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PTCA News

EMerge Jan 17, 2020

Presbytery News
 
Conversations, Inspiration, Fellowship, Worship and...
Presbytery Gathering on January 25th
Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area
The Gathering and Stated Meeting
 
Saturday, January 25th at 9:00am
Presbyterian Church of the Way
3382 N. Lexington Ave., Shoreview, MN
 
Childcare for infants through upper elementary age will be available from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
 
Lunch will be served; free-will offering of $10 is suggested. Free parking is available.
 
Presbytery Gatherings are more than ‘the stated meeting.’ Gatherings include time for conversations, inspiration, fellowship, worship and… yes… the business stated meeting. What to expect:
What to Watch For: January PTCA Gathering
 
Moderator Anna Kendig and Vice-Moderator Jean Emmons preview the meeting
 
  • Celebration of the 145 years of ministry and mission of the Dayton Avenue Presbyterian Church, St. Paul, MN, and action on the Joint Recommendations to dissolve the congregation.
  • Plenary presentation (“Such Powerful, Holy Fools: building justice and wholeness through practices of play, creativity and imagination”) and Workshop (“How to embody powerful, holy foolishness when we’re not sure how to begin”) facilitated by Rev. Shawna Bowman, the first called and installed pastor of Friendship Presbyterian Church, Chicago, IL. Shawna is a 2009 graduate of McCormick Theological Seminary where she currently serves as Associate Director of Field Ed and Experiential Education, and as Affiliate Faculty. Shawna is also a Co-founder of Creation Lab, an art collective and a working studio space at the intersection of creativity, spirituality and prophetic imagination located in Chicago.
  • Action by the Presbytery on the PLT’s recommendations to change the presbytery structure and organization and recommendations concerning the Strategic Ministries Fund.
  • Open Spaces: Join a conversation about a topic of interest and import.
  • “And Always Reforming….” facilitated by Rocky Rockenstein
  • “The Values Behind a Vision: Our PTCA Institutional Race Assessment” facilitated by Anna Kendig and Kendra Grams
  • “Serving in Nepal: Our Family’s Faith Journey” facilitated by Luke Roske-Metcalfe and his family
  • “Yes, it’s Overture Time” facilitated by Diana Barber and the Bills & Overtures Committee
  • “Our Witness to the Dakota 38 Tribute, 2019” facilitated by Dean Seal
  • Worship, led by Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, will include celebration of The Lord’s Supper and commissioning of William Parker, our YAAD to 224th General Assembly, and Rev. Luke Roske-Metcalfe and his family (spouse Rev. Andrea Roske-Metcalfe, daughters Olivia, age 9 and Clementine, age 6).
 
A Matthew 25 Story
A Home for the Night
 
In March of 2019, the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area declared itself a Matthew 25 presbytery, accepting an invitation from the Presbyterian Mission Agency to “actively engage in the world around us.”
 
Then the righteous will answer him,
 ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food,
or thirsty and gave you something to drink?
And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you,
or naked and gave you clothing?
And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’
And the king will answer them,
‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these
who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
EMerge will periodically feature stories of PTCA congregations living out the call of Matthew 25, in their own ways and abilities. Today: four St. Paul-area congregations who support Project Home.
 
For the month of November, the round tables and chairs that usually fill the ground-level fellowship hall at Central Presbyterian Church in Saint Paul are by-and-large put away, replaced by large cardboard walls that create living spaces for participants in Project Home, an effort of Interfaith Action of Saint Paul. And why?
“It’s important to us, because it fits our mission,” says Sharon Zopfi-Jordan, Central’s coordinated mission chair. “We say ‘We’re in the city for good.’ That means helping when there’s a need.”
 
At First Presbyterian Church in South Saint Paul, Project Home has found a monthly home in July for a quarter of a century. “It’s a hands-on mission that people can really get into,” says coordinator Ruth Krueger of FPC’s participation. The same is true for The House of Hope Presbyterian Church in Saint Paul, another month-long host to Project Home.
Click HERE to read more "A Home for the Night"
 
Christmas in Liberia
 
The following is a report and pictures from a trip, Elizabeth Greene, a member of Peace Presbyterian Church in St. Louis Park, took at Christmas to her hometown in Liberia, and the project she implemented to help poor children in the area.
 
With the growing challenges that engulfed our country, especially to access cash from the bank by many parents during this Christmas Season, Elizabeth S. Greene saw it necessary to identify with the needy Children in her former community. Many of the parents who work for government never got their salary payments before the Christmas, so the assorted goods distributed by Elizabeth Mini Project Team were very helpful to the children and their parents.
 
