Welcome to Presbybriefs, where we find out what is going on congregations in the PTCA, the presbytery and the wider church. Here are the stories for August 25.
Macalester LEEDs the Way : When Macalester College decided to invest in a new home for the Institute for Global Citizenship (IGC), a program to educate and engage students to be global citizen-leaders, college leaders knew that it was critical that the building itself be designed and constructed in ways that demonstrate global leadership.
Reflecting that commitment, Markim Hall is the college’s first, and only the second higher education facility in the state, to be built with the goal of obtaining the LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. It is also the first building in St. Paul to be built to these standards.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. Platinum is the highest level of certification. Only 12 college campus buildings in the United States have earned platinum-level certification.
Markim Hall will be officially dedicated following a campus-wide convocation Oct. 1. The $7.5 million, 17,000 square foot facility houses the Institute for Global Citizenship, civic engagement, study abroad and international programs, faculty and staff offices, meeting rooms, and an open atrium for campus events. Donors funded the entire project.
-Compiled by Beth Furkin, Presbyterian News Service
ELCA Assembly Leader Asks Members to Respect Each Other, Allow Time: In final comments to the 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, pledged to the voting members “to speak well of you and of this church, and I ask you to do the same.”
The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, met here Aug. 17-23 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. About 2,000 people participated, including 1,045 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly was “God’s work. Our hands.”
During the week, the voting members adopted, following considerable debate, proposals to direct that changes be made to the ELCA’s ministry policies to make it possible for people in publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships to serve as ELCA associates in ministry, clergy, deaconesses and diaconal ministers.
Hanson, who presided at the assembly, said, “One way I will speak well of you is not to use the word ‘fear’ to describe those who oppose the actions that prevailed in many of our discussions. It’s not helpful to our life together. It’s not respectful of deeply held convictions shaped by theology and Scripture and faith.”
“I am committed to the ELCA continuing to be a church body where people feel safe to teach, to preach, to lead and to serve in ways that they believe are consistent with the vows one takes in ordination and the promises one makes in the affirmation of Baptism,” he told voting members.
The church needs to be a safe place for “rich theological conversation, biblical inquiry and faith expressions and explorations,” a quality of the Lutheran Church for 500 years,” he said. Hanson said the steps of implementing the actions of the assembly will take time. “My prayer and my plea is that we take that time together rather than separately,” he said.
Speaking to members who opposed the church’s decisions on ministry policies, Hanson requested that, if they are wondering about their place in the ELCA, “let us be part of that discernment.”
“Take time with your decision. Step back and understand the magnitude of the decision if you choose to leave, because we will be diminished by your absence,” he said, adding that the capacity for the ELCA to do its work will also be diminished.
The Good News of Jesus Christ “is too good to squander with internal conflicts that will drain our energies when our capacity is to bring the Good News to the world so that all might know Jesus,” Hanson continued.
He concluded by thanking the voting members for the week-long assembly, noting that “it’s been a challenge, it’s been a joy.”
David D. Swartling, ELCA secretary, announced that the 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assembly will be held at the Marriott World Center, Orlando, Fla., Aug. 14-22, 2011.
-ELCA News Service
Christian Vocation Sunday: God’s call is more than a job – daily service in the world through our jobs, talents and interests is a cornerstone of our lives as Christians. The programmatic emphasis for the Sunday before Labor Day – September 6 – is appropriately, Christian Vocation Sunday.
Cultivate a culture of call in your own congregation by claiming our theological perspective of the priesthood of all believers. Find ways of including this emphasis on call in your congregation’s worship and activities. Get help with resources from the office of Christian Vocation, including a call to worship, dramatic reading and a downloadable bulletin insert by going to www.pcusa.org/christianvocation/christianvocationsunday.htm .
