Emerge April 2010

8/9/2019 Emerge April 2010

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In this issue:

April 2010Volume Four, Issue Four

EMerge: MonthlyA Publication of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area

Signing Up for GADuring the March 2010 Pres-bytery Meeting, Julie Flingai,left, the Project Assistant forthe Committee on Local Ar-rangements of the 219thGeneral Assembly, helps pro-spective volunteer register tohelp prepare for the upcom-ing meeting this summer inMinneapolis.

Report of the Moderator Presbytery Looks for New Treasurer


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By Paula Sandersy Chaz Ruark

The days towards General Assembly are getting shorter and shorter. In my role as Executive

Coordinator, Ive been going around the Presbytery asking for volunteers to help before and dur-ing General Assembly. The response has been great! Thanks for all who have already signedup to participate.

That said, I need to ask a favor: can we borrow your voice on July 4 th?

The Committee of Local Arrangements is in the beginning stages of putting together a MASSCHOIR for the Opening Worship service at the Minneapolis Convention Center on July 4 th. Indi-viduals are welcome to be a part of the mass choir as well as entire church choirs. There will berehearsals prior to the event and we hope that church choirs will practice at home. Please checkthe COLA website (www.cola2010.org) for details. Music has been chosen and will be avail-

able to church choirs in two weeks, so stay tuned. If youre interested in lending your voice,please contact COLA at [email protected].

Rev. Paula Sanders is the Executive Coordinator for the Committee on Local Arrangements of the219th General Assembly in Minneapolis.

Inside Note

Page 2 EMerge: Monthly

Can we bor-row your

voice on July4th?

Plugging In Without Shorting Out

April 16-18, Des Moines, IA

Churches using new technology and social networking aregetting the upper hand on attracting members. Workshopspeakers will help congregations to embrace technology

without blowing up the church! This three-day conference issponsored by the Transformation Team of the Des MoinesPresbytery and will be held at the Downtown Des MoinesMarriot. Cost is $150 if registering before March 15. Smalland rural church members are encouraged to attend. Go to

www.presbyteryofdesmoines.org for information flier andregistration form.


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Page SevenRead the highlights of theMarch 2010 PresbyteryMeeting in Roseville, MN.

Page Ten

Kara Root muses on being both aminister and a mother.

Jin S. Kim, moderator for thePresbytery, shares his thoughts.

Inside Note Page 2

Washington PC(USA) OfficeChooses Gets New Leader

Page 12

Transitions Page 14

Portland for GA-222; Over-ture on College Ministry Page 15

Presbybriefs Page 17

Positions Available Page 20

Events Calendar Page 21

Page Four

Contents: April 2010

Page ElevenThink St. PatricksDay is all aboutwearing green?

Irishman NeilCraigan remindsus of the real St.Patrick and whathe means for thechurch.

Page Sixteen

The PresbyterianWomen of the PTCA

meet for their SpringGathering on April24.


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.By Jin S. Kim

Jin S. Kim, moderator of the Presbytery of the Twin CitiesArea as well as the Pastor of Church of All Nations Presbyte-

rian Church in Columbia Heights, MN gave his report to theMarch 2010 meeting of the Presbytery. His report gave hisreasons for standing as a candidate for Moderator of thePresbyterian Church (USA). The Moderator will be chosen atGeneral Assembly this summer in Minneapolis. You candownload the report by going to the Presbytery website atwww.ptcaweb.org.

I regret that due to unforeseencircumstances at the last presby-tery meeting I did not get achance to share with you all why

I sought your endorsement tostand for moderator of the 2010General Assembly. It was some-what frustrating that I had torecuse myself from leading thevery portion of the meeting thatwas most confusing. But I prom-ised then that I would share withyou today my rationale for whatmany consider a crazy move. Sohere goes.

I am a third generation Presbyte-rian nurtured in faith by lovingKorean immigrant congregationsin South Carolina and Georgia. Iwent to college, then immediatelyto seminary, then immediately topastoral ministry and ordina-tion. I have been a local churchpastor for the past 17 years, andhave loved every minute yes,even the minutes that includepresbytery meetings! I love thePresbyterian Church passionately,

and one of the reasons I amstanding for moderator is to lovethis massive church more fully than I ever have before.

Those of you who have come to know me over the last 11years that I have been a member of this presbytery will knowthat I have no shortage of critiques of our denomination. Iquarrel with this church everyday. I quarrel with our inflexi-

ble and onerous system, an ecclesial bureaucracy that is of-ten faceless, cold, oppressive, irresponsible, cowardly, andutterly unimaginative. I quarrel with our sense of entitlementto the prestige of a bygone era. I quarrel with the pervasive

fear of change, making the emergence of new life almostimpossible. I quarrel with the racism that makes us even nowa 93% white, Euro-centric denomination in the 21st century(!), unable to embody the sovereignty of God and the priest-hood of all believers in our local congregations. I even quar-rel with the endless quarreling between the Left and the Right,between those in the center and those on the margins. Nev-

ertheless, my quarrel is a lovers quarrel.

I love the church. I dont believe that Iwas born in the East, grew up in theWest, and had the joy of visiting some-

how over 30 countries and all 50 stateswithout a providential reason. In my 17years of pastoral ministry I have served oncommittees and councils of the presbytery,synod and general assembly, as well asecumenical agencies. I currently serve onthe boards of Greater Minneapolis Coun-cil of Churches, the Minnesota Council ofChurches, the Greater Minnesota Associa-tion of Evangelicals, the National Councilof Churches, and the global LausanneMovement. I also serve on the GA Spe-cial Committee on the Belhar Confession,

the Jewish-PCUSA Dialogue, as adjunctprofessor at Dubuque Seminary, and asan ongoing instructor at Princeton Semi-nary. Im not trying to boast here, but Ihave come to find out since the last meet-ing that many of you really dont knowmuch about my background and the ex-periences that shape who I am. The com-bination of preaching regularly at mylocal church, the countless speaking en-gagements I tend to, and the theologicalwriting that I engage in constantly informmy understanding of the church.

I believe that God has given me some insights to help us un-derstand the times we are living in. Since 1965 our denomi-nation has lost more than half our membership. We lost69,381 members in 2008, at which rate we will have zeromembers by the year 2042. Amidst all the social upheavalof the 1960s, many are not aware that the Immigration Act

Report of the Moderator


Congregational Mission Grants

The 2010 Congregational MissionGrants provided by the Mission andWitness Committee of the Presbytery ofthe Twin Cities Area are nowavailable. Congregational Mission

Grant funding exists to encourage PTCAcongregations to develop innovativeministries in the local communities.

The Mission and Witness Committee islooking for applications between Marchand September of 2010. If yourcongregation is interested in applying,please go to the presbytery website(www.presbyterytwincities.org)and download the application or contactcommittee chair Walter Chuquimia [email protected].


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of 1965 unleashed a torrent of emigration from non-Westerncountries. The US Census estimates that whites will be aminority by 2042. Are you mak-

ing the connection? While theliberals blame the closed-mindedness and homophobia ofconservatives for our decline,and the conservatives blame thelack of commitment to biblicalorthodoxy of the liberals, bothseem to miss the massive demo-graphic shifts that really is thecritical reason for our de-cline. Let us remember that sisterReformed denominations, theliberal United Church of Christ

and the conservative ChristianReformed Church both have beendeclining in membership for dec-ades.

The basic problem is that weremain a Euro-centric, white,middle class church wedded to away of doing faith that is deeplydependent on Enlightenment Ra-tionalism, whether they be liberalor conservative churches. Yes,

weve declined since 1965, butare we aware that hardly anydenomination grew as much asthe Presbyterian Church fromcolonial days right up to1965? As a strongly rationalchurch (Calvin was a Renais-sance man and a lawyer, afterall) that rode the wave of Ameri-can rationalism that includeswithin its framework Americanideas of democracy, pragmatism,progressivism, and individualism,

no religious disposition matchedthis modern spirit more than Cal-vinist Presbyterianism. But since the 1960s the US has be-come a post-modern nation in which the rational is only oneof many competing paradigms for interpreting our God, our-selves, and the world around us.

