March 2014Vol 5, Issue 3

  Bridging the Gap

       A Publication of Mackinac Presbytery 
Mackinac Bridge2
 "A Message from the Presbytery Moderator"

Don Myers
CRE Don Myers

Stewardship  

 

On Saturday,  April 5th the Northland Barbershop Chorus will present their 50th annual show,  "North to Alaska" at the Kiwanis Community Theatre Centre in Sault, Ontario.  The show will feature dramatic readings from acclaimed poet Robert W. Service whose work has become synonymous with the Gold Rush era.  Also featured will be an internationally acclaimed quartet "Storm Front" from Denver, CO, who won the gold medal as the world's best quartet at the 2010 International Quartet Contest held in Philadelphia, PA.

 

Immediately after intermission, the Chorus will make their yearly contribution to the Speech and Language Pathology Department of the Sault Area Hospital, in keeping with their motto: "We Sing That They Shall Speak".  Since 1995, this 53 year old chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society has given over $70,000 to aid those for whom stroke, cancer, head injury or other critical health issues have robbed of the ability to communicate.  Beginning in 2009, the Chorus (15% of whose membership resides on the U.S. side) expanded their efforts to include annual donations to the Speech Pathology Department at War Memorial Hospital in Sault Michigan

 

In recognition of community service given over 5 decades, the City of Sault Ste Marie Ontario awarded the Northland Barbershop Chorus the 2010 Medal of Merit, the city's most prestigious honor.  The award is given annually for "outstanding achievement in a chosen area which has resulted in making a valuable contribution to the community".  The award was officially presented to all 51 then currently active chorus members by Mayor Debbie Amoroso at a civic ceremony and dinner held May 7, 2011.

 

Stewardship can be practiced outside of the church setting and this group of men donates a considerable amount of time at their craft by singing in hospitals, and care facilities on both sides of the river.  They rehearse from Sept. to June at the Salvation Army Citadel every Monday evening from 7 to 10 PM. 

 

Church appearances are a large part of their community service as well.  The FUPC here in the Sault has been featured the third week in January for several years and the chorus has enjoyed filling in for the choir on those occasions. 

 

When we think about helping others, it reminds us of our church connections and affiliations.  This is where Stewardship prevails, but it doesn't end in the sanctuary or the confines of the structure.  It can begin there, and spread to the corners of our sphere of influence.

 

In Ephesians 4: 1-6 it talks about being a prisoner of the Lord, to follow your calling, being meek, and loving, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  This is what our harmony creates with one another when we help others in our community.

 

We need one another, the church where we can be fed and nurtured, and where we can feel God's presence.  The willingness to sacrifice and the gift of giving is the pathway of preparation to Easter.

 
In This Issue
From the Presbytery Moderator
Employment Opportunity
New Baby for the Delezenne's
APA Conference Coming to Petoskey
Save the Dates
New Interims
Principled Pluralism
Presbyterian Mission Agency
One Grreat Hour of Sharing

Church Newsletter Links

Click on links below to read newsletters from some of our congregation that send their publications to the presbytery office electronically. (If your church newsletter is not linked here, contact the presbytery office to ask how you may be included)

  

Alpena 

Bellaire 

Beulah 

Big Bay 

Escanaba 
Florence 

Gaylord 

Harbor Springs 

Houghton 

Marquette 
Northern Lakes Community Church 

Petoskey
Pickford 

Rogers City 

Sault Ste. Marie
Traverse City 

 

 Administrative Personnel Association of the PCUSA web site

Please Continue to Keep in your Prayers

 

  • Anna Wright
  • Nancy Visser
  • Rev. Sandy Shaw
  • Rev. Frank Williams
  • Don Myers 
  • Rev. Jerry Borschart

 

The YouTube Box
If you see a YouTube link you'd like to share, please send it.

Mother's Video of a Blind Baby Boy

The Seasons of Your Life

I am the Bread of Life
Join our Mailing List!
Employment Opportunitiy at the Synod of Lincoln Trails              
           
The Synod of Lincoln Trails is seeking a Transitional Executive to provide faithful and innovative leadership and consultation to the synod as it seeks to be faithful to its present mission and to discern God's vision and call for its future. Applications and answers to supplemental questions will be accepted through April 30, 2014. For more information, including the position description, a link to the Ministry Information Form, and an application which may be submitted online, visit http://www.presbyteryov.org/SOLT/.
Welcome Baby Jude Paul
baby-blocks-blue.jpg
Welcome to Jude Paul Delezenne, son of Julie and Adam Delezenne and little brother to Isaac.  Jude Paul weighed 7 pounds 5 ounces at birth and was 20.75 inches long.  Mother and baby are doing well.  Julie is a Minister Member-at-Large in Mackinac Presbytery.  Cards and notes may be sent to the family at 3608 Garling Road, Fairview, MI 49621.

