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Guided by the Holy Spirit
Excerpt from Shenandoah Presbytery News, Spring/Summer 1988
It was April 22nd, 1988 and Shenandoah Presbytery was meeting at the newly rebuilt sanctuary of the First Presbyterian Church Waynesboro. The meeting began at 4pm on a Friday and adjourned the following Saturday afternoon.
This presbytery meeting was significant for several reasons. One was coming together as a presbytery in the newly rebuilt sanctuary at Waynesboro First following a devastating fire.
Another point of significance was the introduction of a campaign to raise funds to renovate the Presbytery office in Harrisonburg. Support for the effort came after a report of the "widening cracks in the masonry which were evidence enough that the office staff had no wish to share the fate of the rebels against Moses when the earth opened up and swallowed them."
But it was at this April 1988 presbytery meeting when the open discussion began in small groups on the possibility of establishing an international "partnership." The sentiment seemed to favor a presbytery in Jamaica over one in Haiti or Ethiopia because of the common language and the shorter distance.
Fran Hobbs, an elder in the Windy Cove church, recounted
at the 20 Year Partnership Anniversary Celebration in November 2009 that
the Holy Spirit guided the decision where no one was expecting to be taken
- to Ethiopia.The Rev. Albert Connette, who with Fran Hobbs made the initial visit to Ethiopia in 1989, agrees they were guided by the Holy Spirit all the way. The planning committee had written letters to churches in several countries who were potential mission partners.
Before the committee's next meeting, they received back a letter from the Illubabor Bethel Synod stating they had been in prayer about the need for a connection with the greater church, but had ended their meeting that day without a decision but committed to praying individually about it. Before they met the next day, they found Shenandoah's letter in the mail and considered it a sign from God about the direction they should take.
World
Wide Ministries Updates Booklet
The Presbytery's World Wide Ministries committee is reissuing the mission booklet "Catch the Mission Spirit," in the fall of 2010. The last booklet was issued in early 2008. Since that time many changes have occurred both in PCUSA World Mission and in the areas of focus of our congregations.
If your congregation has adopted a new mission worker or program, please send that information by email to Doug Sensabaugh at the presbytery office - doug@shenpres.org.
The new booklet will be available at the August 21 meeting of presbytery at the Franklin Presbyterian Church. The updates will also be recorded online at www.shenpres.org/missionchallenge.html.
The Presbytery's World Wide Ministries committee is reissuing the mission booklet "Catch the Mission Spirit," in the fall of 2010. The last booklet was issued in early 2008. Since that time many changes have occurred both in PCUSA World Mission and in the areas of focus of our congregations.
If your congregation has adopted a new mission worker or program, please send that information by email to Doug Sensabaugh at the presbytery office - doug@shenpres.org.
The new booklet will be available at the August 21 meeting of presbytery at the Franklin Presbyterian Church. The updates will also be recorded online at www.shenpres.org/missionchallenge.html.
The Presbytery's Disaster Response Team (DRT) is preparing to initiate an on-going kits collection program throughout the presbytery.
With the expected active tropical storm season nearing, the DRT will soon announce an on-going Gift of Heart Kits program aimed at helping the Church World Service Warehouse maintain a dependable level of kits on hand.
Please watch for an announcement soon. In the meantime, please consider organizing a regular kit collection program in your church. Invite different groups to contribute so many kits each month. Have a fellowship dinner followed by a time for kit assembly. You can find instructions by clicking here.