What's New at the Presbytery of Florida

Pray for one another

The Presbytery’s Church Development and Evangelism Committee encourages Presbytery churches to pray for their fellow congregations, presbytery staff and other needs on the dates shown below. With the exception of the individuals, entities and concerns added at the end of the calendar and Agape, whose prayer date coincided with its chartering, churches are listed alphabetically. Churches may forward special prayer concerns to the Presbytery office at any time to be shared with everyone.

5/20/12            Shalimar Presbyterian Church

5/27/12            Sunny Hills Community Church

6/3/12              Christ Presbyterian Church, Tallahassee

6/10/12            Covenant Presbyterian Church, Tallahassee

High school youth: PYC wants you!

Applications for the Presbytery Youth Council are now being accepted until June 5. Students who will enter ninth through twelfth grade in the coming school year are encouraged to apply. Service is for a two-year term, except for incoming seniors, who will serve only one year. Applicants are asked to meet with and introduce themselves to their church sessions. Download additional information and application materials today!

Events and opportunities

— We need your input!!!  The discussion led by the Transition Team at the April presbytery meeting yielded a need for presbytery to provide leadership development opportunities. The Presbytery’s Training and Retreats Committee and others would like specific input and direction on what leadership development offerings you or your church needs most.  If you haven’t already responded, please send answers to two questions to Jean Silva by Sunday, May 20.

— A Church Leadership Training Seminar will be held at Dogwood Acres this Friday and Saturday, May 18 and 19, for teaching and ruling elders, church staff and sessions – or anyone interested in church leadership. Contact Jean Silva for information and registration.

—The 2 Cents a Meal grant award application deadline has been extended to Friday, June 15. Submit applications to Jean Silva, Presbytery Hunger Action Enabler.

— Is your congregation engaged in collegiate ministry? As a result of the Task Force for Collegiate Ministries’ work, the Office of Collegiate Ministries is revising and updating the PCUSA Collegiate Ministry Locator. Pastors, educators, parents, and prospective students will be able to use this Locator to easily find and be in touch with a collegiate ministry near their college or university. The Locator can be viewed at http://www.pachem.org/index.php/find-a-ministry Once a representative sample of ministries are listed, it will be linked from www.pcusa.org

Congregations and campus ministries that fit all of the following criteria are encouraged to be a part of this project. Incoming students and parents will be looking for church homes for the fall semester shortly!

Criteria for being listed on the PCUSA Collegiate Ministry Locator:

  •  The congregation has a welcoming presence and an active ministry specifically for college students
  • The congregation has a web site that specifically and prominently mentions college students and collegiate ministry
  • The website should have a name and contact information for collegiate ministry staff, lay person or other leader
  •  The congregation should have evidence of at least one program specifically for college students
  •  The ministry must be accountable to some entity of the PCUSA such as session, presbytery or synod (There may be multiple lines of accountability, such as an ecumenical ministry, but one of the lines must be an entity of the PCUSA.)

 Contact  Associate for Collegiate Ministries Adrian McMullen for additional information

— Faith invites you to Coexist: On Thursday, May 24th, Faith Presbyterian Church, Tallahassee, will screen the documentary Coexistand host Adam Mazo, director of the documentary.  Youth and adults of your congregations and the community are invited to come at 6 p.m. for dinner, a viewing of the film, and discussion/activities led by the director of this film. There is no charge for this event, but there will be a donation basket to help cover the cost of the meal. 

Coexist tells the stories of trauma survivors searching for ways to coexist with their loved ones’ murderers. As killing continues in Rwanda today and the government forces citizens to consider reconciliation, the film examines the varied paths survivors choose when forced to face enemies and former enemies every day. In a world where innocent people are regularly attacked or killed because of who they are, viewers are challenged: how can Rwandan’ experiences inform efforts to build peaceful coexistence, eliminate hate crimes, and prevent all types of violence?”

 Coexist is not just a documentary.  It is also an “educational outreach project in use by more than 3,000 schools and community organizations in 50 states and more than a dozen countries. The project includes a 40-minute film and a four-lesson Teacher’s Guide, which can be used in the classroom and in support of positive school climate campaigns."