Attention Administrative Assistants, Secretaries, Office Managers, Business Managers, etc.
APA Logo
You are invited to participate in the Heartland Regional Conference of the Administrative Personnel Association of the PCUSA.  The conference will be held June 20-21, 2014 in Petoskey and provides a unique opportunity for church workers to gather and learn, enjoy fellowship and worship and network with others working within the Presbyterian Church (USA).  Click here to download a brochure about the event.  If you have questions, contact Lindy Bearss at the presbytery office.  To learn more about the APA organization, visit the National APA web site.  Instructors from Mackinac Presbytery are Rev. David Van Dam, Rev. Jerry Blevins, Stated Clerk Kay Morrill, Elder William (Bill) Clark, Retired Church Administrator Cynthia Donahey and Insurance Agent Bob Esford.  We hope you will join us.
Mark Your Calendar for 2014 Presbytery Meetings
May 17, 2014 Presbytery Meeting at Northern Lakes Community Church, Traverse City
  
October 10-11, 2014 Presbytery Meeting at First Presbyterian Church, Marquette 
Two New Presbytery Interims
Rev. Donald Kinloch
Welcome to the Rev. Donald Kinloch, Interim Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Petoskey, and Rev. Pat Megregian as the Interim Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Harbor Springs.

Rev. Kinloch was born in Scotland but spent most of his early life in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) where his father was in the government hospital service.He returned to Scotland for his education at the University of Edinburgh, and attended both Ripon College and Oxford University for post-graduate study.He then moved to New York where he attended Union Theological Seminary where he was the Resident Scots Fellow and a Fulbright Scholar.

Rev. Kinloch has served as pastor in churches in Glasgow, Scotland; Norfolk, Virginia; Gaithersburg, Maryland; and retired from full time ministry after serving in Northbrook, Illinois.  He then served as an interim in Martinsville, Indiana, before moving to northern Michigan.

He and his wife Susan are living near Atwood.    

 

Rev. Pat Megregian is the new interim pastor at Harbor Springs.  Pat  came on board March 3rd, with her first day in the pulpit on March 9th.
Pat most recently came from the Mackinac Presbytery, where she was the General Presbyter.  In that role, she guided many interim pastors and their congregations in their search for a permanent pastor. She also traveled all over
thehe UP and northern Michigan, so this terrain (and weather!) is very
Rev. Pat Megregian 
familiar to her.  She is also familiar with our church, and the path we have walked with Pastor Pollard.  She has a good understanding of where we are on our journey to a permanent pastor. 


 Pat has been married to her husband Mark for 49 years.  They have 2 grown children, one living in Portland, OR and one living in IL.  They also have a grandson attending Wooster College

 
Principled Pluralism

Principled Pluralism:
 
Navigating America's increasingly diverse religious landscape

A PANEL DISCUSSION FEATURING

Alec Hill
 
President, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship

Dr. Michael Le Roy
 
President, Calvin College

Rev. Julius Medenblik
 
President, Calvin Seminary

Moderated by Joseph DeMott 
Project Manager, Justice & Society Program, Aspen Institute

Thursday, April 24, 2014 * 7:30-9 p.m.

Calvin College, Covenant Fine Arts Center
1795 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49546
Reception to follow in the West Lobby

Register Now 

 

 
If you want peace, work for justice

 

Greetings to members of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board, mid council executives, and friends,  

As we are called to live each day in right relationship with God, one another, and the whole of God's creation, the work of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) stands as an inspiring and successful model for corporate social responsibility, community organizing, sustainable food, antislavery, and human rights initiatives.

     I was privileged-along with Sara Lisherness, Andrew Kang Bartlett, and Margaret Mwale from Compassion, Peace, and Justice ministries-to witness the CIW's passion and dedication firsthand during a recent visit to Immokalee, Florida. Painted on a wall outside of their office building is the familiar charge "Si quieres paz, lucha por la justicia . . . If you want peace, work for justice." And-in partnership with the CIW for 12 years-that is what we, as God's people, strive to do.

