Prayer Concerns
– John Borter (Mt. Hermon) is in UPMC Pittsburgh.
– Jim Wigley (Hon. Retired) is in UPMC Greenville undergoing tests.
– Marsha Parrish (Oak Grove) is recovering well from knee surgery last week.
– Marty and Abby Sweeney (at large) are in the process of adopting a baby boy, Malachi, and Abby will be leaving tomorrow for Africa to start proceedings.

Still Accepting Registrations for Youth Event
We have 33 youth from 5 churches signed up for the Youth Event so far. If you haven’t called or e-mailed your registrations, please do so ASAP – 724-528-1610, office@shenango.org or resource@shenango.org.

The next stated meeting of Shenango Presbytery will be held on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at 6:30 PM at the Clen-Moore Presbyterian Church in New Castle.

Highlights of the meeting include:
– Candidate to be examined for ordination
– Mission reports on AIDS Caregiver Kit Build, W. PA Table Project, and LATCOM

Click here for the docket and council minutes. (You can always access the docket and council minutes by going to http://www.shenango.org/news/meeting.htm.)

Thank you for your patience as we learn this new way of sending e-Link. It may take a few weeks for us to “work all the bugs out”. In the meantime, you may receive eLink messages from “PMC Cluster” (one of our other blogs) or you may receive extremely long messages that contain every post we have made to the blog. We’re working on solutions.

Meetings and Events This Week:
April 15- 7:00 PM Committee on Ministry, Neshannock, NW
April 16- 1:00 PM Christian Education Committee, Presbytery Office
3:00 PM Nominating Committee, Presbytery Office
April 17- PW Spring Gathering at Wurtemburg
12:30 PM Church Finance Lunch, Shenango Home (registration needed)
April 18- 12:30 PM Preparation for Ministry, Presbytery Office
April 18-19 – PMC Cluster Event, Westminster College
April 22- Presbytery Meeting, Clen-Moore

Prayers
Rich Horn’s (Rich Hill) mother-in-law passed away late Friday morning. The funeral service was this morning.

Come Join Us on Sunday, April 20th from 6 to 9 PM in the East Main Fellowship Hall for another AIDS Caregiver Kit Build and to hear from Mrs. Lister Namutowe Chingangu, a World Vision Zambia Caregiver.
Having already provided 500 caregiver kits to volunteers in Africa through earlier builds in our Presbytery, a recent matching gift has challenged us to reach our initial goal of 1,000 kits. Each kit costs $28, so we are hoping to raise an additional $7,000. Gifts can be directed to The Presbytery of Shenango (4197 New Castle Road, Pulaski, PA 16143), or simply brought to the event, noting that gifts are for “AIDS Caregiver Kits”. You should receive a packet of information in the mail shortly and you are encouraged to read through the material and take advantage of this great opportunity to grow your congregation’s heart for mission. For more information about the World Vision AIDS caregiver kit initiative, visit http://www.worldvision.org/caregiverkits or if you have particular questions about the upcoming kit-build at East Main Presbyterian Church in Grove City, contact Ian Noyes @ (724) 458-8270
Note: You can download the cover letter, details page, flyer and bulletin insert as PDFs from the Presbytery’s News page.

Only a few days left to register for the YOUTH EVENT!
Call Autumn or Debbie at the office to register – 724-528-1610 by Friday if your youth group is planning to attend the Youth Event on April 26th at Westminster Highlands. T-shirts have been ordered and work projects have been created for us, but only one group has registered so far!

Missional Church Rally on April 27th
Interested in learning more about what it means to be a missional church? Confused by all of the “missional” references in the church media these days? Come to the Missional Church Rally at East Main Presbyterian Church on Sunday, April 27th from 7-9 PM.

If Your Church Supports Grace Memorial Hospital…
You might like to have a white short-sleeve T-shirt with a glossy picture of the hospital with the name above it and Wagner, Bahai, Brazil below the picture. Some t-shirts will be available at the PW Spring Gathering on April 17th at Wurtemburg. T-shirts are available for a $15 (minimum) donation to cover the costs of making and shipping the shirts from Brazil.

Church Histories for the Bicentennial Celebration Book
Clerks of Session received a letter in January asking for a 3-page summary of their church’s history by May 1st. Please be sure to send in a computer file of this document (12 pt, Times New Roman, single spaced). This will make the creation of the book much easier and faster.

