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Convenor:
Carl Moore
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Maury River Mission Community:
Bath, Rockbridge Counties;
Buena Vista, Lexington Cities
Minutes of the Meetings
MINUTES
The Maury River Mission Community Planning Committee
New Monmouth Presbyterian
January 8, 2012, 2:30 p.m.
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The following members were present: David Dax, Ken Mohler, Linda Koogler,
Janet Mayo, Malcolm Brownlee, Christina Tutterow, Skip Hastings, Jeanie Cash,
Becca Cash, Jerry Close, Janet Scott, Carl Moore, George Chapman, & Martin
Stokes. Presbytery Staff: Dan Williams (Stated Clerk) and Randy Webb
(Acting General Presbyter. Visitor: Russel Thompson.
Requesting to be excused were: Glenn Coleman (report attached), Bonny Wilson,
and Keith Cornfield.
Call to Order - Carl Moore, convener, called the meeting to order with prayer.
Election of secretary - Christina nominated Martin, who accepted the job
“pro tem.”
Introductions were made around the table.
Report of Treasurer - Bonnie Wilson (Attached
as Appendix 1)
Community Table Program - George Chapman
George then introduced Russell Thompson who explained The Community Table,
a program to feed the poor and bring the community together in a “dignified
atmosphere.” Meals will be prepared and served restaurant style by
volunteers from the community. Anyone from the community may come and
dine and will be given the opportunity to make a donation to help support
the program. Due to the generosity of various community organizations and
businesses, meal will cost approximately 50 cents each. The meals will be
prepared and served in the old rescue building near Carilion Stonewall Jackson
Hospital. The program will also offer educational programs on purchasing
and cooking healthy meals while also saving money on the cost of each meal.
The greatest need for now is for volunteers who will help serve. They
hope to begin serving in March.
Presbytery Staff - Dan Williams, Stated
Clerk,
1. Annual Statistical Report is now being done on line.
(Clerks will need to add an explanation point to the church password, which
is the church’s pin number)
2. Clerks need to send list of elders who died in 2012 to Kim
at presbytery for the necrology report.
3. Randy Webb will be our new Acting General Presbyter, pending
council’s approval on Tuesday 1/10.
Sub-Committee
Carl reported on the subcommittee meeting. (Minutes attached as Appendix
2)
Regarding the possibility of a mission community newsletter, the group was
reminded that the mission community would have to take full responsibility
for the letter and not put that extra work on our already very busy presbytery
staff. A finished copy could be sent to Doug to be forwarded to the
KCCs.
Disaster Response Team
Glenn Coleman sent a letter describing PDA cleanup bucket project.
(Attached as Appendix 3)
Sub Group Planning
We then separated into our sub groups (Mission, Education, Worship, &
Youth) for additional planning.
Mission - Carl
Carl reported on upcoming trip to Guatemala. April 10-April 16
Martin shared a letter from Ethiopia Mission Co-workers Michael & Rachel
Weller. (Attached as Appendix 4)
Education - Carl
We will hold our annual mission community officers training
workshop at New Monmouth October 27, 2012. In our advertising we need
to remind trainees that they are to bring their own copy of the Book of Order.
Evaluation of the 2011 event was provided by Keith Cornfield. (Attached
as Appendix 5)
Worship -
Pulpit Swap - Christina
Do we want to have a pulpit swap in 2012? The date for this is ordinarily
the Sunday following Easter which in 2012 would be April 15. Churches
will be contacted as to their willingness to participate in 2012.
Holy Week Services - Carl
Discussed the possibly of opening it up to all of the mission community.
Several of the church are already involved in services in their local area.
Mission Community Joint Worship
Discussed possible October 28, 2012, mid-afternoon worship at Lexington Presbyterian.
Theme The Reformation. Idea will continue to be explored.
Youth
Report on Youth Rally
Our mission emphasis rally was held December 29 at Bethesda Presbyterian
Church with 25 in attendance. Three young people shared their recent
experiences in mission work. Their presentations were well received.
The young people were then challenged to become involved in at least one
mission project during the year of 2012.
Other ideas explored
- Move events from church to church.
