This Week:
December 10- 12:00 PM Missional Church Luncheon for Pastors, West Middlesex PC
1:00 PM Christian Education Committee, Presbytery Office
December 11- 1:00 PM Sudan Team, Presbytery Office
December 16- Committee on Ministry, Neshannock, NW
Featured Headlines from Previous Weeks
Full text available on our blog at http://www.shenango.org/spnews.html
– Tax Tips for Ministers and Churches Teleconference December 11, 2008
– Spread the Warmth – collection for the area homeless youth at the Silk Road Market
– Calvin Symposium on Worship – January 29-31, 2009 Grand Rapids, MI
Prayers
– Roberta Finney, longtime friend of the Presbytery and PW member, passed away this past weekend. The funeral service will be held tomorrow morning at Bethany Presbyterian Church in Mercer.
– Doug Etter will be reporting to the 112th Infantry Battalion out of Philadelphia and joining the 56th Brigade at Camp Shelby in Mississippi for deployment to Iraq in January.
Joys
Bethany Presbyterian Church celebrated Jim Leuenberger’s 25th ordination anniversary this past Sunday.
Didn’t Get Your Donation in Yet for Darfur? There is Still Time!
The church in Sudan wants to take a special Christmas gift of food to the displaced persons in Darfur. You can still participate in this offering by contacting the presbytery office by Monday, December 15th and letting us know the amount of your church’s gift. We will contact SPEC that week and inform them of the total amount collected, so that they know how much money can be spent for the food. Please send your church’s gift to the presbytery office soon after that and it will be wired to Sudan in January.
Who is Russ Crabtree?
Russ Crabtree will be the Keynote speaker at this year’s LeaderFest on January 17, 2009 at Westminster College. As the co-founder and president of Holy Cow! Consulting, he has extensive experience in assisting organizations with planning, mediation, problem-solving, and training. An Episcopalian executive wrtoe this about Russ: “Through his long experience in the construction and interpretation of effective survey instruments, Russ Crabtree has been able to draw wisdom and truth from numbers…If you are looking for a powerful leader who will open your eyes to new possibilities or someone who is clear about the dynamics of healthy leadership, I recomment Russ Crabtree.” Win Lewis, Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia.
Lay Pastor Training
The next opportunity for training as a lay pastor begins in early 2009. Registration is due by the end of December. There are 3 persons from Shenango Presbytery planning to participate. You could share a ride with them to classes in Pittsburgh. Contact Jim Davison JDavison@pts.edu or contact the Presbytery Office for more details.
Want to Study the Bible in Greek?
Aaron Christy (Sharon) and Kang Na are organizing a group to read Greek. The group will move at a slower than academic class pace, decide on a workbook, and will meet no more than once every 2 weeks. Anyone interested could contact Aaron at dym@1stpcs.org or 724-981-2211 x4.
Preaching Events at PTS
Preaching as a Sacred Conversation: How to Give Sermons and How to Listen to Them will be offered on January 7, 14 and 21. This program will take place from 7:00 – 8:30 PM on these Wednesday evenings and will be broadcast live to three remote locations. It will focus on preparation and delivery of sermons, as well as how to make hearing sermons more inspirational and valuable. To register ($45/0.4 CEU), contact the Office of Continuing Education by calling 412-441-3304 ext. 2196 or e-mailing coned@pts.edu.
The Presbytery of Shenango 