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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.
November 16, 2009 Volume 5, Number 44
“The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.”
H.U. Westermayer
We will not be publishing In the Know next week. Happy Thanksgiving!
Our Condolences…
Please be in prayer for Bill Youmans and his family after the recent passing of his mother, Donna Mae Youmans. Bill is serving as the interim pastor for Riverview Presbyterian in Fort Mill.
Presbytery Habitat Build Organizing
We are inviting churches of Providence Presbytery who might not be able to afford to build a Habitat home on their own to join together with other churches and care for a family working to escape from poverty in York County. Lead churches will donate $4500 and a $450 tithe for international Habitat Homes as well as volunteers to staff the construction site for one Saturday. Partner churches will donate whatever they can afford and provide volunteers to team with other Partner church volunteers for one Saturday. Contact Steve Hardy for information on how to get involved by December 15.
Second Harvest Partners Gear Up for 2010
Join the 2009 Second Harvest volunteers on December 15 at 6:30 at Union Baptist Church as we review the year’s progress, and plan for 2010. Kay Carter, Executive Director of Second Harvest Food Bank in Charlotte will attend. The organizers would like to present Second Harvest with a check from churches, civic groups, corporate offices, schools, small businesses, and individuals to help defray the cost of 2101 York County Second Harvest deliveries. We will provide a time during the meeting on December 15 for persons and groups to present contributions. For more information, call Dot Killian at (803) 517-7870 or e-mail Dot at dot@providencepres.org. Checks should be made payable to Second Harvest Food Bank with the notation Second Harvest Partners-York County. Checks can be mailed to Providence Presbytery, 515 Oakland Ave. Rock Hill, S.C. 29730.
Due date is November 23rd for Video Christmas Cards
Youth Groups, Bible Study Groups, Men’s Groups…anyone associated with Providence Presbytery! We invite you to join us as we create a Providence Presbytery video Christmas card! Any group associated with Providence Presbytery is invited to shoot a 30 to 45 second Christmas Card. You can be as creative as you like to share your Christmas wishes or Christmas “commercials” with others in the Presbytery and beyond. Submit your digital movie file (can be QuickTime, Windows Movie File, Flip video…whatever) to jill@providencepres.org by Nov. 23. In the email, please tell me the following: Subject: Your Church, Your Group Name—Video Christmas Card. Contact person, Contact phone and Contact Email Address. Submissions must be received by November 23rd to be included in the Video to debut at the Presbytery Christmas Open House on December 6 and added to the website. If you have questions, contact Jill Wilson at jill@providencepres.org or at the Presbytery office, Extension 8.
2010 Mission Trip Information is on its Way
Mission Trip information is on its way to your mailboxes. In the meantime, if you have interest in either the international mission trip to Honduras or the stateside mission trip to the gulf coast, please go to www.providencepres.org/missiontrips to find out more and apply.
Pass the Word! Providence Presbytery is taking two youth trips next summer!
Youth currently in grades 6-8 are invited to attend the Montreat Middle School Conference at Presbyterian College, July 21-25. The Presbytery will provide adult chaperones and pay for transportation. Deadline to register with the presbytery is Jan. 20. Please note that this trip is for youth in churches that do not have a large enough group to attend on their own. If your church has 4-6 youth attending with the presbytery, we ask that your church provide a paid adult chaperone. If you have 6 or more youth, we ask that you take your own group and we’ll see you there! Youth currently in grades 9-12 are invited to apply for Presbyterian Youth Triennium. This trip is to Purdue University July 20-24, 2010. Applications are due Feb. 1 and do include some essay questions. This trip is for high school youth who have demonstrated leadership qualities in their local church. The Education and Equipping Ministry Team will choose 15 youth from among the applicants to attend as Providence Presbytery’s delegation. Once again, presbytery will provide adult chaperones and will pay transportation costs. Contact Kathryn McGregor @ 800-922-1609, ext. 6 or kmcgregor@providencepres.org for more information.
Don’t Miss E3…Coming in January
Don’t miss the E3 Event, featuring FREE workshops for ministers, educators, elders, clerks, youth leaders, and children’s ministry volunteers, lay leaders in charge of worship, education, personnel, stewardship, mission, and evangelism. To be held January 10, 2010 at Rock Hill First Presbyterian… The workshops designed to help all who serve in Providence Presbytery churches to be more prepared to carry out their callings whether they are volunteers or staff positions. Our Workshop Catalog and registration form are online at www.providencepres.org. To insure you get your preferred workshops, pre-register by January 5th.