- Possible lock-in.
- Another youth rally in Dec.
- Possibly have some of our youth do a mission trip.
- Youth package the mission buckets for the presbytery
project.
Reports from Churches
- New Monmouth - new organ to be dedicated
- Lexington - building project is almost completed.
Haiti - Living waters/
solar under the sun
- Mt Carmel - will celebrate 175th year on 26 of
August
- Collierstown - Session retreat yesterday.
Presbytery Council Representative --Skip agreed
to represent the MC at council this year.
Next meetings - April 15th - Fairfield; July ?? - (Bath County); Oct 14 -
Mt Carmel; January 13 2013 - BV
The meeting was adjourned with prayer
Respectfully submitted,
Martin L Stokes, Jr. Secretary Pro tem
Appendix 1
Maury River Mission Community Budget 2011
Contributions
January ‘11 - Presbytery $ 4,000.00
Expended Date: 12/31/11
Total Budget
$ 4,000.00
Presby
Code Date
Budget
5935.1 MISSION SUPPORT
$ 3,000.00
Windy Cove Haiti Mission
$ 750.00
Adult Wksp Massanetta Spgs
$ 250.00
Balance
$ 2,000.00 $ 1,000.00
5935.2 YOUTH
$1,000.00
Windy Cove Haiti Mission
$ 250.00
Balance
$ 750.00 $ 250.00
Balance
$ 2,750.00 $ 1,250.00
Budget Expended
$2,750.00 returned to presbytery December 2011.
Bonny Wilson - Treasurer
Appendix 2
Maury River Mission Community - Subcommitee Meeting
Minutes December 10, 2011
Present:
Carl Moore (Pastor and Community Convener, Timber Ridge/Fairfield),
Bonny Wilson (Community Treasurer, Becca Cash (Secretary Pro Tem, Fairfield),
Janet Scott (Collierstown), and Jerry Close (Fairfield).
The meetings began with muffins and coffee provided by Jerry, prayer given
by Carl, and personal introductions.
The purpose of the get together was to talk about increasing awareness of
MRMC’s activities and advantages throughout the MRMC (District 7) church
community and to discuss new ways to promote MRMC events through more marketing
and advance planning. It was felt that church representation in MRMC
activities and missions could be increased and improved for the benefit of
the entire community.
To get discussion going, those who had been on the committee the longest,
Janet and Bonny, gave brief history of some community-wide events MRMC had
sponsored over the years: all county church worship event at the Horse Center,
the family weekend and worship at the Young Life Camp, Mission Fair , Hymn
Sings, Guatamala Mission through Living Waters, and Elder Training Workshops.
The group also discussed exciting events individual churches within the community
had sponsored that were open to the entire community, such as blood drives,
health days, mission fairs.
These ideas surfaced as possibilities for engaging the entire MRMC community
in MRMC activities:
>hightened marketing in the form of a newsletter, brochure, and specific
bulletin inserts that would describe what MRMC is and what the community
does.
>having a 3-tier plan in place for activities scheduled out 18 months,
3 years, and 5 years with chairpersons and committees for activities and
events in place for each scheduled activity and deadlines for preparations
to be completed.
>having less focus on budget and more on program/mission
>considering a fund-raising plan for support of MRMC activities outside
of the MRMC presbytery budget
>having a subcommittee that meets between the once-quarterly full MRMC
group meetings - a variation of the idea of using the ‘coordinator’ to keep
MRMC events on track. It was felt that limited meeting times (4 times
a year) might inhibit maximizing the community’s best interests
Respectfully submitted, Bonny Wilson, taken from notes of Secretary Pro Tem,
Becca Cash
Appendix 3
PDA Cleanup Buckets
From Glenn Coleman
Our Disaster Response Team has come up with a plan for a Presbytery Clean-up
Bucket project to be completed at the Feb. 11th Presbytery Meeting. The supply
of Clean-up Buckets was exhausted by the many disasters that happened in
2011 and the Church World Service warehouse is nearly empty. The goal of
the project is to help replenish the supply by completing 100 buckets to
be taken to New Windsor. It has been our experience that when people
have a “hands-on” encounter, they are more aware and become more active in
disaster response. It is our goal to give the members of the Presbytery that
encounter and increase their disaster awareness.