The PC(USA) was an early partner of the CIW, whose vision and commitment have brought together farmworkers, growers, corporations, and consumers in common purpose to ensure human freedom and dignity as God intends. Thanks to their efforts, 12 fast-food, food-service, and supermarket retailers-including YUM! Brands, McDonald's, Aramark, Trader Joe's, and, most recently, Walmart-now participate in the CIW's Fair Food Program, paying at least an extra penny per pound of tomatoes to their growers to increase workers' wages, and purchasing only from those growers who uphold the Fair Food Code of Conduct. The code establishes broad rights and principles that address endemic problems faced by field workers, such as sexual harassment, forced labor, and wage theft.

The primary purpose of our most recent visit was to reaffirm our long-standing relationship with the CIW and to meet with several partner organizations, including representatives of Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida, the Fair Foods Standards Council, and staff and members from the congregations of Peace River Presbytery.

CIW farmworkers testified to how the Campaign for Fair Food has resulted in better working conditions for them. Representatives of a grower told us that retention of workers has improved, as has their safety.

Peace River Presbytery's farmworker outreach ministry, Misión Peniel, serves meals to 600-1,000 farmworkers every Friday, and pastor Miguel Estrada ministers tirelessly in the community.

There is more to be done. The vast majority of Florida growers are now implementing needed changes, which are overseen by a third-party monitor and affect about 80,000 farmworkers a year. "Because remaining holdout retailers still provide a market for produce tainted by exploitation," said Andrew Kang Bartlett, associate for National Hunger Concerns in the Presbyterian Hunger Program, "we must continue our support of the campaign until all major retailers join the Fair Food Program."

Wendy's and supermarket retailer Publix have resisted joining the Campaign for Fair Food. So, the CIW's 10-city, 10-day "Now is the Time" Tour (March 5-15) will travel to raise awareness and to visit those companies. We invite Presbyterians to take part in the tour's scheduled activities throughout the Southeast.

We are blessed in the United States to have available to us an abundance of food, yet it is no blessing for all if it comes by the exploitation of some. In a time of growing wealth inequality, and of political and social divisiveness, the CIW is strategically working toward-and achieving-that true abundance, which is always just and extended to all.

Faithfully yours,

 

 
One Great Hour of Sharing
 
It's beeneight years sinceHurricane Katrina tore through the city of New Orleans. Sadly, it's taken this long for the Lower 9th Ward to see signs of improvement in the community. But because ofgenerous people like you who support One Great Hour of Sharing the Presbyterian Mission Agency is able to help.

"The city of New Orleans has never been equitable or fair to us in the Lower 9th Ward," says Vanessa Gueringer, the Vice President of A Community Voice (ACV). "Many in the city wrote us off, whereas we viewed it as our home and this is our land and we deserve to come back like any other community." Your donation can help the people in the Lower 9th Ward, and others like them who are trying to rebuild their lives. Give today.

ACV is a non-profit that fights for social and economic justice for low-to-moderate-income families. After Hurricane Katrina,ACV helped people gain access to their homes and fight for basic services like garbage pickup, but there is still so much more that needs done to help develop this community. Hurricane Katrina destroyed their homes, took away their jobs, and set families back. You can help us do more by making a donation today.

Thanks to a grant from Self-Development of People, who is supported by One Great Hour of Sharing, ACV was able to open a computer center for community residents. So far,more than 500 people have used it to apply for jobs, housing, and food assistance, and even more have used it for training and education.

 
Check the Presbytery calendar on our web site, www.presbymac.org,  for upcoming dates for Coordinating Council, Presbytery meetings and committee meetings.
Sincerely,

Your Presbytery Staff
Associate for Pastoral Care - Rev. David Henderson -  henderson@lighthouse.net
General Presbyter - Vacant

Stated Clerk - Elder Kay Morrill - kay@presbymac.org 

Council Moderator - Rev. Scott White - scott.fpcesc@gmail.com
Presbytery Moderator - CRE Don Myers - dmyers@lighthouse.net
Presbytery Vice-Moderator - Rev. Elliot Morrison - MorrisonJEP@gmail.com
Office Manager - Lindy Bearss - lindy@presbymac.org
Treasurer - Elder John Fought - john@presbymac.org