PRESBYTERY CONNECTION A Bi-Weekly Newsletter of the Presbyteries of North Central Iowa and Prospect Hill November 29, 2018 To see North Central Iowa s calendar of events, please click here. The Presbytery Connection is a bi-weekly joint newsletter for the Presbyteries of North Central Iowa and Prospect Hill. If you would like to contribute to the Presbytery Connection, please contact Jeannie Stolee in the Presbytery office at 319-233-1747 or northiowapresby@gmail.com To see Prospect Hill s calendar of events, please click here. If you know of someone who would enjoy receiving this communication, please email or call Jeannie. Please consider making copies of this newsletter for your Session and running several copies to make available to your congregation. www.presbynciowa.org www.prospecthillpresby.org Please see page 6 for information on the Christmas Joy Special Offering, including how this special offering assisted a family who is now part of the Presbytery of North Central Iowa. ~ 1 ~
Prayers of the Presbytery of North Central Iowa Week of December 2 Week of December 9 Week of December 16 East Friesland Presbyterian Church, Ackley CP Lynn Arends St. Paul s Presbyterian Church, Washburn Rev. Dr. Clemens Bartollas Grand Ji Vante (formerly The Presbyterian Village) CP Diane Martin, Chaplain Week of December 23 For those Elders and Pastors who have gone before us in 2018 Week of December 30 Pray for the Presbytery Staff: Rev. David Feltman, Pastor to the Presbytery Rev. Dr. S. Glenn Wilson, Stated Clerk Jeannie Stolee, Administrative Assistant Karen Kaiser, Finance Director Prayers of the Presbytery of Prospect Hill Week of December 2 Pray for the Presbytery Staff: Rev. Richard Francis, Stated Clerk Jeannie Stolee, Administrative Assistant Karen Kaiser, Finance Director Week of December 9 For those Elders and Pastors who have gone before us in 2018 Additional Prayer Concerns Please keep the Sydnor family in your prayers as they mourn the passing of Jackie Sydnor on November 22. Jackie is the mother of Rev. Michael Sydnor. Please keep the McKinley family in your prayers as they mourn the passing of Rev. John McKinley (honorably retired) on November 24. Please keep the family of Martha Marty McCrea in your prayers as they mourn the passing of Marty on November 24. Marty was a volunteer in the Presbytery of North Central Iowa office for many years. Please pray for Doug O Bannon, son of CP Shari O Bannon, as preparations are made to put him on the liver transplant list at Mayo Clinic. Please include Doug s daughter, Chloe, and Shari in your prayers as well. Churches and Pastors in Transition The following churches and pastors are in transition: Presbytery of Prospect Hill Wheatland Presbyterian Church, Breda Elliott Creek Presbyterian Church, Bronson First Presbyterian Church, Cleghorn First Presbyterian Church, Glidden Union Church, Lake City Community Presbyterian Church, Lawton Lakeside Presbyterian Church, Storm Lake First Presbyterian Church, South Sioux City ~ 2 ~
Condolences are sent to Rev. Michael Sydnor and family on the passing of his mother, Jackie Sydnor, on November 22, 2018. Funeral arrangements are pending. Condolences may be sent to: Michael and Cathy Sydnor P.O. Box 81 Schaller, IA 51053 ************************************************************************************************** Condolences are sent to the family of Rev. John L. McKinley, who passed away on November 24, 2018. A Celebration of Life service was held on Thursday, November 29, 2018 at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Sioux City. The obituary may be read here. Condolences may be sent to: Rosemary McKinley Building 3, Apt. 323 2300 Indian Hills Dr. Sioux City, IA 51104 ************************************************************************************************* Condolences are sent to the family of Martha Marty McCrea, who passed away on November 24, 2018. Marty was a volunteer in the Presbytery of North Central Iowa office for many years. There will be only a private family committal at the cemetery. The obituary may be read here. Cards may be sent to: James Kleeman 1510 Oak Ridge Ln. SE, Unit 2 Cedar Rapids, IA 52403 Memorials may be sent to: First Presbyterian Church OR First Presbyterian Church 902 Main Street 106 N. Bench St. Cedar Falls, IA 50613 Galena, IL 61036 ~ 3 ~