2009 Trip to the Sudan
The Sudan Leadership Team is doing preliminary work on a trip to the Sudan in early 2009. A final decision will be made by August 1 and then the time will be very short to join in. If you are at all interested, we need to know now. Contact Jim Leuenberger or Dave Dawson.

What Does a Synod Do with Your Money?
Our churches are part of the Synod of the Trinity, 1200 Presbyterian Churches in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and parts of Ohio. Your session’s support of the General Mission budget helps do important work carries out through the Synod. For example:□ Subsidies for the Missional Church projects□ Support for Word Centered Fellowship□ Mission travel grants (our churches get a large share of these)For more information, see the brochure: http://www.syntrinity.org/about/financial_information/documents/NB_2008.pdf which you can order in bulk for your church by calling 1-800-242-0534.

Reducing the Risk Training for Mercer County Churches
Sheakleyville Presbyterian is having a 2-hour training for Elders and teachers with AWARE (Crisis Shelter) on reducing the risk for child sexual abuse in the church. The training is Wednesday, April 23rd, from 6:30 – 8:30 PM at the church and is open to other churches. An RSVP to Nancy Varner at 724-253-4230 would be appreciated.

Grant Available for Smaller Churches (150 or less in worship)
The Synod of the Trinity (1200 Presbyterian Churches in PA, WV, and parts of OH) has received from the Frank E. Clark Foundation funds to provide to each Presbytery $5,000 for a grant(s) to one or more churches. The church needs to match the grant requested. Deadline is June 8. Please click here for a copy of the grant application.

Katrina Table Project
The Katrina Table Project had an organizational meeting last week with more than 70 persons in attendance. Sufficient contributions have been received to pay for the materials to make 100 tables. For more information or to join the work, contact Jim Moose at moosewoodfurn@peoplepc.com.

Study Leave Opportunity
Want an adventure? For 15 years, a group of pastors have been mountainclimbing or canoeing/portaging using a book for discussion on ministry in a setting that lends to trust and growth. This year the group will be returning to the wilderness of Algonquin Provincial Park in Canada for a week of group building, physical challenge and spiritual growth. See Don Hurray at the upcoming Presbytery meeting for a brochure and application. The date for the trip is September 14-22, 2008 and the book to be studied is “Spiritual Surrender” by Jim Krisher.

2-1 Bible School Half Days…A chance to sample the ministry at Westminster Highlands
As you begin planning your 2008 Bible School program, the Camping Association invites you to consider adding a visit to Westminster Highlands to your schedule. During the week of June 16-20 the camp will be hosting 6-hour afternoon mini-camp sessions as an extension to Bible School programs conducted that week – but are also open to other groups who just want to spend an afternoon at camp. For more details, see the News page of the Presbytery web site.

Organ Dedication Recital at First, Greenville
First Presbyterian Church (323 Main Street, Greenville) is pleased to announce plans for a service of dedication and recital on the newly renovated and expanded organ in the main sanctuary at 4 PM on Saturday, April 26, 2008. Guest organist wil be Dr. Charles Callahan, one of the country’s leading organists and composers. The recital is free and open to the public, and the church sanctuary is accessible by elevator. Dr. Callahan will also offer a workshop for church musicians and other interested individuals at 10 AM the same day – please register in advance by calling the church office at 724-588-6520.

Shenango Senior Care Needs Volunteers
Shenango Senior Care is looking for volunteers to serve as Hostesses at the main desk. It just required a little time and a friendly face. The hours are Saturday and Sunday afternoons (three hours). There are already volunteers and this would strengthen the list. Please contact Betty Jones at 724-946-2028 or bjones@shenangopsc.org, if interested.

NWMC Speakers
Check out the speaker bios now posted on the New Wilmington Mission Conference web site at http://www.NWMCmission.org. NWMC will be held July 19-26 this year. Don’t miss out on this wonderful local opportunity.

Services for John Culp’s Father
Visiting hours will be from 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm on Sunday at the Ross G. Walker Funeral Home, 217 Freeport Road, New Kensington, PA 15068. The service will be at the Arnold United Methodist Church, 1801 Leishman Avenue, Arnold, PA 15068 at 10 AM on Monday.

