Festival Choir of Praise, June 24-25, 2023

UPDATE! — The registration deadline for the Festival Choir of Praise has been extended to June 4th.

Westminster Presbyterian Church in Washington, Indiana is hosting a choir workshop on the campus of Vincennes University under the direction of renown composer, conductor, concert artist, and humorist Pepper Choplin on June 24-25, 2023.

The Festival Choir of Praise (FCP) is open to all adults and students ages 12 and over. This two-day event will consist of a rehearsal on Saturday and a performance on Sunday in the beautiful Red Skelton Performing Arts Center. Thanks to a generous gift from the Center for Congregations, the cost of registration is only $20 with an Early Bird discounted half price registration fee of $10.

Included with your registration you will receive music for 12 anthems, lunch on Saturday, a post-concert reception, participant gift, as well as the experience of working with Maestro Pepper Choplin and performing in RSPAC. The entire package is valued at $200 and is limited to the first 160 applicants.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Saturday, June 24, 2023

  • 9:15 a.m. – 9:50 a.m. Check in. Receive packet with music and folder, seating assignment, lunch ticket, and participant gift.
  • 10:00 a.m. Rehearsal with Maestro Pepper Choplin.
  • 12:00 p.m. Box lunch provided.
  • 1:00 p.m. Rehearsal with Pepper.
  • 3:00 p.m. Travel home or visit historical sites in Vincennes.
  • 5:00 p.m. Dinner for all choir directors and accompanists with Pepper Choplin.

Sunday, June 25, 2023

  • 12:30 p.m. Doors open at RSPAC for performers.
  • 1:00 p.m. Dress rehearsal on stage.
  • 2:30 p.m. Doors open to the theater for the audience.
  • 3:00 p.m. Festival Choir of Praise in concert with Pepper Choplin.
  • 4:00 p.m. Post-concert reception at RSPAC.

MORE INFORMATION:

TO REGISTER: https://festivalchoirofpraise.rsvpify.com/

  • Or, download, fill out, and mail a paper registration form.

QUESTIONS?

You will receive more information about the festival weekend after you register. If you have any questions before you register, please contact Joyce Kim-Rohrer at swindcantatachoir@gmail.com

Disaster Assistance is available from the US Small Business Administration

Businesses, Homeowners, Renters, and Non-Profits are eligible for loans to repair/replace damage from the storms March 31/April 1st.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has trained, experienced customer service representatives at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) located in Morgan County at the 4H Exhibition Building, 1749 Hospital Dr., Martinsville, IN 46151. The DRC is open Monday to Friday 7:00am-7:00pm and on Saturdays 7:00am-2:00pm.

At the DRC, SBA’s Customer Service Representatives will assist Indiana businesses and residents with applying for SBA disaster loans for losses due to severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes that occurred from March 31 through April 1. In addition, there are Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) that do not require any physical damage by the borrower for private nonprofits and small businesses. The EIDL is a working capital loan to help pay for ordinary and necessary operating expenses to recover from revenue loss.

Disaster survivors with insurance should not wait for their settlement before applying to the SBA. The SBA can make a loan for the total loss and use insurance proceeds to reduce or repay the loan.

Apply in person at a Disaster Recovery Center or a Business Recovery Center or apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via the SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/ela/s/. Disaster loan information and application forms can also be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 and at https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/ela/s/loan-information.

Information regarding how to apply for an SBA disaster loan: 
How to Apply for a Disaster Assistance Loan – YouTube
Three Steps to SBA Disaster Assistance Loans – PDF
Business Loan Checklist – PDF
Home/Renter Loan Checklist – PDF
SBA Disaster Loan Fact Sheet – PDF

Deadlines for filing:

  • Physical damage: June 14, 2023
  • Economic Injury: January 15, 2024

First Presbyterian in Columbus presents Laws Lecture on 5/7/2023

First Presbyterian Columbus is honored to host the Rev. Adam Russell Taylor, President of Sojourners, as a Laws Lecture speaker

Event Details:

  • When: Sunday May 7th, 3:00 pm lecture
    Moderated Q&A with speaker and reception to follow
  • Where: First Presbyterian Church, 512 Seventh Street, Columbus IN
  • Speaker: Rev. Adam Russell Taylor, president of Sojourners, an ecumenical Christian organization that works to advance justice and peace
  • Title: Where do we go from here? Toxic Polarization or the Beloved
    Community?