Clean-up Buckets are the most needed, hardest to complete and the most expensive.
We hope that by making this a “group project” we can reduce the work and
cost for each congregation.
We have created a plan that we hope will work for you. We are asking each
Mission Community to contribute seventeen 5 gallon re-sealable buckets and
$51 for the processing fee. We also have assigned each Mission Community
two or three items to bring in volume. Maury River M. C. has been assigned
the following.
•17 five gallon buckets with lids and $51. for shipping expense
•100 pair of work gloves
500 dust masks
It will work this way.
• Information should be sent to each church as soon as possible.
• The church can then decide how they want to handle their donation.
• Each congregation will be asked to pledge what they think they can give
and report that pledge to me.
• They can then either purchase the items from their available funds or ask
members of the congregation to bring the items to the church no later than
February 5th.
• Someone from the church should then contact me to let me know how many
Appendix 4
Ethiopian Mission Co-Workers
Michael & Rachel Weller
4 January 2012
Dear Friends,
“Christmas is coming the chicken’s getting fat …” Yes, Christmas is not yet
past, and yes, it’s the chicken, not the goose, getting fat here in
Ethiopia. Saturday, Jan 7 is Christmas Day in Ethiopia and “doro wat”, a
unique chicken stew, is the celebratory meal of choice. I’m not sure the
chickens are really getting fat, though; Ethiopian chickens are free-range,
organic chickens – rather skinny but very tasty!
Michael and I celebrated Christmas on Dec 25 in two different countries.
In Ethiopia, I enjoyed a Christmas service at the International Lutheran
Church on Sunday morning and then gathered with the Presbyterian missionaries
and a few others in the evening for a Christmas meal. Michael was in Sudan,
where Christians celebrate Christmas on Dec 25. That day he was in Yei, visiting
PCUSA mission co-workers, Shelvis and Nancy Smith-Mathers who have recently
arrived there to work with RECONCILE an organization developing programs
of Peace and reconciliation. They attended the local Sudanese worship service
in the morning and shared a simple meal together in the evening.
Our Christmas was simple, but we received many wonderful gifts. As you know,
all our children are in the States working their way into adulthood. It has
not been easy, but just before Christmas we received several gifts in the
way of decisions about our kids’ futures. Amira has been looking for a satisfying
job using her skills and training in art and industrial design. She had recently
taken a job as a nanny for a couple who “coincidentally” are both industrial
designers. In the meantime, we decided to give her some frequent flyer miles
from Michael’s travels and send her to South Africa, where she attended high
school, to visit friends. It turned out that Eric, the dad of the kids she
watches, works for a company that designs a product they would like to market
in Africa, so that company is paying her to do some research while she is
in SA and then, perhaps when she visits us in Ethiopia later. The week before
Christmas, Thomas was hired by Dassault Falcon, an aircraft company in Delaware.
He will start Jan 16 after he moves there from Pittsburgh. And lastly, we
decided to bring Lydia to Ethiopia to stay with us till the summer. The cost
of college prevented us from enrolling her anywhere in the Fall, we thought
we had something worked out to allow her to start in Jan, but when that didn’t
materialize, we decided to bring her here and find something for her to do.
She was excited about that and we will be glad to have her around and breathed
a big sigh of relief at having made a decision! So those were our big Christmas
gifts, for which Michael and I are very thankful. Brian and Sheila had no
such major decisions to work through this fall, but are enjoying being together
following Brian’s four-month deployment to Qatar last summer. They celebrated
Christmas with Sheila’s family whom they don’t see often because of the distance.
We thank God for his faithfulness to each of us and for the Gift he gave
us which allows us to live as his sons and daughters enjoying the most Gracious
Inheritance.
During our years of service, Michael and I have repeatedly struggled with
our Call. While we are more and more assured of God’s guiding hand in bringing
us to Ethiopia, and now Sudan, to serve him through the PCUSA, we recognize
that every Christian parent is called to raise their children in faithfulness
to God, giving them opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge so
that they can serve God in the way He calls them. Our call limits our
abilities to offer our children stability, opportunities, and resources.