Some of us in this world never bought into modernity as ourreigning plausibility paradigm, and so we are neither mod-

ern nor post-modern. We

certainly are not pre-modern, as if we did notunderstand modernity. Weare what I would describeas non-modern peo-ple. Church of All Nations,the congregation I have thegreat privilege of serving, isthe convergence of the post-modern and the non-modernhermeneutic coming to-gether to live out the time-less faith in Jesus Christ un-

der the timeless authority ofthe Bible in order to inter-pret the times we live in andto participate in the wildand unpredictable move-ment of the Holy Spirit inour midst. I am not sayingthat any particular frame-work is superior to the oth-ers. I am making a caseagainst epistemologicalparochialism, or put anotherway, the insistence that we

Presbyterians be locked intospeaking in only the lan-guage of modernity. WhenPresbyterians speak today,the world hears English butin the King James versionso-to-speak, and they tuneout.

And so I stand for modera-tor to raise some criticalquestions for our whole

church to wrestle with. In apost-modern, post-

ideological, post-denominational, multicultural age oftenmarked by up rootedness and loss of meaning, how do wedo church in a way that testifies to the reconciling gospelof Jesus Christ? In an individualistic culture that tends towardalienation and isolation, how do we lead our congregations,ministries and presbyteries to become high-risk, low-anxiety

Moderator, continued

Page 5Volume Four, Issue Four

Since 1965 our denominationhas lost more than half ourmembership. We lost 69,381members in 2008, at which ratewe will have zero members bythe year 2042. Amidst all thesocial upheaval of the 1960s,

many are not aware that theImmigration Act of 1965unleashed a torrent of emigra-tion from non-Western coun-tries. The US Census estimatesthat whites will be a minority by2042. Are you making the con-nection?

-Jin S. Kim


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places, to lead Gods people to confess who they are, to experience healing in intimate community, and to be a witness tothe liberating power of the Spirit?

This is an age that requires a new conceptualizing of leadership. How can churches be re-oriented from institutional man-agement to the kind of leadership that is daring, imaginative, prophetic, countercultural, yet peace-full? In a time when manyof the historic mainline churches find themselves on the brink, how might we reinterpret this de-centering as a gift and anopportunity for transformation? Is it possible to lead our local congregations and presbyteries into an embodiment of bothradical diversity and deep intimacy that counters the homogenizing and commoditizing impulses of the dominant culture?

I want to invite the whole Presbyterian family to engage these difficult questions out of my unique experience of leading avital mainline congregation representing more than 25 nations, cultures, languages, generations and denominational back-grounds where everyone is a minority. I thank you for your confidence in me, which your endorsement signified. I alsowelcome your suggestions and critique, as long as its a lovers quarrel.

Jin S. Kim, Moderator of PTCA and Pastor of Church of All Nations

Moderator, continued


The Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area will host a LevelOne Boundaries Training Event on Thursday, April 22 atTrinity PresbyterianChurch in Woodburyfrom 8:30am to 3pm.Lunch will be providedand the cost for theevent is $50 which willcover materials andlunch.

This training is pre-sented two times a

year, April and Oc-tober, by Advocatesfor Integrity in Min-istry (AIM). Allclergy are required to take the training. Newincoming pastors have a year from their recep-tion to fulfill the requirement. Churches are en-couraged to send elders, deacons, all staff, lay

and clergy, and any other persons engaged inany form of ministry in or on behalf of thechurch.

You must sign-up for the eventonline before the close of busi-ness on Tuesday, April 20. Toregister please go to http://presbyterytwincities.org/aimsignup/.

Clergy Encouraged to Attend Sexual Misconduct Prevention Training


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By Nancy Grittman

Editors Note: The following article are the highlights of theStated Meeting held March 13, 2010 at North Como Pres-byterian Church in Roseville, MN. Excerpted by the Editorare the minutes of Stated Clerk, Nancy Grittman. A completereport will be made available at the PTCA website:www.ptcaweb.org.

REPORTS OF OFFICERS:

Stated Clerk: Nancy Grittman

The Administrative Commission appointed to ordainJonathan Cornell, candidate, to the office of Minister ofWord and Sacrament, completed its work on Sunday,January 10, 2010, and needs to be dismissed withthanks. The members are:The Rev. David Lenz, TheRev. Kara Root, The Rev.Neil Craigan, Elder LucyMungai, Elder NormScott, Elder Kirsten Berry.The chair of the commis-sion is Vice ModeratorVince Gin.

The Administrative Com-mission appointed to or-dain and install DonaldHanna, candidate, to the

office of Minister of Wordand Sacrament, and toinstall him as associate pastor at St. Luke PresbyterianChurch, Wayzata, MN, completed its work on January24, 2010, and needs to be dismissed with thanks. Themembers are The Rev. Gary Elg, The Rev. Scott Staple-ton, The Rev. Gwin Pratt, Elder Laurie Ramirez, ElderVincent Thomas, Elder Hannah Roth, Elder Betty Beck.The chair of the commission is Moderator Jin S. Kim.

Since the last meeting of Presbytery, The Rev. Dan John-son (Honorably Retired) has resigned as a member of

the Commissioned Lay Pastor committee.

The Rev. Jane Harper, on the annual non-parish clergyreport form, stated she was renouncing her ordinationas minister of word and sacrament. In accordance withG-6.0700, when an officer of the church informs thestated clerk of the governing body of membership thatshe/he wishes to renounce jurisdiction, the renunciation

shall become effective upon receipt. In accordance withG-6.0703, the appropriate actions have been taken toremove the Jane Harpers name from the roll.

Executive Presbyter: Rev. Chaz Ruark

Chaz reported on the grand opening worship of Chain ofLakes Presbyterian Church, the 50 th anniversary of Presbyte-rian Church of The Way, Shoreview, and the first full wor-ship service at Stadium Village Presbyterian Church followingthe flood of their building. In 2009, 26 of our congregationsreported growth, with a net growth for our Presbytery ofaround 200 members. In response to the earthquake inHaiti, PTCA congregations and members have raised over$39,000 for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, and havegiven $79,837 total to relief for Haiti (as of March 13,

2010). Chaz explained the

process that has been plannedfor strategic planning, includ-ing the committee that hasagreed to serve.

After acknowledging the diffi-culties of the January meeting,and the sense of incompleteinformation, Chaz (with theapproval of Council) invitedThe Rev. Jin Kim to explain toPresbytery his motives for seek-ing election as Moderator ofGeneral Assembly. Jin wasendorsed to stand as Modera-

tor at the January meeting following the election of GA com-missioners.

Moderator: The Rev. Jin S. Kim

Jin spoke in the capacity as a candidate for Moderator ofGeneral assembly.

Treasurer: James Payne

Jim announced that the financial reports are available online.

The preceding year, 2009, ended with a substantial surplus.Work is being started to do the financial review.

Council Chair: Chaz Ruark for Elder JoAnn Simser

The Presbytery Council met on January 28, 2010, and Febru-ary 25, 2010, meeting both times at Presbyterian HomesEagle Crest, Roseville. Council will resume its practice ofmeeting in churches in April, and will welcome invitations.

Highlights from March Presbytery Meeting


Executive Presbytery Chaz Ruark and Rev. JanetRuark applaud during the March 2010 Presbytery

Meeting.


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Highlights, continued


The intent is to have an opportunity to visit churches that donot have the ability to entertain Presbytery, due to size offacility, or distance away from the center of the Twin CitiesArea.

In January, Council voted to authorize Chaz to negotiate withBest Year Ever, a consulting firm, to help Council form astrategic plan for the mission and direction of the Presbyteryfor the next several years. The proposed cost will be$8,000, and the time frame will be three to six months for thework to be done. The consultant will work with a representa-tive committee appointed by Council. The report will be pre-sented to the Presbytery for approval.

