Meetings and Events This Week:
March 18- 7:00 PM Committee on Ministry, Neshannock, NW
March 19- 12:30 PM Folding SHOWCASE, Presbytery Office
March 25- 9:00 AM Steering Committee, Presbytery Office
March 26- 1:00 PM, Christian Education Committee, Presbytery Office
March 27- MCS Committee, 1st Sharon, 1:00 Sub-Committees, 2:00 Full Committee
March 28- OFFICE CLOSED, GOOD FRIDAY HOLIDAY

Prayers
– Ted Pollock died last week. He was 95 years old and many knew him for his 70 years as a missionary builder in Africa.
– Dorothea Meloy also died last week. She and her husband Bob served in several countries, including the Sudan.
– John Borter (Mt. Hermon) began chemo on Monday.

We will only be sending e-Link in both formats for 3 more weeks
Starting in 3 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 52 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). 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.

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.

Open for Holy Week
Bell Memorial Presbyterian Church will be open for silent prayer and meditation Monday, March 17 through Saturday, March 22, between 9 AM and 5 PM. Please feel free to drop in anytime during those hours. The church is located at 610 Line Avenue in Ellwood City.

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 is April 3-4 on the relational dimensions of ministry. 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.

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.

Ministry With Youth
Neshannock Presbyterian Church in New Wilmington is seeking a thoughtful person of faith to work with youth 7th – 12th grade. This is a paid part-time position. Great opportunity with wonderful youth who seek to grow in their faith. This person will experience a warm welcome and very supportive relationships with youth and their families, the congregation, and the pastor and church staff. This person will also be welcome to experience other contexts of ministry within the church if that is of interest, but is not at all required. Please contact Rev. Bill Stone at 724-946-2081 or by e-mail at wjwcstone@nwboronet.com for further information and inquiries.

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.

Meetings and Events This Week:
March 11- 7:00 PM Session Records Review – Mercer County, Bethany Church, Mercer
March 12- 3:00 PM Nominations Committee, Presbytery Office
March 13- 1:00 PM Sudan Leadership Team, Presbytery Office
7:00 PM Session Records Review – Lawrence County, Northminster Church, New Castle
7:00 PM Bicentennial Committee, McGary Farm
March 18- 7:00 PM Committee on Ministry, Neshannock Church, New Wilmington

Prayers
– Don Hurray (Mountville) has his gall bladder removed 2 weeks ago and is continuing to face problems of weight loss.
– Paul Musser and Jerry Mahaffey both had successful surgeries yesterday.
– Bud Green is back in the hospital for a few days.

Youth Event Info Mailed Yesterday
Due to a mix-up with the postal service, information packets for the Presbytery-Wide Youth Event were mailed to Youth Leaders went out yesterday. Please make sure that when they arrive at your church that they are put into the correct hands. The Youth Event is April 26, 2008 at Westminster Highlands Camp in Emlenton, PA.

To sign up for the new version of “e-Link”, simply click on the link that will be located under the animated bar of scrolling headlines. 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). 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. We will be sending both versions of e-Link for about a month before we drop the current version and send updates exclusively through the News Blog.

Open for Holy Week
Bell Memorial Presbyterian Church will be open for silent prayer and meditation Monday, March 17 through Saturday, March 22, between 9 AM and 5 PM. Please feel free to drop in anytime during those hours. The church is located at 610 Line Avenue in Ellwood City.

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 is April 3-4 on the relational dimensions of ministry. 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 next week.

Ministry With Youth
Neshannock Presbyterian Church in New Wilmington is seeking a thoughtful person of faith to work with youth 7th – 12th grade. This is a paid part-time position. Great opportunity with wonderful youth who seek to grow in their faith. This person will experience a warm welcome and very supportive relationships with youth and their families, the congregation, and the pastor and church staff. This person will also be welcome to experience other contexts of ministry within the church if that is of interest, but is not at all required. Please contact Rev. Bill Stone at 724-946-2081 or by e-mail at wjwcstone@nwboronet.com for further information and inquiries.

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).

Chairs Available
Unity Presbyterian Church has 80 plastic chairs that they are willing to give to any church for FREE (you must pick them up). Please contact Karl Schroyer at 724-347-2321 or at kschroyer@verizon.net.