There have been times when we have considered finding jobs that would allow
us more financial freedom, but every time we start a “serious” search we
have been quickly called back to the work God has asked us to do. So we repeatedly
put our children in God’s hands (and way too often yank them back into our
own hands) yielding them to His care and guidance. While I would prefer to
fill my newsletters with the wonderful things God is doing through us in
Ethiopia and Sudan, I see that often the most important work God does in
missionaries is the work He does in their own lives. Day by day, God is teaching
Michael and me to trust Him with the lives of our children and prods us to
follow the path He designed for us. The gifts He gave us this Christmas are
signs of his promise to provide, encouraging us to continue serving Him in
Africa.
God is, however, at work in Africa as well as in our own lives.
Jan 4 was a tense day in our house. After living apart for nearly two months,
we always go through a series of re-adjustments learning to live together
again. Adding to that tension, Michael spent most of the afternoon on the
phone and on Skype helping to arrange a safety plan for Sharon Curry, PCUSA
mission co-worker living in Akobo, Sudan. I won’t go into the details of
the problem (you can find them on the internet readily enough), but the generations-old
conflict between the Murle and Luo Nuer of South Sudan has affected several
towns in the area and is threatening to raise its very ugly head where Sharon
was living. Sharon arrived in Akobo shortly before Christmas; Michael had
escorted her there to introduce her to the church leaders and help her begin
to get settled. We are grateful for good communications – phone, skype,
email, facebook – allowing knowledgeable people in several countries and
states to confer, advise, and pull strings. The final string was pulled,
though, by the pilots of the UN evacuation flight who bent the rules to allow
Sharon and some kids on the flight, though they had not been cleared. At
the end of the day, we breathed a sigh of relief gave thanks to the real
String Puller, and enjoyed a supper together with our friends and colleagues,
John & Gwen Haspels, who were in town. We continue to pray for real Peace
to take hold in South Sudan.
Michael and I have just made arrangements to drive to Gambella next week
taking enough belongings to make a guesthouse there look like a home, temporary
though it will be. Our plan is to stay through Feb; I may stay into March
or longer, unless there’s a reason I should return to Addis for anything.
We hope to begin moving on building a permanent place to live while we’re
there. I am eager to begin working with Akwata and the Abobo CHE work and
to help teach the CHE method in the Baro Bible School (Nuer). In addition,
I will spend time at the clinics to help strengthen their services and learn
what the real challenges and strengths are at each.
If my last stay there was typical, I should have better internet connection
from Gambella than I do from Addis. Electricity is the problem, but I will
be getting a new battery for my computer soon, which should allow me a bit
more freedom, too.
I thought I was going to drag some Sudan stories out of Michael before I
sent this letter off, but I could only come up with the one I witnessed as
I worked at my desk and he worked at his! Next time …
As usual, we would not be here without your encouragement and support. We
thank God for you who are faithful to pursuing His call in the world.
Sincerely,
Rachel – for the two of us.
Appendix 5
Maury River Mission Community: Elder Training (10/29/11)
Feedback: Conference Evaluation Summary (25 attended,
19 completed evaluations)
1) Overall, the amount of information presented was too much, too little,
or about right. 95 percent said "about right" five percent (1 person) said
"too little."
2) Relevance of training to your role at church: 4.47 out of 5
3) Overall teaching and leadership style of the presenters: 4.74 out of 5
4) Overall quality of training was: 4.79 out of 5
5) Did the training content meet your needs/expectations? If not, what needs
to be changed regarding the curriculum? The majority said that it did.
-Many attendees suggested that all participants need to
have a current Book of Order going forward.
-Also, some felt that the presentation needs to keep in
mind that some participants are brand new officers, and need to have very
basic information about organization, polity, and current "political" issues
(e.g., 10A) within the denomination.
6) What was most beneficial, challenging or thought provoking about
this training?
-"There are problems yet to be solved"
-"The training on historical background."
