Survey for EP Search
Reminder: you will be receiving a letter tomorrow from Jim Mohr, moderator of Presbytery Council, with information on the survey to be completed by sessions giving their comments on the search for our next Executive Presbyter. If you have not yet provided the email addresses for session members, please send them to office@shenango.org now…there are still a few churches that we have not heard from.
Prayers
Steve and Brenda Stelle leave this morning for Washington D.C., and fly out tomorrow morning for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Register for LeaderFest – EARLY BIRD DEADLINE IS MONDAY!
Registration for LeaderFest has been very slow this year (fewer than 25 of you have registered so far). We know that many of you are waiting until the last minute to register, so we just want to remind you that the early bird deadline is Monday…registrations received after Monday will have to pay the full $20.00 fee instead of the reduced rate of $15.00. LeaderFest is only 1 week away! Rooms for workshops can’t be assigned, a lunch count can’t be turned in, and materials can’t be prepared until your registrations are received…please register ASAP by clicking on this link.
Crisis in South Sudan
There has been a great deal of internal conflict in South Sudan over the past several weeks. Violence among soldiers in the capital city of Juba has spread terror there and into other parts of the country. More than 1,000 have been killed, many people have been displaced and humanitarian needs are pressing.
You can respond to this crisis through the Presbyterian Relief and Development Agency (PRDA). To send such a gift click here or send a check through the Presbytery office, marking “South Sudan Relief” in the memo portion.
This link from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, made before the recent outbreak of hostilities in Juba, will help you understand the situation. http://vimeo.com/82003944 Most important, please pray for the people of South Sudan, for our partners in SSPEC (South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church), and all others who are working to respond to this crisis.
Moving Forward Theological Task Force
On December 4, more than 25 Teaching Elders and CREs met at Shenango SeniorCare in New Wilmington to discuss the document: A DECLARATION OF FAITH FOR SHENANGO PRESBYTERY. This document was produced by a team of pastors and is intended to spark theological conversation about faith and ministry in our fluctuating church context. As we had hoped they would, a few informal groups of Teaching Elders and CREs around the presbytery are engaging the document on a regular basis. If you would like to a part of such a group, please contact Rev. Bill Crooks at wpcrooks@yahoo.com.
Going forward, we anticipate hosting another presbytery-wide lunch sometime before Easter. In that gathering, we will take a section of the document and open it up for group discussion. As great energy is being poured into EP succession plans and a search process, we believe it is also important for Teaching Elders and CREs to keep up their theological functioning. Stay tuned for more information on that gathering and other activities.
The Presbytery of Shenango 