Christmas season is meant for sharing with everyone that comes across you. This day is set aside to celebrity Christ Birthday according to many Christians around the world and this couldn’t have passed without Elizabeth expressing her love for the needy children in her former community, especially from a impoverish homes.
 
 
One example of a residence where the children live
 
 
(above) Assorted goods to be distributed.
 
(below)
Distribution day in Pectorals
 
Team members sorting out goods.
Click HERE to read the condensed report from Elizabeth about her trip
 
Jeff's Jottings:
Gathering
Many of us likely have a story of "standing up for our beliefs." A time or place where we had to "stand in the gap, between good and evil, heaven and earth, right and wrong."
 
In this week's Jeff's Jottings, we hear of his invitation to participate in a solidarity gathering against antisemitism. In prayer, Jeff writes, we hear the call and feel strength to stand up.
Click HERE to read more of Jeff's Jottings
 
Around the Presbytery
 
MLK Events throughout the Presbytery
The House of Hope in St. Paul hosts Pulizer Prize winning author Leonard Pitts, Jr.
Sunday, January 19th at 10:00am worship and a lecture at 2:00pm, with book signing to follow.
 
Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis and Liberty Community Church hosts Rev. Dr. Joy J. Moore.
Joint workshop on Saturday, January 18th at 10am at Westminster
8:30am and 10:30am worship services.
 
Central Presbyterian Church in St. Paul will reflect on how MLK's leadership might speak into issues of today. "An individual has not started living until he can RISE above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” - Martin Luther King Jr. On the weekend of the Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday we will reflect on how his leadership might speak into the issues of today. Ernest Lloyd will lead in worship.
 
The Ministry Lab Welcomes New Leader
The Ministry Lab—an ecumenical organization that serves United Methodist, United Church of Christ, and Presbyterian churches in Minnesota—has hired a new executive director to resource and engage congregations and leaders around innovative practices and fresh approaches to faith formation.
 
Rev. Emily Meyer, an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), began the position in mid-December. She succeeds Lizabeth Bougie, who retired after nearly eight years in the position.
 
“I look forward to doing consulting and finding out what congregations are doing and ways that I can encourage them to try new things,” said Meyer, who was ordained in 1998. “I hope that this can be a place where we tackle the big questions and come up with hopeful, gracious responses to the challenges the church is facing right now.”
Click HERE to read more about The Ministry Lab and their new leader
 
Seminars, Retreats, Programs
 
A Webinar from the Office of Public Witness
Cameroon: An Update from the Ground
Cameroon: An Update from the Ground
A webinar
January 22, 12pm (EST)
Sponsored by the Office of Public Witness, the Hunger
Program, and World Mission
 
Last month, the Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA) issued a call to prayer for Cameroon. The security situation in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon continues to deteriorate. Over 2,000 people have been killed and more than 200 villages have been partially or completely burned due to the armed conflict. More than 530,000 people have been internally displaced and about 50,000 people are now refugees. The economic impact of the conflict has not only been devastating to the Anglophone regions but to the entire country. The Educational sector has also been greatly affected, with over 700,000 children not attending school in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon. The State Department and Congress have issued statements urging that inclusive dialogue be engaged as a way out of the current crisis and that humanitarian aid workers be allowed unhindered access. 
 
Please join us to learn more about the critical situation in Cameroon and why it matters. We will hear from partners from the Presbyterian Church of Cameroon as well as our partners in World Mission and the Presbyterian Hunger Program.  
 
Join us to learn what actions you can take to help contribute to a peaceful diplomatic solution!
Click HERE to register for the webinar
 
New Speakers Announced
Compassion Peace and Justice Training Day
 
Imagine! God's Earth and People Restored
April 24-27
Washington, DC
We believe that God created this world, called it good, and told humans to care for it. We are blessed to have this sacred task.
 
On April 24, 2020, join together with Presbyterians from across the nation in Washington, D.C. to learn how Presbyterians and partners are answering this call and working for the restoration of God’s creation and people. Through plenaries, workshops, and networking opportunities, this Compassion Peace and Justice Training Day offers the chance to explore the various ways we are addressing climate change, ecological destruction and environmental racism. Advancing climate justice and just transition to value and protect people who have historically been made vulnerable by economic and environmental injustice will be a special focus.
 
Many will continue the learning by attending the Ecumenical Advocacy Days: Imagine! God’s Earth and People Restored from Friday evening on April 24 through Lobby Day on Monday the 27th. Almost 1,000 Christian advocates join us every year for a weekend of workshops, lectures and concrete actions addressing movements for social change.
Click HERE for more information and registration
 
EMerge is a newsletter of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area. Through most of the year it is published biweekly and distributed to congregations, teaching elders, ruling elders, church members, committees and friends of the presbytery. Please send submissions and address corrections to office@ptcaweb.org
 
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