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Save the Dates!
Tuesday,
September 17th
4-8p
Ordinary Time-
Taking
Care of Business
(Budget & Overtures)
Stated
Presbytery Meeting
JIM's Place
228 W High Ave.
New Philadelphia
Dinner included: $10 donation suggested
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Saturday,
October 19th
9a - 4p
ALL LEADER Training-Intentional Change Process
at the Individual, Congregational, Community, Parish & Presbytery Level
Christ Presbyterian Church
530 Tuscarawas Street West
Canton, 44702
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Tuesday
December 3rd
9a - 4p
The Presbytery
Gathers
Advent Worship, Update from the Commissions, and Vote on the 2014 Budget
The Presbyterian Church
142 N. Fourth St.
Coshocton, 43812
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Questions?
Comments?
Corrections?
800.693.1147
330.339.5515
MVP
Office Hours: Monday thru Thursday
8:00A - 4:30P
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MVP News:
There are still plenty of 2013 - 2014 Presbyterian Planning Calendars available in the MVP Mission Center! $9.00 each Contact Shauna to place your order or visit the MVP Mission Center to pick yours up today!
If you have placed an order, please pick up your order at the Mission Center. 2013 Mission Yearbooks are now on sale $12.00 each Per Capita 2013
GA
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6.87
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Synod
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3.25
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Presbytery
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18.36
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Total
| 28.48 |
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The latest newsletter from PW in the Synod of the Covenant. Please read and forward on.
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SUMMER MISSION
GATHERING
The College Drive Presbyterian Church
in
New Concord, Ohio
invites PWP & friends to their church on
Saturday, August 24
Schedule will be:
Registration 9:30am
Business, Program & Worship 10:00-12:15
Lunch 12:30 (cost $7.00)
Kathy Adams from Mansfield will speak
about "Life as a Mission", the small church & Haiti.
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Friday Lunch...
They had lunch every Friday without fail. They claimed that they never needed therapy because they had one another. These eight mothers, who taught us about life, were a force to be reckoned with. They held us accountable to growing up well, even as they loved us with a ferocity that sustains us even now. They celebrated our victories, grieved our losses. Between noon and three pm every Friday, you knew where to find them, where else but Friday Lunch at the Field Club!
Each one had a gift to share. From Cathy, I learned to sew and manage a household. From Janet, I learned how to cook and the joy of giving gifts. From Anne, I learned to weave into life a playful irreverence. From Susan, I learned how to navigate the political realities of family, work, and community. From Dee Dee, I learned compassion not only for others, but also for myself. From Mary Beth, I received permission to follow my own path. From Mary Jane (my mom), I learned how to honor the dual call of family and ministry. From Sheila, I learned to lead with gracious intention. Each had something special to give. Each had a role to play, not only in my life but in the lives of all of us "kids"-we numbered twenty-four in total (not including our circles of friends).
As the daughters graduated and went off to college, we were inducted into Friday Lunch when home for holidays or summer breaks. Through their practice of Friday Lunch, the mothers modeled the profound gift and responsibility of friendship. We learned about the essential nature of community from these strong, loving and wise women, each a matriarch in her own right.
Cathy was the first to die, followed by Susan, and now Sheila this past Saturday. The rest have been scattered up and down the East Coast: Mary Beth and Janet to Florida, Dee Dee to Virginia, my mom to North Carolina. Only Anne remains in New York. I think perhaps the hardest part of letting go, of saying goodbye, is the realization that we really can't go home anymore. Home is no longer there in a geographic sense. Instead, home must be defined by memories and a way of being that allows the past to inform the present.
I wonder if this is a bit how the disciples felt after Jesus' resurrection and ascension. Jesus tells them: Go back to the Upper Room and wait. But once the Holy Spirit comes, know that you will be scattered. And, in the scattering, you are to take my message, my way of being, my very person into the world (see Acts 1:1-11).
There is tenderness in this. I think deep down we wanted them to always be there, even though we knew such a thing was not possible. We are all grown now, with families of our own, scattered across both country and globe. The oldest of the grandchildren are off to college, the youngest in elementary school. Friday Lunch is their legacy to us, a gift we honor through our living-taking their way of being, their identity in Christ, into the lives of our families and communities.
"It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards," said no less a theologian than the White Queen to Alice in Wonderland. It is the memories of Friday Lunch-of relationships that sustained through the good and the bad-that shape my understanding of friendship and community even now. "Faith, hope, love abide; these three. But the greatest of these is love!" (I Corinthians 13:13)
Thanks be to God for the love of these eight women!
With love in Christ,
Deborah Rundlett, general presbyter
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Holy Habit: Gratitude
There is an old French proverb that says: "Gratitude is the heart's memory." For whom are you thankful? This coming week, begin a "thank you list." Then, give thanks to God for the people who have helped you become the person you are today. In the coming weeks, gift yourself with time to write each person who has touched your life in a profound way a letter of thanks. If they are no longer living, send the letter to a family member. To be sure, this is no little task. But in the writing-in the remembering-you will experience the blessing of gratitude... the heart's memory!