Prayers

• John Culp’s (Tower) father has passed away. We will post details on the arrangements once we receive them.

Come Join Us on Sunday, April 20th from 6 to 9 PM in the East Main Fellowship Hall for another AIDS Caregiver Kit Build and to hear from Mrs. Lister Namutowe Chingangu, a World Vision Zambia Caregiver.
Having already provided 500 caregiver kits to volunteers in Africa through earlier builds in our Presbytery, a recent matching gift has challenged us to reach our initial goal of 1,000 kits. Each kit costs $28, so we are hoping to raise an additional $7,000. Gifts can be directed to The Presbytery of Shenango (4197 New Castle Road, Pulaski, PA 16143), or simply brought to the event, noting that gifts are for “AIDS Caregiver Kits”. You should receive a packet of information in the mail shortly and you are encouraged to read through the material and take advantage of this great opportunity to grow your congregation’s heart for mission. For more information about the World Vision AIDS caregiver kit initiative, visit http://www.worldvision.org/caregiverkits or if you have particular questions about the upcoming kit-build at East Main Presbyterian Church in Grove City, contact Ian Noyes @ (724) 458-8270

Note: You can download the cover letter, details page, flyer and bulletin insert as PDFs from the Presbytery’s News page.

Meetings and Events This Week:
April 10- 1:30 PM Evangelism Committee, Presbytery Office
April 15- 7:00 PM Committee on Ministry, Neshannock, NW
April 16- 1:00 PM Christian Education Committee, Presbytery Office
3:00 PM Nominating Committee, Presbytery Office

Upcoming Event- Missional Church Rally on April 27th (7-9 PM at East Main)

Prayers

• Charles Crane (West Middlesex) has received call-up orders as Navy Chaplain and will be leaving in early June.
• Chris Weichman will be installed as the new pastor at the Clen-Moore Church in New Castle at 4:00 PM on Sunday, April 13. All are welcome.

Location Changed for Church Finance Lunch
Due to overwhelming popularity, the Church Finance Lunch next Thursday, April 17th at 12:30 PM has been Shenango on the Green to allow for the growing number of attendees.

Youth Event Registrations Due Next Friday!
We’re checking items off our to-do list in preparation for the Presbytery-Wide Youth Event on April 26th at Westminster Highlands – now we just need some registrations! Forms and flyers are available on the News page of the Presbytery web-site, just in case you can’t find the mailing we sent – or you can call Autumn or Debbie at the office to register – 724-528-1610.

Church Histories for the Bicentennial Celebration Book
Clerks of Session received a letter in January asking for a 3-page summary of their church’s history by May 1st. Please be sure to send in a computer file of this document (12 pt, Times New Roman, single spaced). This will make the creation of the book much easier and faster.

A Note From Ingrid
“I’m here in Adol (Dinka [large tribe of the south Sudan] Land) for about 2 ½ weeks for an Adult Literacy Teacher Training, then onto Juba [capital of south Sudan] for NGO [non-governmental organizations] meetings and networking, then possibly back to Nairobi [Kenya] or maybe to Boma for a teacher training.”
You can see a picture of Ingrid’s tukul [house] on the Presbytery web http://www.shenango.org/sudan/ingrid.htm.

2009 Trip to the Sudan
The Sudan Leadership Team is doing preliminary work on a trip to the Sudan in early 2009. A final decision will be made by August 1 and then the time will be very short to join in. If you are at all interested, we need to know now. Contact Jim Leuenberger or Dave Dawson.

What Does a Synod Do with Your Money?
Our churches are part of the Synod of the Trinity, 1200 Presbyterian Churches in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and parts of Ohio. Your session’s support of the General Mission budget helps do important work carries out through the Synod. For example:
□ Subsidies for the Missional Church projects
□ Support for Word Centered Fellowship
□ Mission travel grants (our churches get a large share of these)
For more information, see the brochure: http://www.syntrinity.org/about/financial_information/documents/NB_2008.pdf which you can order in bulk for your church by calling 1-800-242-0534.

Church and State in 2008
Grove City College will hold a conference on April 10-11 on church-state issues. You can read an interview of Earl Tilford by Paul Kengor about this at http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=1D4E5717-DA76-4C85-BE91-BF140DC38B99. More details on the conference at http://www.grovecityconference.com/church_and_state/.