“In A More Perfect Union (book upon which the lecture is based), Rev. Adam Russell Taylor,
president of Sojourners, reimagines a contemporary version of the Beloved Community that will inspire and unite Americans across generations, geographic and class divides, racial and gender differences, faith traditions, and ideological leanings. …The pursuit of the Beloved Community can help cure deep polarization and partisanship that is crippling our politics and culture, enabling our nation to live up to its best ideals and realize a more perfect union.” [Front matter, A More Perfect Union]

About the Laws Lecture Speaker

Rev. Adam Russell TaylorTaylor previously led the Faith Initiative at the World Bank Group and served as the vice president in charge of Advocacy at World Vision U.S. He has also served as the executive director of Global Justice, an organization that educates and mobilizes students around global human rights and economic justice. Taylor is a graduate of Emory University, the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology. Taylor is ordained in the American Baptist Church and the Progressive National Baptist Convention and serves in ministry at the Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va. Follow him on Twitter @revadamtaylor

Low Ropes Course Open House 4/24/2023

Hanover College is hosting a Low Ropes Course Open House on April 24th from 4-6 p.m. for interested churches and non-profits at Hanover College.

The Open House will include tours of the facility for those who may be interested in using it in the future.

For more information, contact Rev. Catherine Knott (knott@hanover.edu).

Tornado Damage in Sullivan & Martinsville

The following is adapted from the Prayers of the Presbytery announcement sent by the Rev. Susan McGhee on Sunday, April 2, 2023.

Another news article, Tornadoes damage PC(USA) churches and destroy homes in the presbyteries of Ohio Valley and Arkansas, was published by PCUSA on 4/4/2023.

In Sullivan, where the Rev. Dawn Black serves as pastor of First Presbyterian Church, one hundred fifty homes in town and another fifty in the county were destroyed as a (preliminary) EF-4 tornado swept through the area (the church building was not damaged). Peak winds were 155 miles per hour during the storm that traveled 8.94 miles. As of Sunday evening, there where three confirmed fatalities and at least 300 displaced residents.

In Martinsville, an EF0 tornado with wind gusts of up to 85 miles per hour traveled through the area. The Rev. John Erickson serves as pastor of First Presbyterian Church, which sustained considerable damage, ripping the steeple from the building and sending debris into the sanctuary.

The Rev. Susan McGhee, Executive Presbyter, has contacted Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), and a National Response Team is being deployed. She will meet with the leaders of that team Wednesday through Friday to tour the affected areas, offer support to pastors and people, and work on next steps.

Monetary support is always helpful at times like this, as it can quickly be sent to where it is most needed. Gifts can be made to the Presbytery of Ohio Valley marked “disaster assistance” and mailed to
Presbytery of Ohio Valley
P.O. Box 7003
Bloomington, IN 47407

The Art of Transitional Ministry Training Event

Register now for The Art of Transitional Ministry Training, Week I & II. May 22-26, 2023 at the beautiful Mercy Center, St. Louis, MO

We live in a crazy time of transition in our churches and culture. Transitional Ministry Education is not limited to those presently engaged in or inquiring about transitional ministry. Anyone interested in learning how to walk through change alongside your church is invited to join in. PLUS, we have expanded to include a more diverse faculty and re-worked curriculum for this spring.

Mercy Center is a beautiful convent and retreat center which provides: good food for gathering, lovely grounds for unwinding, a labyrinth for spiritual centering, AND great space for meeting and learning from other motivated pastors, CREs, and all who serve the church on committees.

Basic Transitional Ministry Education consists of 60 contact hours plus a practicum. The contact hours are divided equally between two residency weeks: Week I (30 hours) and Week II (30 hours), separated by a practicum that combines reflection on, and experience in, some aspect of interim/transitional ministry.

The faculty this spring includes: Rev. Dr. Barbara Wilson, Chicago Presbytery Director of Collaboration & Community Partnerships; Rev. Dr. Eric Thomas, Pastor of Siloam Pres, Brooklyn, NY; Rev. Bruce Jones, Transitional pastor, Milwaukee, WI; Rev. Dr. Tassie Green, Bridge Pastor of Hope Pres, Wheaton, IL;  Rev. Gail Doering, Southern Kansas Transitional EP; and Tony de la Rosa, Transitional Exec, Synod of Mid America.

Pyoca Confirmation Retreat March 3rd – 5th, 2023

Confirmation RetreatSave the date! We’re kicking off our 2023 program season with our annual Confirmation Retreat, open to youth in grades 6 – 12 and their mentors. This retreat focuses on building strong bonds between youth and their mentors, as well as helping confirmands learn the tools they will need on a lifelong journey of faith. This year’s retreat keynote speaker is Rev. Carrie Winebrenner, Associate Pastor at First Presbyterian Church Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Learn more today.