Tag Archives: Columbus

2012 Laws Lecture

2012 Laws Lecture To Focus on Achieving Healthy Communities

William R. Laws, pastor of First Presbyterian Church between 1950 and 1976 was a civil rights leader, youth advocate, beloved pastor, and first and foremost a peacemaker. The annual lectures, funded at the time of his death by family and friends, aspire to keep the vision of what God promises and requires before us all.

This year’s series will be on Healthy Communities: An Issue for People of Faith, and will be presented by Dr. Stephanie Paulsell of Harvard Divinity School on Saturday, October 6, 4:00-5:00 p.m. “The issue of healthy communities is as much a spiritual and religious issue as it is a social, political, and medical one, but we often neglect to draw upon the powerful resources our religious traditions hold for the development of healthy communities, such as religious understandings of the goodness of creation, convictions about human being made in the image of God, and the prophetic call for peaceful communities where none are harmed and all are cared for. This lecture will explore the religious imperative for healthy communities and draw on resources from our religious traditions to help us imagine and achieve them.”

Stephanie joined the faculty of Harvard Divinity School in 2001 as Lecturer on Ministry and was appointed associate dean for ministry studies in 2003. She served in the post of associate dean until 2005, when she was appointed Houghton Professor of the Practice of Ministry Studies. Before coming to Harvard, she served as director of ministry studies and Senior Lecturer in Religion and Literature at the University of Chicago Divinity School. She studies the points of intersection between intellectual work and spiritual practice, between the academic study of religion and the practices of ministry, and between the contemplative and active dimensions of the vocations of minister and teacher. She is the author of Honoring the Body: Meditations on a Christian Practice and co-editor of The Scope of Our Art: The Vocation of the Theological Teacher. She is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Her father, William (Bill) was pastor of North Christian Church in Columbus.

The lecture is sponsored this year by First Presbyterian Church at 512 7th Street in Columbus in collaboration with Healthy Communities Initiative of Bartholomew County and InterFaith Forum Columbus and is free and open to the entire community. Elementary school aged youth are invited to come to the gym during the lecture to participate in Dances of Universal Peace and other activity. Following a brief Question and Answer period, a reception is planned. Stephanie will also be available at First Presbyterian Sunday School on Sunday morning October 7.

For information visit fpccolumbus.org.

A Special Hour About Africa with Nancy Collins

UPDATE: This Event has been cancelled.

Tuesday, October 25, 7:00 in the Laws Room at First Presbyterian, Columbus.

Nancy, a Presbyterian Mission Consultant, will share about her work and converse with us about new directions for Presbyterian World Mission. Nancy Collins is regional liaison for East Africa. She facilitates PC(USA) relationships with partner churches and institutions in Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia. She also provides support for PC(USA) mission personnel and is a resource for U.S. congregations who are in a relationship with one of our partners in the region. Nancy’s special focus is on the evangelism, leadership development and church-growth work.

Dessert will be provided.

Friends from other congregations are certainly welcome!

North Central Region Event for Youth

The next youth event for the North Central Region will be November 13th at 5:00 p.m.

First Presbyterian Church in Columbus, Indiana is hosting this event.  We will have supper together and then play Minute To Win It games.

Every church should bring their youth prepared to be a team.  The event is planned for junior high and/or senior high youth. If we have a couple of churches with small numbers of youth – we may combine them to make a larger team.  Brownstown Presbyterian Youth took the trophy for this event in 2010.

The challenge is back!  Come meet and fellowship with other youth in our region, have fun and enjoy a meal together.

If you plan to bring a team, please RSVP to Peggy Casteel so that we have enough food to feed everyone!

What Happened at Assembly 9/10/11

The Presbytery of Ohio Valley enjoyed the hospitality of Fairlawn Presbyterian Church in Columbus and its pastor, Anne C.S. Marshall.

The standard items of business were conducted in the context of worship with Rev. Gary Scroggins preaching in the morning and Rev. Norrie Erickson as the celebrant of the Sacrament of Communion in the afternoon. Gary’s sermon related observations and experience from his recent trip to the tornado torn town of Joplin Missouri.

A Stewardship Interpretation was presented which focused the entire body on the work and mission of our church. The impact of giving on both the giver and the church’s mission was emphasized. It was pointed out that the contributions and financial commitment of churches is greatly local. Two of every three dollars for mission and per capita are spent on a presbytery level.

The Committee on Preparation for Ministry reported with a recommendation for an Inquirer, Sarah VanderZee to become a Candidate for ordination. Preparation for ministry is a two tier process. During Inquiry the person simply explores and examines the goal and the sense of call. This is done with the CPM and others in their lives. At the point of Candidacy, the decision is made that the sense of call is real and tested. Both the Candidate and the Presbytery formally commit themselves to the goal of ordination.

