presbytery of shenandoah shenandoah press · short form fiction in a podcast format. many of the...
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Greetings,
As the song says “June is bustin’ out all over”. And within this June, along
with all the other events that come this month, we also will have General
Assembly, the 223rd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to be
exact. We will convene in St. Louis June 16 for eight days, to hear concerns,
make decisions, worship, and pray together as part of the body of Christ.
This year our Stated Clerk, the Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, has helped to cast a
vision of what we can be in St. Louis other than just another convention. To
that end the “Hands and Feet” initiative has been established to participate
in mission in the St. Louis area. Mission teams have already been at work throughout the year leading up
to GA ,and now there is a particular opportunity for you to participate in from home.
The General Assembly Bail Out. Co-Moderators Jan Edmiston and Denise Anderson have
designated the offering from the Opening Worship to be used in coordination with local leaders including
the St. Louis Action Council, the Bail Project, and Arch City Defenders, toward ending the system of cash
bail and bench warrants that is used to keep people incarcerated in modern debtor’s prisons.
Presbyterians across the church will have the opportunity to donate to this fund. On Tuesday afternoon,
the Stated Clerk invites those who are interested and able to join him in a silent march from the
convention center to the St. Louis City Justice Center, where in partnership with The Bail Project there
will be a public presentation of the assembly’s offering to free individuals currently awaiting trial in a
system that keeps them incarcerated until they can meet bail.
You may give your offering to any of those going to GA and we will make sure it goes in the offering plate
at opening worship or I am assured that a donation page will be available on the PCUSA website. We are
called to be a Matthew 25 church, this is one way of doing that. Please be in prayer for our
commissioners: Patrick Lanaghan, Timber Ridge; Debra McKune,
Falling Waters; Don Baker, Moorefield; Richard Comstock, Trinity;
and our Young Adult Advisory Delegate, Asher Arey, Massanutten.
And while saying those prayers – add Donna Lanaghan, our
communications administrator, who will be sending out reports,
and for me, who will working as a parliamentarian.
Blessings to all,
Bronwen
A Message from our General Presbyter
Presbytery Staff
Bronwen Boswell,
General Presbyter & Stated Clerk
Email – [email protected]
Nancy Meehan Yao,
Associate General Presbyter
Email – [email protected]
Kim Stroupe, Admin. Assistant
Email – [email protected]
Heather Carter, Funds Admin.
Email – [email protected]
Donna Lanaghan, Communications
Email – [email protected]
Larry Holsinger, Treasurer
PRESBYTERY OF
SHENANDOAH
June 2018 Volume 3, Issue 5
Shenandoah Press
Special points of
interest:
• Bail Out Offering
• Recommended Books
• School Kit Bags
• New Resource Center
books
• Letter from Doug Dicks
• Work Team Returns
• Much more...
Inside this issue:
Small Church
Event
3
May 22
Presbytery
Meeting
4
Mission
Co-Workers Visit
5
Ben Salem
Church
6
Church Invitations 9
Calendar Dates 10
If you would like to participate in the Bail Out Offering, and
are unable to give your donation to one of the commissioners,
you may send a check to the presbytery office NO LATER than
Monday, June 11. We will take it to the General Assembly
worship and then to the ones in jail who are in need of bail. For
more information, call the office at 540-433-2556.
For some of us, June is the month of school holidays,
vacations…and time. Time to get to that stack of
books on your bedside table. Time to actually read
the all books you have purchased this past year.
Time to sit in a beach chair, or a hammock, or simply
on the back porch…and read.
Reading is one of my favorite activities.
Here are some great books: some directly related to
faith and church, some just good reads (ok, with
maybe a theological theme or two…)
My all-time favorite book, hands down, is The
Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell. Published 25 years
ago, this is a book I come back to read every few
years or so. It is about faith, and the limits of faith,
and theodicy…and Jesuits in space. Really.
Hallelujah Anyway- by Anne Lamott. If you liked
Lamott’s other works, you will like this.
