Presbytery News
Donegal
Summer Festival of Worship
Join congregations all across the Presbytery of Donegal this summer for its online Summer Festival of Worship. Each Sunday from June 28 to Sept. 13, one of Donegal’s congregations will host online worship for the presbytery. All other congregations are invited to join that church for worship that week. It’s a great way to become more connected as we join together in worship. And it’s a terrific way to handle the Sundays when a pastor is off for vacation or study leave. Or weeks when it would benefit the congregation for the pastor to devote time to other projects rather than worship/sermon preparation.
One of the things that makes this a great opportunity is that the size of the church doesn’t matter. Many of our churches have discovered ways to offer online worship since the start of the pandemic. We’ll be able to visit many of our congregations without needing to drive! Another great thing is that this will not impact offerings, since all of our churches have discovered ways to receive offerings online or by mail. And, of course, one of the biggest benefits is that this avoids the need to come up with pulpit supply during a summer when normal worship is disrupted and it is far more difficult to find preachers who can handle your current arrangements.
Click here to view the entire summer lineup.
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Redstone
‘Mission Ex’ service trip
Attention Youth Leaders: Here is an opportunity to do a mission trip specifically designed for Middle School Youth! “Mission Ex” is a five-day/four-night program with service projects, worship, great teaching, zip-lines and crazy games from June 28 to July 2. Just bring your youth – Pine Springs Camp in Jennerstown, PA, does all the planning. For more information, click here, call (814) 629-9834 or email greg@pinesprings.org.
Redstone Presbytery Calendar
Upper Ohio Valley
Soul Shop
Soul Shop, a one-day workshop that equips congregational leaders to minister to those impacted by suicidal desperation, will be held June 8, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Camp Wakonda, 5045 Dyewood Road SW, Sherrodsville, OH 44675. The workshop at Camp Wakonda has a youth ministry focus but is open to everyone. After providing a Biblical framework for understanding and preventing suicide, the specialist will develop greater suicide awareness and basic conversation skills, as well as make space, inviting those who have been suicidal in the past to share their stories.
This important program is freely offered, but a donation of $20/person is suggested. Lunch will be included. (Additional support and resources provided by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Ohio Chapter.) Register online at www.cantoncpc.org or call (330) 456-8113. For more information, contact Pastor Michael Wallace, Christ Presbyterian Church, Canton, OH, mwallace@cantoncpc.org.
Washington
‘Mission Ex’ service trip
Attention Youth Leaders: Here is an opportunity to do a mission trip specifically designed for Middle School Youth! “Mission Ex” is a five-day/four-night program with service projects, worship, great teaching, zip-lines and crazy games from June 28 to July 2. Just bring your youth – Pine Springs Camp in Jennerstown, PA, does all the planning. For more information, click here, call (814) 629-9834 or email greg@pinesprings.org.
West Virginia
Music in the COVID-19 age
Nathan Kyle Lively, who grew up studying and playing the organ at Hinton First Presbyterian Church, has offered to lead a webinar for Presbytery of West Virginia musicians, worship directors, liturgists, clergy and anyone else interested regarding church music in the COVID-19 Age. He has already presented it to several groups and has also created a group of clergy and musicians during the pandemic to see “where we are, where we need to go, how we can get there, and what do we need to cover along the way – be that different types of worship styles, worship resources, and how to stay on the legal side of copyrights.”
The 29-year-old, who previously served at Presbyterian churches in Abingdon, VA, and Uniontown, PA, is currently the Director of Music at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Stamford, CT. A nationally-recognized musician, he is an active performer, educator and church musician as well as a member of the American Guild of Organists and American Choral Directors Association. If you would be interested in attending his webinar, email office@wvpresbytery.org by July 8 with your name, church, and the days of the week/times of day best for you. The presbytery will gauge the amount of interest and discuss with him when to schedule the webinar.
Festival of Faith rescheduled for Aug. 29
Festival of Faith, with keynote presenter Jill Duffield, editor of The Presbyterian Outlook, has been moved to Saturday, Aug. 29. The gathering will be a virtual event this year. Rather than meeting in person with the uncertainty that goes with it in this time, we will be meeting by Zoom, which gives us the opportunity to see and interact with each other, whether by video or phone. We will follow the original schedule as much as possible, although now you don’t have to travel to Charleston, and you can join in your pajamas, workout clothes or whatever you like. And you don’t have to worry about whether you’ll like lunch or not, as you’ll be fixing your own. Click here for more changes.