-"Qualities of good leadership, and the reminder to read
all of what the Bible has to say on a subject, not specific verses."
-"Meeting other people."
-"Spiritual aspects of leadership (3),"
-"Duties of elders (3)"
-"How to deal with changes in the church in a Christian
manner."
-"The connectional church."
7) What was most frustrating or disappointing about this training?
-The mission portion of the historical training was good,
but too much information
-Not having Book of Order available
-Small attendance
8) What other training topics would you like to see covered in the future?
-conflict resolution training
-networking on outreach ideas
-Spiritual vs. business aspects of leadership.
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Minutes - Maury River Mission Community
Fairfield Presbyterian Church
October 9, 2011
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The Mission Community met at 2:30 p.m. with the following people present:
Malcolm Brownlee, Jerry Close, David Dax, Carl Moore (Moderator), Martin Stokes,
Christina Tutterow, & Bonny Bouck Wilson. Doug Sensabaugh, represented
the presbytery staff.
Martin volunteered to serve as secretary pro-tem.
Opened with prayer by Carl Moore
Budget review (Bonnie) Copy attached - (Appendix
A)
Report from Presbytery Staff , Doug Sensabaugh
Mission Trips Updates:
Living Waters for the World - (Carl) Three day trip to Guatemala (after
Easter) This is scheduled to be the last rip according to our contract. Pray
for wisdom and sensitivity. Need something worthwhile to keep us working
down there. There was no report from Rob Sherrard concerning his recent trip
to Haiti.
Mission Next Door
Jerry reported on the outstanding work done in Glade Spring. Jerry will
be going again to raise funds for the work. Doug says they have a need for
some counseling services.
Fellowship:
Elder training will be held at New Monmouth Oct 29. We will follow the same
format as in previous events.
Worship:
Consider Holy week services in spring 2012 to encompass all of Maury River
MC Carl will send an email about this.
Reports of Churches:
Timber Ridge /Fairfield (Carl) Fall festival
is coming up.
Bethesda - (Christina) About 250 people attended
their recent health fair Joint worship service at firehouse was successful.
Lexington Pres (David) -We may be hearing
from Sarah Hill about upcoming events.
New Monmouth - (Martin) Discussed Nathan
Welsh’s trip to the Yucatan. Church is currently raising funds for a new
organ
Fairfield - (Bonny) The kids had a yard sale
to raise money for their mission work and raised $1200 +
Youth Motion 11-10-09 MRMC to hold a youth rally
at Bethesda Presbyterian Church on December 29, 2011 (5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.)
The theme will be Passion for People - A New Perspective on Mission and will
feature brief talks by young people who have recently been on mission trips.
Then each young person attending will be asked to commit themselves to doing
at least one mission event (internationally, nationally, or locally) during
the year of 2012. MSA
Possible mission projects which may be presented
include, but are not limited to: Baja, Mexico (Requires parent to attend also)
DC Central Kitchen Mission Next Door New Windsor, MD Habitat for Humanity
Create your own project
The meeting was closed in prayer.
Respectfully submitted,
Martin L. Stokes, Jr.
Martin Stokes, Secretary Pro Tem
The next meeting will be January 8, 2012, 2:30 p.m. at New Monmouth
MAURY RIVER MISSION COMMUNITY BUDGET
2011
Contributions
Income
Expended
Jan 2011 - Presbytery $ 4,000
Total Budget
$ 4,000
Pres. Description
Budget
Code
5935.1 MISSION SUPPORT
$3,000.00
Windy Cove Haiti
Mission
$750.00
Adult Workshop
- Massanetta Spgs $250.00
Balance
$2,000.00
$1,000.00
5935.2 YOUTH
$1,000.00
Windy Cove
Haiti Mission
$250.00
Balance
$750.00
$250.00
Total
Balance
$2,750.00 $1,250.00
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Members Present
Carl Moore (Pastor and Community Convener, Fairfield), Bonny Wilson Community
Treasurer and Secretary Pro
Tem, Fairfield), Doug Sensabaugh (Shenandoah Presbytery), Janet Scott
(Collierstown), Mary Linda Wolfe (New
Providence), Linda Koogler (Mount Carmel), Janet Mayo (Mount Carmel),
George Chapman (Pastor, Buena Vista),
Keith Cornfield (Pastor, New Providence), Christina Tutterow (Pastor,
Bethesda), Ken Mohler (Bethesda), Rebecca
and John Shillingburg (Interim, Collierstown), Jerry Close (Fairfield),
Malcolm Brownlee (Pastor, Retired).