Take This Bread A Radical Conversion by Sara Miles.
Miles’ journey of faith, from kitchen work and
activism to faith and food.
Grace and Gratitude by Charles Wiley. In this short
study, theologian Charles Wiley explores two
important theological terms of Reformed and
Presbyterian identity and conviction: "Grace and
Gratitude." These two words have important history
within our tradition; and they live on in vigorous
ways today.
Anxious to Talk About It: Helping White
Christians Talk Faithfully about Racism, by
Carolyn B. Helsel. Helsel is a professor of
preaching at Austin Theological Seminary,
and has written this book to begin to
open the way for pastors and
congregations to have conversations
about this very pressing issue.
For Children:
The Marvelous Seed, by Amy-Jill Levine and Sandy Eisenberg
Sasso. “A child plants a mustard seed in an empty garden. It is an
itty-bitty seed. It isn’t anything very special—yet.” A delightful,
thoughtful, beautiful book about the parable.
Not a book, but a podcast:
LeVar Burton Reads
LeVar Burton (Of Reading Rainbow, Star Trek and Roots) reads
short form fiction in a podcast format. Many of the works are
science fiction or speculative fiction, but all are deep, and trace
the theological underpinnings of our lives as individuals and
communities. But you don’t have to take my word for it:
www.levarburtonpodcast.com
Enjoy your summer reading- and don’t forget to read your
Bible!
Nancy
Associate General Presbyter—Nancy Meehan Yao
Page 2 Shenandoah Press
Committee on Presbytery Administration
The Committee on Presbytery Administration would like to thank the churches that have returned
their acceptance letters. Your participation in returning these letters is greatly appreciated and
helps in the budget process for your Presbytery. (See list here.)
Thank you again for your support of Your Presbytery by returning these letters, your financial sup-
port and most importantly for your continued prayers for all that work to serve our Presbytery.
Link to Acceptances List (PDF)
Page 3 Volume 3, Issue 5
Small Church Event—May 5, 2018
Blessings and Challenges of Small Church Ministry
On Saturday, May 5th, the CRE
Oversight Committee hosted a Small
Church Workshop. Those in attendance
were CREs, CRE candidates, small church
ministers, and presbytery staff.
We enjoyed worship, Bible Studies,
lunch, and a wonderfully informative
offering of a 2-part Workshop: “The
Culture of the Small Church” and
“Appreciative Inquiry in the Small
Church” led by Marilyn Johns from
Union Presbyterian Seminary.
It was a successful gathering of small
church leaders who are always looking
for ways to help them to serve their
church and to serve God.
Look for another workshop in the fall!
Nancy Meehan Yao, leading our Bible Study on Psalm 23 (Right) One of the stations of the Psalm 23 Bible Study
Closing Worship
CRE Bobby Spurgeon, leads the Andy Griffith Bible Study
Dr. Marilyn Johns, from Union Presbyterian Seminary, our Workshop Leader
Page 4
May 22 Stated Meeting of Shenandoah Presbytery
Kelly-Ann Rayle— Supply Pastor, Bethel Church Sarah Wolf—Associate Pastor,
Covenant Church
Commissioning 223rd General Assembly attendees
For Minutes of the 178th Stated Meeting of Shenandoah Presbytery,
visit our website at www.shenpres.org/meeting-documents.
Page 5 Volume 3, Issue 5
Shenandoah Hosts Mission Co-workers from Ethiopia
Mission Co-workers Michael and Rachel Weller will be in the states on
Interpretation Assignment this fall. We have invited them come visit us in
Shenandoah the week of Sept 21 - Sept 30. While here, they will be the featured
speakers at the Ethiopia Partnership Banquet set for Friday, September 28, at Mt.
Horeb Presbyterian Church near Grottoes, VA.
They like to visit with groups of congregations and to share about their work in
Ethiopia. Michael and Rachel have spent almost all of their adult life in Ethiopia
serving in a wide variety of capacities. Michael teaches at a seminary in Gambella
while Rachel trains Community Health Evangelism in the Gambella regions.
