Church Mission Giving Resource Packet Coming in September to You

Each church in the Des Moines Presbytery will receive a packet for pastors, Mission committee chairpersons, and clerks of Session in late September from the General Assembly Mission Council of the PC(USA). This packet will have materials to help sessions make decisions about their mission giving in 2011.

Included in this year’s stewardship promotional materials are:

• a printed World Mission Giving Opportunities catalog
• a flier promoting Shared Mission Support at all levels of the church, which also explains how the General Assembly Mission Council uses its portion of Shared Mission Support
• a flier promoting resources for congregational giving campaigns from our partners at the Ecumenical Stewardship Center
• a flier with information from the Presbyterian Foundation on long-term giving opportunities
• a cover letter explaining the packet and providing instructions on accessing the online searchable listing of giving opportunities.

Watch the Seconds for Stewardship box weekly in The Wider Circle E-news, and pray for ways you can help the church ministry and mission, both regionally and nationally.

CROSS Ministries Video is Online

The video played at the Des Moines Presbytery's August 21, 2010 meeting held in Leon, Iowa, on the CROSS Back-to-School Backpack Giveaway may now be viewed online and/or downloaded. Scroll down through the photo icons and click on “School Giveaway 2010.”

There are also a few DVD copies, if you’d like one, contact the Des Moines Presbytery Office or the Rev. Dr. David Madsen, Cottage Grove Avenue Presbyterian Church in Des Moines at 515-279-8877 or cgpresby@mchsi.com.

Lunch & Learn Sessions are Winding Down for 2009

The Communications' Lunch & Learn Series is winding down for 2009. Many members of our Des Moines Presbytery congregations have benefitted from attending these informational communication workshops, held monthly on the third Thursday from Noon - 1 p.m. If you currently work at a church, either as a staff member, volunteer or lay leader, you are invited to join us this Thursday, Sept. 17. Bring your brown bag lunch to our Presbytery office at: 2400 86th St., Suite 20, Urbandale, IA 50322. We’ll provide the beverages. The fee is FREE!

New option: Attend by Webconference and teleconference! If interested in this option, please call the Presbytery's Director of Communications Kim Coulter at 515-276-4991, to discuss whether your computer and phone are compatible. You'll then be given the passcode and login information in time for Thursday's Lunch & Learn Session.

This week's topic has been changed to "How to use Photographs in your Church Ministry". Participants are encouraged to bring questions, samples, and insights related to using pictures to tell your churches' stories or maybe using images in worship. In addition to the featured topic, there will be time to network and discuss off-topic items. Such as to share recent projects or accomplishments, or ask those “burning questions”.

2009 Dates and Topics:

September 17 – How to use Photographs in your Church Ministry
October 15 – Public Relations 101 – How to Get Church News Noticed
November 19 – Annual & Statistical Reports, Newsletters and E-announcements (bring samples)

Tentmakers are helping at the Big Tent

June 13, 2009

This Big Tent is not made of your typical materials of fabric and wood stakes, it's more of a combination of people together working to spread the Good News about Christ and a lot of juggling. One person from our Presbytery is serving as a resource person at the invitation of the New Immigrant Fellowship Conference. And he happens to be working at a variety of things all at the same time.

The Rev. Ross Blount led a workshop on Tentmaking while he was here in Atlanta. Ross has been a bi-vocational pastor at the Allerton United Presbyterian Church since 1981 and is representing the Association of Presbyterian Tentmakers while here at the Big Tent. A group of pastors who divide their work between two or more vocations – at least one of which is a ministry validated by presbytery and at least one of which is a secular vocation.

Besides working as a pastor in Allerton, Ross is also a farmer, instructor and past mission worker with the PC(USA). Ross, along with his wife Lorena, enjoy volunteering and helping in our Presbytery. Lorena even serves with our Presbyterian Womens group.

By the invitation of the New Immigrant Ministries Coordinator Rev. Angel Suárez-Valera, Ross found that the pastors and lay leaders of new immigrant Bible study/fellowships in the U.S. can relat to the denomination's tentmakers. Groups from Africa, South Asian (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh), Portuguese speaking countries, and the French and English Caribbean have out of necessity needed to have more that one vocation to remain in the states. An excerpt from Angel's coorespondence with Ross indicates why tentmakers and immigrants have mutual concerns:

"Dear brother Ross,

Thanks for your call last week. It presents an opportunity to be addressed by this office because of the significant number of new immigrant Presbyterian leaders doing ministry as "tentmakers". But, the nature and motivation to be a tentmaker in PC(USA) sharply differs from that among new immigrants. In our situation, it's basically forced by economics.

The intention to provide a decent salary for full time pastors is hindered by

• Most of the new immigrant church membership are low income workers
• Instability of church membership due to mobility of people searching for job opportunities;
• Contrast between the minimum salary approved by a Presbytery for an ordained minister and the media income of the membership served;
• Limited or no financial resources in most Presbyteries to support new immigrant ministries."

After a good day of networking and face-to-face meetings, the 1,500 participants of the Big Tent headed to Centinnial Park in downtown Atlanta, Ga., for a celebration complete with entertainment and cake! All in honor of the 26th anniversary celebration of Presbyterian reunion, which occurred here in 1983. Even Presbyterian Church founder, John Calvin was on hand!