PRESBYTERY AS “LEARNING COMMUNITY” By: The Rev. Dr. Steve Minnema, Interim Executive Presbyter      Among the recent arrivals in my hard mail box is an issue of Windows, the newsletter of Austin Seminary. The cover article is called “Support Systems” and it tells an intriguing story. It seems that Austin Seminary, along with numerous religious institutions from many different denominations, has been participating for years in an initiative funded by the Lily Endowment called Sustaining Pastoral Excellence (SPE). The program began as a response to widespread reports about pastoral burn-out and fatigue. It provided funding aimed at forming a wide variety of peer learning groups shaped by participants to create small communities where they could come together in an environment of freedom and trust to explore the issues that concerned them and to seek new insights. Recently, Austin received additional funding from Lily to conduct a large survey evaluating the effectiveness of the entire initiative. (Click here to read more.)

Congregation of the week . . . UMC/PCUSA Parish (Arvilla Presbyterian Church and Emerado Presbyterian Church)   Click here for bulletin insert for Sunday, February 14, 2010. Nehemial Bible Study, click here to download. January Light of the Northern Plains now posted.

WAYS TO HELP IN HAITI

1. Pray – Join with others in lifting up the people of Haiti and those seeking to provide aid in this critical time.  Special worship material is available on the Presbyterian Church (USA) website.

2. Give – The Presbytery's Council is encouraging congregations to give financial support for relief to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA). Already, PDA has rushed an initial $100,000 from One Great Hour of Sharing and designated funds to help provide immediate emergency relief.

   The council decided that the offering at our February Presbytery meeting should be devoted to this cause (see letter), however it also wanted to urge both individuals and congregations to consider special gifts to PDA. You may send PDA Offerings from your congregation through the Presbytery office, please clearly mark checks or transmittal forms for "PDA-Haiti" or DR000064.

   For information, visit the PDA Web site.

REFORMED AND REFORMING:

NURTURING A PRESBYTERIAN IDENTITY

IN OUR CONGREGATIONS

     A workshop for Pastors and Commissioned Lay Pastors (Presbyterian and otherwise) serving Presbyterian congregations will be held on April 18-19, 2010 at the Maryvale Spiritual Life Center in Valley City, ND.   

     The goal is to provide a high quality training and support experience for pastors and commissioned lay pastors serving churches on the Great Plains that seek to strengthen their identity as congregations in the Reformed/Presbyterian Family. To accomplish this the workshop will focus on two areas:

1. What are the distinctive marks of a Presbyterian congregation in its:

• Worship life
• Ways of governing itself
• Practices of Christian nurture
• Mission Beyond Itself
• Relationship to the Larger Church

2. What strategies can church leaders employ to develop and maintain these marks?

     The keynote speaker will be Dr. Gary Neal Hansen is an ordained minister in the PC(USA), currently serving as Assistant Professor of Church History at the University of

Dubuque Theological Seminary. Prior to receiving his PhD from Princeton in 1998, Dr. Hansen served for five years as the redevelopment pastor of a small church in New Jersey. He has been on the Dubuque faculty since 1999, teaching courses in topics such as “Presbyterian History and Confessions,” “Worship in the Reformed Tradition,” and “The Theology of John Calvin.” 

     The cost is $60 which includes: Sunday evening meal, overnight lodging, all Monday meals and a copy, to be sent to participants upon registration, of Donald McKim’s Presbyterian Questions: Presbyterian Answers.)

     For brochure, click here.  If you have additional questions, please contact the Presbytery office at 701-772-0783 or email pnpoffice@gmail.com.