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Mar 16, 2006 Issue #38 |
Top Stories Mission Info News Issues Upcoming meetings! One Good Idea
Note: The eNews editor is taking a vacation and will not publish one on March 30th. Next issue will be on April 13th! |
March Presbytery News! |
Tuesday, Mar 21st at Wayside Presbyterian Church. Parking is limited, so CAR POOL IF POSSIBLE!
Pre-Presbytery Workshop at 1:00pm by Rev. Bob Bohl on Mission & Stewardship.
Presbytery meeting starts at 3:00pm. |
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Personnel Resource Database! |
Need a contact in our presbytery with some special expertise? Go to our web site, www.donegalpby.com click on Resource Center and then Personnel and find some help! To add your own skills to the database, just use the password - dpres and you can add your own. |
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CONTACT |
Presbytery of Donegal
P.O. Box 10054
1861 Charter Lane
Lancaster, PA 17605-0054
717.392.4035 (phone)
717.392.8922 (fax)
To unsubscribe from this news, send an email to: kathy@donegalpby.com and put in the subject line - unsubscribe eNews
Go see what's new at our constantly changing webpage!
http://www.donegalpby.com |
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TOP STORIES GROWING FAITH - GROWING CHURCHES |
March Pre-Presbytery Workshop on Mission and Stewardship! Leader - the Rev. Robert Bohl - Tuesday March 21st - 1:00 pm at Wayside Presbyterian Church. Bob will be sharing his passion for the mission of the whole church and for active stewardship that helps to grow the church. Without question, this will be an outstanding and inspiring gathering. Rev. Bohl retired in 2002 after a long and distinguished career as pastor and leader in the PCUSA. In the first years of his ministry he served as pastor of Trinity Church in Berwyn. While serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth, TX, he was elected moderator of the 206th General Assembly (1994). The workshop is open to all who wish to attend. Driving directions available at: http://www.waysidepc.org/
We had a huge success at our recent two Leadership Development Workshops! We had about 160 Elders, Deacons, and Clerks attend either the Central Downingtown event or Highland event! One of the issues raised was how to have an interactive discussion of Elders and Deacons throughout the presbytery. One experimental solution is to use a web log to facilitate the discussion. Try the following: go to: http://elderanddeacon.blogspot.com/ and post your questions, comments, ideas, etc.
Grow in your Christian walk! Get free education! Antiracism training is a worship-based process designed to assist individuals, governing bodies, agencies, institutions and congregations with their efforts to live in a racially, culturally diverse and peaceful community. National and regional teams are trained for antiracism ministry and provided with supporting resources. Our immediate goal is to train potential interracial/intercultural leaders for the Survivor 2006 camping experience, July 9 - 14. Our long-range goal is to provide the Presbytery with additional facilitators who can conduct training for our congregations and groups within the Presbytery. This can also be used for personal growth in anti-racism awareness. This outstanding training will be conducted at Lincoln University, May 19 – 21 at the living learning center. Full scholarships are available for Donegal Presbytery members! Register by April 28th by sending your name, address, phone, and email to Susan Harner, P.O. Box 10054, Lancaster, PA 17605-0054. Also, if you are planning to stay over night, send the name of your preferred roommate. For your questions about this event, contact: Dorothea Murray, 610.932.8367, pdmurray@zoominternet.net
Bolster your evangelistic efforts by taking a team to: Billy Graham Schools of Evangelism. ( http://www.billygraham.org/SOE_Index.asp ) There is an upcoming event in Norfolk, VA in Sept of this year.
Camp Donegal will hold its third intentionally interracial camp for young people (ages 12 - 14) on July 9 - 14! There are 28 openings and scholarship money available! Call the Presbytery office - 717.392.4035 for applications! This is an awesome opportunity! We are leading the nation in this type of experience! |
MISSION INFORMATION |
Make plans to be a part of the presbytery sponsored trip to Gulf Port, MS to work on Hurricane Katrina relief work. The planned dates are June 18 - 24. The details of the trip will be unveiled at the March Presbytery Meeting. Space is limited, so hurry! For more information email Rick Schmidt: frederick_schmidt@yahoo.com
If you are interested in organizing your own mission trip to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, send your request to: presbyrecovery@bellsouth.net This address is solely used for scheduling volunteer teams to come to the Mississippi Gulf Coast . There is a booklet of information to help you plan your trip. This booklet is available from Kathy Bartels at kathy@donegalpby.com It will eventually be downloadable from our website.
Possible link for Donegal Presbytery with tsunami-affected people of Sri Lanka! Feel as if your church’s mission program is sending money to those in need without actually becoming invested in their lives? Wish there were a way to grow your mission ministry without draining your budget? Lynn Connette, the PCUSA’s Associate for Presbytery Support for Joining Hands Against Hunger, will be visiting on March 28th to introduce a groundbreaking program to interested congregations in Donegal Presbytery. There is a strong possibility that a network of churches here in Donegal could be linked directly with partners in Sri Lanka in a transforming ministry based on dialogue, exchange visits and advocacy rather than financial assistance. If your church is looking for ways to be more tangibly connected to the people rebuilding their lives after the 2004 tsunami, Joining Hands Against Hunger provides an opportunity for learning and healing through growing relationships. It’s about listening to what the people on the ground need rather than dictating from afar an agenda for people we haven’t even met. Please contact Alex Wimberly at 717-656-0979 if a representative from your church would like to attend the meeting with Lynn at Bellevue Church (Gap), March 28th at 7pm. |
NEWS ISSUES FROM PRESBYTERY! |
Grant Writers Get Busy! It's that time of the year that you can apply for some of the General Assembly 2006 Unassigned Funds. You will need to use the application process at: http://www.pcusa.org/financials/unassigned-restricted-funds.htm and get your application to the presbytery office by May 1st. We then are allowed to send one per fund to the Synod office and hope that they make the cut to be forwarded to GA. Last year Stewartstown was awarded a grant for almost $2000! It sometimes pays to apply!