Council also voted to approve theposition description for treasurer,

after some amendments were ap-proved.

In February, Council continued workto endorse a list of names of personsto be asked to serve on the taskforce to work with the consultant.The names of those persons whohave agreed to serve on the taskforce are:

Ministers: Paul Moore, Andrew

Lindahl, Jin Kim, Phil Gebben-Green, Julia Carlson, Kara Root

Elders: Carol Anderson, JoRinggenberg, Phil Park, Jerry Ganfield, Ward Sessing

Staff:Chaz Ruark

Consultant:Karen Morey

COMMITTEE ON MINISTRY

The Presbytery voted in the affirmative on the following is-sues:

Reappointment of Harry Maghakian as StatedSupply Pastor- Andrew Riverside PresbyterianChurch, Minneapolis, MN

Dissolution of Associate Pastoral Relationshipwith Rev. Andries Coetzee and Transfer of Ec-clesiastical Membership to the Presbytery ofMuskingum ValleyOak Grove Presbyterian

Church, Bloomington, MN

Contract for Full-time Interim Pastor, the Rever-end Jong Hyeong Lee- Korean PresbyterianChurch of Minnesota, Brooklyn Center, MN

Moderator Appointed (Rev. David Stewart) ;First Presbyterian Church, Stillwater, MN

Transfer of Ecclesiastical Membership from Pres-bytery of Lake Michigan: Reverend Helen JoTaliaferro

Transfer of Ecclesiastical Membership from thePresbytery of Riverside: The Reverend HarryKenneth McCullen

Terms of Call for the Reverend Thomas J. Par-lette as Pastor- FirstPresbyterian

Church, Rochester,Minnesota

Interim PastorContract: Rev.Richard Townsend-Anderson- Presby-terian Church ofthe Master, CoonRapids, MN

The Presbyteryentered into a time

of worship, led byThe Rev. MarkLomax, First Afri-can Presbyterian

Church, Lithonia, Georgia. The Rev. Lomax preached on thefifth great end of the church, the Promotion of Social Right-eousness. The Rev. David Maghakian and The Rev. AlikaGalloway officiated at the Celebration of the Lords Supper.

The Necrology Report, in celebration of the resurrection inmemory of those elders, deacons and ministers who passedinto life eternal during the past year, was read by The Rev.Jin S. Kim and Elder Vince Gin.

COMMITTEE ON PREPARATION FOR MINISTRY

Sara Berry, who is on the roll of Inquirers of thePresbytery of the Twin Cities Area, having satis-factorily demonstrated adequate promise for min-istry by presenting the statements specified in thePresbyterys policy (G-14.0402), met with thesession of Hope Presbyterian Church, Richfield,and with the Presbytery's Committee on Prepara-

Rev. Mark Lomax, pastor of First Afrikan PresbyterianChurch in Lithonia, Georgia gave the sermon for Stated

Meeting along the theme of the meeting, The Promo-tion of Social Righteousness.


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tion for Ministry, is presented to the Presbytery tobe examined with respect to her Christian faith,forms of Christian service undertaken and motivesfor seeking the ministry, and to be received as a

candidate for the ministry of the Word and Sacra-ment

The committee recommended that Sara Berrybe enrolled as a candidate for the Ministry ofthe Word and Sacrament and that the modera-tor ask her the questions specified in the Presby-terys polity.

PresbyteryVOTED TO ENROLL Sara Berryas a candidate.

Risley Prakasim, who is on the roll of Inquirers ofthe Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area, havingsatisfactorily demonstrated adequate promise for

ministry by presenting the statements specified inthe Presbyterys policy (G-14.0402), met with thesession of Church of All Nations PresbyterianChurch, Columbia Heights, and with the Presby-tery's Committee on Preparation for Ministry, ispresented to the Presbytery to be examined withrespect to his Christian faith, forms of Christianservice undertaken and motives for seeking theministry, and to be received as a candidate forthe ministry of the Word and Sacrament.

The committee recommended that RisleyPrakasim be enrolled as a candidate for theMinistry of the Word and Sacrament and thatthe moderator ask him the questions specifiedin the Presbyterys polity.

PresbyteryVOTED TO ENROLL Risley Prakasim asa candidate.

Anna Kendig, who is on the roll of Inquirers of thePresbytery of the Twin Cities Area, having satisfac-torily demonstrated adequate promise for ministryby presenting the statements specified in the Pres-

byterys policy (G-14.0402), met with the sessionof Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis,and with the Presbytery's Committee on Prepara-tion for Ministry, is presented to the Presbytery tobe examined with respect to her Christian faith,forms of Christian service undertaken and motivesfor seeking the ministry, and to be received as acandidate for the ministry of the Word and Sacra-ment. (See Attachment C)

The committee recommended that AnnaKendig be enrolled as a candidate for the Min-istry of the Word and Sacrament and that themoderator ask her the questions specified in thePresbyterys polity.

PresbyteryVOTED TO ENROLL Anna Kendigas a candidate.

Vice Moderator Vince Gin asked the new candidates thequestions from the Presbytery polity, and they were receivedwith prayer.

BILLS AND OVERTURES

The committee recommended approval of theseitems.

The committee votes on the following overtures wereunanimous to RECOMMEND that the Presbyteryconcur with the following overtures. (Note: these dono yet have GA-assigned numbers) The vote oneach was 6/0/0

Overture 008. On Partnering for Peace in SudanFrom the Presbytery of Trinity.

Overture 013 On Strengthening the PeacemakingProgramFrom the Presbytery of Pittsburgh

The PresbyteryVOTED TO CONCUR with both overtures.

The closing hymn, Go With Us Lord was sung. The Rev. JinS. Kim pronounced the benediction.

The next meeting of the Presbytery of The Twin Cities Area willbe May 11, 2010 at 4:00 p.m.at Hope Presbyterian Church,Richfield, Minnesota.

Highlights, continued



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By Kara Root

This a strange time of year to be a Minister.

It's Monday of Holy Week, and I am trying to get my mind intoEaster mode so I can write THE sermon, but Maundy Thursday andGood Friday are still on the horizon, and I am a huge proponent ofintentionally living in each day of Lent and really experiencing thejourney. Also, today I bought like a carload of Easter basket crap,two dozen eggs and some dye, and all the ingredients to make myfamous white chocolate lemon Easter Cake to bring to Aunt Sue'sfor the big get together on Easter afternoon. And I have to makesure my daughter has tights for her new Easter dress, and we canfind my son's dressy shoes from Christmas (and that they still fit), sothey can be all adorable forchurch and the egg hunt and

the family photos. So I guessbeing a mom takes as muchthinking ahead, and makes itequally hard to live deliber-ately on the journey.

Lent is certainly easier to ob-serve than Advent, and it'snowhere near the chaos ofChristmas, but there is somuch "stage setting" you do,so that others can encounter

each moment, that you don'treally get to meet the momentsyourself. So that they get themagical experience/full gloryof Easter, you are the one whobuys the candy, fills the bas-kets and hides the eggs /plans the worship, pays thetrumpeter and writes the ser-mon. And there are a lot ofexpectations and pre/misconceptions that arise around these high holi/holy days, so you doa lot of explaining to little and big people alike about what the tra-

ditions and rituals mean. At the same time there are things you doevery year that mean nothing but you do them anyway, becausesomehow they've come to mean something all on their own. Likethe "egg bake" breakfast before worship, or the Easter basket wehide for the dog (or Easter baskets of any kind, if we're honestabout it). It's your job to make sure they happen. Because thingswouldn't be the same without them.

Sometimes I wish I was a kid again, and could wander downstairs

in my pjs and find the basket waiting for me, could spotthat elusive egg way up on the door frame that nobodyremembers hiding there, and take a week to eat mychocolate bunny, starting with the ear. And sometimes I

think I would love walking in on Good Friday, finding aseat and soaking it in. Then leaving with goose bumps atthe crash of the Tenebrae darkness, and returning to thebright Alleluia! celebration of the Resurrection two dayslater in my Easter "frock" with a ham in the oven at homeand a lily in my hands on the way out the door.

