If there are any questions about the November committee meetings, please contact your committee chair.

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1 FIRST MONDAY November 2018 First Monday is a monthly posting to Church Professionals and committee members in The Presbytery of the Miami Valley from the Presbytery Staff including information of events and news of interest as submitted by appropriate Presbytery entities. Publication of such information does not imply presbytery endorsement of the views and opinions expressed or implied. This month we have included: 1. The Prayer List 2. The October Calendar 3. Presbytery News What s Happening Around The Presbytery. Job listings, articles, flyers and brochures take a close look for news affecting you and your church community! If there are any questions about the November committee meetings, please contact your committee chair. Submissions must usually be ed by the 25 th of the month or the last working day prior in order to be placed in the packet. copy ready submissions to Tom Oxley at the Presbytery, tom.oxley@miamipresbytery.org.

2 MIAMI PRESBYTERY PRAYER LIST November, November First Presbyterian Church, located at 123 West Decatur Street, Eaton. Pastor Ted Dennis. 11 November St Luke Presbyterian Church, located at 280 North Breiel Boulevard, Middletown. Pastor Richard Sedgwick. 18 November Bath Presbyterian Church located at 4624 Bath Road, Dayton. Pastor Emily Haddox. 25 November First United Presbyterian Church, located in Rushylvania. Moderator Ray Stewart. 2 December First Presbyterian Church, located at 2910 Central Avenue, Middletown. Pastor Michael Isaacs. The Presbytery committee or group we ask you to pray for: For the month of November please keep the Network Support and Grants Committee in your prayers. Thank you.

3 Presbytery of the Miami Valley Nov 2018 (Eastern Time - New York) Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Please keep West Liberty 4:30pm - CoM Halloween All Saints' Day 9:30am - Nominating 12pm - Staff 1:30pm - LC Agenda 5pm - Network Support & Daylight Saving Time Ends Election Day 8am - Leadership Council 9am - Presbytery Meeting Please keep Eaton in your Please keep Middletown: 9:30am - CoPM Veteran's Day Please keep Dayton: Bath Office Closed Office Closed Thanksgiving Please keep Rushylvania in 4:30pm - CoM

4 First Monday Job Corner: Drop us a line if there is a job opening you need to fill at your church (and please let us know if you want it continued in future months we are only running ads month by month, so need to know if your church wants it continued). Westminster Presbyterian Church, Piqua is seeking an Office Administrator. Part time position, approximately hours per week. Responsible for creating bulletins, newsletters and mailings, weekly PowerPoint displays for worship; overseeing financial office, paying bills; scheduling and overseeing building usage; managing social media, etc. Needs good working knowledge of Word, Excel, Publisher, and PowerPoint; must be able to learn church management software. Send resume to wpcpiqua@sbcglobal.net or mail to Westminster Presbyterian Church, 325 W. Ash Street, Piqua, OH (937) Please note that the Presbytery website also lists some area job hunting assistance. If you know of somebody in your congregation that needs some help looking for their next job, please share that information with them Churches are invited to share programs, job openings, and news with other churches of the presbytery. Just print ready information to tom.oxley@miamipresbytery.org. Choral Vespers will be held at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Dayton on Sunday, November 18, at 4:00 p.m. The Westminster Choir will perform Mozart s Coronation Mass and motets of Mendelssohn. Westminster Ringers will ring seasonal handbell music. A free will offering will be received. Westminster Church is located at 125 N. Wilkinson St. in downtown Dayton. There is free, lighted parking surrounding the church. For more information, call The Rise Against Hunger that Oxford Presbyterian Church hosted on October 21, 2018 was amazing. 15,120 meals consisting of rice, soy, dried vegetables, and vitamins were packed for hungry children and families. Over a hundred volunteers from various churches in Oxford, the interfaith community, Miami University community, West Chester, First Presbyterian Church from Eaton Ohio, and Reily Presbyterian Church were there. It was wonderful to see so many volunteers from all over come together and work together for the good of people in need. The Miami University Office of Community Engagement sponsored a meal and discussion about local food insecurity after cleanup for Rise Against Hunger. The Presbyterian Church, St Mary s Catholic Church, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Hillel the Jewish Center and others attended and discussed ways we can address the structural causes of food insecurity in Oxford.