Please take advantage of there visit with us to host them for a lunchtime event, or
church pot luck or Sunday evening speaker event. To request a visit, contact Doug
Sensabaugh at [email protected].
Kurtz Sisters Visit Shenandoah in August
During the first week of August, around Aug 1-5, Caroline and Jane Kurtz will
be in our area to attend the Annual Ethiopian Culture Camp held at
Massanetta. Jane has been here before with her children's books written for
and about Ethiopian life in Amharic and Oromifa. This visit she will bring her
sister Caroline. Caroline served in mission and ministry for many years
alongside her father, Harold Kurtz, in Ethiopia. Caroline also works with
Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship and the Outreach Foundation to bring
advances to the people in and around the Maji areas. Her current project is
helping families to get solar power for lighting and some cooking.
They will have some time available to speak about their special ministries while
they are at Massanetta. If you would like to host them for an event or just meet
up with them for a lunch or dinner, please contact Doug Sensabaugh at
[email protected] As soon as they know their schedule, we will be
able to arrange times to meet.
NEW Books in the Resource Center
CHURCH & OTHER RELIGIONS – Christianity and
Other Faiths P06
Title: The Cradle of Our Faith
Author: PC(USA)
SEASONS – Lent; Easter G02
Title: Things to Do for Lent/Easter
Author: Martha Bettis Gee
PASTORS AND MINISTRY – Preaching Aids S02
Title: Feasting on the Word, Year B, Volumes 2, 3 and 4
Authors: David L. Bartlett, Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors
EDUCATION – Youth R07
Title: Embraced and Embracing: Workbook – Exploring the
Foundations of Confirmation
Authors: Ronald P. Byars and Eva Stimson
Education – Children R12
Title: Growing in God’s Love – A Story Bible
Authors: Elizabeth F. Caldwell and Carol A. Wehrheim, Editors
Page 6 Shenandoah Press
front row l to r: Greg Jewett and Bonnie Luke
(Ben Salem), Fred Noll (Bethesda), Olivia
Haney (Mt. Carmel), Malcolm Brownlee
(Committee on Re-Development), Horace
Douty (Oxford). Back row on the ends: Kevin
Channell ( Collierstown), John McDonald
(Buena Vista)
From down at the river
to up on the hill Ben Salem Presbyterian Church shares a rich history within Shen-
andoah Presbytery. On Tuesday, May 15, the Maury River Mission
Community met there to hear their story. Ben Salem began as a
Sunday School in 1832, meeting at the enclosed boat dock on what is
now the Maury River. Since Buena Vista had not been founded yet,
Ben Salem served a large rural area with the Sunday School and then
as worship services began in 1834. The church attendance fluctuat-
ed for many years, and in 1883 Lexington Presbytery recommended
the church to close. Instead the congregation rallied and in 1884, a
group of Ben Salem members built a new church up on the hill, using
some of the stone from the building at the dock. They continued to
serve the community between Lexington and Buena Vista, building a
manse and purchasing the two room school next to the church and
renovating it into a fellowship hall. Today, Ben Salem has a TPR
(Temporary Pastoral Relationship) and a vibrant small congrega-
tion.
The Mission Community heard this history Greg Jewett, an at-
tending member, as he shared their current story. After their last
minister retired, they were led through a mission study with Malcolm
Brownlee and in that study began to realize their potential of serv-
ing their community. It is a lay-led revitalization, all chipping in to
take care of what needs to be done, they love their neighbors, and
they have events which are supported by the community. They have
movie nights, Bible studies, and special events like embodiment's of
an 18th Century minister and an Irish indentured servant. They also
will be offering a report at the May Presbytery meeting so we all can
hear more about their ministry.
The Maury River Mission Community is currently meeting to hear
about the mission opportunities within our presbytery, as we sup-
port and celebrate such ministries. We are grateful for the presenta-
tion we heard at Ben Salem, and look forward to hearing many more
such stories.
