219th General Assembly - Tentmaker Reflects

Dear Friends,
A big thanks to Sharon, Charlie and Don for helping with the Association of Presbyterian Tentmakers (APT) display at the 219th General Assembly! Fred mailed materials for the display to me and our display was open for the whole exhibit from Friday afternoon (July 2) through Wednesday evening (July 7). Don mailed the set-up materials back to Fred.

Persons stopping by the display ranged from curiosity seekers to pastors, churches, and administrators with serious questions and requests for help. There were some fascinating stories of tentmakers at work... though most did not call themselves "tentmakers".

Face-to-face workshop on tentmaking was poorly attended, but the one young man that came was very impressive and was helped by the workshop.

Phyllis Tickle was a big hit in her pre-assembly workshops. She made several references to the importance of tentmakers and tentmaking. I met her and she is looking forward to our APT conference this fall.

I made several important contacts with seminaries... especially Austin, Pittsburgh, and Dubuque.

Our (APT) Board of Pensions contact, Phil Gehman, has helped with the publishing of Benefits for Tentmakers and other Part-Time Ministers of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The publication number is PLN-211, dated June, 2010.

My Top 6 Take-Aways:

• There is a large number of pastors out there doing tentmaking (though most do not call themselves "tentmakers"). They are tentmaking because they have been called to it. They (like most of us) are already overloaded and don't much care about getting involved with another organization (like APT).
• Who are they?
• What are their stories and how do we listen?
• How do we find ways to connect with them and let them help us tell others?
• There is a growing awareness by seminaries about the importance of tentmaking. We need to work with Marcia in her contacts with placement and other grassroots seminary personel.
• We have an opportunity in our conversations with Phyllis Tickle in November at the APT Conference. We do, however, need to be familiar with her book so that we can focus on how tentmaking fits in the picture.

Well, I have rambled on enough! Thanks for letting me represent Association of Presbyterian Tentmakers at General Assembly.

Rev. Ross Blount
United Presbyterian Church, Allerton
Presbytery of Des Moines