PRESBYTERY OF CENTRAL NEBRASKA. Central Nebraska announces that The Rev. Doug Baker will be visiting our presbytery from October

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1 PRESBEE VOLUME 5, ISSUE 1 July/ Aug/ Sep 2009 PRESBYTERY OF CENTRAL NEBRASKA MISSION CHALLENGE 2009 Underscoring the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) s commitment to mission in partnership, mission personnel from around the globe will again be calling on congregations across the United States. Similar to a highly successful event held in the fall of 2007, World Mission Challenge will send 40 PC(USA) mission personnel into 140 presbyteries to tell how God is at work around the world. Several mission workers will be accompanied by international partners, a pilot project being done in cooperation with the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program. In response, the Presbytery of Central Nebraska announces that The Rev. Doug Baker will be visiting our presbytery from October 2-9. The Rev. Baker has been under appointment as a PC(USA) mission worker since 1979 and Elaine Baker, his wife, since Though their roles have changed over the years of their ministry in Northern Ireland, their ministry has always served the cause of peacemaking and reconciliation. The Rev. Baker has asked to be kept very busy while visiting our presbytery. Some of his schedule has started to fill up. He is scheduled to visit North Platte THE BAKER FAMILY: ELAINE, NIALL FIONA, STEPHEN AND DOUG and tentatively Hastings College. If you would like to request time to have him speak with your church or a group please contact the presbytery office. Information partly provided by PCN MINUTE REVIEW The Presbyter of Central Nebraska office has scheduled five Session Minute Book Reviews. We ask that each church make an effort on attending one of the five in order to have their session books approved. The reviews have been scheduled earlier this year so that we may take them to the October Presbytery meeting for final approval. Below is the schedule: September 3 First Presbyterian Church in Hastings at 7 p.m. September 10 First Presbyterian Church in North Platte at 7 p.m. September 17 First Presbyterian Church in Holdrege at 7 p.m. October 1 First Presbyterian Church in Grand Island 7 p.m. October 8 First Presbyterian Church in O Neill at 7 p.m. Inside this issue: Grow the Church Deep and Wide 2 Special points of interest: 2009 PCN Minute Review Bob s Thoughts 3 God s Mission Needs a Church 4 August Calendar 5 God s Mission Needs a Church Event Sacks of Hope Challenge Deadline for the next Presbee is September 10th. Sacks of Hope Challenge 6

2 Page 2 PRESBEE Grow the Church Deep and Wide At the last General Assembly accepted the challenge of doing just that. Here is part of what that action says which pertains to presbyteries and congregations. Encourage synods, presbyteries, sessions, and all agencies, entities, and networks of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to commit to foster the growth of Christ s Church Deep and Wide in the following areas: a. Grow in Evangelism: Share the good news of Jesus Christ. Invite persons to join in the church s worship and fellowship. Baptize children and adults. b. Grow in Discipleship: Rediscover Scripture, including daily reading and study. Nurture relationships with Jesus Christ in the context of our Reformed heritage. c. Grow in Servanthood: Stand alongside the wider community to promote the well-being and love of neighbor. Embrace stewardship in all of life. d. Grow in Diversity: Welcome everyone. Learn from others. Reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of God s peoples in the world. The council is asking each church session to take this challenge seriously and report back in writing to the council by September 1, 2009 those things they have done or plan to do in each of the four areas of growth. The balance of the adopted action pertains primarily to the General Assembly and its entities....they must get out of the church sanctuaries, meet their neighbors, do mission work, and tell the story of faith. Eric Hoey (who spoke to our presbytery last fall) of the General Assembly Evangelism and Church Development Unit said this at the recent Big Tent event. Presbyterians can t assume any more that people are going to join their church simply because of its denominational name, he told them. Rather, they must get out of the church sanctuaries, meet their neighbors, do mission work, and tell the story of the faith. The spiritual and evangelistic climate in the whole denomination could use a shot in the arm, so the members of his department in the denomination s headquarters have started having prayer meetings for the lost. Three days a week we gather in the ECD lounge, read a chapter of Scripture and pray for the church, he said. We use Stan Ott s word-shareprayer model, he added, to which several workshop attendees responded with knowing appreciation. How about a one-one-one model? Pray for one person for one minute every day at one o clock? he suggested.