Submitted by Rev. Olivia Haney
School Kit Bags Available
Our resident "Bag Lady", Louise Tardy from Col-
lierstown Church, has brought us more bags for the
Church World Service school kits. Louise has been
busy this past winter sewing bags for our churches to
use for the kits (we have almost 300 here at the of-
fice). If your church would like some of the bags to
assemble school kits, please contact the presbytery
office at 540-433-2556 or [email protected].
We will set some aside for you!
Download instructions for the school kits. Download
and print coupons that are to be included with the kits.
Visit our website or the Church World Service web-
site for more information.
Board of Pensions
Young Adult Volunteers Begin Service
Page 7 Volume 3, Issue 5
A Letter from Doug Dicks, serving in Israel and
Palestine
May 2018
Dear Friends and Relations,
Hello and greetings from Jerusalem! It is the season of Pentecost,
and we have just ended the period of Lent, leading up to Holy
Week and Easter here in the Holy Land.
At the Garden Tomb here in Jerusalem, a wooden door stands
closed at the entrance to the tomb when special Sunday services
are held.
Hanging on the wooden door is a plaque that reads, “He is not
here; For He is Risen.” The closed door is almost an affront to any
visitor, and seems to be saying, “Go away!” And like the angels,
who perhaps gently chastised those first Easter morning visitors to
the tomb, it seems to be saying to anyone approaching that door,
“why are you looking for the living amongst the dead?”
For Christians who believe in the birth, life, ministry, passion and
the resurrection of Jesus Christ here on earth, the resurrection of
Jesus Christ is the linchpin of our faith. This is where hope was
reborn. This is where history was made. This is where the world
as humankind knew it was turned on its heels! This is where the
ultimate victory of life over death was won. It is here we take
courage, and here that hope is renewed.
Yet every year, tens of thousands of Christian visitors and pilgrims
worldwide make the journey to Jerusalem, and many come to the
Garden Tomb, to see for themselves if the tomb is indeed really
empty….
To read more, click here.
We Know the Tomb is Empty
The next issue of the Shenandoah Press will be a
combined July/August issue. Please send any dates,
invitations, reports, etc. to [email protected] by
Wednesday, June 27.
We welcome your input. Send photos, articles of the
events and happenings in your church and/or mission
communities! We want to know!
ShenPress Deadline
Page Shenandoah Press
Shenandoah Presbytery
Disaster Preparedness & Response Team A Partner of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
Presbytery Work Team and Shower Trailer
Return from Baton Rouge By Dave Thalman – Disaster Preparedness & Response Team
It was early on a recent Saturday morning when the Presbytery work team departed Winchester for the 1,085-mile trip to Baton
Rouge, LA. This was the team’s second disaster response work trip to Baton Rouge and the 16th trip to the Gulf Coast since
hurricane Katrina.
This year’s trip was multi-faceted. The first piece was to work with Rebuilding Together Baton Rouge (RTBR) who helps repair
homes of the elderly and disabled who suffered flood damage in 2016. Yes, disaster long-term recovery lasts many years. However,
the team exercised the first rule of disaster response – “be flexible” by offering their electric and carpentry skills to rehab an old
warehouse recently donated to RTBR. Although they missed the usual homeowner interactions, they were glad to leverage their
skills to help the entire RTBR organization and all the people they serve. Previously, RTBR had been managing this large re-building
effort from cars and tool trailers.
Experienced members of the team, dubbed the “Crazy Uncles” by Presbytery
of South Louisiana Recovery Coordinator, Christina Drake, were Russell Low,
Jimmy Swisher, Gerald Dodson, Paul Lewis, and Dave Thalman (coordinator).
The Team represented Charles Town, Berryville, and Winchester First
Presbyterian Churches, as well as Damascus Methodist. University
Presbyterian Church, a Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) volunteer host
site, furnished accommodations.
The second purpose of the trip was to bring home one of two shower trailers
built and maintained by Shenandoah Presbytery. Previously, it was deployed by
PDA to Lake Murray Presbyterian Church, a PDA volunteer host site in South
Carolina. Our team transferred the trailer from Lake Murray to Baton Rouge
as part of last year’s work trip.