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From the Clerk's Desk August 19, 2013
We have received word that Teaching Elder Herbert F. Thomson HR died on July 24th. Rev. Thomson was ordained in 1943 by Albany (NY) Presbytery following his graduation from Princeton Theological Seminary. He received his M.Th. degree from Union Seminary in New York City and his doctorate from the University of Colorado in 1964. Rev. Thomson was received by Muskingum Valley Presbytery in 1961 and taught for almost 30 years in the Economics Department of Muskingum College (now University) until his retirement in 1990. He retired from active ministry in 1985 but served for many years as pastor of the North Salem Presbyterian Church.
A memorial service will be held at the North Salem Church in October and details will be posted when available.
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I Am - Youth Triennium 2013 Can you imagine a worship service with over 5,000 high school students and their adult advisors? An empty auditorium with a simple but striking set on the stage filled up in about 15 minutes. It was noisy, chaotic, and energetic as the youth flowed into the facility. The worship team of five youth came on stage and began Triennium 2013 with "energizers," 5,000 youth dancing, repeating silly phrases, etc. The musicians came on next and led the group in contemporary worship songs. The five thousand sang loudly and passionately to God. Various youth led responsive readings, read Scripture, led confession, and other worship elements. The crowd cheered for each one of their peers as they led these parts of the worship service. The youth worship team performed drama before the sermon that made you think deeply about what the passage of Scripture might address in our modern culture. The sermon was presented in a modern, conversational style with stories of youth ministry as examples of how to apply God's Word to our lives. Five thousand youth worshiped for two hours every day in this way. This has to be some of the finest moments of our denomination this year! Last week, I had the privilege of traveling with over 30 youth from our Muskingum Valley Presbytery to the 2013 Presbyterian Youth Triennium held on the campus of Purdue University in Indiana. I served on the planning/committee for our Presbytery, along with Dave Puterbaugh (who was the chairman of that committee).
We started meeting a year ago to put together our Presbytery delegation. The event was attended by over 5,000 youth from around the world.The theme of this Triennium was "I Am." Over the five days, we looked at who God says He is, and who we are.Various speakers at the daily worship serviced talked about God first revealing himself as I Am, Jesus the Good Shepherd, Jesus the Provider, etc. The youth explored in turn who they are in a small group setting. There were also recreational activities, a prayer room, a college fair, and much more.
The youth were busy all day. There were nine youth from our church that traveled with me to Triennium this year. You would be proud and surprised if you could have seen how they conducted themselves this week. There was a lot of laughter, of course, but the way they watched out for one another and encouraged one another was beautiful. They demonstrated what a church should be: - A community that takes the journey seriously but has lots of fun together
- A community that shares everything: money, clothes, time, and even food
- A community that holds each other accountable by making sure they follow the rules, get to church, and treat others with respect
- A community that is willing to try new things, and cheers each other along
- A community that recognizes each other's gifts and talents, and gives them opportunities to use them
- A community that forgives one another quickly and completely
- A community where no one is left behind and everyone must participate fully
Thank you for your support that allowed me to experience Triennium with our youth, and thank you for supporting the youth of our church. You are changing lives! By Annie Melick, Director of Family Ministries
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From Alazar Coetzee
"Before I went to Triennium everybody (including my dad) was telling me how I would enjoy this trip and get a lot out of it. Not that I haven't liked the other camps or anything, but to me I thought it was going to be like the other camps I've attended. After we got there, that evening we had worship and it wasn't like any worship I've ever been to. Although worship was about three hours, believe it or not, I always looked forward to it every day. You would agree with me, too, if you heard five thousand people singing the same song together. And they make it really hard to sleep through the sermon because we had energizers right before service. I also think the pastors did a good job of delivering the message of "I Am", the theme of PYT13. I am really glad that I had the opportunity to go and meet a lot of different people from all over the country and even some outside of the US. I wish they had this every year, but I am already really excited to go again in three years. I want to thank everyone at Westminster for making it possible for me to go."
Alazar Coetzee
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Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In an increasingly conflict-ridden and fragmented world, the God who grants peace and wholeness calls Christians to understand and address the root causes of violence and injustice so that we may share in mending the brokenness that exists in our world. Peacemaking is the human response to God's gift of peace giving. The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program invites leaders from our partner churches around the world to share their experiences as peacemakers in their own lands.
Our presbytery has just received preliminary news that our application to host a 2013 International Peacemaker has been honored in the person of the Rev. Wilfred Orr from Newtownbreda, Northern Ireland. Please consider if you are able to host Rev. Orr for a day or two in early October (4-9). He is able to speak with churches and community groups, present at a church supper or other evening meeting and participate in worship leadership. Given the short duration of his stay in the presbytery, we want to ensure that Rev. Orr visits both the north and south parts of MVP.
Churches who wish to host our visitor may contact Rev. Lynn Bozich Shetzer, 330-494-2288, callmeinstead330@yahoo.com or the Presbytery office.
Rev. Wilfred Orr
| In 2012, Wilfred was presented with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen's honors list for "Service to Community Relations." Throughout his time in Newtownbreda he has been a leading figure in the Ballynafeigh Clergy Fellowship and has worked tirelessly to promote both stronger ties between churches of all traditions in the district and between those from different cultural, social and political backgrounds. The proactive role played by the Ballynafeigh Clergy Fellowship is viewed as significant in contributing to this district remaining one of the areas in Northern Ireland most balanced between Protestant/Unionist and Catholic/Nationalist populations in spite of the polarizing impact of "The Troubles."
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Prayer Requests/Updates
If you or someone you know has a prayer request
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