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Guided by the Holy Spirit, our mission is to equip, support, and connect our congregations as they faithfully serve Jesus Christ in a changing world.
June 15, 2009 Volume 5, Number 23
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”
Cool off this Summer at Bethelwoods Sunday Swims
Join us for Bethelwoods Sunday Swims in June, July and August. The camp pool will be open from 2-4PM on Sundays for members of Providence Presbytery churches.
Camp News: Donations Requested
If you have any of these items, the Bethelwoods camp staff would appreciated the donations: dress up clothes for theme days (the more outrageous the better!); paint that can be used for sets for Music art and drama camp (red, blue, green, yellow, brown); paint brushes (can be used or new!); any recreation equipment (kick balls, baseball bats, hula hoops, parachutes) ; a mini van in good working condition (our camp in a vans are growing in number and right now we are using staff cars for some). Please contact Kat Ward at 803-366-3722 if you have any of these items. Read the Bethelwoods Camp Week 1 Report online.
Youth Leaders: Mark Your Calendar
Mark your calendars NOW to bring the youth from your church to Providence Presbytery’s Youth events during the 2009-2010 school year. We will kick off the year with our annual Youth Rally, which will feature our brand new worship 4 YOUth at Bethelwoods. Three more youth worship services will be held on Sunday nights throughout the year. We will join other youth from across the presbytery in some hands on mission work at our second annual Youth Mission Retreat to be held March 26-27, 2010 at Bethelwoods. Contact Kathryn McGregor or Kat Ward for more info.
Apply Now for the Leadership Initiative
Clergy and lay persons who are interested in becoming transformational, missional leaders in their congregations should apply for the Leadership Initiative. Offered by Mark Tidsworth, leader of our recent Providence Leadership Seminars, the 9-month-long program will provide 1 group coaching session per month, 1 one-on-one coaching session each month, and reading targeted to the LI goals. LI runs from September 2009-May 2010. Read more about the program online.
Disaster Response Coordinator Training is Next Weekend.
If you are your church’s Disaster Response Coordinator, don’t miss the SC Disaster Response Coordinator Training on Saturday, June 20, 2009 at Saxe Gotha Presbyterian Church in Columbia, 9AM- 3PM. This will be a great opportunity to hear experts in several fields of disaster response. See the attached flyer for more information. All SC presbyteries are invited to attend. Contact Kathleen Wood at 803-739-9709 (leave message) or email at patandkatwood@sc.rr.com. Please respond to Kathleen no later than June 10th. Lunch and t-shirts available. Make plans to attend this informative and fun day!
VBS Booklets Needed!
Van Wyck Church is looking for extra leader’s guides and extra student books from Cokesbury’s 2006 Adventure of the Treasure Seekers for their VBS in July. If your church has any you would be willing to give them, please email Pat Ogelsby at poglesby@comporium.net.
Upright Piano Donated
A member of the community, Charles Blackwell, has offered to donate an upright piano to any Providence Presbytery church that can use it. We understand that it is in very good condition, however it needs tuning. If your church can use an upright piano, please contact Dot Killian at dot@providencepres.org .
Don’t Miss these Great Educational Opportunities!
All-expense Paid Holy Land Pilgrimage Offered for Mid-Career Pastors
Journey of Faith: A Pilgrimage of Discernment for Ministry includes a two-week pilgrimage to the Holy Land and two short retreats—one before and one after the pilgrimage. Participant costs for travel, accommodations, meals, and materials for the pilgrimage will be paid through a grant from the CF Foundation, through its Holy Land Pastoral Renewal Program. The only cost for those selected to participate will be a registration fee of $250 and miscellaneous personal expenses. June 22 is the application deadline for a unique spiritual renewal experience offered for mid-career pastors by Columbia Theological Seminary’s Center for Lifelong Learning. Travel to the Holy Land is from October 28-November 11, 2009, with an orientation retreat September 22-24, 2009, and a follow-up retreat scheduled for January 5-7, 2010. For application and information see the website.
THEOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS, a PACE course, is being offered in July and August. Deadline to register is June 25. Attached is a registration flyer with all the needed info. Learn with Dr. Bryan Bibb, who is an assistant professor in the religion department at Furman and a member of John Knox Presbyterian Church. Please make note of the reading assignment prior to the first day of class.
Alban Webinars on Economic Challenges
Congregations and religious organizations are not immune to the forces at work during economic tough times. As institutions that exist to serve congregations and religious organizations, it is the desire of Alban Institute and the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving at the Center on Philanthropy, Indiana University to launch a collaborative effort in order to learn more about how this crisis is being experienced by congregations and how they are responding to it. This webinar series is one way we are trying to share what we learn with our constituents in a timely, sensitive and creative manner. You can register for one or more of the live 1-hour webinars or register for the whole series for added savings.
Congregational Song Conference
Learn practical, musical and pastoral ways to reclaim and cultivate musicianship and the embodied act of singing in worship. Attend the Congregational Song Conference at Columbia Theological Seminary July 27-29. Cost is $225 per person with a 10% discount for multiple attendees from one congregation. Tentative Schedule is online.
Mary Mikhael Leads August PW Bible Study Training Course
Columbia Seminary offers a three-day Presbyterian Women’s Bible study training course with the author, Mary Mikhael, in early August. See the attached brochure (with a link for online registration). PW Moderators and Circle Leaders will not want to miss this great opportunity!
Mediation Skills Training Institute
How much of your time is invested in dealing with conflict in your churches? Do you have a judicatory level mediation team – people who are equipped to facilitate healing and reconciliation? The South Carolina United Methodist Conference has invited you to attend Lombard Mennonite Peace Center’s Mediation Skills Training Institute for Church Leaders on August 17-21, 2009, in Columbia, South Carolina at Fair Lawn United Methodist Church (see attached registration brochure for details). This would be a valuable leadership training event for clergy and lay leaders.
Around the Presbytery:
- First Presbyterian Church of Union welcomes the Reverend Clay Fouse on June 28th and the Reverend John O’Kain on July 5th to lead worship while the Reverend Robert Alexander and his family visit his sister and her family in Brazil. Robert’s sister (Julie) and brother-in-law (John) are serving for three years with Mennonite Central Committee in Monteiro, Brazil. Please keep them in your prayers.
- Hermon Presbyterian Church will be hosting its 140th Church Anniversary on Sunday, June 28, 2009 @ 3 pm. To help commemorate this 140 year milestone, you can advertise in our attractive booklet by including a congratulatory message, a business advertisement, an honorary or memorial message. The booklet will highlight the church’s accomplishments as well as its future endeavors. Full page, half page, quarter page and business card size pages are available. To advertise in the booklet and information on fees, contact Aletra Geddis or Jennifer Ancrum Horton by email at hermonpresbyterian@yahoo.com or jdancrum@yahoo.com.
Check out the events below on the Presbytery Calendar–for event details, click on the event!
This Week in Providence Presbytery
6/16 Third Tuesday Together-10:30AM (Bethelwoods)
Next Week
6/21 Celebrate Father’s Day!
6/22 Presbyterian Women Coordinating Team 6PM (Grace Presbyterian, Lancaster)
6/23 Second Harvest Partners Mobile Food Pantry (Freedom Center, Rock Hill)
6/27 Prayer Fellowship-9:15AM (Presbytery Office)
Mark your Calendar!
7/12 Carmel and Uriel Joint Worship to Celebrate the 500th Anniversary of Calvin’s Birth -10AM (Carmel)
7/13 Bethelwoods Ministry Team-6PM (Bethelwoods)
7/30 Second Harvest Partners Mobile Food Pantry (Unity Presbyterian, Fort Mill)
8/25 Second Harvest Partners Mobile Food Pantry (Oakdale Presbyterian, Clover)
9/27 Youth Rally and first Youth Worship Event (Bethelwoods)
Please submit articles for In the Know to Jill Wilson by Friday at 5 PM for the following Monday’s issue. Submit articles to jill@providencepres.org with In the Know and the date you would like your article to run in the subject line.
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