and peacemaking efforts throughout the church, takes place at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. The Rev. Sara Dingman-Lavigne, interim presbyter of Missouri River Valley, will be the worship leader, and the Rev. Sarah Dickinson, pastor of Mosher-Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Omaha, will lead Bible study.
Are You Called to Plant a Church (or new ministry)? Church Planters Academy in Minneapolis this August.
The Church Planters Academy
August 15-17, 2013
Solomon's Porch
Minneapolis, MN
For anyone in the process of starting a new faith community -- or dreaming of starting one -- there is no better use of time than gathering with others who share those dreams. Join us in Minneapolis, August 15-17, for three days of inspiration, challenge, and coaching. Learn from the successes and failures of experienced church planters:
- Doug Pagitt (free-range)
- Bruce Reyes-Chow (PC(USA))
- Maggie Mraz (Vineyard)
- Debbie Blue (ABC/ELCA)
- Micah Witham (Evangelical Covenant)
- Mike Baughman (UMC)
- Rich McCullen (DOC)
- Tim Conder (free-range)
- Mike Stavlund (free-range)
- Russell Rathbun (ABC/ELCA)
- And more!
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.
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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) Building a Movement to End Poverty at United Seminary April 15 ( 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) Kid Friendly Organ Concert at First-Stillwater on April 14 ( more) Presentation on Mental Illness at Trinity-Woodbury April 15 ( more) Commentary: The Garden Outside Pleasantville by Gordon Stewart ( more) Commentary: Easter Is our Defining Story by Paul Moore ( 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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