| Congratulations! |
Presbyterian College has announced that eight youth from Foothills Presbytery have been nominated for the Outstanding Church Youth Leader Award (2008-2009). They are:
Alexander Susanne Riehm - Easley Church
Kathryn Olivia Driggers - First Greer Church
Henry Bryson Gettys - First Greer Church
Alexander Gray Graulee - First Spartanburg Church
Martin Curtis Pruitt - First Anderson Church
Susan Hayne Cobb - Fourth Church
Jordan Calhoun Meggs - John Knox Church
Jonathan Dean Holder - Pickens Church
Congratulations to these outstanding young people!
All nominees, along with their parents and church respresentatives, will be honored at Youth Day on November 15. The overall winner will be announced at halftime of the PC football game on that day.
If you need additional information on Presbyterian College Youth Day, contact Dr. Jim Simpson at jsimpson@presby.edu. |
| You are invited - Organ Concert |
 Central Presbyterian Church in Anderson is hosting an organ concert on Tuesday, October 28, at 7:00 p.m. in the sanctuary. Stephen and Susan Talley from Covenant Presbyterian Church in Charlotte will play organ duo pieces, as well as some solo works, and will be joined on some pieces by their daughter, Laurel, on violin. Laurel studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and is a former member of the Boise Philharmonic. This concert of traditional music and several orchestral transcriptions is offered to the public free of charge. There will be a reception in the church parlor following the concert. Central Presbyterian is located just off Highway 81 on North Boulevard. |
| Save the Dates! |
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Thursday, January 22, 2009
9:00 am until 1:30 pm
"Bridging the Gap"
Place - Trinity Lutheran Church, Greenville
Registration Fee (including lunch) - $10
(A one-day conference sponsored by Safe Harbor, Inc. responding to domestic violence in faith communities.) More information to follow.
SC5 Leader of Leaders Event
March 9-10, 2009
"The Future of Christian Education"
Presenters:
The Rev. Dr. Brian Blount
Union-PSCE President
Dr. Rodger Nishioka, Assistant
Professor of Christian Education,
Columbia Theological Seminary
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| Please Note |
Presbyterian Communities of SC sends the following message: Due to the 50th anniversary celebration of Presbyterian Communities of S.C., the newsletter for November is larger than usual. In order to save money on postage, several copies are being mailed individually to each church via bulk mail instead of in 1-2 large envelopes containing multiple copies. Please place copies where they can be picked up by your members. This should not happen in the future - only for this large edition. Thank you for your understanding.
Money for College - Up to $1,400 for college is available to Presbyterian students entering college in fall 2009. Applicants to the National Presbyterian College Scholarship must maintain a 3.0 grade point average, demonstrate financial need and complete a biographical questionnaire and an essay. Find out more here and apply by January 31, 2009.
Adopt an Orphan - If your church would like to adopt one of the children at the orphanage at Donkorkrom Hospital in Ghana, please email Nita Reiter or call her at 864-246-7750. She will be able to give you any information you might need and also can provide a picture of the child you will be adopting.
Pension Benefits will be sent on time. The Board of Pensions Balanced Investment Portfolio experienced a negative 15.3% return for the nine months ended September 30, 2008. Investment markets continue to decline in an unprecedented global credit crisis. The Balanced Investment Portfolio is well-diversified. While short-term performance is disappointing, we believe that prudent diversification will enable us to meet our long-term return expectations. Pension benefits are secure, and our retirees and Plan members can expect to see their pension checks on the first of each month, just as they have in past months and years. |
| Laura Mendenhall Ends Tenure |
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Laura Mendenhall, President of Columbia Theological Seminary, announced recently that she would conclude her tenure as seminary President at the end of the 2008-2009 academic year. She plans to return to Texas next summer to be with family and will be senior philanthropy advisor for the Texas Presbyterian Foundation. The Chair of the CTS Board of Trustees said that she has infused the seminary with vitality and has broadened its perspectives on teaching, leadership, and the church as a whole. She will be leaving Columbia strong and healthy. | |
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| Parker Palmer,
Small Groups &
Peer Support |
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Based on Parker Palmer's Circle of Trust model, church professionals and congregations from Foothills Presbytery are invited by John Knox Presbyterian Church to participate in a pilot small group project. In his doctoral studies focused on small group ministry, Joseph Gaston (Associate Pastor at John Knox) discovered a gift described by St. Benedict as "listening with the ear of the heart." You are invited prayerfully to consider applying for Connecting Hearts, a program in which 24 individuals will have the opportunity to "listen with the ear of the heart" in a circle of trust. To help nurture peer support groups for church professionals, the Presbytery's Inspiration and Support Team is providing three scholarships for participating church professionals.
Also, in an effort to introduce this model of reflective listening into congregations of Foothills Presbytery, three church members are invited to participate along with their pastor or educator. The cost to participate in the program is $300 per person, which covers lodging and meals for the two overnight retreats.
For more information, email Joseph Gaston or call him at 244-0453. Applications will be taken on a first come basis and should be received by December 1. To download an application, click here. For an information sheet, click here.Completed applications should be mailed to Joseph Gaston, John Knox Presbyterian Church, 35 Shannon Drive, Greenville, SC 29615.
Connecting Hearts is part of Joseph Gaston's doctoral research and is a pilot project of the Center for Courage & Renewal's Courage to Lead for Clergy and Congregational Leaders, a program supported by the Lilly Endowment. |
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| The Tragedies of War, The Faces of Hope |
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As we struggle with problems and uncertainties in our own country, we need to remember people in other parts of the world who are suffering. First Church Greenville has taken on a project with the children in the Republic of Georgia, who are living in terrible conditions in a refugee camp - a result of conflict between Georgia and Russia. Carolyn Rice, a missionary who works there, communicated to some folks here that the children in that area had no toys - everything had been lost in fires. After hearing this, the FirstPAWS pet therapy ministry at First Greenville collected and shipped several boxes of teddy bears, a part of the MY BUDDY Rescue bears program. The bears provide comfort and love for the children. Around the neck of each bear is a tag telling them how much God loves them. |
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Heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped make this effort possible: Cema Powell, Carolyn Rice, LifeWay Christian store, Myrtle Hutchinson, UPS on Woodruff Road, Karen King, the children of First Presbyterian, and everyone who continues to lift up prayers for this outreach of love.
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This email was sent to tomsand@bellsouth.net by ssharpe@foothillspresbytery.org.
Foothills Presbytery | 2242 Woodruff Road | Simpsonville | SC | 29681