Dear Presbyters,
   
This is a reminder that there will be a special Pre-Presbytery meeting tomorrow on the 2010 Budget of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area.  The meeting will take place at 8:30am on Saturday, September 12 at First Presbyterian Church, 909 South Marschall, Shakopee, Minnesota, 55379.  PTCA Treasurer Jim Payne and David Colby, Chair of the PTCA Budget Task Force and Pastor of Central Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, will be on hand to present the budget and answer any questions you might have.   A copy of the proposed budget can be found at the Presbytery Packets page or it can be downloaded directly by clicking on this link.

PRESBYTERY OF THE TWIN CITIES AREA

REGULAR STATED MEETING

September 12, 2009

First Presbyterian Church, Shakopee, MN

CALL TO MEETING

In accordance with Book of Order Form of Government Chapter XI, Section 2, (G-11.0200) and the Bylaws of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area (Article I), the Presbytery will meet in Regular Stated Session on Saturday, September 12, 2009, 9:30. a.m., at First Presbyterian Church, 909 South Marschall, Shakopee, Minnesota, 55379.  Directions to the church follow this notice. (more…)

The following post is from Rev. Chaz Ruark, the Excutive Presbyter of the PTCA.

Those who were present at our last Presbytery meeting (btw a special thanks to all the good folk at Presbyterian Church of the Master in Coon Rapids for being such gracious hosts) know that we began a year of worship at Presbytery meetings that focuses on the Six Great Ends of the Presbyterian Church. Just to recap for those of you who haven’t memorized them, the Six Great Ends of the Church are:

            -The proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind

            -The shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God

            -The maintenance of divine worship

            -The preservation of the truth

            -The promotion of social righteousness

            -And the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.    BoO  G-1.0200

            The Great Ends have enjoyed a bit of a resurgence since they were highlighted by the 209^th General Assembly meeting in 1997. They were written and adopted in the early 1900’s as a part of a great optimistic era at the start of a new century. And while they are excellent goals that can be affirmed by any Christian denomination they are uniquely Presbyterian. Still in all the GE’s are too easily forgotten once the Polity Ordination exam is passed.

            When we recently entered a new century, and a new millennium I’m not sure we shared the same sense of optimism that our counterparts of 100 years ago possessed. In fact we live in a time of tumult with cultural shifts and transitions that often leave us with many more questions than answers. Yet the beauty of these carefully crafted words still inspire us and still call us to action even today. Churches around the country have adopted the Great Ends as a focus for their congregation.

            Your Presbytery Council has come to the same conclusion as those many congregations. As we seek to be a faithful presbytery, fulfilling the calling of our Lord Christ to be the church that demonstrates God’s glory, what better starting point than the Great Ends. If you haven’t thought much about the Great Ends lately I encourage you to read the first three chapters of the Book of Order (Yes, READ the Book of Order) to hear the calling that Christ has for our church. As congregations and as a presbytery we have much work and much hope ahead of us, but we have a wonderful blueprint in the Great Ends to help us down this path.