The meeting began with prayer and personal introductions at the appointed
hour of 2:30 p.m. as those present enjoyed refreshments prepared by the host
church.
Convener Carl Moore distributed an agenda for the meeting. The first item
of business was to appoint a secretary for the meeting. Bonny Wilson volunteered
to take minutes and distribute them to the community.
Treasurer’s Report
Current expenditures and balances were reviewed by Treasurer Bonny Wilson.
For 2011 the Community has a $4,000
budget. The Community has spent the following: from the Mission Support
category - $750 for the Windy Cove Haiti
mission and $250 for the Adult Workshop at Massanetta Springs; from the
Youth category- $250 for the Windy Cove Haiti mission. Total expenditures
to date are $1,250. MRMC’s current balance is $2,750.00 with no obligations
outstanding.
Report from Presbytery Staff
Doug Sensabaugh brought greetings from the Presbytery staff. He said there
had been some changes in the
support staff. Cheri Bowman has retired, and Heather Carter is now working
full time doing both administrative work and bookkeeping. He announced that
there was a Council meeting on July 13th and Presbytery would meet August
27th at Timber Ridge Presbyterian Church. Doug said the disaster response
team has been very busy and will take a break in September. Because of the
number of disaster relief efforts mounted, he said churches could continue
to put together emergency clean-up buckets – of all the kits needed, these
are a major need. Collection points for all kits, including the emergency
clean-up kits, are the Presbytery Office and New Monmouth Church (please
call before dropping off). Doug reminded everyone the list of items included
in clean-up kits is on the web site (http://www.shenpres.org/DisasterDocs/CWScoupons.pdf).
He also reported that the Big Event and Mission Fair are scheduled for
September 10th, Saturday, at Massanetta Springs. Although specific workshops
and classes have not been published yet, there will be sessions similar to
those of last year’s event.
Report on Living Waters of the World
Prior to the full community meeting, Carl Moor, Malcolm Brownlee, Doug
Sensabaugh, Jerry Close, and Bonny Wilson met to discuss a third trip to
Guatemala involving MRMC pastors and congregants. The gist of the discussion
involved next steps in the current partnership with La Iglesia Alianza which
began two years ago with a MRMC mission group installing a water purifying
system, helping with Bible study, and assisting with health-related needs.
The group agreed one purpose of the third trip would be a final inspection
of the water system; but the group also discussed how MRMC might expand the
current relationship with La Iglesia Alianza to make this more of a partnership
imagined by the Vision for a Guatemala Mission Program Sponsored by MRMC
in 2009. The group felt that if MRMC is to have an ongoing relationship with
La Iglesia Alianza , then we need to know how they view the partnership,
what they need and want from a partner, and what MRMC's people and talents
bring to the partnership. The original Vision approved by MRMC talked for
the most part about how our foreign mission might be enhanced by the partnership
but was not specific about what the mission would BE - Bible study, fellowship,
health training, building projects?
Following this meeting prior to the full community meeting, MRMC heard
the following and then took action: as the first ‘next step,’ Moderator Carl
Moore will put together a meeting with David Dax, Roy Fauber, Malcolm Brownlee,
and any other interested individuals to talk about the purposes of the third
trip to Guatemala, one purpose being the final inspection of the previously
installed water purifying system. Upon proper motion with second, Rev. Moore
was approved to direct MRMC’s mission efforts with La Iglesia Alianza and
to lead the third trip to Guatemala.
