Come Meet PC(USA) Moderator Rick
Ufford-Chase
All are invited to meet Rick Ufford-Chase,
Moderator of the 216th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA), who
will visit Maumee Valley Presbytery Sunday, March 12, in Norwalk, Ohio.
At 6 p.m. Rick will preach to the
Monte Sinai Presbyterian Fellowship in the lower level of the Norwalk First
Presbyterian Church. Overflow seating and a closed-circuit TV broadcast of the
service will be available in the Great Room of the Norwalk Church.
A reception for the Moderator will
follow the worship service at 7:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall.
For further information contact
Hilary Shuford 419-957-1434 or
hshuford@maumeevp.org.
“Fools For Christ” Spring
Leadership Event April 1st
Join us on Saturday, April 1st at
Norcrest Presbyterian Church in Findlay for our Spring Leadership event “Fools
For Christ.”
Our featured speaker will be Rev.
Bill Lawser, a nationally known consultant in congregational transformation.
Registration, coffee, and fellowship time begin at 8:30 a.m., Worship at 9:00
a.m., and the Keynote Address by Rev. Bill Lawser begins at 9:45 a.m.
You have the opportunity to attend
three different workshops during the remainder of the day from an offering of 12
workshops. Lunch is provided; and Closing Worship will be at 3:45 p.m.
Registration Deadline is Monday,
March 20 and the cost is $25, which includes refreshments and lunch.
A brochure and registration form
are available by calling the Maumee Valley Presbytery office at 800-222-2494 or
you can visit
www.maumeevp.org.
Workshops—Spring Leadership Event
April 1st
●Transformation 101: Beginning the
Foolishness. Instructor:
Bill Lawser
●Gavin and the Geek: Multimedia in Worship.
Gavin Pitt
●Foolishness of Change: Restructuring to Open the Church to All.
Ron Keller
●NCD—The Foolishness of Trusting God to Grow the Church.
Ray Gottschling
●Foolishness of
Forgiveness? Bishop
Marcus Lohrmann
●Foolishness of Being a Barnabas.
General Presbyter Hilary Shuford
●Foolishness of Faith and Film.
Steve Smith
●Foolishness of Really Believing in the Priesthood of All Believers!
Chris Seibel and Bob Butcher
●Foolishness of Stewardship.
Marc Miller and Kathleen Lemmerbrock
●Foolishness of Advocacy.
Tom Smith
●Foolishness of Worship.
Jim Couser
●Directors of Christian Education.
Lynn Bova & Carolyn Steinfeldt
Women Sharing the Flame ≈≈
MVP Presbyterian Women Spring Gathering
Encourage Presbyterian Women in
your congregation to join the Maumee Valley Presbyterian Women Spring Gathering
Saturday, April 22, at Norcrest Presbyterian Church in Findlay. Registration
begins at 9:15 a.m.
Featured speakers are Laura Hovland,
who traveled on the Global Exchange Mission to Brazil and will be sharing her
experiences, and Patsy Gaines, moderator of Presbyterian Women of the Synod of
the Covenant who will present “Yea, I have a goodly heritage”, the story of
Fanny Crosby, the blind songwriter who wrote more hymns than any other Christian
song writer. BOTH will be very special and well worth encouraging your PW to
attend.
We will have installation of
Officers and will recognize those who have registered to attend the Presbyterian
Women Churchwide Gathering July 7—11 in Louisville, KY.
Reservations are $7 and are due to
Alyce Ann Schmidt by Wednesday, April 12. More information, including the
latest Maumee Valley Presbyterian Women Newsletter, is available at
www.maumeevp.org.
Are You Planning a Gulf Coast
Mission Trip?
At the February Presbytery meeting
Randy Box from FPC Grand Rapids, OH discussed the Gulf Coast Mission Work Trip
he and others from the Maumee River Christian Community participated in during
January. They are planning another trip in June and hope to send 40 volunteers,
including a Youth Team.
If your Church is considering a
mission trip to the Gulf Coast, this Mission Team has a multi-media presentation
available. Contact Grand Rapids First Presbyterian at 419-832-2325.
Also, the Church
Partnering/Adoption Program for Gulf Coast Mission Work Teams is currently being
administered through the Presbytery of Mississippi. They are coordinating work
sites. Contact George Bates, Linda Bates, and Pam Martin at 228-604-2424.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
(PDA) is coordinating housing locations for Mission Work Teams. Contact Russ
Jackson, PDA, 866-732-6121.
Mission To the U.S.A.
The very idea turns our traditional
concept of what "mission" is upside down.
The Mission to the U.S.A. program (ecumenical parish associate program) of the
Synod of the Covenant is a short-term program in which the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) is on the receiving end. A Christian leader from an ecumenical partner
church serves in a PC(USA) congregation for six weeks.
The 2006 program begins Oct. 6 and
ends Nov. 16. Up to 10 clergy and lay leaders from Northern India and Pakistan
(and possibly Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) have been invited to reach out to
churches in our synod. Churches in the Synod apply to host an associate.
During this time the host
congregation:
●Learns about the home country and region of their ecumenical partner and the
challenges facing Christians there;
●Hears a fresh perspective on the Gospel of Jesus Christ;
●Acquires a deepened understanding of the global nature of Christ's church; and
●Is challenged to greater faithfulness in our culture.