3 VOLUME 5, ISSUE 1 Page 3 Bob s Thoughts At least two of the sessions in this presbytery have been considering standards or expectations for active membership. While it is unlikely the different sessions will come to the same conclusions, to even know that such a discussion is being conducted is heartening for me. Usually when it comes to membership for adults the process becomes one of expedience. We don t want to make things too difficult for new members fearing we will scare them away. We don t want to ask too much of our session, because they are already busy, so a quick meeting before worship to receive new members will suffice. We don t want to place an additional burden on our pastor because they are already teaching a confirmation class. We make the mistaken assumption that these people, as adults, already know all they need to know about joining the church. I also admit to spending time trying to figure out what it was that led us to have such a divided vote on Amendment A. This was the amendment requiring new members received by profession, transfer or reaffirmation to be presented to the congregation during worship and asked to make public profession of their faith as confirmands are required to do. It took me by surprise and I have been puzzled by our reluctance to ask for such a profession of faith. Lyle Schaller, however, has spoken for years about churches with high expectations for their members saying these churches tend to be growing in members. Rick Warren of inauguration fame has a process whereby new members embark on a four stage life journey. Coalter, Mulder, and Weeks in their study of the decline of mainstream Protestantism have identified not being clear about membership expectations for new members as part of the problem. Loren Mead has identified that there are several...adults, already know all they need to know about joining the church. ogy, and Better Photography with Digital or 35 mm Camera. The regional conference will conclude with a banquet at the Miletta Vista Winery located just north of Grand Island overlooking God s beautiful work. The cost of registration for one person is $410, however this could vary. (Please see registration form for more details.) The cost of the confer- Grand Island will be the host of the 2009 Rocky Mountain Region APA Conference. Hotel accommodations will be at the Midtown Holiday Inn and classes will be held at the First Presbyterian Church. A variety of classes that will be offered this year include: Healthy Lifestyles, Dealing with Difficult People, Polity II, Personal Investing, Angelolence includes your meals, hotel, snacks, banquet, regional conference t- shirt, classes, and classroom materials. The cost does not include transportation. The conference is open to everyone. If you are interested and would like a registration brochure please contact the presbytery office.

4 Page 4 PRESBEE Schedule of Events July 1-10 General Presbyter Unavailable July 6 Office Closed to observe Independence Day July 8-15 Summer Pastor School at Hastings College in Hastings July APA National Conference in Orlando, FL July Synod School at Buena Vista University, Storm Lake, IA July 26 Aug 2 General Presbyter unavailable July 2009 SU MO TU WE TH FR SA God s Mission Needs a Church Event The event is tentatively scheduled for November 7, 2009 with the site yet to be determined. This event will be promoted ecumenically as well as through the presbytery. It is hosted by the Committee on Ministry and part of the cost is underwritten by the Omaha Seminary Foundation. Churches are encouraged to bring a team of church leaders for the best effect. Leadership will be provided by consultants from the Center for Parish Development out of Chicago. The center says the workshop is to assist a presbytery in starting or furthering conversations it wants to have with its churches about transformation. We help you to frame that conversation missionally: Exploring God's mission -- God has a mission and God's mission needs a church. Exploring current ministry context -- what's going on "out there" and "in here" for our churches in Nebraska? We are helping ministers and leaders get language and resources for supporting the conversation back home in their own churches. More often than not we think in terms of figur- ing out what the mission of the church is. The context gets reframed when we consider that God has already provided the church with its mission and it is our task to discern what it is and how to accomplish it. The event will be about three hours long. Please watch for more information as to times and place for this workshop.

5 VOLUME 5, ISSUE 1 Page 5 August 2009 SU MO TU WE TH FR SA Schedule of Events Aug 1 & 2 General Presbyter unavailable Aug 11 COM Mtg. at Alley Rose in Kearney 9:30 a.m. August Calvin is Cool middle school camp at Camp Comeca in Cozad. Aug Rocky Mountain APA Regional Conference at FPC in Grand Island August 31 Sept 2 Synod EP Forum at Country Inn & Suites in Kearney. August 31 Sept 2 General Presbyter Unavailable Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study is Doing Something New The Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study dates back to 1892, when the Women s Executive Committee for Home Mission, Organization of Presbyterian Women, prepared a simple Calendar of Prayer to help women s societies pray for missionaries on designated days. Three years later the first mission yearbook appeared, called the Year Book of Prayer for Foreign Missions. That publication was joined with the prayer calendar in a 1919 edi- tion, the Year Book of Prayer for Missions, when both international and domestic personnel were included. In 1971 the name changed to what we know today as the Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study. Having been in continuous annual publication since 1892, it has the longest history of any denominational mission and prayer book in the United States. After all of these years it has made another transition. In addition to the traditional printed version, the PC(USA) s 2009 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study is also available as a podcast. Get these daily entries, read by volunteers, individually or subscribe through itunes. Listen to the Mission Yearbook and learn about mission in a new way. In order to subscribe go to missionyearbook and subscribe.

