Check Out CROSS Ministries New Website!

CROSS Ministries is proud to announce the unveiling of our new Web site designed to keep you more informed on this vital ministry to the poor! The home page offers our mission statement and some of the facts and figures identifying the many ways CROSS meets the needs of low and no income households throughout the Des Moines and Greater Des Moines communities.

If you look to the right on the top black bar on the home page, you will also find headers that lead you to four additional pages.

• The “Assistance” page advises families of the appropriate paperwork and documentation they need to bring to the CROSS office if they are seeking financial assistance for rent, rent deposits, mortgage or utility payments.
• The “What’s New” page shares current information on volunteers and other events in the life and work of CROSS Ministries.
• The “School Supplies” page gives an overview of our Annual Back to School Giveaway event.
• Last but not least, is the “Donations” page listing items that we need to fill our personal hygiene pantry or for the Back to School Giveaway. This page also offers a new opportunity for donating to CROSS. Simply click on the “donate” button so that you may use your credit card or even a PayPal account for a simpler, faster method of donating. We will send you an email “thank you” shortly thereafter as well as a year-end statement of your donations next January for tax purposes.

The work of CROSS Ministries, supported by the Presbytery of Des Moines, makes a difference in the lives of “the least of these.” We want to share that exciting ministry with you and this is just one more avenue to do so. Thank you for your ongoing support.

Roberta Victor,
Executive Director
CROSS Ministries

Blogging during a Lunch & Learn presentation

When I am leading a workshop or session on networking technology, I really try hard to give people an immediate visual of working in the programs that I’m teaching on. One opportunity to show off the Presbytery’s blog happened last week at the Big Tent. During a workshop I taught on Design an Effective Network for the New Immigrants Ministries group, we actually posted four different blogs about the event and those participating from the Des Moines Presbytery.

So today, during a Lunch & Learn session on "Blogging 101 and Podcasting", we wrote and uploaded a blog to publish in "real time" with a photo to boot! This proved how easy and quick it truely is to post a blog. We visited various Web sites that I frequent in the course of a week/month to various Presbyterian/Christian and secular blogs and podcasts that are available. A few of my favorites are listed below:

Blogs

• www.pcusa.org/navigation/news.htm - for a list of Presbyterian blogs including:
• www.mod.reyes-chow.com/
• http://presbyterian.typepad.com/vicemodblog/
• http://presbyterian.typepad.com/lindavalentine/

Use these sites to create a free blog:

• Blogger.com
• Wordpress.com
• Typepad.com

Podcasts

• Speaking of Faith, NPR in Minnesota with Krista Tippett
• Pipedreams, American Public Media, in Minnesota with Michael Barone

To create a podcast:

• Libsyn.com
• Altarcast.com
• Sermoncast.com
• Podpoint.com
• Godcast.org
• AudioBlog.com
• www.ourchurchvideos.com/
• www.youtube.com

There are many that were left off these lists... you can find more by going to a search engine and looking for them. Some are free and some have fees associated with a contract. I guess it depends on how you'll use the blog or podcast. The questions to ask are: Will we attract more members? Will you keep connected to the current members? or Who will update the site on a regular basis? If you need help working through these and other tough decisions, give me a call, I'll be happy to help.

Kim Coulter, Director of Communications
515-276-4991 or officeinfo@presbyteryofdesmoines.org

Multicultural Church Pastor finds help under the Big Top

June 14, 2009

In the Big Tent, like the three rings of the Big Top, there is a conjuncture of three circles of opportunity to learn and to celebrate being a Presbyterian: worship, seminars, and networking.

The worship has been inspiring and centered around the preaching of two professors. of preaching. who obviously know their stuff. With over 150 workshops to choose from addressing a myriad of issues facing local congregations and the denomination, some are very helpful and some not so much.

Tomorrow I'm attending a workshop led by the G.A. Moderator Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow on "Social Media 101". Bruce is my 'friend' on Facebook, an online social networking Web site.

I also had a good long discussion with the person staffing the committee charged with reviewing the Form of Government (FOG) section of the denomination's Book of Order. This conversation allowed me to share some of my concerns about how the FOG could be more welcoming of refugees and immigrants like the Sudanese.

I get back in Des Moines at 11 p.m., Saturday night. And with three worship services on Sunday (today), I will probably have forgotten everything by Monday, well, maybe NOT!

- Rev. David Madsen
Cottage Grove Avenue Presbyterian Church
Des Moines