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First Presbyterian Church, Lakota 140 th Anniversary Celebration You are invited to join the 140 th Anniversary Celebration of First Presbyterian Church, 409 Brewer St., Lakota, Iowa, on Sunday, December 9, 2018. The celebration will start with a noon potluck dinner. A church service will be held at 1:30 p.m., where members age 85 and over will be honored. A cake and coffee reception will follow the service. Please note there will be no 8:30 a.m. worship service that day. RSVPs may be directed to: Judy Junkermeier Cell: 515-320-2435 Home: 515-928-2580 ljjunk@netins.net ~ 5 ~
Christmas Joy Special Offering December 2-23, 2018 Every generous act of giving... is from above. James 1:17 In the lead up to Christmas, many of us spend time in search of the perfect gift the gift that communicates to friends and family how much we know and love them. For those of us gathered together in Advent expectation, we know that the only perfect gift ever given was the one we received in Jesus Christ a perfect gift from a gracious God. Although we cannot give the perfect gift, we can give generously, knowing, as the New Testament letter of James says, every generous act of giving... is from above. 50% of your gifts make it possible for students to learn and grow in faith at Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color. 50% of your gifts provide assistance for current and retired church workers and their families with critical financial needs. Jesus was sent to lead his people, pointing to God through love and justice, peace and compassion, forgiveness and humility. We can never match God s perfect gift in Jesus, but through the Christmas Joy Offering, we can testify to who we have known God to be. Our gifts reflect our generous God. Our gifts support leaders in our Church and world past, present and future. For some, these gifts have taken the form of Emergency Assistance Grants after the devastation of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico active and retired pastors, as well as other church workers received assistance. For others, it was in the form of scholarships to Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color, allowing students to not only receive an excellent education, but to explore their faith intimately to become better leaders with values, ethics, and moral character. Hear how the Christmas Joy Offering assisted a family who is now a member of the Presbytery of North Central Iowa: I saw the reminder of those involved in the Christmas Joy Offering. I thought I d let you know that our family received help from that offering when I was expecting Joanna. This was during the time we lived in Kake, Alaska serving the Presbyterian church there. Travel into and out of the island where Kake is situation was (and still is) only accessible by plane and boat (ferry). The offering helped me get to my pre-natal appointments. As there was no physician or nurse on the island, I was required to stay in Juneau for two to three weeks waiting for Joanna s birth. The fund was instrumental in helping us afford all of this. Everything was more expensive in Alaska and these travel expenses were cost prohibitive at the time for us. Diane DiPietro Wilson Wife of Stated Clerk Rev. Dr. S. Glenn Wilson IF WE ALL DO A LITTLE, IT ADDS UP TO A LOT. ~ 6 ~
Job Openings First Presbyterian Church in Waterloo is seeking to fill a part-time Director of Choirs position and an Organist position. Job descriptions for each position may be found at: http://presbynciowa.org/wpcontent/uploads/sites/3/2018/11/waterloo-first-director-of-choirs.pdf and http://presbynciowa.org/wpcontent/uploads/sites/3/2018/11/waterloo-first-organist.pdf. Gift Cards Accepted for North Central Iowa 2019 Mission Trip The Presbytery of North Central Iowa s 2019 mission trip will be to New Bern, North Carolina, to assist with clean-up and rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Florence. Churches and individuals have an opportunity to assist in these efforts even without going on the trip. Lowe s gift cards are being collected and will be delivered and donated to the recovery and rebuilding efforts. Please send gift cards by January 25, 2019 to: Rev. David Feltman 9206 Hess Rd. Waterloo, IA 50701 Ruling Elders and Clergy in Partnership The Presbytery of North Central Iowa invites all Clergy and Ruling Elders to a one-day training on Clergy and Ruling Elders in Partnership to be held on Saturday, January 26, 2019. Dr. Joe Small will begin the conversation for a cohesive, spiritually growing and active session for your work in 2019. Dr. Small will also offer guides to begin each session meeting for 2019. Registrations must be received by January 16, 2019. Click here for more information and for the registration form. ~ 7 ~