Reducing the Risk Training for Mercer County Churches
Sheakleyville Presbyterian is having a 2-hour training for Elders and teachers with AWARE (Crisis Shelter) on reducing the risk for child sexual abuse in the church. The training is Wednesday, April 23rd, from 6:30 – 8:30 PM at the church and is open to other churches. An RSVP to Nancy Varner at 724-253-4230 would be appreciated.

Grant Available for Smaller Churches (150 or less in worship)
The Synod of the Trinity (1200 Presbyterian Churches in PA, WV, and parts of OH) has received from the Frank E. Clark Foundation funds to provide to each Presbytery $5,000 for a grant(s) to one or more churches. The church needs to match the grant requested. Deadline is June 8. Please click here for a copy of the grant application.

The 21st Annual Wayne H. Christy Memorial Lecture
Rob Prestowitz, Executive Director of Urban Promise will be the featured speaker for the 21st Annual Christy Lecture at Westminster College on April 13, 2008 at 7:00 PM in Wallace Memorial Chapel. Urban Promise is a ministry to children and youth living in the inner-city neighborhoods of Wilmington, Delaware. The mission of Urban Promise is to teach children and young adults the skills necessary for spiritual growth, academic achievement, life management and Christian leadership. The theme of Prestowitz’s talk will be “God’s Relentless Love: Here I Am, Send Me.” This event is free and open to the public.

Continuing Education Event at Westminster College – Only 1 more day to register!
On April 14th from 9 AM – !2 NOON, Rev. Kang Na will speak on “What Makes Worship Reformed” in the Witherspoon Rooms of McKelvey Campus Center. There is a $5.00 registration fee (includes lunch) which is payable at the door. Reservations are due 1 week prior to the event by calling 724-946-7117 or e-mailing Diane Gabriel at gabriedl@westminster.edu.

Katrina Table Project
The Katrina Table Project had an organizational meeting last week with more than 70 persons in attendance. Sufficient contributions have been received to pay for the materials to make 100 tables. For more information or to join the work, contact Jim Moose at moosewoodfurn@peoplepc.com.

Study Leave Opportunity
Want an adventure? For 15 years, a group of pastors have been mountainclimbing or canoeing/portaging using a book for discussion on ministry in a setting that lends to trust and growth. This year the group will be returning to the wilderness of Algonquin Provincial Park in Canada for a week of group building, physical challenge and spiritual growth. See Don Hurray at the upcoming Presbytery meeting for a brochure and application. The date for the trip is September 14-22, 2008 and the book to be studied is “Spiritual Surrender” by Jim Krisher.

2-1 Bible School Half Days…A chance to sample the ministry at Westminster Highlands
As you begin planning your 2008 Bible School program, the Camping Association invites you to consider adding a visit to Westminster Highlands to your schedule. During the week of June 16-20 the camp will be hosting 6-hour afternoon mini-camp sessions as an extension to Bible School programs conducted that week – but are also open to other groups who just want to spend an afternoon at camp. For more details, see the News page of the Presbytery web site.

Margaret Trautman in Outlook
Margaret Trautman (Volunteer for Christian Education) has written an article for The Presbyterian Outlook based on the workshop that she led at the national educator’s conference. It is on brain research and teaching. http://www.pres-outlook.org/tabid/2299/Article/7286/Default.aspx.

Organ Dedication Recital at First, Greenville
First Presbyterian Church (323 Main Street, Greenville) is pleased to announce plans for a service of dedication and recital on the newly renovated and expanded organ in the main sanctuary at 4 PM on Saturday, April 26, 2008. Guest organist wil be Dr. Charles Callahan, one of the country’s leading organists and composers. The recital is free and open to the public, and the church sanctuary is accessible by elevator. Dr. Callahan will also offer a workshop for church musicians and other interested individuals at 10 AM the same day – please register in advance by calling the church office at 724-588-6520.

Full-Time Position Opening
Director of Youth & Family Ministries at First Presbyterian Church of New Castle, PA; if interested, please see their web-site for details and inquiries: http://www..firstpresby-newcastle.org.