Doug Sensabaugh reported that On October 12 -17, 2011, Shenandoah Presbytery
and Winchester First Presbyterian
Church would be hosting an International Peacemaking Team from Guatemala
- Karla Koll, PCUSA Mission Co-worker from CEDEPCA, and Juana Herlinda Yak,
a Guatemalan woman with who has served as a leader of her presbytery’s women’s
group. They would be able to come to the Lexington area for a time to hear
about their work and to engage in conversations about our interest and work
in Guatemala. Dates available are Friday, October 14, or Saturday, October
15. Christina Tutterow, Pastor at Bethesda, said she would ask her session
to host an event for MRMC churches on one of these dates.
Elder Training
MRMC sponsored Elder Training will be held on October 29th at New Monmouth.
Moderator Moore and Rev.’s Keith
Cornfield and Christina Tutterow will meet July 26th at 7 pm to discuss
the format of the half-day workshop. Moderator Moore asked the community
for suggestions about presentations to be included in this training event.
Presbytery Meeting August 27th
Moderator Moore reviewed the program for the Presbyterymeeting at Timber
Ridge Church on August 27th and thanked these MRMC members for their upcoming
participation:
Call to Worship Christina Tutterow
Confession and Assurance of Pardon Carl Moore
Sermon Candidate for the Ministry or Carl Moore
Affirmation of Faith Janet Scott
Prayer Linda Koogler
Benediction Keith Cornfield
Reports from Churches
Collierstown: VBS fellowship with
Oxford and Mt. Horeb churches; Pastor Skip Hastings taking a course at Columbia
University; Shillingburgs welcomed as interim.
Bethesda: Plans for a Health Fair
hosted by Bethesda are in the works. Pastor Tutterow passed out fliers that
would be mailed/e-mailed to churches again at a later date. The Fair is
September 24th at the Rockbridge Baths Fire Department; planners are asking
other MRMC churches to contribute items for a ‘granola station’ to be part
of the health fair offerings; 2 individuals from Bethesda may join those
from New Providence on the Glade Spring trip.
New Providence: Adopted the 2009-11
Book of Order as an interim measure; lots of discussion on 10a to be followed
by a town hall meeting at a later date; recently complete a successful VBS
in which the church youth built a handicapped deck and ramp as part of their
VBS experience; ~ 12 people from NP are going on a mission trip to the Glade
Spring area through Mission Next Door the week of July 18.
Windy Cove: Pastor Rob Sherrard
had shared via e-mail that their mission team would be in Haiti at the time
of our meeting. He also reported on the success of the Hymn Sing/Fellowship
Event at the Windy Cove Pavilion in June which was attended by ~60 individuals
from the MRMC community.
Mount Carmel: Hosted a Five Wishes
seminar earlier in the spring and also sponsored a talk by a member of
the ethics committee at AMC on Advance Directives; Mt. Carmel has also
completed a successful VBS.
The next MRMC community Meeting is scheduled for October 9 at Fairfield.
The Community adjourned with prayer by Christina Tutterow.
Respectfully submitted, Bonny Wilson, Secretary, Pro Tem
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Maury River Mission Community
Minutes of Meeting, January 16, 2011
New Monmouth Presbyterian Church
Members Present: Skip Hastings (Pastor and Community Convener,
Collierstown), Rob Sherrard (Community Secretary, Pastor, Windy Cove), Bonny
Wilson Community Treasurer, Fairfield), Sally Hinchman (Interim Presbyter
for Shenandoah Presbytery), Janet Scott (Collierstown), Martin Stokes (Pastor,
New Monmouth), Mary Linda Wolfe (New Providence), Lisa Hedrick (Resource
Coordinator), Linda Koogler (Mount Carmel), Janet Mayo (Mount Carmel), George
Chapman (Pastor, Buena Vista), David Dax (Lexington), Keith Cornfield (Pastor,
New Providence), Christina Tutterow (Pastor, Bethesda)
1. The meeting began with prayer and personal introductions
near the appointed hour of 2:30 p.m. as those present enjoyed refreshments
prepared by the host church.
2. Convener Skip Hastings distributed an agenda for
the meeting and minutes of the last meeting which had been mailed to the
Community list. The first item of business was the election of officers
for 2011. Carl Moore was elected Convener; Rob Sherrard was elected
Secretary; Bonny Wilson was elected Treasurer. A discussion followed
about the wisdom of having a Community Coordinator to replace Malcolm Brownlee
who had resigned at the November meeting to take an interim mission position
in Indonesia. No action was taken following the discussion.