Meetings and Events This Week:
March 11- 7:00 PM Session Records Review – Mercer County, Bethany Church, MercerMarch 12- 3:00 PM Nominations Committee, Presbytery OfficeMarch 13- 1:00 PM Sudan Leadership Team, Presbytery Office7:00 PM Session Records Review – Lawrence County, Northminster Church, New Castle7:00 PM Bicentennial Committee, McGary FarmMarch 18- 7:00 PM Committee on Ministry, Neshannock Church, New Wilmington

STATION Meeting Tomorrow Evening
All Young Adults in the Presbytery, ages 18-35 are welcome to participate in STATION, a Bible study and fellowship group that meets the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month at the New Wilmington Presbyterian Church. A new study is starting tomorrow evening, so this is the perfect opportunity to check it out!

Date Correction
Please note that the dates listed in the letter for the Session Records Review are CORRECT, but one of the days of the week IS NOT. The meetings are: Mercer County on Tuesday, March 11th at 7:00 PM at Bethany Presbyterian Church, and Lawrence County on THURSDAY, March 13th at 7:00 PM at Northminster Presbyterian Church.

Prayers
– Paul Musser (Honorably Retired) will be having back surgery on Monday.
– Jerry Mahaffey (North Liberty) will be having wrist surgery on Monday.

Youth Event Info Mailed Today
Information packets for the Presbytery-Wide Youth Event were mailed to Youth Leaders this afternoon. Please make sure that when they arrive at your church that they are put into the correct hands. The Youth Event is April 26, 2008 at Westminster Highlands Camp in Emlenton, PA.

To sign up for the new version of “e-Link”, simply click on the link that will be located under the animated bar of scrolling headlines. 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). 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. We will be sending both versions of e-Link for about a month before we drop the current version and send updates exclusively through the News Blog.

Research Data on Religious Life in America
The most comprehensive research on religious life in America, “Faith in Public Life,” is available at http://www.faithinpubliclife.org/content/news/2008/02/survey_americans_feely_change.html. Also see: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/208/februaryweb-only/109-23.html.
We’ve been notified that the first link noted above may not work for everyone. If you are not able to reach the research data using that link, please try this one: http://religions.pewforum.org/

Ken Bailey Lenten Meditations
Ken Bailey has written Lenten meditations for The Presbyterian Outlook. Click http://www.pres-outlook.com/Default.aspx

Open for Holy Week
Bell Memorial Presbyterian Church will be open for silent prayer and meditation Monday, March 17 through Saturday, March 22, between 9 AM and 5 PM. Please feel free to drop in anytime during those hours. The church is located at 610 Line Avenue in Ellwood City.

Important for Board of Pensions Members
Participants in the Board of Pensions are reminded that it is essential that you report to the Board any change in terms of call for 2008. You can obtain the form at http://www.pensions.org/library/forms/forms/enr-111.pdf. Starting next fall, a copy of this form will be included in each church’s annual report packet.

Seminary Scholarships
The Fund for Theological Education http://www.thefund.org has scholarships for prospective seminarians and those in their first year of seminary. Contact Reverend Ellen Echols Purdum, Director of Ministry Fellowships, at 404-727-1462 or epurdum@thefund.org for more information.

Choir Music Give-Away
Saturday, March 8, 2008 — 10 to 1 p.m. at Unity Presbyterian Church. Choir directors are invited to go through their music and any anthems they would like to give away can be taken to the Presbytery Office, OR TO THE NEXT PRESBYTERY MEETING, FEBRUARY 26TH AT GROVE CITY COLLEGE (Worship Committee members will be there to receive the music) — or they can call Jane Bartholomew, 724-981-2377 — E-Mail – jraysing@verizon.net. All churches and choir/music directors are invited to participate. We are still gathering names of choir directors willing to lend music, and church organists and pianists.

5th Annual Dr. J. Calvin Rose Memorial Seminar – March 10, 2008
“Callings and the Christian Life”, exploring the biblical idea of calling will be presented by Rev. Dr. Donald Opitz, associate professor of higher education and sociology at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, PA. Refreshments and fellowship begin at 9:30 AM. The seminar begins at 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM, with lunch at 12:00 noon in the Witherspoon Rooms of the McKelvey Campus Center. There is a $5.00 registration fee for this event which includes lunch and is payable at the door. Reservations are due one week prior to the event by contacting the Chapel Office 724-946-7117 or email at gabriedl@westminster.edu.

Ministry With Youth
Neshannock Presbyterian Church in New Wilmington is seeking a thoughtful person of faith to work with youth 7th – 12th grade. This is a paid part-time position. Great opportunity with wonderful youth who seek to grow in their faith. This person will experience a warm welcome and very supportive relationships with youth and their families, the congregation, and the pastor and church staff. This person will also be welcome to experience other contexts of ministry within the church if that is of interest, but is not at all required. Please contact Rev. Bill Stone at 724-946-2081 or by e-mail at wjwcstone@nwboronet.com for further information and inquiries.