Shenango Senior Care Needs Volunteers
Shenango Senior Care is looking for volunteers to serve as Hostesses at the main desk. It just required a little time and a friendly face. The hours are Saturday and Sunday afternoons (three hours). There are already volunteers and this would strengthen the list. Please contact Betty Jones at 724-946-2028 or bjones@shenangopsc.org, if interested.

Risograph Available
East Main Church has an older riso that needs a good home. If interested, please contact the church office at 724-458-8270.

Meetings and Events This Week:
April 1- 9:30 AM Council, Calvin Church
7:30 PM Leadership Development Team, Presbytery Office
April 2- 9:30 AM Church & Community Committee, Presbytery Office
April 8- 12:00 PM Missional Pastors Lunch, Presbytery Office

Registrations Due This Friday, April 4th for the Pastor’s Retreat
If you haven’t registered yet for the Pastor’s Retreat, May 5-6 with Bill Carl of Pittsburgh Seminary, you only until next Friday to do so. You can either mail in the form, or e-mail your name and whether you will be commuting or staying overnight to Autumn at office@shenango.org. (Commuting $30, Staying Overnight $50)

Youth Event Registrations Due April 18th
The Presbytery-Wide Youth Event on April 26th at Westminster Highlands is only a month away. Registrations are due on the 18th, but we would appreciate any that are turned in early. The director of Westminster Highlands would like to meet with any youth leaders that will be bringing a group to the camp to go over some preliminary projects and tools that may be needed. We will set the date for this meeting based on the schedules of the early registrations that we receive. You can register using the form in the packet that was mailed to each youth leader in the Presbytery, or by calling Autumn or Debbie at 724-528-1610.

A Note From Ingrid
“I’m here in Adol (Dinka [large tribe of the south Sudan] Land) for about 2 ½ weeks for an Adult Literacy Teacher Training, then onto Juba [capital of south Sudan] for NGO [non-governmental organizations] meetings and networking, then possibly back to Nairobi [Kenya] or maybe to Boma for a teacher training.”
You can see a picture of Ingrid’s tukul [house] on the Presbytery web http://www.shenango.org/sudan/ingrid.htm.

What Does a Synod Do with Your Money?
Our churches are part of the Synod of the Trinity, 1200 Presbyterian Churches in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and parts of Ohio. Your session’s support of the General Mission budget helps do important work carries out through the Synod. For example:
□ Subsidies for the Missional Church projects
□ Support for Word Centered Fellowship
□ Mission travel grants (our churches get a large share of these)
For more information, see the brochure: http://www.syntrinity.org/about/financial_information/documents/NB_2008.pdf which you can order in bulk for your church by calling 1-800-242-0534.

Support for Pastors
Eight presbyteries in western Pennsylvania are working together through their Committees on Ministry to offer a series of overnight retreats and 2-hour evening events designed to support pastors in some very basic dimensions of ministry. These are designed for first-call pastors, but all pastors and CLPs are welcome. The first retreat (April 3-4) has been postponed to a later date. The program will begin with the September 25 – 26 retreat. The cost is $40 (study leave money would be appropriate) and it will be held at Crestfield Camp & Conference Center in Slippery Rock. For more information, contact the Presbytery Office or check the web site’s News & Events page. (An updated brochure will be available on the Presbytery web site soon.)

Church and State in 2008
Grove City College will hold a conference on April 10-11 on church-state issues. You can read an interview of Earl Tilford by Paul Kengor about this at http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=1D4E5717-DA76-4C85-BE91-BF140DC38B99. More details on the conference at http://www.grovecityconference.com/church_and_state/.

Reducing the Risk Training for Mercer County Churches
Sheakleyville Presbyterian is having a 2-hour training for Elders and teachers with AWARE (Crisis Shelter) on reducing the risk for child sexual abuse in the church. The training is Wednesday, April 23rd, from 6:30 – 8:30 PM at the church and is open to other churches. An RSVP to Nancy Varner at 724-253-4230 would be appreciated.

Grant Available for Smaller Churches (150 or less in worship)
The Synod of the Trinity (1200 Presbyterian Churches in PA, WV, and parts of OH) has received from the Frank E. Clark Foundation funds to provide to each Presbytery $5,000 for a grant(s) to one or more churches. The church needs to match the grant requested. Deadline is June 8. Please click here for a copy of the grant application.