5 APCE 2019 is in Galveston, TX Feb 6 9, Certification course being offered: Worship & Sacraments, Feb certification course/ The Presbytery of the Miami Valley's Educator Support Network has a limited number of $100 scholarships available to help Educators attend. (An Educator must be active in a church within the Presbytery.) To make application for a scholarship Submit your name to the Rev. Dr. Jacqueline Nowak, HR (jackie.nowak@gmail.com) Include your role in your church, and contact information for you and the church Attach a copy of your APCE registration confirmation (or make arrangements to send it) DEADLINE: November 15 Questions? Contact: Educator and Teaching Elder Jacqueline Nowak (HR) Educator Support Network jackie.nowak@gmail.com (937)

6 THE PARISH PAPER IDEAS AND INSIGHTS FOR ACTIVE CONGREGATIONS EDITORS: CYNTHIA WOOLEVER AND DANA HORRELL November 2018 Volume 26, Number 11 Copyright 2018 by Cynthia Woolever How to Develop Habits for Well-Being Seminaries and social work programs often ask their students to create a self-care plan. Not only does this send a message about self-care while pursuing a degree, ordination, or certification, it also makes clear that selfcare is a life-long commitment for those who serve the church and others. High demands and weak support systems can foster a toxic environment for clergy health. Therefore, some experts see a problem with the idea of self-care, which suggests that responsibility for clergy well-being falls entirely on the pastor. Clergy health and well-being involve three systems: the individual pastor s lifestyle, family and friends, and the congregation or denomination. Although all three systems share responsibility, this issue focuses primarily on the role of clergy. Making Better Choices Mounting research finds that genetic differences are less important for longevity and health than previously asserted. Twin studies reveal that genetics only account for 25% of the defining forces related to life span. What accounts for the rest? Lifestyle choices and habits. For example, Sanjay Gupta lists five habits that can extend a person s life by a decade or more: eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy body weight, consuming alcohol in moderation, and never smoking. 1 Models of well-being incorporate additional elements beyond physical health because studies find clear links between mental, social, and physical health. For instance, scientists are beginning to pay attention to a sixth healthy habit: maintaining a strong social network. Although positive emotions and moods relate to overall health, they only produce short-term impacts. Positive mental health combined with high psychological and social functioning delivers greater long-term health. 2 are already strong and where you need to focus to see improvement. The self-care wheel, available in multiple versions, is such a tool and illustrates the interaction between multiple dimensions of daily life. 3 Imagine a pie cut into six equal parts with each section representing one area of your life: physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, personal, and professional. If you imagine the center as zero and the outer edge of the pie section as ten, you can rank your satisfaction level within each area by drawing a line to create your own outer edge for each area. When the findings are graphed onto the pie, some sections are longer or shorter than others. The shorter areas reflect areas of life where functioning can be improved. For example, lower scores in the spiritual area might prompt someone to explore new spiritual practices, participate in a small spirituality group, or other actions aimed at creating greater levels of life satisfaction and balance. Ultimately, you see your full life balance picture and can begin to consider how to improve the whole. Map Your Self-Care Plan Before you can make deliberate changes to construct a personalized self-care plan, you must know where you