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Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Thoughts of Rev. David Feltman, Pastor to the Presbytery, Presbytery of North Central Iowa Driving this morning, as I do nearly every morning, I listened to the news reports of all those displaced by the fires in California and the severe shortage of affordable housing. It is heart wrenching, especially at this time of the year. Then I thought about our small rural towns where population seems to be evaporating are there empty houses? Next my thoughts took me to church buildings where the sanctuary is the only room in the building which is used. There are classrooms in church buildings which have not seen a pulse for years, maybe decades. There are a few manses unoccupied. It is hard to imagine what it would take to turn empty Sunday School rooms into transitional apartments for the homeless. Perhaps even harder to imagine a homeless Californian moving to Iowa in December. Have we tried? Have we offered? Are we using all our resources, empty buildings and all, for God s purpose? It is nearly always challenging and messy when we help or try to help someone. But, for the sake of the gospel... There is a sentence from the gospels which haunts me. Tom Long made it memorable in a sermon I heard years ago. Mark 14:8, She did what she could. The drama of Mark s gospel is moving towards the cross. It is the story of the woman who took the costly ointment and poured it on Jesus head, drawing the rebuke of those around Jesus. Jesus said, in a critical moment, She did what she could. With love in Christ, David Feltman Poor Richard s Almanac By Richard Francis, Stated Clerk, Presbytery of Prospect Hill Icicles and Caramel Corn There are several icons in our house, though you probably wouldn t recognize them as such. They aren t formal icons such as you would find in an Orthodox Church. They are icons to us because they remind us of the presence of God meditated through some particular person at some particular time in our lives. For example: I keep a little clay dish on my desk. It s handy for holding paper clips but it isn t very attractive. It s crudely made, splashed with a random collection of colors, and has my name scrawled on it in barely-legible letters. I keep it, not because it s beautiful, but because it was given to me by a second-grader, who made it for me in her school art class. She s now a young woman who has probably forgotten all about that childish gift, but I haven t. ~ 9 ~
There are some other icons that only come out between Thanksgiving and Epiphany, as you might guess, and today I m thinking of Isabella s Icicles, which I just put on the Christmas tree today. You can see here what they look like: sequins tied together with thread. We have ten or twelve of them, and every year I put them on the tree and think of the woman who made them. Isabella was raised Dutch Lutheran but when I knew her she had for many hears been a faithful member of the Presbyterian church I served. For the first few years she attended regularly, but as the years went by it became harder and harder for her to get to worship, so she reluctantly stayed home on Sunday morning and watched televised services. It was one of those services that led to one of the most interesting theological discussions I ve had with a church member. It happened this way. She was a devoted follower of one of the nationally-broadcast church services and contributed a small amount to their ministry on a regular basis. Then she received an offer from them: in exchange for a donation of a certain amount, they would send her a statue of Jesus. Now, Isabella was raised with a strong reverence for the Ten Commandments, and this offer raised a major question in her mind: wasn t this a violation of the Second Commandment, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image? (Exodus 20:4a, King James Version). So she wrote to the ministry, expressing her concerns. The next time I visited her she showed me the letter she had received in response, because it had made her mad. Instead of engaging with her questions, the ministry had simply sent a boilerplate response that went something like this: The statue of Jesus is a small-scale replica of the life-sized statue that adorns the prayer garden on our grounds. It is made of etc. You get the idea. So we talked about the Second Commandment, and pictures of Jesus generally, and what that means to us as Christians. And I suspect that was the last check she ever sent to that TV preacher. Now Isabella is rejoicing in the presence of Jesus, free