Mission to the U.S.A. is not about
programmatic, financial, and official church-to-church matters. It is concerned
with personal relationships, consciousness raising, and mutual sharing of the
faith.
The Application deadline is April
1st. Visit the Synod of the Covenant website at
www.synodofthecovenant.org for more information and a copy of the
application.
2006 Presbytery Meeting Schedule
The date of the November Presbytery
meeting was incorrectly stated at the February Presbytery meeting with a Friday
date. Here are the correct dates, times, and locations for the remainder of
2006:
Tuesday, May 16, 3 p.m.
Toledo, Christ Presbyterian
Tuesday, Sept. 19, 3 p.m.
Maumee, First Presbyterian
Tuesday, Nov. 21, 10 a.m.
Huron, First Presbyterian
Special Youth Ministry Fund
Applications are Due April 1
Presbytery funds are available for
Summer Youth Trips and other Youth Ministry Projects for your Church.
Applications are due April 1 and application forms are available by contacting
the Presbytery office at 800-222-2494. If you have questions contact David
Bartley, leader of the Camps & Conferences Ministry Team at 419-691-4867.
Kirkmont Summer Camp 2006
At the February Presbytery meeting,
Rev. Ed Delair, Director of Kirkmont Camp discussed this summer’s program theme
“Peace Talks,” and he discussed a partnership Kirkmont is building with Habitat
for Humanity. Camps run from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Youth
scholarships are available. Call Kirkmont at 800-572-1747 or go online at
www.kirkmontcenter.com.
Welcome Rev. Bill McConnell and
Rev. Tom Oxtoby
We welcome Rev. William
McConnell to Fremont First Presbyterian as of January 15. Bill comes to us
from Kiskiminetas Presbytery and was installed as Pastor of Fremont First on
February 19.
We welcome Rev. Thomas Oxtoby as the Interim Pastor of McComb First
Presbyterian. Tom comes from Giddings-Lovejoy Presbytery and began February 21.
Please Bring Health Fair Kits to
the Tuesday, May 16th Presbytery Meeting
Maumee Valley will once again be
hosting the Mobile Health Fairs June 28—July 11. If you would like to
participate and have questions please contact Alyce Ann Schmidt at 419-332-9664
or
schmidt20@ag.osu.edu. Kits may be delivered to the Presbyterian Women
Spring Gathering on April 22 at Norcrest Presbyterian in Findlay, the Presbytery
Meeting on May 16 at Toledo, Christ Presbyterian, or to East Side Presbyterian,
Fremont no later than June 13.
If kits are not delivered by May 16 it would be helpful to know what you expect
to provide so Alyce Ann knows if purchases need to be made.
As in the past, we will plan to distribute dental kits (toothbrush and
toothpaste) and hygiene kits (washcloth, soap, shampoo, and comb). Nail brushes
are a welcome addition to the hygiene kits. Travel or small size toothpaste and
shampoo is preferred as the majority of those receiving the kits are young
children. Individual items (soap, toothbrush, etc.) are welcomed and they will
be assembled into kits as needed.
Ecumenical Legislative Advocacy
Day March 29
Join us as Church Leaders and State
Legislators discuss their current legislative concerns. For more information
and a registration form contact Clair Brewer at 419-433-6313.
Christian Education Director
Needed Bryan First Presbyterian
Bryan First Presbyterian is looking
for a full time director of Christian education. For more information and a job
description go online at
www.firstpresbryan.com or call the church at 419-636-4208.
Who Can Celebrate Communion?
By Rev. Ellen McGormley
Moderator Committee on Ministry
Who can preside over communion?
The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is one of the privileges we share together as
Christian congregations.
Presbyterians do have some
restrictions on those who can preside at the table, and these restrictions can
create issues for churches without a fulltime ordained Presbyterian pastor.
So what can churches without a pastor do when they want communion?
Any pulpit supply who is an
ordained Presbyterian pastor or an ordained pastor in another denomination which
is in full communion or in correspondence with the Presbyterian Church and
approved by COM may preside at the table.
An elder of that particular
congregation who has received training from the presbytery and who is appointed
by the presbytery to that particular church can celebrate communion. He or she
cannot preside at the table of another church.
A Commissioned Lay Pastor can
celebrate communion only in the church to which he or she has received a
commission and permission to serve communion.
Therefore pulpit supplies who have
been through the commissioned lay pastor training, but who are not commissioned
to a particular church may not preside at communion.
The "rules" sound restrictive, but
considering the importance with which Presbyterians hold communion it seems
appropriate that Presbyterians do have constraints on who can preside at the
Lord's table.
Questions? Call your Committee on
Ministry representative or Ellen McGormley, chairperson of COM.
APA National Conference July 13—16
The Administrative Personnel
Association will celebrate their 30th Anniversary at their National Conference
in Nashville July 13—16. For more information contact Beth Wenner in the
Presbytery office at 800-222-2494 or go to
www.pcusa-apa.org.
The next stated meeting of
Maumee Valley Presbytery is Tuesday, May 16, 3 p.m.,
at Christ
Presbyterian Church in Toledo, Ohio.
Join us for
coffee and
fellowship
beginning at 2:30 p.m.
The focus of the May meeting is
“Our Mission.”
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