The saints at La Iglesia Hispana de Toughkenamon are inviting us to an International Dinner on March 25th. Call the Rev. Nering Huete at 610.350.7366 or email him at je777ing@aol.com by March 20th for your spot at this delightful event.
Marcia Towers – our co-worker from Highland ministering in Guatemala will be here April 17 – 23. She can be reached at: marciajt@yahoo.com Contact her for speaking engagements! She will be speaking at a pre-presbytery event at our April 18th Presbytery meeting at Round Hill Presbyterian Church! Come to Round Hill by 5:25pm and hear about Marcia's ministry!
How do you evaluate and improve your preaching? Rev. Steve Getty highlighted an interesting article in the January 2006 issue of Ministry International Journal for Pastors ( www.ministrymagazine.org ) Page 13 has 20 questions for effective preaching, such as: Do I grab the listener's attention as soon as I start speaking? Does the talk start where people are (with their culture, needs, problems, issues, questions)? Have I touched my listener's emotions? Have I given clear application for both a seeker and a Christian that answers the question, "Ok, what am I supposed to do with this information now/today/this week?"
Have you considered a Money & Faith Retreat? - the cornerstone of the Ministry of Money. This retreat provides a forum for open sharing in an atmosphere of love, trust, and confidentiality that enables us to examine our values and get in touch with our feelings, beliefs, attitudes, and actions regarding money. Exploring biblical, psychological and social & economic justice dimensions of money, the basic retreat openly confronts and discusses the power of money so that we might better understand its purpose and place in our lives as people of God. Ministry of Money partners with churches and groups around the country to coordinate regional money and faith retreats. Get more information at: www.ministryofmoney.org
LANCASTER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY SPONSORS 2006 SUMMER ACADEMY ~ June 26-30 and July 10-14 Please join us for this year’s Lancaster Theological Seminary Summer Academy . The Summer Academy provides a stimulating mix of classes, workshops, and worship services that offer learning, inspiration, and renewal to participants. Morning classes are in subjects such as theology, Old and New Testament, world religions, Christian education, and youth ministry. Afternoon workshops focus on sacred dance, drumming, spirituality and the arts, yoga, and spirituality and water colors. Evening classes are in subjects such as pastoral care, religion and film, Myer-Briggs and church leadership, spirituality, sexuality and spirituality, and spirituality and jazz. Each day begins and ends with lively and meaningful worship. Participants may commute or live on campus. This is a wonderful opportunity to grow in your faith and Christian leadership. Scholarship assistance is available for a limited number of participants. If you would like more information, please contact Dr. Bruce Epperly at 717-290-8759 or bepperly@lancasterseminary.edu. More information on the Summer Academy can be found on the home page of Lancaster Seminary’s web site (www.lancasterseminary.edu) by clicking “ Summer Academy ” under Events. |
CALENDAR OF COMING MEETINGS! |
Use the webpage calendar at: http://www.donegalpby.com/cgi-bin/calendar.pl or:
Friday, March 17th, Risk Management Seminar meets at 9am at Westminster West Chester. Call 610.399.3377 for more details.
Monday, March 20th, Nominating Committee meets at 9:30am at the Presbytery office.
Tuesday, March 21st, Pre-Presbytery Mission & Stewardship workshop at 1pm at Wayside Presbyterian Church, 600 Stoney Battery Rd, Landisville, PA 17538. Presbytery meets at 3pm.
Wednesday, March 22nd, Christian Education meeting at 10am at the presbytery office.
Monday, April 3rd, Committee on Preparation meets at Highland at 1pm. Committee on Ministry meets at Leacock at 7pm.
Tuesday, April 4th, Administration Dept meets at presbytery office at 9am. Spring Fling meets at Camp Donegal at 9am. Theological Discussion Group Area 4 meets at Westminster West Chester at 11am - 2pm. Outreach to the Larger Community Dept meets at the presbytery office at 7:15pm.
Wednesday, April 5th, Mission Beyond the Presbytery meets at 9am at the presbytery office.
Thursday, April 6th, Property and Insurance meets at 9:30am at the presbytery office.
Monday, April 10th, Presbytery Steering Committee meets at 2pm at the presbytery office.
Wednesday, April 12th, Vitalization Division meets at 1:30pm at the presbytery office. |
ONE GOOD IDEA |
There is an excellent website to help you with your Evangelism work. It is called LifeStory.org. This idea came to us from the Rev. David Hall. You can listen to stories, download testimonies, and get CDs to distribute with your own church logo on them. Check out this Evangelism Idea today! www.lifestory.org or Life Story Foundation, P.O. Box 1417 , Sumas , WA 98295 800.661.1141
If you have a good idea, I'd love to share it in this eNews letter. Send it to me via: cgross@donegalpby.com Thank-You Very Much! |
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