But actually, probably not. I would probably wish I hadsomething to do with making it happen. In fact, it's oneof the most enjoyable parts of being both a minister anda mommy. That I get to create the experiences that they

explore, design the encounters thatopen their eyes or hearts, plan the

events that shape their memories ormeaning. That I get to set thestage and prep the ground for Godto meet them. It really is an amaz-ing thing to be part of.

So God, please prep the groundand set the stage in me today.Meet menow and reveal the gloryof the Resurrection a little early, ifyou wouldn't mind. Grace myown topsy-turvy journey throughthese days of Holy Week. Open

my eyes and heart to the power ofyour hope and the promise of newlife, even as I seek to live aware ofyour suffering and surrendering todeath. Amen.

Kara Root is the pastor of

Lake Nokomis Presbyterian

Church in Minneapolis.

The Minister's (Mom's) Dilemma


Sometimes I wish Iwas a kid again, andcould wander down-stairs in my pjs andfind the basket wait-ing for me, could spot

that elusive egg way up on thedoor frame that nobody re-members hiding there, andtake a week to eat my choco-late bunny, starting with theear.

-Kara Root.


11/24

By Neil Craigan

It's St. Patrick's day today. All over the world people will be celebrating with parades, green beer and Chicago will be dy-ing the river green as well. But that's hardly the legacy of Patrick.

Patrick's legacy would be better marked in the church than in the pub. Patrick's legacy could be stated as innovative andcreative missionary activity that brought the gospel ofJesus Christ into the towns and villages of Ireland.

As a young man Patrick was taken as a slave to Irelandafter a raiding party attacked the west coast of Englandor Wales. Patrick then tended sheep on Slemish mountainbefore he finally escaped and returned home. After re-turning home he entered the church and became abishop and sensed God's call to return to Ireland. As henotes in one of the few writings we have from him

I saw a man coming, as it were from Ireland. His namewas Victorious, and he carried many letters, and he gave

me one of them. I read the heading: "The Voice of theIrish". As I began the letter, I imagined in that momentthat I heard the voice of those very people who werenear the wood of Foclut, which is beside the westernseaand they cried out, as with one voice: "We appealto you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.

So he returned to Ireland, most likely with an entourageof others and began to proclaim Christ to the people.Establishing small communities outside of towns he wouldbuild relationships and friendships with the tribal leaders,looking for and developing cultural connection points

with the community. He wasn't looking to civilize and change the culture, he was trying to bring Christ into the culture.

Patrick's legacy would be carried forward by Columba who established the Iona community on a major shipping lane of thetime and Columbanus would venture into Europe and establish several monastic communities.

Patrick's legacy is not green beer and parades, it is the faithful missionary activity of the church, taking the gospel to thosewho have not yet heard. This is the legacy I want to celebrate and live out in my life.

Neil Craigan, born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church inWhite Bear Lake. He wrote this for his blog on March 17.

St. Patrick's Legacy


Patrick's legacyis not green beerand parades, it isthe faithful mis-sionary activity ofthe church, takingthe gospel tothose who have

not yet heard.This is the legacy I want to cele-brate and live out in my life.

-Neil Craigan.


12/24

By Bethany Furkin, Presbyterian News Service

ARLINGTON, Va. After about two years without a director, thePresbyterian Church (U.S.A)s Washington Office is bringing the

Rev. J. Herbert Nelson on board. He starts as director of public wit-ness May 3.

Nelson, pastor of Liberation Community Presbyterian Church inMemphis, Tenn., was introduced to a group of Presbyterians duringEcumenical Advocacy Days here March 19-22.

Calling the opportunity to serve in the Washington Office humblingand heartening, Nelson spoke about the offices role in thechurchs goal of transformation.

Created in 1946, the Washington Office works to advocate forpublic policy that reflects the social witness perspectives and poli-cies of the General Assembly. Following the 2007 resignation of itslong-time director, the Rev. Elenora Giddings Ivory, the office under-

went a mission study, in which its future priorities and directionwere examined. The report was presented to the General AssemblyMission Council last September.

The Washington Office works to notonly push within the confines of society,but to push within the confines of theChristian church, particularly our owndenomination, Nelson said.

He spoke of theological and historicalreasons for the churchs work in publicpolicy. When Reformed thinker JohnCalvin died, he willed his journals to

political leaders he saw faith as hav-ing transformative abilities for those inpower and strongly advocated the en-gagement of the church in civil society.

Calvin understood that connection that the church was to be the con-science of society, Nelson said. Wewill do as much as much as we can inWashington to continue the tradition ofthe office but even before then, tocontinue the tradition of Reformedfaith.

Whether or not the church has a role in politics is a faade of adebate, he said, using health care reform as an example. Thechurch works with sick people, and so if it remains silent on healthcare policies, it remains silent on the healing ministry of Jesus.

There is an inseparable connection between the church as a placeof righteousness and justice and what takes place in the halls ofCongress, Nelson said.

Looking ahead

Speaking about the future of the offices work, Nelsonsaid its important to reconnect the office with Presbyteri-

ans across the country. By building and mobilizing aviable base, he insisted, the PC(USA) can assure thatwhen it speaks, Congress will listen.

Involving young people is imperative, Nelson said.Young people care about the world and want to make atransformative change.

This is an opportunity that this office can take to makeconnections and also bring young people into a placewhere they can use what theyve already gained inknowledge and interest, he told the Presbyterian NewsService in a later interview.

The office must look in venues where young people al-

ready gather social network sites, seminaries, missiontrips and internships, for exam-ple and make connectionsbetween those programs andnational and international politi-cal dynamics, he said. Involv-ing newer generations is a chal-lenge for the entire church, andits vital to do ministry withyouth, not just for youth.

The Washington Office mustalso build stronger relationships

with the General Assembly Mis-sion Councils national office inLouisville, he added. Each of-fice needs to know what theother is doing in order to speakwith a stronger voice.

Nelson spoke about the manyoffices in the ministry area ofCompassion, Peace and Justice,which also houses the Wash-ington Office. The ministries ofthe Presbyterian Hunger Pro-

gram, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Self-Development

of People, Mission Responsibility Through Investment andothers can and must work together, he said.

All of us around that table, we are doing work that isinterconnected, Nelson said, using the churchs re-sponse to Hurricane Katrina as an example. PDA hasbeen working on recovery from the hurricane, but theWashington Office could also play a role by learningwhat legislation could be passed to advance the rebuild-

Priestly in love, prophetic in speaking truth to power


Calvin under-stood thatconnection that thechurch was tobe the con-science of soci-

ety...We will doas much as much as we canin Washington to continuethe tradition of the office but even before then, tocontinue the tradition of Re-formed faith.

-J. Herbert Nelson.


13/24

ing and what is being done for those displaced by the disas-ter.

How do we begin to look at, recognize these functions? he

asked, adding that building a broader network is key. Thereare ways of working legislation that actually coordinate ourefforts.

Nelson hopes to connect Presbyterians who are doing goodwork in their communities and congregations with the na-tional offices that can help connect them with others in theirfields.

He also hopes that the Washington Office can better commu-nicate its work with the rest of the church.

Prophetic and priestly

Working for transformation is never easy, Nelson said, add-

ing that there are plenty of challenges ahead.We are in a time in which there is intense fear, he said.There is fear of the future and fear of letting go of the past.

When such fears show themselves, its easy to blame someone or some office, Nelson said. But its important to lookat the prophetic and priestly images in scripture. These im-ages show an inextricable link between righteousness andjustice.

In fact, Nelson said, righteousness and justice come from thesame Hebrew word, but are sometimes separated in life: weare righteous on Sundays and see justice as merely an op-tion, he said.

Sometimes being prophetic and priestly can seem contradic-tory, he said, adding that Christians are called to be indig-nant while exhibiting excellent character.

How can we be indignant and still be righteous? he said.

By helping to create a new reality, one that addresses suchissues as health care, the environment, immigration and fiscalresponsibility, he said.