— Award nominees sought: The Association for Retired Ministers, their Spouses or Survivors (ARMSS) of the PC(USA) is seeking nominations of retired ministers or spouses of retired ministers or of deceased ministers for a Certificate of Merit award. Nominees should be someone who has made a significant contribution to the mission of the Presbytery subsequent to the minister’s retirement. The award will be given at the 16th Annual ARMSS Convention, to be held jointly with the Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries Network in Portland, OR, Oct. 16 – 19. July 1 is the deadline to submit a nomination.

— Group project applications are being accepted through September 21 for participation in Columbia Theological Seminary’s S3 (Sabbath, Study and Service) Project. S3 offers small, self-selected groups of clergy and other church professionals the opportunity to design and participate in learning projects that strengthen their practice of ministry. Groups will receive $500 per person to fund their self-directed group work. Participants must attend two retreats, one in February 2013, at the beginning of their year-long project and another in February 2014.  

— The McCormick Certificate in Executive Leadership is coming to the San Francisco Bay area and Montreat Conference Center in 2012 - 2013.

Applications for Cohorts V and VI are currently being accepted. The early bird  discounted registration fee ends May 15.

Since its beginning in 2009, pastors, lay leaders, lay staff members of congregations, and executives in regional governing bodies have benefitted from this program, which is designed to meet head-on the growing challenges of leadership in today’s church. Set within four two-and-a-half day sessions, specially-selected faculty draw on contemporary leadership theory and practice to better equip participants to think and act transformationally, adaptively, and wholistically within their own settings of ministry. Indeed, it is this practical integration of theory and practice in the students’ ministry contexts that is the integral core of the program.
Space is limited in both cohorts, so apply early.  Registration closes July 15th or when the cohort(s) are filled.

— Investing in Our Youth: At the end of this month, many congregations around the PC(USA) will be receiving the Pentecost Offering. The Pentecost Offering is a relatively new addition to the Special Offerings, but it is also a very important one, as it supports our children at risk, youth, and young adult ministries. Not only does this offering support these ministries at the national level, but churches receiving the Pentecost Offering may keep 40 percent to use for ministries with children at risk in their own communities.

If you are unable to make a gift through your local church, you may also give through the online Pentecost donation site, or simply make as many $10 donations as you’d like by texting the word “YOUNG” to 20222.

— Florida Presbyterian Cursillo, a lay-led, spiritual renewal weekend for Presbyterians, will be held November 1 to 4, 2012, at the Christian Church Conference Center in Silver Springs, FL.  Participation for pastors and wives is complimentary, and some scholarships are available. Email questions to Neely or Debbie Inlow, Lanark Village, FL 

— Check out the Presbytery’s calendar for other events of interest.

Rockin’ resources

— A new children’s resource, Pentecost Creation Station, is now available for use as Sunday school lessons, in weekday programs for children or by families in the home. This and other children’s resources available on the Presbytery’s website may be photocopied or adapted to meet the needs of children and families in your church. Thanks, Presbytery Children’s Committee Chair Patty Arnett!

— Last call for Presbyterian planning calendar orders through the Presbytery office! If you haven’t already placed an order and would like to do so, please contact the Presbytery no later than this Friday, May 18. Calendars are $8 each. Invoicing will follow.

— An updated Presbytery directory, based on information submitted by churches, has been emailed Presbytery-wide May 15. Please contact the Presbytery office to request a printed copy or to notify the Presbytery of information requiring correction. The church portion of the directory is available on the Presbytery’s website, as well as an electronically fillable form for updating church officer and leader information for directory updates.

— The Presbyterian University Center’s spring newsletter offers information about exciting events, such as listening point suppers throughout the year and the All-Out Barbeque and Seminole Sensation Week coming in August, at Westminster House and Calvin’s Coffee Shop at the Florida State University campus.  

— Want to submit content for the Presbytery’s publications?Email information to the Presbytery office for the Wednesday, May 30, e-Update electronic newsletter or for the June 1 summer quarter Pelican print newsletter by Friday, May 25. Past issues of both publications are available on the Presbytery’s website.

 NOTE: The Presbytery of Florida’s offices will be closed for Memorial Day Monday, May 28.

 About us: The Presbytery of Florida is called to serve God using our gifts and skills to Excite, Encourage, Equip and Empower our congregations and clergy in mission and ministry.