The 21st Annual Wayne H. Christy Memorial Lecture
Rob Prestowitz, Executive Director of Urban Promise will be the featured speaker for the 21st Annual Christy Lecture at Westminster College on April 13, 2008 at 7:00 PM in Wallace Memorial Chapel. Urban Promise is a ministry to children and youth living in the inner-city neighborhoods of Wilmington, Delaware. The mission of Urban Promise is to teach children and young adults the skills necessary for spiritual growth, academic achievement, life management and Christian leadership. The theme of Prestowitz’s talk will be “God’s Relentless Love: Here I Am, Send Me.” This event is free and open to the public.

Continuing Education Event at Westminster College
On April 14th from 9 AM – !2 NOON, Rev. Kang Na will speak on “What Makes Worship Reformed” in the Witherspoon Rooms of McKelvey Campus Center. There is a $5.00 registration fee (includes lunch) which is payable at the door. Reservations are due 1 week prior to the event by calling 724-946-7117 or e-mailing Diane Gabriel at gabriedl@westmisnter.edu.

Katrina Table Project
The Katrina Table Project had an organizational meeting last week with more than 70 persons in attendance. Sufficient contributions have been received to pay for the materials to make 100 tables. For more information or to join the work, contact Jim Moose at moosewoodfurn@peoplepc.com.

Indoor Garage Sale at Unity
The Presbyterian Women of Unity Presbyterian Church are sponsoring an Indoor Garage Sale on Saturday, April 5, 2008 from 8 AM to 5 PM in Fellowship Hall at 1857 Mercer West Middlesex Road (Rt. 318) Mercer, PA 16137. Lunch will be available. Don’t miss out on all the good bargains.

Full-Time Position Opening
Director of Youth & Family Ministries at First Presbyterian Church of New Castle, PA; if interested, please see their web-site for details and inquiries: http://www..firstpresby-newcastle.org.

Shenango Senior Care Needs Volunteers
Shenango Senior Care is looking for volunteers to serve as Hostesses at the main desk. It just required a little time and a friendly face. The hours are Saturday and Sunday afternoons (three hours). There are already volunteers and this would strengthen the list. Please contact Betty Jones at 724-946-2028 or bjones@shenangopsc.org, if interested.

Pastors –
If you haven’t registered yet for the upcoming Spring Retreat, there is still time. Just click here to download a PDF of the registration form or e-mail Autumn at office@shenango.org with your name and “Commute” or “Stay overnight”.

Spring 2008 Pastor’s Retreat
May 5 & 6 – Villa Maria Conference Center

“Effective Preachers and Leaders for the Twenty-First Century Church”
with Rev. William Carl, President of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Read his bio here.

CLPs, Retired Ministers, and Ministers at Large within the Presbytery are encouraged to attend too!

Elders-
Encourage your pastor to attend this valuable retreat.

Meetings and Events This Week:
March 26- 1:00 PM, Christian Education Committee, Presbytery Office
March 27- MCS Committee, 1st Sharon, 1:00 Sub-Committees, 2:00 Full Committee
April 1- 9:30 AM Council, Calvin Church
7:30 PM Leadership Development Team, Presbytery Office

We will only be sending e-Link in both formats for 2 more weeks

Starting in 2 weeks we will only send updates through the News Blog – if you want to continue getting our weekly news updates, you will need to make this simple (and secure) change. Only 113 people out of the 450 subscribed to e-Link have made the change so far. Click here to visit our homepage and sign-up – then simply click on the text link that is located directly under the black rectangular box under the photo of the Presbytery Office on our new homepage. You will be taken to a screen that asks for your e-mail address, and a verification code (to make sure that it is a person and not a computer filling out the form note: this code is case-sensitive and does not contain any spaces). An e-mail will then be sent to your inbox asking you to verify subscription- just click on the link provided in the e-mail. Each time that our News Blog is updated with information, you will receive an e-mail of that information between 3 and 5 PM EST the same day. (You will receive a copy of e-Link in both formats until we make the switch.)

Please Use the Remittance Form
When sending mission money to the Presbytery Office, PLEASE USE the Mission Remittance Form, (http://www.shenango.org/PDF/Publication/Remittance%20Form.pdf). It makes it much easier to post the money to the correct church and account. Note: This form should NOT be used for listing your Per Capita payment.