Were called by God to address these realities, Nelsonsaid. (Were called to be) priestly in love and prophetic inspeaking truth to power.

These are not contradictions in terms, he said, but expec-tations for Gods people.

By building opportunities for those who have been locked outby societys flaws, pressing local and global partnerships andempowering people, there wont be time to complain aboutthings like decreasing church membership, Nelson said.

Instead, he insisted, the church will rejoice in Gods work.

Nelsons last Sunday at Liberation Community PresbyterianChurch is Easter, and he wants to remind the congregation,and all Presbyterians, of the good news of that day.

The power of the gospel is a reminder that behind everyGood Friday is an Easter Sunday, he said. Better days arehere for this denomination and better days are here for uswho choose to be righteous and just.

Although the work will not be easy, its done by faith, Nelsonsaid. God stands with us in good times and bad, and al-though we might not see the answers we want right away,God wont fail, he added.

Youre going to be hearing from us, he said. Be ready tobe faithful, walk together, and let us not be weary.

Prophetic, continued


The Rev. Phil Tom, associ-

ate for small church and com-

munity ministry in the Gen-

eral Assembly Mission Coun-

cil, has been appointed by

President Barack Obama to

serve as director for the Cen-

ter for Faith-based and Com-

munity Initiatives for the De-partment of Labor. He began

his new work in Washington,

D.C., on April 5.

I will help build partnerships with faith-based and commu-

nity groups to improve the lives of workers, particularly in

the areas of livable wages and working conditions, said

Tom. The Presbyterian Church has been supportive of labor

rights for more than 100 years. I look forward to continuing

the work of bringing about Gods justice and peace in our

world.

Before joining the national staff in 2000, Tom was pastor ofImmanuel Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis. He also

served as associate for urban ministry from 1993-1996.


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Transitions: Notes About PTCA Pastors


Comings and Goings

Calvin W. Didier(4/1/1954 )

David Van Dyke

(4/1/1994 ) Elisabeth Marlow

(4/10/2005 )

George K. Tjaden(4/19/1944 )

Eun-hyey G. Park Lok(4/23/2006 )

April 2010

Ken Ribe will become the InterimMinister at the PresbyterianChurch of LeSueur, Minnesota.

His prior call was as an Interim atZion United Church of Christ inLeSueur.

Congratulations are in order forGeorge Tjaden who will celebrate66 years of ministry this month.George was ordained April 19,1944.

We note the passing of Patricia

Berg, who died on March 30 inNorthern Minnesota. Patricia wasthe pastor of PTCA churches inWaverly and Winsted. A memorialservice will be held later in the

year.

Mary McNamara, the currentPresident of United Seminary inNew Brighton, MN, will be formallyinstalled as the head of ecumeni-cal seminary on April 11 at Ply-mouth Congregational Church inMinneapolis. McNamara has beena minister-member of the PTCAsince May 2009.


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By Jerry L. Van Marter , Presbyterian News Ser-vice

LOUISVILLE The Committee on the Office of the GeneralAssembly (COGA) is recommending that the 222nd Gen-

eral Assembly (2016) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)be held in Portland, Ore.

The decision will be made bythe upcoming 219th GeneralAssembly, July 3-10 in Minnea-polis. The 2012 and 2014Assemblies will be held in Pitts-burgh and Detroit, respec-tively.

The Assembly last met in Port-land in 1967. At that Assem-

bly, the former United Presbyte-rian Church in the UnitedStates of America adopted theConfession of 1967 and hold-ing the 2016 Assembly there would allow us to celebratethe 50th anniversary of C-67 in the place of its origin,

said the Rev. Tom Hay, director of operations for the Officeof the General Assembly.

Other factors in Portlands favor, Hay added, are the sizeand modernity of its convention facilities, the vibrancy of itsdowntown, proximity of hotels to the convention site and alight rail system that extends as far as the Portland Interna-

tional Airport.

And Portland the Rose City willbe in full bloom at Assembly time, Haysaid.

COGAs site selection team recom-mended Portland over Phoenix, Ariz.The Assembly last met in that city in1984.

COGA recommends Portland as site for 2016 GA


Future General Assemblies

220th General AssemblyJune 30 July 7, 2012

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Host: Presbytery of Pittsburgh

221st General AssemblyJune 14 June 21, 2014

Detroit, Michigan

Host: Presbytery of Detroit

North Central Iowa adopts overture in support of collegiate ministry

The Presbytery of North Central Iowa has submitted anoverture to the 219th General Assembly of the PresbyterianChurch (U.S.A.) that calls on the General Assembly Mission

Council to re-establishan Office of CollegiateMinistries as a vitaland integral part of theministry and mission ofthe church

Heather Libich, directorof child, youth and youngadult ministries at FirstPresbyterian Church, Ce-dar Falls, submitted theoverture to the presbytery

on behalf of a group ofcollegiate ministry lead-ers and chaplains withinthe Synod of Lakes andPrairies.

The presbytery voted on the overture at its March 2 meet-ing.

In addition to calling on the GAMC to re-establish an Of-fice of Collegiate Ministries, it also calls on the GAMC todirect the re-established office to prepare a strategy for

mission in higher educa-tion in concert with mid-dle governing bodies,congregations, and,where possible, ecu-menical partners, to bepresented to the 220thGeneral Assembly.

Libich, who has createda Facebook presencefor supporters of theoverture, is seeking

overture concurrencefrom other presbyteriesand synods.

The complete text of theoverture can be found on Google Docs.

-Presbyterian Neighbor News

On Reestablishing an Office of Collegiate Ministries as a Vi-tal Part of Ministry and MissionFrom the Presbytery ofNorth Central Iowa.

The Presbytery of North Central Iowa overtures the 219 thGeneral Assembly (2010) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)to do the following:

Direct the General Assembly Mission Council to re-establishan Office of Collegiate Ministries in the Presbyterian Church(U.S.A.) as a vital and integral part of the ministry and mis-sion of the Church and direct that office to prepare a strat-egy for mission in higher education in concert with middlegoverning bodies, congregations, and, where possible, ecu-menical partners, to be presented to the 220th General As-sembly (2012).


16/24

By Ann Rock and Joan Nichols

Editors Note: The following appeared in the Spring 2010 edition ofPW Connection, the newsletter for Presbyterian Women in thePTCA.

Presbyterian Women and our wider church (PC-USA) have encour-aged us to become informed about the complex issues surroundingthe subject of immigration. We have taken that challenge seri-ouslyfocusing on this issue at our presbytery-wide PW Gatheringin October 2009. We encourage individuals and congre-gations to keep the is-sues alive and to keeplearning about them so thatour discussions are based onfacts and not just emotions.

A good place to start togather facts is on our owndenominations website,www.pcusa.org/immigration. There you willfind helpful facts about refu-gee status, detention of un-documented persons, theeffect of detention on chil-dren, avenues for advocacyand much more. For morelocal (MN) information,check out

www.immigrationlawcentermn.org. Links to other websites will lead you to the location of detention centers(www.detentionwatchnetwork.org), and our present complex immi-gration laws (www.ilrc.org - the Immigrant Legal Resource Center).Active concern about the U.S./Mexican border crossings can befound at www.nomoredeaths.org, and in the Sept/Oct 2008 PWHorizons magazine.

Julia Thorne, an immigration lawyer and a pastor, whois the manager of immigration issues for the PC (USA) in our na-tional office, will be a speaker and conduct a workshop on this sub-ject at the PW Synod Gathering in Storm Lake, IA, this summer.She has a wealth of experience and information on this subject.

Presbyterian Women at Community Presbyterian Churchin Rochester, among others, are voicing their concerns to theirrepresentatives in congress and urging them to pass the DREAM

ACT which would give children of immigrant parentsimportant new opportunities following graduation fromhigh school. The PC (USA) Immigration website listedabove has a helpful article about this that can be

downloaded. The National Immigration Law Cen-ter (www.nilc.org) also has up-to-date information.