7 Other approaches entail completing short questionnaires (see the Buffalo School of Social Work for an easy to complete example 4 ). Or clergy can honestly answer questions like: How often in the past two years has poor physical health, emotional problems, or family demands interfered with your ministry effectiveness? How do you cope in such situations? What practices do you regularly engage in that sustain you physically, emotionally, and spiritually? Are additional efforts needed to support your well-being and reduce stress? How would a spouse or best friend answer these questions? Your coworkers? The value of these approaches is that the agency for making better choices rests with the individual. A friend of the late Senator John McCain remarked that he was not very good at lying to himself. McCain would joke that his biggest accomplishment as a Navy pilot was crashing five jet planes, reflecting his belief that We cannot forever hide the truth about ourselves, from ourselves. 5 Authenticity or self-integrity is a gift to be treasured. Create and Enact Your Self-Care Plan Just as there is no right way to experience God, there is no right way to find a greater sense of well-being. Once you have mapped what your current life balance looks like on the pie chart and honestly answered questions about your life habits, take time to make a solid plan. For the areas of your life where you are strong, write a few sentences about how to maintain or even enhance those areas. For areas that are closer to zero, write down goals to help you increase your satisfaction. You also want to periodically check in on how you re doing with these goals to see if you need to revise any of them as your life changes. It is okay to begin with only one or two areas. Finally, find someone who cares about you to hold you accountable and who is willing to help you achieve these goals. It s best to find someone in a similar situation as you, such as another clergy member. Share your self-care plans and meet regularly to check in with each other. Remember that people will be motivated to form new habits by different incentives and identities. These differences mean that no two people will choose an identical path to a more satisfying life and that the goals you set must be tailored to work for you. Congregational and Denominational Support Every congregation should have a functioning personnel committee because a church cannot succeed unless the pastor succeeds. The regular interaction between the committee and the pastor contributes to the pastor s overall ministry and life satisfaction, assists the pastor in establishing priorities and boundaries, and supports the pastor s self-care choices. The pastor and the committee members must share a vision for ministry and a shared understanding of the pastor s gifts. Several denominations began to recognize that support for pastors needed to extend beyond seminary. For example, the Church Pension Group of the Episcopal Church started CREDO, a conference for pastors aimed at enhancing clergy wellness. Participants explore four areas spiritual, vocational, financial, and physical/psychological health in a week-long community experience. The Board of Pensions, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), launched a similar national clergy program to help pastors examine their health and replenish their spirit. Other judicatories and denominations invite their clergy to workshops and experiences that help pastors deal with stress, nurture spiritual vitality, and promote flourishing ministry. Congregational leaders should encourage the pastor to participate in such conferences. Well-Being Is a Journey The good news of the gospel says again and again, Behold, I make all things new (Rev 21:5). People, who are made in the image of God, are free to make choices. And they are free to make new choices. Begin with one new self-care practice today. Begin with one new way of finding joy in life. Try it on and risk failure. Pastors and people of faith can count on the promise of John 10:10: I have come that they might have life and have it abundantly. 1. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Forget science (for now); living longer is in your hands, 2. R. J. Proschold-Bell and J. Byassee, Faithful and Fractured: Responding to the Clergy Health Crisis (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2018), Care-Wheel-Final.pdf 4. self-care-kit/self-care-assessment.pdf 5. Copyright 2018 by Cynthia woolever

8 July 16-20, 2019 Purdue University Presbytery of the Miami Valley Registration Information Who: Cost: Where: Youth comple ng grades 8-12, who are ac ve members of a local church. The delega on will consist of 20 youth and 4 adult advisors. Registra on $ per person. The Presbytery will cover a third of the cost and provide transporta on. Sending congrega ons and par cipants are each expected to pay $ The 2019 Presbyterian Youth Triennium will be held at Purdue University in West Lafaye e, Indiana. Par cipants will be housed in campus dormitories. When: Tuesday, July 16 Saturday, July 20, 2019 How Do I Apply to be a part of the Presbytery of the Miami Valley Delegation to Triennium? Tell your Pastor/Youth Director/Clerk of Session why you would like to a end the Youth Triennium. Ask for the church s spiritual and financial support Ask your Pastor/Youth Director/Clerk of Session to recommend you by clicking HERE or visi ng this link: h p://westminsterdayton.org/youth/triennium.html Once your church recommenda on is received by the registrar, you and/or your parents will receive an with a link to more informa on and lots of forms to be filled out and returned to the registrar. All recommenda ons should be received by January 31. For More Information: Visit the Triennium website: Contact Presbytery Registrar: Nancy Hodgkins at or nancy@westminsterdayton.org