New Youth Director at Church of the Apostles: Presbyterian Church of the Apostles in Burnsville has hired Jill Carlson as their new Youth Director. Carlson lives in Burnsville with her husband, Kevin. A life-long resident of the South Metro, she has been involved in Special Olympics, supporting her brother by joining him on his bowling and softball teams.
In summarizing her past youth work, she said her emphases are on “service, social and spiritual work for all who seek enrichment.”
She continues, “I think my best qualities include my willingness to take risks and try new things, my flexible personality and my diligent skill to pay attention to the details. I also am capable of baking a really great brownie.”
Church of All Nations Heads to South Africa: Jin Kim, pastor of Church of All Nations in Columbia Heights, along with Pastor David Mwihia, Immigrant Ministries Pastor at the church will lead the congregation’s 7 full-time pastoral interns, plus Risley and Renisha Prakasim, natives of South Africa, plus Pastor Joo Kim of Knox Pres in St. Paul, a recent graduate of CAN’s internship program. The 12 member team will reconnect with and deepen the relationships established with churches in South Africa in 2006. The church website notes this experience will be a life changing moment for the future leaders of the church. “This is the kind of critical learning and missional engagement that will be formative for these future pastors. We hope to bring back what we learn in the historic cities of Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg, Durban, and Cape Town to further equip Church of All Nations in its ministry of reconciliation in the Twin Cities.”
Randolph Heights Helps Epilepsy Foundation: Since, June a bin has been located in the corner of the St. Paul congregation’s parking lot. The bin is from the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota, where people can donate used clothing and shoes to help the charity. “Over the past year, over 21,300 pounds of goods have been donated through our bin! That makes the bin we host one of the highest volume donation sites in the city!” said Pastor Matthew Robbins-Ghormley at the congregation’s blog.
He continues: “The donations given go to support the Epilepsy Foundation in their mission to improve the quality of life of those affected by seizures, including sponsoring young people to go to EF’s Camp Oz every summer. Thanks to so many neighbors and friends of Randolph Heights who have participated in this great partnership for the common good!”
The donation bin is located at the corner of Hamline and James in St. Paul.
Arlington Hills Dedicates New Patio: A new patio facing Lake Phalen was dedicated at the eastside St. Paul congregation on June 26. The patio was the Eagle Scout project for Tony Yang, a member of Arlington Hills. “The process for achieving the distinction of Eagle Scout includes planning a significant project,” according to the Heirloom, Arlington Hills newsletter. “Tony chose the construction of the patio on the north side of our church, which previously was a patch of dirt overgrown with grass and weeds.”
Yang received his Eagle Scout badge on May 21.
Supply Pastor Gene Orr’s prayer at the dedication asked that this patio be to God’s glory and that it be a sign of welcome to community beyond Arlington Hills in East St. Paul.
New Church Start Hosts First Vacation Bible School: Chain of Lakes Presbyterian, a new church start in Lino Lakes,
hosted its first Vacation Bible School in mid-August. Sixteen children participated in the event, held at a local Catholic church. “Our success at Vacation Bible School just reminded me the importance of children in building a faith community,” said Paul Moore, organizing pastor. “Most parents want ministries for their children-even parents who are not connected to a church. The more we can offer quality ministries for children the better chance we have of developing as faith communities.”
Moore says the success of VBS has fired his passion for a children’s ministry at the new church development. Moore asks for prayers in how to go about building a ministry for children. You can read more at Paul Moore’s blog: http://chainlink-chainoflakesncd.blogspot.com/ .
“Thin Places” turns 10: “Thin Places” an ecumenical newsletter published by the Spiritual Growth Community at Westminster Presbyterian in Minneapolis, celebrates its 10th year of publication. The journal started in 1999 just as Senior Pastor Tim Hart-Andersen was starting his ministry at the downtown Minneapolis congregation. He took the occasion to write an article sharing his own experience of a “thin place,” a point where the everyday world and the world of mystery touch and lift up this important ministry. “I had nothing to do with its inception or its publication but drawn to its potential and felt called to encourage and support it,” Hart-Andersen writes. “Thin Places emerged from a small group of spiritual pilgrims in the congregation, inspired by the wisdom and energy of Marilyn and Alan Youel, the editors for the last ten years. Those of us who read and use each issue are grateful to both of them for their fruitful efforts.”