Application Deadline Approaching for Summer Collegium
The 2010 Summer Collegium will take place June 23-July 1. The emphasis will be Leadership in the Small Church. Alice Mann, a prolific writer and speaker on congregational issues, is our keynote speaker. John Bell, of the Iona Community in Scotland, will join us as musician. This is an all expenses paid nine-day conference for small church clergy and their spouses/partners. Applications are available online at www.vts.edu. Completed applications must be postmarked no later than December 15.
Around the Presbytery
- The next Allison Creek Bluegrass Show will be this Thursday, November 19 at 7PM with food available at 6:30. Many adult church groups have come out to listen from all over the region. If you’d like to bring a group, please leave a message at 803-366-1302, and someone will contact you, or you can go to www.allisoncreekbluegrass.com and click “Contact us.”
- This Christmas, when the need is so great, purchase a gift that will make a difference. Come to the Alternative Gift Fair at the Oakland Avenue Presbyterian Church Activity Center on November 22, noon – 4PM. Local community service and denominational organizations will share information about their missions and volunteer opportunities. Ten thousand villages will have handcrafted gifts available, the Old Fogies will perform and OAPC Café will be open for lunch. The silent auction will be open from noon to 3PM.
- The Covenant Men of the Covenant Presbyterian will be selling smoked whole turkeys on Wednesday, November 25 from 2-6 p.m. The turkeys are $25 each. Covenant is located at 1830 Celanese Rd. Please call the church office to reserve your turkey – 366-8223. Proceeds from the sale go toward projects around the church and to local charities.
- Alternative Christmas Market: First Presbyterian Church, Union, SC will host its annual Alternative Christmas Market on December 5 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of First Presbyterian Church. Join us and find creative ways to honor loved ones this Christmas as you reach out and help others in need through local, national, and international organizations. Some local and international craft items will also be available as well as Just Coffee and baked goods. We hope to see you on December 5th.
- Carmel Presbyterian is honored to be on the Chester County Historical Tour to be held on Sunday, December 13th. The tour begins at 2PM and will visit Carmel at 4:30PM. The final stop on the tour will be First Baptist in Chester at 5:30PM where refreshments will be served. For more information on the tour and Carmel’s participation, contact W.T. Holmes at Carmel.
Check out the events below on the Presbytery Calendar–for event details, click on the event!
2010 Presbytery Meeting Schedule
3/18 Presbytery Meeting 10AM (Van Wyck)
5/23 Presbytery Meeting 2:30PM (Tirzah-Lancaster)
8/15 Called Presbytery Meeting at Clinton College (Hosted by Hermon)
10/17 Presbytery Meeting—2:30PM (Grace-Lancaster)
This Week in Providence Presbytery
11/16 Bethelwoods Ministry Team—5:15PM (Bethelwoods)
11/17 TTT Thanksgiving Meal with Bob Moss—10:30AM (Bethelwoods)
11/17 Education and Equipping Ministry Team—5:30PM (Presbytery Office)
11/19 Educator Gathering—10AM-noon (Presbytery Office)
11/22 Worship 4 YOUth—5-7PM (Bethelwoods)
Coming Next Week
11/26 Thanksgiving Day
11/28 Prayer Fellowship—9:15AM (Presbytery Office)
11/29 First Sunday of Advent
Mark your Calendar!
12/6 Common Ground (A Youth Community)—5-7PM (Bethelwoods)
12/8 Presbytery Holiday Open House –11AM-3PM (Presbytery Office)
12/10 TTT to Biltmore Estate—9AM (Meet at Bethelwoods)
12/14 Second Harvest Partners 2010 Organizational Meeting—7PM (Union Baptist)
12/15 TTT Gift Exchange with David Bender—10:30AM (Bethelwoods)
12/15 Second Harvest Partners Planning—5:30PM (Union Baptist)
1/10 E3 Training Event—2:30-5:45PM (Rock Hill First)
Please submit articles to jill@providencepres.org with In the Know and the date you would like your article to run in the subject line by Friday at 5 PM for the following Monday’s issue.
Providence Presbytery 