6 Page 6 NEWSLETTER TITLE Schedule of Events Sept 1 & 2 Synod EP Forum at the Country Inn & Suites in Kearney Sept 3 NOM meeting at the PCN office in Kearney 2:30 p.m. Sept 3 Session Minute Review at Hastings FPC p.m. Sept 7 Office Closed to observe Labor Day Sept 10 Business & Budget meeting at the PCN office in Kearney 10:00 a.m. Sept 10 Session Minute Review at North Platte FPC 7 p.m. Sept 10 Presbee Deadline Sept 17 Session Minute Review at Holdrege FPC 7 p.m. September 2009 SU MO TU WE TH FR SA Sept 22 Council Meeting at the PCN office in Kearney at 10:00 a.m. Sept General Presbyter to attend OGA Fall Polity Conference Sacks of Hope Challenge CSI workers pass out millet. Millet contains protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals, and is the most important staple food in Africa. A 12-kilo portion is enough to feed a family for a week. The Presbytery Council has extended a challenge to each church in the presbytery to raise the money for two Sacks of Hope at the cost of $50 per sack. If individuals would like to accept this challenge they are invited to do so as well. According to Rev. Heidi McGinness - The Darfuri refuges named them sacks of hope. They include: a wool blanket, a mosquito tent with roof, a plastic tarp 12x12 feet some have been larger, a 5 gallon container for water, a cooking pot, a sickle, fishing hooks and often we give everyone two pounds of sorghum for consumption and seeds for planting. The sack DELIVERED is a $50 dollar charitable donation to CSI. We leave some with pastors as they are the first to receive refugees. Please make your checks payable to Christian Solidarity International USA and bring them to the October presbytery meeting in Broken Bow. Rev. McGinness has served in rural, suburban and inner-city churches. She left her native Germany as a young girl where she had the misfortune of witnessing the results of hate and the horrors of war and its debilitating aftermath. She now serves as Outreach Director for Christian Solidarity International USA and tells the gripping eyewitness account of the suffering of the Sudanese People. Rev. McGinness will be speaking at the October meeting of the Presbytery of Central Nebraska.

7 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 Page 7 continued from page 3 points of focus for us as we try to turn the church around. First is at the time of membership, and then is at the time of being called to positions of service or leadership. These are times for Mead when you can make an impact and teach people so they can change. While our churches put a great deal of emphasis on Christian Education how much time do we spend helping people discover their gifts, training them to lead or serve, or equipping them to teach? I would encourage every pastor and session in our presbytery to reflect on the opportunities we have by passed for training and teaching people in their walk of faith. I would also encourage every pastor and session in the presbytery to be clear about what the expectations of membership and office are. With over half of the present membership of the Presbyterian Church being from no church background or another denomination background it is important for us to teach and train them to be both Reformed and Presbyterian. It might be helpful for us to remember the story of the young man that came to Jesus asking what he needed to do to enter the Kingdom. After Jesus learned of all the wonderful things the young man had done in his life He pointed out to him one more thing he needed. He must sell everything he had, give it to the poor, and then come again to Jesus. The story points out that the young man left sad because he was very rich. If Jesus wasn t afraid of make the call of discipleship quite clear should our sessions? The United Presbyterian study found that growing congregations are more likely to have formal procedures, other than a confirmation/ commissioning class, for preparing potential new members and are more apt to have procedures for incorporating new members into congregational life. These programs include more intensive training for membership and greater use of new members in church life. Closing the Back Door by Donald P. Smith All too often, new member orientation is not taken seriously enough. All too often un-churched or transferring new members enter a congregation too easily. They have few clues of what the church stands for, how it sees its mission, and what is expected of them. When people join a congregation, they agree to an informal covenant of mutual expectations. A strong, required orientation program would provide a deep understanding of the church s vision and of the historical roots from which it has grown. Grayson L. Tucker Bonhoeffer was distressed that churches had cheapened the faith, that Christianity seemed to be too easy, a way marked by social respectability rather than a profound commitment to practice Jesus command to love God and love our neighbors. Calvin is Cool So are You... August 14 16, 2009 Begins Friday evening with dinner (6 p.m.) Ends Sunday (2 p.m.) Cost is $60 per camper Join us for a fun time being in God s awesome creation We will be staying in the Beth Shalom Lodge. If you are interested and would like more information you can go to and print off a registration form.

8 PRESBYTERY OF CENTRAL NEBRASKA th Avenue Suite 28 Kearney, Ne Phone: We re on the web! PRESBYTERY OF CENTRAL NEBRASKA MISSION By the grace of God, The Presbytery of Central Nebraska, a governing body of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), is a community of faith called to nurture, serve and support our congregations in the proclamation of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, and is committed to ministry and mission within and beyond our geographic and denominational bounds. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, the Presbytery seeks to lead congregations with energy, intelligence, imagination and love.