Hart-Andersen notes that the Minnesota-based journal has had an impact felt not only locally, but around the world. “I am delighted that over its first decade Thin Places has grown to be a respected resource for the contemplative life here in the Twin Cities-and even around the world. More than once I have been at a church gathering somewhere far away when someone has approached me and thanked me for the ministry of Thin Places.”
You can read past issues of Thin Places by going online at http://www.ewestminster.org/thin_places .
Presbyterian Peacemaking Program offers new Minute for Mission video to interpret offering: The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program has developed a new minute for mission video to help interpret the Peacemaking Offering to congregations. The theme is “Peace Be With You” and gives over a dozen practical examples of what that means and how gifts to the Offering support activities and resources. In order to share the video with your congregations it can be viewed online or ordered through Presbyterian Distribution Service (PDS #12142-09-290). The Peacemaking Offering is typically taken on World Communion Sunday, which this year is Sunday, October 4th.
Each congregation is encouraged to retain 25 percent of the Offering it receives to use for local peacemaking ministries. Twenty-five percent is used by presbyteries and synods, and 50 percent is used by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and other General Assembly Mission Council Ministries.
The 217th General Assembly (2006) encouraged congregations to consider directly some or all of their share of the Offering as a faithful Christian response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
You can find the Minute for Mission and additional resources online (www.pcusa.org/peacemakingoffering ) and information on the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program through their (www.pcusa.org/peacemaking ) Web site.
Church World Service Needs Kits: Deb Braun, Field Assistant in the CWS Minn-Kota Regional Office reports that the CWS Emergency Response Office (ERP) is currently working on some large shipments of material aid to Liberia, Moldova and the West Bank. “Once those shipments are completed, we will have greatly depleted our supplies of Hygiene and Baby Kits,” Braun says. Donna Derr, Director of the ERP Office, has issued an urgent appeal for the Kits, also noting that our current inventory of Clean-up Buckets is only 1,700, which is a concern as we head into hurricane season. Providing assistance to one major hurricane could easily deplete the current inventory of the Clean-up Buckets, which are heavily used in domestic disaster response.
Braun adds, “we often get calls from our kit donors and denominational partners, asking if there is a particular need for specific kits. As kits are being assembled this summer and fall for denominational meetings, we ask that you keep in mind this current urgent need for Hygiene and Baby Kits, Clean-up Buckets, and Shipping & Processing Funds. Monetary donations to cover the cost of kits are also welcome.”
Please contact the Minn-Kota Regional Office ( phone: 1-888-297-2767 or dbraun@churchworldservice.org) for more information about these programs, or to request promotional materials. We appreciate your help in supplying these urgently needed resources, and greatly value your partnership.
Completed Kits may be shipped pre-paid to:
Church World Service
Brethren Service Center Annex
601 Main Street
PO Box 188
New Windsor, MD 21776-0188
Kit Funds and Processing/Shipping Funds may be sent directly to CWS, PO Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515-0968.
Winnebago Presbytery taking steps in going “green”: Winnebago Presbytery is contemplating a “green strategy,” according to a note in the July 24 issue of News and Notes, the presbytery’s newsletter. The note stated: “An ‘interest only’ meeting to determine how many people might want to participate in a task group to pursue a green strategy for Winnebago Presbytery and its congregations and what the focus of the group would be is scheduled in the meeting room on the first floor at Neenah First Presbyterian at 1 p.m. Aug. 13.” Persons interested in attending the meeting are being asked to notify Sarah Moore-Nokes, associate executive presbyter, at sarah@winnebagopresbytery.org.