Recently St. Luke Presbyterian Church in Way-zata, MN, hosted a Community Forum which brought

together faith andcommunity leadersto explore anddiscuss immigra-tion reform andrights from theperspective of our

faith traditions.

If you and yourchurch are in-volved in educa-tional or action-oriented activitiesrelated to immigra-tion, we would liketo hear about themso they can beshared with others.

There will bean opportunityat our SpringGathering toshare concerns

and discuss action taken by your congregationand/or community.

Ann Rock is a member of First Presbyterian in Stillwaterand Joan Nichols is a member of Trinity Presbyterian inWoodbury. Both are members Peace and Justice Com-mittee for the Presbyterian Women of the PTCA.


Immigration Issues The Work Continues

Presbyterian Women Host

Spring Gathering 2010

The Presbyterian Women of the Pres-bytery of the Twin Cities Area will

hold their Spring Gathering on Satur-day, April 24 at Macalester-

Plymouth Church in St. Paul from8:45am-3pm. The theme for this

years gathering is Joined and Knitted Together with Love.Special speakers include Elder Kate Olson of Sioux Falls, SD

and Heidi Vardeman, pastor of Macalester-Plymouth Church.Registration is $15/person and due by April 15. To register,

download the registration form at http://presbyterytwincities.org. Macalester-Plymouth Church is lo-

cated at 1658 Lincoln Avenue, St. Paul.


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Presbyterian Women at North Presbyterian Meet: Every-one, young, middle age or old and female or male, is cordiallyinvited to the Presbyterian Women Spring Event on Saturday, April

17 from 9 11:30 a.m. in the Meisenheimer Hall at North Presby-terian Church in North St. Paul.

The speaker will be Pastor John Ackerman, honorably retired. Pas-tor John served churches for over forty years. Now, he is a spiri-tual adviser for clergy and lay persons. The title of his presenta-tion, which will also include small group interactions, is Staying inTouch with God. He wrote that Staying in Touch means tochoose loving communion with others and the Spirit. It is like ourwish as we leave friends when we say, Lets stay in touch.. Youwill learn some ways to be in touch with the Spirit in yourself andothers. Why? Either we change deeply or die slowly. Christcame to transform us and the world.the way we do this isto listen to the voice deep within us. We learn this only by experi-

ence and feedback from others. John does not prescribe a setprogram but recommends a process which will look differently ineach person. Also, singers from the Kenyan Christian Fellowship,based in St. Paul affiliated with the PC(USA) will provide the musicfor the event.

Cherokee Park Learns About El Salvador: El Salvadorthe Soil of Courageous Faith is the subject of the Adult Forumon Sunday, April 18th, 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at Cherokee ParkUnited Church in St. Paul. Through images, stories and video mem-bers of the will hear about the experience of Cherokee Park PastorTim Johnson and many others from a United Theological Seminarysponsored global justice study trip to El Salvador from March 18

26th. The trip engaged participants in a study of the complex eco-nomic and military history of El Salvador leading up to the civil warof 1980-1992. They visited with people who knew and workedwith Monsignor Oscar Romero: liberation theologians and activistswho were martyred during those years of great violence.

The group also visited representatives of political parties, with peo-ple involved in economic and cooperative projects that help sustainpoor communities, and at the home of Monsignor Romero and theCentral American University where six martyred Jesuit prieststaught, worked, and died.

Synod PW Bans Bottled Water: The Presbyterian WomenSynod Coordinating Team (Synod of Lakes and Prairies) voted at

its November 2009 meeting to no longer provide plastic waterbottles for use at PWSCT meetings and encourage carryover toindividual daily life. According to the Sower, the Synod PW News-letter, the decision was made for the following reasons:

Much bottled water is simply filtered or purified tap wa-ter

Producing plastic bottles uses petroleum and energy

Tons of plastic bottles go to landfills and are not biode-gradable

Most tap water is closely monitored to meet high health

and safety standards, yet bottled water is not closelymonitored

The cost to buy bottled water adds up quickly; thismoney could go to greater needs

The profit for companies producing bottled water isgreater than that of the pharmaceutical industry (seeNothing is Sacred: The Privatization of Water inMarch/April 2005 issue of Horizons on water)

The consumption of bottled water encourages privatiza-tion of a basic commodity that may become less accessi-ble to people without the means to purchase it.

Wooly Blessings in LeSueur: Wooly Blessings is a gatheringWomen and men from several churches in Le Sueur and Hendersonarea who knit or crochet large, cuddly shawls that are gathered atThe Presbyterian Church of LeSueur. The shawl and the person whowill receive it is prayed for by the Wooly Blessings group . Accord-ing to the church website, when someone in the community knowsof a person in need of a tangible reminder of the prayers of Chris-tian people, they are welcome to take one of the shawls to thatperson. In addition to the local community, shawls also go to thegroup, afghans for Afghans (www.afghansforafghans.com) andWarm Up America (www.warmupamerica.com).

The knitters and crocheters meet on the 3rd Thursday of the monthat The Presbyterian Church. Others donate items for the variousministries by leaving them at the LeSueur congregation. Once ayear, the items are packaged and sent to the various ministries fordistribution.

Being the Church in Austin: Westminster Presbyterian Churchin Austin will cut their worship service short on May 16 in order tobe the church. Beginning on Sunday April 25 the Southern Minne-sota congregation will focus on biblical compassion, service andChrist's heart for those in need through special worship servicesand Wednesday Night Fellowship Meals. On May 16 Westminster

will have a shortened Sunday worship service and put their faith inaction through service in the community together.

The congregation will be serving through specific projects, all de-signed to directly touch lives and reflect Christ's love to others inthe Austin Area: Habitat for Humanity, Care Gifts for Haiti, Com-munity Cleanup, etc. Westminster is shooting for 100% participa-tion.

Presbybriefs


18/24

Pack Rats for Jesus: Christ Presbyterian in Edina will spend 24 hours in May to pack meals for Haiti. The OneCommunity Event will take place May 21-22 at the old Mervyns Store at Southdale Mall in Edina. Sponsored by Feed MyStarving Children, the goal is for 5,000 volunteers to pack meals and everyone in the community is invited to take partwith members from Christ. For more information on how to take part, please go to www.fmsc.org/onecommunity.

PTCA Pastor Artist-of-the-Month at First South St. Paul: TheAdult Education class at First Presbyterian in SouthSt. Paul on April 11, 18 and 25 will also be their artist of the month, Deb DeMeester. DeMeester was an interim pastor atthe South Metro Congregation.

During a sabbatical in 2006, DeMeester began to paint for the first time in her life and discovered deep joy in the proc-ess.

She describes her discovery of painting :

I was blessed in the Fall of 2006 to receive the gift of a sabbatical. I packed up my books and headed north tothe lake. As my soul began the process of restoration, rather than reading, I began to hear Paint! On the onehand, it was a surprise as Id never painted before or taken a painting class. On the other hand, from previousexperience, Ive known creativity is one way that I find my way home to wholeness. And so I painted hoursand days passed and I rediscovered passion and risk taking, joy and contentment. The paintings in this exhibit

represent my first efforts. In most cases I found a picture I liked and I sought to imitate it, learning in the processabout oils, watercolors, and acrylics, how to use brushes and water, and what kind of subjects I most enjoyed. Ifnothing else, I hope this exhibit will encourage you to listen to the inner voice/spirit who calls us to take risks sothat we can be renewed, passionate and joyful as we live the abundant lives with which we are blessed.


Presbybriefs, continued

PURPOSE:To fulfill the functions of a treasurer of Presbyteryas set forth in this position description, a financial officerunder the Minnesota Nonprofit Act(Minn. Stat. Chap.317A), the bylaws of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities area,and such other specific responsibilities as assigned by thePresbytery Council. The Treasurer is an officer of the Presby-

tery and is elected by the Presbytery. This position requires acommitment of about five hours per week.

ACCOUNTABILITY:The Treasurer is accountable to thePresbytery through the Presbytery Council.