Chairs Available
Unity Presbyterian Church has 80 plastic chairs that they are willing to give to any church for FREE. Please contact Karl Schroyer at 724-347-2321 or at kschroyer@verizon.net.

If you are covered by the Board of Pensions for prescription drugs, it is important to make the switch to Express Scripts when you do refills on “maintenance” (long-term) drugs. This does not apply to emergency drugs. You will be paying extra if you continue to recieve maintenance drugs through your local pharmacy. Express Scrips provides 3-month refills and you can pay for them monthly.

The June Meeting of Presbytery has been moved to July 1, 2008. The meeting will still be held at 6:30 PM at the Leesburg Presbyterian Church.

The Christian Education Committee is excited to have Dr. N. Graham Standish as the Keynote speaker at the 2008 LeaderFest. Dr. Standish is the pastor of Calvin Presbyterian Church in Zelienople and has written several powerful books, among them the theme of this year’s LeaderFest, Becoming the Blessed Church. Dr. Standish was the speaker at the 2006 Synod meeting at Davis and Elkins College and those who heard him were eager to have him share his message with folks in our Presbytery.

The C.E. committee is doing something different this year. They have purchased five copies of Becoming the Blessed Church to give to the first five churches that have the most “Early Bird” registrations to LeaderFest. To be eligible, registrations must be sent to the Presbytery Office by Monday, January 7, 2008. They have also asked Cokesbury to have copies of Becoming the Blessed Church available for purchase for the “late birds” who don’t qualify for this prize. Look for registration information in the December edition of Shenango SHOWCASE.

In order to provide enough time for worship, keynote speaker, seminars, and break times, the Christian Education committee has decided to change the starting time to 8:00 AM. Please note this time change in your church’s LeaderFest publicity.

Sudan friends,

The Sudan leadership Team (Jim Leuenberger, Jere Donovan, Midge Davidson, Joe Hopkins, Sue Anne Fairman, Mark Pearson, Denise Sciuto) met today and asked me to send along this update:

• The Sudan Mission Network meets in Louisville on December 3 – 4. We would love to have you attend at no cost to yourself. Please contact Debbie Forsburg at the Presbytery Office no later than November 8 in you can go.
• Here is Ingrid Reneau’s first letter from Sudan http://www.pcusa.org/missionconnections/letters/reneaui/reneaui_0710.htm
  We are forming a Prayer Calendar of support for Ingrid Reneau in the south Sudan. Contact Denise Sciuto if you would like to commit to praying regularly for Ingrid. sciutofam@comcast.net
• World Mission Initiative (Pittsburgh Seminary) is planning a May trip to the south Sudan with Debbie and Del Braaksma. (Hopefully it will be possible to see Ingrid Reneau.) Contact Don Dawson ddawson@pts.edu for information.

Dave

It’s that time of the Presbytery calendar when we send out applications to choose a Youth Advisory Delegate for the next General Assembly Meeting (June 21-28, 2008 in San Jose, CA).

We are looking for persons who have a joy for the Lord and the church. They should be eager to share what they know and believe and open to listen to others as they share their expression of the Faith. The General Assembly takes seriously the voices and perceptions of the Youth Advisory Delegates.

If your church has a potential candidate, applications have been sent to the Pastor and Clerk of Session and are also available on the Presbytery web site as PDFs, http://www.shenango.org/forms.htm

Interviews with potential YADs will take place over Christmas Vacation.

Saturday, July 21st is the start of the 102nd New Wilmington Mission Conference! NWMC will run through Saturday, July 28th. The theme verse for this year is Romans 10:15 “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Speakers for the 102nd NWMC include Stephen Saint, son of martyred missionary Nate Saint, founder of I-TEC (Indigenous People’s Technology & Education Center); Rebecca Young, Presybterian Disaster Assistance; Mrs. Veeda Javaid, Pakistan; Rev. Andrew Adair, Director of Antioch Partners; Rev. Joan Gray, moderator of the PCUSA General Assembly; Rev. McWilson Koku Atakro of Ghana and many more.

For more details and a complete shedule of events and speakers, go to http://www.nwmcmission.org.

All Retired Ministers, Spouses and Missionaries are welcome to attend the annual Retired Ministers Picnic on Saturday, August 11, 2007 at 6:00 PM at the Dawson residence. (No need to make a reservation, just show up!)

Hot dogs, hamburgers, and beverage will be provided. Bring table service and a dish to share.
Last name A-H Casserole
Last name I-Q Salad
Last name R-Z Dessert

If you need directions, please call the Presbytery Office at 724-528-1610.