from the questions and anxieties that plague us members of the Church Militant, and free from the physical limitations that dogged her later years. But she has left behind some icons, reminders of God s presence in her life, a presence that sometimes shone through into the lives of those who were privileged to know her. She left behind memories of conversations, she left behind her icicles I m sure we only have a fraction of the total number she made and one more thing: a recipe for caramel corn. You may think you ve had caramel corn, but you really haven t until you ve had Isabella s caramel corn. And Kathy makes it every year, and we enjoy it, and we remember. Thanks be to God. Blessings, ~ 10 ~
A Word from Your Moderator I am the newly installed Moderator of the Presbytery of North Central Iowa for 2019. I am a retired Dental Hygenist. I have a husband of 54 years (child bride), 3 children and 7 grandchildren. I am a Ruling Elder at Cedar Heights Presbyterian Church in Cedar Falls, where I have been a member for 48 years. I was baptized and confirmed Lutheran. I am the mother of a pastor, the sister of a pastor and the mother-in-law of a pastor. My daughter-in-law s father is a pastor as well. My family pastors are all from different denominations. I have always loved being a part of and involved in the church. My family and friends call me a church geek... in a loving way, I think. I was involved in many different churches before I joined Cedar Heights 48 years ago. I have tried to decide what it is that makes me enjoy church... and church related activities so much. I have always had a strong Christian faith, but the details of how I interpret that have changed and grown throughout my life. What has never changed for me is the importance of the community of the church... the relationships, communication, inclusion, loving and caring. It has been hard to think of one word for my theme this year as Moderator. A couple of my wise pastor mentors suggested the common good, it s not about me, and Communitarianism. The God of all, while requiring sacrifice from time to time, serves the good purposes of God s creation. I went to Moderator s Conference two weeks ago in Louisville. Thank you to my Presbytery for sending me. It was a wonderful experience. Our worship services were moving and inspirational. Our Co- Moderator, Valmarie Cintron-Olivieri, titled her sermon Love is an I that looks for a you to form an us. I thought, that s it! There is my theme. It is not about you, or about me, but always about us. I pray that we can model that in our communities in these times of intolerance and division. Thank you for the opportunity to be your Moderator. I will try to use Robert s Rules to the best of my ability. But what I know for sure is that if I make mistakes or need help at any time, you people, my community, will grant me grace and tolerance. I look forward to spending more time with all of you during the next year. Love is an I that looks for a you to form an us! Judy Klepfer Moderator, Presbytery of North Central Iowa ~ 11 ~
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Meet the Missionaries Rev. Dr. Dustin Ellington and Sherri Ellington Zambia Dustin teaches New Testament, Greek, and preaching at Justo Mwale Theological University. In this region of Africa, the church has grown exponentially in recent generations and has a central role in solving the region s societal problems. Justo Mwale, which trains future pastors for service in Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and beyond, helps meet the church s critical need for more trained leaders. Sherri serves as the site coordinator of the PC(USA) Young Adults Volunteer (YAV) program, mentoring young adults from the U.S. who serve in various placements as part of the vibrant ministry of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian-Synod of Zambia. Home presbyteries: San Joaquin/New Hope E200478, D507543 Rev. Mark Adams and Miriam Maldonado Escobar Mexico U.S. Border Bridging cultural, economic, political, and linguistic differences, Mark and Miriam serve in the U.S.-Mexico border region near Douglas, Arizona, and Agua Prieta, Mexico. They support the binational ministry of Frontera de Cristo in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ in word and deed. They and their partners seek to put flesh on the gospel through participation in new church development, permaculture, health ministries, and community and economic development. Home presbytery: de Cristo E200302, D506011 Please click here for information on The Academy. ~ 14 ~