RESPONSIBITIES:

Serves as one of the primary authorized signer on Pres-bytery bank accounts.

Comprehends the bookkeeping methods and proce-dures of the bookkeeping services and maintainsgood communications with the director of thoseservices.

Reviews monthly financial reports and interprets them tothe Board of Trustees, the Council and the Presby-tery.

Assists in preparation of the annual financial review.

Recommends investment vehicles to the Board of Trus-tees that are compatible with THE INVESTMENTOF CASH ASSETS AND SPENDING POLICY.

Serves as a member of the Budget Task Force in devel-oping draft budgets for Presbyterys consideration.

Attends the following meetings: Board of Trustees, Pres-bytery Council, Presbytery, and officers meetings.Additionally, the Treasurer may choose to attendthe annual Fiscal Officers training offered by Gen-eral Assembly. (Traditionally scholarships havebeen available through the Synod for this event.)

RELATIONSHIPS:The Treasurer operates as a member ofa team with members of the staff and the Budget Task Forceand is a voting member of the Council and the Presbytery.The Treasurer serves as a resource to the Council, the Pres-bytery, and the Board of Trustees.

OTHER:The Treasurer must be computer literate and famil-iar with accounting software. The Treasurer is able to pro-vide financial analysis based on historic trends. The Treas-urer must be an Elder or Minister of Word and Sacrament.This position is for a three-year term and it is renewable. Anannual stipend of $1500 is paid plus an allowance fordocumented mileage expenses.

Interested persons are requested to send a Resume, includ-ing the name of the church where you are a member, to theNominating Committee at [email protected].

Presbytery Seeks New Treasurer


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Pre Presbytery Meeting

May 11th 2:15 PM at Hope Presbyte-

rian Church

How Churches Can Accompany Re-turning Veterans and their FamiliesHow churches can help with the heal-ing of our veterans from their moraland spiritual injuries.

Hardly a day goes by without more badnews about how our veterans are faring. Insome recent months, more active duty militarykill themselves than were killed by enemy

action. Over 6000 veterans committed sui-cide last year. The Pentagon reported thathalf of the National Guard members showsignificant psychological problems months after their return fromthe current war zones. Binge drinking and clinical depression oc-

cur in high incidence among veterans andmany veterans become homeless and/orinvolved with the criminal justice system.

The presentation will review how veteranshave fared after past wars, and explore whatis impacting our veterans today. Presenter,Amy Blumenshine, delivers a "call to action"to churches to play their special role in the all-important transition period home afterwar. Any individual sent to war by their na-tion should not have to bear alone the result-ing moral and spiritual pain. Her work in theComing Home Collaborative makes specificrecommendations regarding how congrega-tions, the "beloved community," can make a

difference.

Dont miss this valuable opportunity for learning on this topic.Sponsored by the Disability Concerns Task Force.

Pre-Presbytery Event at May Stated Meeting

Mac-Plymouth Hymn Writing WinnerThe Rev.John A. Dalles, pastor of Wekiva Presbyterian Church

in Longwood, FL, has been named winner of the 14th annual hymn-

writing contest sponsored by Macalester Plymouth United Church of

St. Paul, Minn.

This years contest for a hymn to be sung Labor Day weekend asked for words that especially address the plight of the unem-

ployed. Traditionally, we have celebrated work on Labor Day. But

what if one does not have work of is under-employed? Denied the

opportunity to earn a living, an unemployed worker often questions

his or her value and worth. We hope to explore the role of the

church in addressing these issues."Dalles, who has been pastor at Wekiva Church since 1997, enti-

tled his hymn God Bless the Work Your People Do. A life mem-

ber of The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, his

hymn texts have been published in a number of denominational

hymnals, including the 1990 Presbyterian Hymnal (PCUSA) and theNew Century Hymnal (UCC). His two hymns in the PC(USA) hym-

nal are Come, O Spirit! (#127) and God Bless Your Church

with Strength (#418).

His winning hymn:God, Bless The Work Your People DoSuggested Tunes: FOREST GREEN or ELLACOMBE

God, bless the work your people do throughout each working day,

The contributions that they make, the talents they display.

God, bless the work your people do, with minds and hands and

hearts,

To benefit the common good, the sciences and arts.

For all who have no respite, God, from labor without ease,

For those for whom their work is filled with danger or disease.

For all who labor without gain; or have no rest this day;

For all who labor without hope, O God, we humbly pray;

We pray for those who cannot work, or seek for work in vain,

Great God, we pray your mercy shall encourage them, again!

We pray for those whose work is hard, on body, spirit, soul,

The underpaid, under-employed, who fill a vital role.

Grant unto each a day designed for worship, joy and rest;A Sabbath time of holiness, in which they may be blessed.

As you achieved creations work, then rested from your task,

God bless the work your people do, and call it good, we ask!

-Presbyterian News Service


20/24

Positions Available


For more information on the positions listed below, please go the PTCA website at http://www.ptcaweb.org.

Administrative Assistant, Randolph Heights Presbyterian, St. Paul

Organist, Presbyterian Church of the Way, Shoreview

Accompanist, Chain of Lakes Presbyterian, Lino Lakes

Do you have a church staff position that needs to be filled? Send in your job announcements to Dennis Sandersat [email protected]. (Oh, and let us know when you fill the position, so we can remove it from the

job listings.)

The following PTCA Congregations are have vacant pulpits according to the Committee on Ministry or are seek-ing interim pastors:

Interim Associate Pastor, Oak Grove Presbyterian, Bloomington

Interim Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Stillwater

If you are interested in any of the interim positions, you can find out more by going towww.presbyterytwincities.org/jobs or by contacting the Committee on Ministry at [email protected].

To find out about the status of these congregations, please contact the Committee on Ministry [email protected].

NonOrdainedPositions

InterimOpeningsandVacantPulpits

The Presbytery needs yourhelp ! !

-The Annual Meeting of the PTCA will be on May12, 2010.

-There are a number of positions to be filled onour committees.

Would you recommend someone? What aboutyourself?The Nominating Committee of the Presbytery is looking for people to serve on vari-ous committees of the PTCA. To find out how you or someone you know can heed thecall, go the Presbytery website,www.ptcaweb.org.


21/24

Job Support Group at Lake Nokomis: TheSouth Minneapolis Job Networking Group meets atLake Nokomis Presbyterian on Fridays at 9am for

support, resources and networking. For more infor-mation, please contact the congregation at (612)721-4463.

Mission Gift Project: Every year PCUSA GeneralAssembly attendees from across the country areasked to bring a gift in their suitcase that will bene-fit a mission in the host presbytery(s). This yearPresbyterian Women from the three hosting presby-teries of the 219th General Assembly - Presbytery ofthe Twin Cities, Presbytery of Northern Waters andPresbytery of Minnesota Valleys - are coordinatingthis important Gift Project. When GA attendeesarrive in Minneapolis in July, it is requested thatthey bring new socks and underwear to be distrib-uted to men, women and children living in shelters.These gift items were chosen because of the continu-ing incidence of homelessness across Minnesotaand because the items are easy to pack in a suit-case. More information on the shelters designatedto receive items collected will be available in thenear future. For more information or to get in-volved, contact Ann Rock at [email protected] orSylvia Swede at [email protected] .

New Art Exhibit at Lake Nokomis: On Fri-day, April 9, from 7-9 p.m., ArtSpace@LNPC wel-comes a new exhibit by local collagistJosieLewis. Come join in the celebration! Lake Nokomisis located at 1620 E. 46th Street in Minneapolis.