Several years ago Covenant Church in Staunton purchased and converted this 20-foot
box trailer to include 4 showers, 2 inside sinks, 2 outside sinks, washer, and dryer.
PDA provided a grant that matched donations from Covenant Church. Covenant
members provided the design and all the labor. This has been a wonderful
contribution to the mission of disaster recovery.
The Presbytery’s second shower trailer was donated and built by churches of
Mountain Valley Mission Community and serves the Winchester Area Temporary
Thermal Shelter (WATTS) annually among other needs.
The Presbytery Disaster Preparedness & Response Team, supported by the Committee on Mission and Outreach, oversees these
mobile shower facilities for use with PDA long-term recovery volunteer host sites and local missions when not deployed by PDA.
Nationally, this is a unique mission outreach service. Thank you for your continued support of this vital ministry.
Crazy Uncles with Covenant-built shower trailer.
Covenant trailer deployed at Lake Murray Presbyterian Church in South Carolina.
Mountain Valley Mission Community-built trailer
deployed for WATTS at Macedonia United Methodist Church near Winchester
Page 9 Shenandoah Press
Summer desk volunteers needed at Massanetta Springs Volunteer at Massanetta - Do you like helping people? Do you enjoy free meals? If you can answer, "Yes," to both of
these questions then Massanetta Springs has an opportunity for you. On June 12th, they will be holding an orientation for
Front Desk Volunteers starting at 12:00 p.m. The session will begin with lunch, and then the Massanetta staff will ori-
ent you to the duties of a Front Desk Volunteer. The orientation is expected to wrap up by 2:30. If you want more in-
formation, or to sign up, please contact Rachael Burgess, Reservations Coordinator, at [email protected] or
540-434-3829 before noon on June 11th.
The Massanetta Springs event, "Beyond Thoughts and Prayers:
Faithful Responses to Gun Violence" has been cancelled. Massanetta
hopes to reschedule this important event at a time when more
people's schedules will allow them to attend.
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND: ADVENTURE
CAMP @ CAMP PADDY RUN!
July 22-26, 2018
Don't miss this exciting week for Youth grades 7-12:
River Adventures, Hiking, Ropes Course and Zip line,
Glow Stick Games, Campfire cooking, S'mores, Swim-
ming, Games & Recreation, Scavenger Hunts, Arts &
Crafts.
Visit www.CampPaddyRun.org for schedule and registra-
tion Information. Smyrna Presbyterian Church is located at:
174 Dooms Crossing Road
Waynesboro, VA 22980
1111 North Main Street Harrisonburg, VA 22802
Phone: 540-433-2556 Fax: 540-433-6830
E-mail: [email protected]
SHENANDOAH PRESBYTERY is a covenant body where:
-CONGREGATIONS are empowered to be centers for mission
-PEOPLE OF GOD are equipped to be Disciples of Christ in a challenging world
-CHURCH LEADERS and members are nurtured and strengthened for service
-OPEN COMMUNICATION and information are used constructively
and creatively to keep us connected
PRESBYTERY OF
SHENANDOAH
ShenPres.org
Dates to Remember!
June 2018
4 - CCVT 1:30 pm
9 - CMO 9:30 am
10 - Kelly-Ann Rayle Ordination
at Bethel Church 2:00 pm
14 - CRM 9:30 am
18 - CRE Oversight 4:15 pm
20 - CPM 10:00 am
21 - CPA 1:00 pm
27 - ShenPress Deadline
28 - CER 10 am
Other Dates
June 15—23 - 223rd General Assembly
in St. Louis
June 25—29 - Day Camp at Camp Paddy Run
July 4 - Presbytery Office Closed
Aug 25 - Stated Meeting of Presbytery
at Warrenton Church 9:30 am
* Unless otherwise noted, all meetings are at the
office of Shenandoah Presbytery, 1111 N. Main
Street, Harrisonburg, VA.