Registrations Due Next Friday, April 4th for the Pastor’s Retreat
If you haven’t registered yet for the Pastor’s Retreat, May 5-6 with Bill Carl of Pittsburgh Seminary, you only until next Friday to do so. You can either mail in the form, or e-mail your name and whether you will be commuting or staying overnight to Autumn at office@shenango.org. (Commuting $30, Staying Overnight $50)

Youth Event Registrations Due April 18th
The Presbytery-Wide Youth Event on April 26th at Westminster Highlands is only a month away. Registrations are due on the 18th, but we would appreciate any that are turned in early. The director of Westminster Highlands would like to meet with any youth leaders that will be bringing a group to the camp to go over some preliminary projects and tools that may be needed. We will set the date for this meeting based on the schedules of the early registrations that we receive. You can register using the form in the packet that was mailed to each youth leader in the Presbytery, or by calling Autumn or Debbie at 724-528-1610.

Support for Pastors
Eight presbyteries in western Pennsylvania are working together through their Committees on Ministry to offer a series of overnight retreats and 2-hour evening events designed to support pastors in some very basic dimensions of ministry. These are designed for first-call pastors, but all pastors and CLPs are welcome. The first retreat (April 3-4) has been postponed to a later date. The program will begin with the September 25 – 26 retreat. The cost is $40 (study leave money would be appropriate) and it will be held at Crestfield Camp & Conference Center in Slippery Rock. For more information, contact the Presbytery Office or check the web site’s News & Events page. (An updated brochure will be available on the Presbytery web site soon.)

Vision and Values Conference at Grove City College
“Church and State 2008” is the theme of the 2008 Vision and Values Conference at Grove City College on April 10 & 11. Registration information can be found at http://www.grovecityconference.com/church_and_state/. This conference will be an excellent source of continuing education for area Presbyterians.

Grant Available for Smaller Churches (150 or less in worship)
The Synod of the Trinity (1200 Presbyterian Churches in PA, WV, and parts of OH) has received from the Frank E. Clark Foundation funds to provide to each Presbytery $5,000 for a grant(s) to one or more churches. The church needs to match the grant requested. Deadline is June 8. Please click here for a copy of the grant application.

The 21st Annual Wayne H. Christy Memorial Lecture
Rob Prestowitz, Executive Director of Urban Promise will be the featured speaker for the 21st Annual Christy Lecture at Westminster College on April 13, 2008 at 7:00 PM in Wallace Memorial Chapel. Urban Promise is a ministry to children and youth living in the inner-city neighborhoods of Wilmington, Delaware. The mission of Urban Promise is to teach children and young adults the skills necessary for spiritual growth, academic achievement, life management and Christian leadership. The theme of Prestowitz’s talk will be “God’s Relentless Love: Here I Am, Send Me.” This event is free and open to the public.

Continuing Education Event at Westminster College
On April 14th from 9 AM – !2 NOON, Rev. Kang Na will speak on “What Makes Worship Reformed” in the Witherspoon Rooms of McKelvey Campus Center. There is a $5.00 registration fee (includes lunch) which is payable at the door. Reservations are due 1 week prior to the event by calling 724-946-7117 or e-mailing Diane Gabriel at gabriedl@westmisnter.edu.

Pot Luck at Unity
Unity would like to invite EVERYONE to a pot luck supper on Friday evening, March 28 at 6 PM. Following the dinner, Chaplain Dwight Dunlap, a chaplain in the US Army on active duty will be sharing his experiences as a chaplain having served two tours of duty in Iraq. This will be an up to date message…come for both the supper (bring either a hot dish, salad or dessert) and or just the message (about 7 PM) at Unity, 1857 Mercer West Middlesex Road, (Route 318 Lackawannock Township).

Indoor Garage Sale at Unity
The Presbyterian Women of Unity Presbyterian Church are sponsoring an Indoor Garage Sale on Saturday, April 5, 2008 from 8 AM to 5 PM in Fellowship Hall at 1857 Mercer West Middlesex Road (Rt. 318) Mercer, PA 16137. Lunch will be available. Don’t miss out on all the good bargains.

Full-Time Position Opening
Director of Youth & Family Ministries at First Presbyterian Church, New Castle. If interested, please see web-site for details and inquiries: http://www.firstpresby-newcastle.org.