United Seminary Install PTCA Minister asNew President: On Sunday, April 11, The Rever-end Mary McNamara will be installed as the sev-enth president of United Theological Seminary ofthe Twin Cities in a festive service that begins at3:00pm at Plymouth Congregational Church, Min-neapolis. Speakers include Rev. Daniel Aleshire,executive director of the Association of TheologicalSchools in the United States and Canada; Dr. Jo-seph C. Hough, Jr., president emeritus of UnionTheological Seminary; Rev. Dr. Peg Chemberlin,executive director of the Minnesota Council ofChurches and president of the National Council ofChurches; Dr. Gary Reierson, president of theGreater Minneapolis Council of Churches; Dr. Rich-

ard Bliese, president of Luther Seminary; RabbiMarcia Zimmerman, Temple Israel; Rev. KarenSmith Sellers, Conference Minister of the Minnesota

Conference of the United Church of Christ; and Dr.Wilson Yates, president emeritus of United Theo-logical Seminary. Ms. Sharon Ryan, chair ofUnited's board of trustees, will preside.

Rev. McNamara comes to United from Union Theo-logical Seminary where she served for 10 years asexecutive vice president. Prior to coming to Union,she served as the non-profit economic developmentdirector in the Koch and Dinkins administrationsand then as president of the Interchurch Center be-ginning in 1990. She serves as treasurer of theAssociation of Theological Schools and recently

joined the board of Collegeville Institute. Raised inCambridge, Minn., she is a graduate of CarletonCollege and Harvard Divinity School. She is a min-ister in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Help Meet Refugees Basic Needs : You canhelp abundantly support a refugee to move quicklyfrom meeting basic needs to achieving dreams. Itbegins with material donations for our newest arri-vals. Refugee Services is currently in need of gentlyused pots and pans, silverware, and dishes(especially bowls) as well as linens, pillows, towels,

alarm clocks, light bulbs and can openers. Formore information contact Dan Huynh , MinnesotaCouncil of Churches at (612) 230-3227.

Live in a More Abundant, Cleaner Environ-ment : Tuesday, April 13,12pm 1pm, MNChurch Center, Assembly Room 2, 122 W FranklinAve, Minneapolis, MN 55404

Come learn how you can help your congregationand family live in a more abundant, cleaner envi-ronment this Easter season. This event will provideinformation and resources on consumer products,toxic chemicals and safer alternatives. RSVP bycontacting Jerad Morey, [email protected],and hurryseating is limited! Sponsored by theNational Council of Churches and the MinnesotaCouncil of Churches.

A Common Word: Love in Christianity andIslamThursday, April 15, 2010,7:30pm to 9pm, John Roach Center Audito-

Do you have an

event youd like

to publicize?

Please send it to

Dennis Sanders at

communications@

ptcaweb.org.


Events Calendar


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23/24

Tuesday, May11, 2010

Hope

PresbyterianChurch,Richfield4:00pm-8:00pm


Events Calendar, Continued

Next PresbyteryMeeting:

Following the lecture sessions, she will lead a par-ticipatory session on Centering Prayer.

House of Hope is located at 767 Summit Avenue inSt. Paul.

All You Can Eat Spiritual Buffet: While otherwives were looking for places to hide their newhusbands' neon beer signs and old bowling tro-phies, Methodist playwright Holly Davis had to finda home for her husband's statues of Hindu gods.Her resulting play, TheAll You Can Eat Spiri-tual Buffet, has been hailed by The MinneapolisStar Tribune as a funny, unabashed, unapologeti-cally honest spiritual quest.

Holly says, I wrote Spiritual Buffet in an attempt toexplore my own religious bias through the applica-tion of a Buddhist concept called Attachment, theview that things must be perceived a certain way,should be ritualized a certain way and should lastforever. It is a risky show because nobody seemscomfortable laughing about religion and, yes, thisis a comedy. Even worse, its a musical comedy!But my purpose is not to ridicule faith. My purposeis to gently prod at our Attachment, which in sepa-rating us from each other, also separates us fromwhat is divine.

It will be presented at St. Luke Presbyterian Church,3121 Groveland School Rd., Wayzata, MN

55391 (in Minnetonka) on Friday, April 23 from7:00 8:00pm. The church will open at 6:30pmwith ticket sales ($10 per person) at the door. Joinus after the performance in the Garden Court toenjoy ethnic treats and tea.

Concert for Ghana at Church of the Way:The Ghana Mission Committee of PresbyterianChurch of the Way in Shoreview is proud to hostthe Hayor Bibimma Dance Theatre, Sunday April25 from 3-5pm at the church. Hayor Bibimma willengage the crowd in show filled with traditionalWest African Dance, Music and Storytelling. Ad-mission is $10 for adults, $5 for children and $25for families. Proceeds will go to Church of theWay's mission projects in Ghana, which includes awater project and a latrine project. For more infor-mation, please contact the church at 651-484-3346. Church of the Way is located at 3382 NLexington Avenue in Shoreview.

Service of Remembering and Healing at

Trinity: A time of prayer, mediation and specialmusic will take place on Sunday April 25 at 7PM atTrinity Presbyterian Church. This service is for All

who are grieving the loss of a loved one. . . . . . .Those suffering from physical disease, mental, finan-cial, emotional or spiritual distress. . . . . . .

Come to receive prayers and support; bring friendsand family.

Refreshments follow the service. Trinity is located at2125 Tower Drive in Woodbury.

"Leading From the Heart: How do leaders ina congregation remain in community with peoplethrough conflict and differences?

"Leading from the Heart" a special workshop spon-sored jointly by Luther Seminary and Lake NokomisPresbyterian Church wants to teach ways to commu-nicate that seek to build rather than tear down thebody of Christ. Led in part by PTCA minister-member Theresa Latini, this intensive workshopteaches the skills and consciousness of compassion-ate communication (also called nonviolent communi-cation) as a means of connecting to God, self, andothers in the midst of interpersonal impasses of allsorts.

This event takes place June 20-25 at Luther Semi-nary and is limited to 45 people. To register or formore information, please go towww.luthersem.edu/leadingfromtheheart.

Do you have anarticle, news orevent to share forthe May issue ofEMerge:Monthly?Please make sureto get in by theclose of business

on April 29. Youcan email it toDennis Sanders at

[email protected].


24/24

112 W. Franklin Ave.Suite 508Minneapolis, MN 55404

Fax: 612-871-0698E-mail: [email protected]: www.ptcaweb.orgTwitter: www.twitter.com/ptcawebFacebook: www.facebook.com/presbyterytwincitiesarea

"EMerge:Monthly," is a publication from the Presbytery of

the Twin Cities Area (PTCA). The mission is to share brief

highlights with links to resources and news. Recipients in-

clude congregations, minister members, other members,

committees, and friends. Please send submissions and e-mail

corrections to Dennis Sanders, editor, at [email protected] . Usual distribution: Thursdays.

Presbytery Staff

Chaz Ruark, Executive Presbyter: [email protected]

Nancy Grittman, Stated Clerk: [email protected]

Risa Anderson, Office Manager: [email protected]

Dennis Sanders, IT/Communications Specialist: [email protected]

Register, Volunteer at General AssemblyYou've heard about it for weeks and months; the 219th GeneralAssembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) is meeting this summerin Minneapolis. With a little over three months until theevent, people who are interested in attending the "Great Presbyte-rian Get-Together" cannow register online for July3-10 event.

Who can register? Well,Elder and Minister Com-missioners have to attend,but so can visitors! This isa chance to meet fellowPresbyterians from acrossthe United States and alsoto see the church in ac-tion. Best of all, it's hap-pening in our own back-yard!

To register, go to the219th General Assembly

website atwww.pcusa.org/ga219. If you are a com-missioner, click on thebutton that says"Commissioner and Advisory Delgates." If you are a visitor, clickon "Observer." Register today!

Have you considered volunteering for General Assembly? In therun-up to the event and during GA, we will need hundreds of peo-

ple to make sure that the thousands who will attend recieve a warmMinnesota welcome.

If you register to volunteer, you get to observe General Assemblybusinesswithout paying the registration.

So, if you have some time todonate, please consider signingup at the Committee on Local

Arrangements webiste atwww.cola2010.com

and click on the icon that reads"volunteer."

219th General

Assembly:Registration NowAvailable!

GA Website:www.pcusa.org/ga219/

Volunteer Website:

www.cola2010.com

Documents

Emerge April 2010