Regional geographic groupings were discussed and voted upon. The Cluster concept was suggested as something for both continuation and refinement. The proposed refinement is to move to 4 regions instead of 6 clusters. This is for the purpose of more even distribution of human resources in each grouping and also to make the groupings easier to support with staff and other resources. Following small group discussion this matter was approved. Some changes in committee structure were made to implement the change in groupings.

Committee on Ministry brought Aaron Flucke to the Assembly for examination for ordination. Aaron is our very own candidate who will be ordained to the call of the Lexington Church. Aaron’s examination was sustained and he was approved. This means that an ordination will be October 9 at 3:00 pm at Lexington.

A title change for Susan McGhee was proposed by the personnel committee. The term Presbyter for Common Life was replaced. The title now is the Executive Presbyter in keeping with language more common across the denomination.

2012 Budget for the Presbytery was presented by the Trustees and approved. The presbytery approved the recommendation that no change in per capita be included in budget projections.

Area Meetings to Interpret Changes in the Book of Order are being held. The changes in the Ordination Standards and in the Form of Government are the subject matter. Two meetings have already happened. Two more are scheduled: Princeton United on September 27 at 6:30 local time and September 29, Fairlawn in Columbus also at 6:30 p.m

September 2011 Assembly in Columbus

The next Assembly will take place at 10:00am Eastern time on Saturday, September 10th, at the Fairlawn Presbyterian Church in Columbus, IN. Registration will begin at 9:00am (EST).

If the commissioner for your church will be different than the commissioner who attended the June assembly, please inform the POV office, either by phone (866.344.7853) or email.

Reports to be included in the Packet must be submitted via email by noon on Monday, August 29th, to Stephanie Worden.

Come Explore the Recent Changes to the Book of Order

Dear Sisters and Brothers:

Blessings to you all as the “hiatus” of summer passes and we move into a new program year for so many congregations.  This summer, as always, finds our congregations quite busy with seasonal concerns and programs.

As the focus moves, however, there are concerns and responses that need attention.  Some of these focus on issues which followed the adoption of the amendments to the constitution of our denomination which formally implemented changes on July 10.

Two items were among the important items which suggest special interest.

  • Amendment 10-A was passed.  There are both implementation concerns and implications for church life that are wrapped in this issue.
  • A new Form of Government was approved. There are significant implementation issues at every level of the church.  Some are pressing and some others may follow less demandingly.

We have arranged four area meetings to explore the implications of  these recent changes to the Book of Order, especially as they affect local congregations. We invite pastors, moderators and clerks of session, session members, and other interested members of congregations in our presbytery. The dates and locations of the gatherings are:

Tuesday, September 13: 6:30-9:00pm (Eastern Time)
Unity Presbyterian Church
1207 Springhill Drive, Terre Haute

Thursday, September 15: 6:30-9:00pm (Eastern Time)
St John Presbyterian Church
1307 E Elm Street, New Albany

Tuesday, September 27:  6:30-9:00pm (Central Time)
United Presbyterian Church
130 E State Street, Princeton

Thursday, September 29: 6:30-9:00pm (Eastern Time)
Fairlawn Presbyterian Church
2611 Fairlawn Drive, Columbus

Each gathering will begin at 6:30 pm local time, and will conclude officially no later than 9:00. We will provide a light meal at each meeting.  While reservations are not required, they will be helpful as we plan for the meal. Please email Rhonda Seymour, with the number of persons attending, as well as the location you plan to attend.

We hope to see you soon!

Grace and peace,
Susan McGhee, Presbyter for Common Life
Lawrence Jackman, Stated Clerk

Gospel Music Workshop and Concert

Fairlawn Presbyterian Church and St. Bartholomew Catholic Church in Columbus, IN, are sponsoring a two day Gospel Music Workshop May 13-14th.

Dr. Raymond Wise from Columbus, Ohio will be our guest clinician. Dr. Wise has directed more than 30 choirs during his career and has prepared choirs to perform for national recording artists such …as Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, Yolanda Adams, Tramaine Hawkins, Wintley Phipps, and others. He has led workshops across the country and abroad.

Advance registration (May 11th or earlier) is $25.Call Fairlawn Presbyterian Church 812-372-3882 for advance registration or more information.
You can also register at the door for $30.

Check-In starts at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 13th at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church. The first workshop session will be from 6-8 p.m Friday.

Saturday the workshop will be from 9:00-4:00 with lunch included.

Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m. workshop participants will have the opportunity to share what they have learned in a concert at St. Bartholomew’s Catholic Church.

The concert is free of charge and open to the public. So even if you don’t consider yourself a singer, come enjoy some great music at 7:00 p.m. Saturday May 14th.