3. Budget information from Treasurer Bonny Wilson
and from Presbytery was distributed. For 2010 the Community had $4,968
available. The Community spent $2,600 for the following items:
$2,000 for the Living Waters Project in Guatemala; $500 for relief in Haiti
through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance; and $100 for travel expenses for
the Community Coordinator. $2,368 was returned to Presbytery.
For 2011 the Community will have $4,000 available allocated between Mission
($3,000) and Youth ($1,000). The Youth category includes money from
Presbytery’s Blue fund which is specifically designated for some form of
youth ministry.
4. Sally Hinchman announced a Meet the Moderator event
for Friday, February 11, at Massanetta Springs. Registration for the
dinner should be completed by February 3. There will be reception
at 5:30, dinner at 6 p.m., and the Moderator, Cynthia Bolbach, will speak
at 7. Ms. Bolbach will also be speaking at the Presbytery meeting the
next day at Covenant Church in Staunton. Important business at the
February meeting also includes voting on the Belhar Confession and the new
Form of Government.
5. Lisa Hedrick highlighted Presbytery’s Big Event
for this year scheduled for September 10 at Massanetta. Also, May
5 is a day to highlight Older Adult Ministry in partnership with the Presbytery
of the James. That meeting is also at Massanetta.
6. The Community divided into smaller work groups
for Mission, Fellowship, and Worship for 30 minutes of planning.
The groups reported as follows:
a. Mission:
support a mission fair this year highlighting church ministries, investigate
working with and giving publicity to the Rockbridge Haiti Medical Alliance
and Solar Under the Sun as well as support for local involvement with Haiti
such as short-term teams as in the past from New Monmouth, Lexington, and
Windy Cove.
b. Fellowship:
planning for a youth event perhaps in conjunction with the new YMCA in Lexington,
plans for leadership training on either October 22 or 29 at New Monmouth
c. Worship:
scheduled a fellowship and worship event for the Windy Cove Pavilion on
Sunday, June 12, from 3 to 5 p.m. Rob Sherrard will coordinate the
planning. The Community will also support worship planning for the
August 27 meeting of Presbytery at Timber Ridge.
7. The Community discussed
local mission efforts ongoing in the churches:
a. Collierstown:
Planned sabbatical for Pastor Skip Hastings during this year
b. Bethesda:
ordination of officers and renewed interest in youth
c. New Providence:
upcoming ordination on January 23 of their new pastor Keith Cornfield, ordination
of officers, a community Music Night, and a Bible study on Revelation
d. Windy Cove:
women’s Bible Study with Beth Moore videos, development of Bible Quest an
after-school program for children
e. Mount Carmel:
work from 6 young children who raised $915 for Heifer Project which was
matched by a person in the congregation, forum on end of life decisions which
was well attended
f. New Monmouth:
Christmas cantata, parenting program
g. Fairfield and
Timber Ridge: joint Christmas service, food bank collection, and
ministry with their bell choir
8. The Community noted
that we have two pastors now serving on Presbytery’s Council and Convener
Carl Moore will hold a spot on Council as well.
9. The Community scheduled the following meetings
for 2011. All are set to begin at 2:30 p.m.: April 3 at New
Providence, July 10 at Collierstown, and October 9 at Fairfield.
10. The Community adjourned with prayer by Keith Cornfield.
Respectfully submitted,
Rob Sherrard
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Maury River Mission Community
Minutes of Meeting, November 14, 2010
Mount Carmel Presbyterian Church
Members Present: Skip Hastings (Pastor and Community Convener,
Collierstown), Rob Sherrard (Mission Community Secretary, Pastor, Windy
Cove), Malcolm Brownlee (Retired Pastor and Mission Community Coordinator),
Sally Hinchman (Interim Presbyter for Shenandoah Presbytery), Janet Scott
(Collierstown), Martin Stokes (Pastor, New Monmouth), Mary Linda Wolfe (New
Providence), Lisa Hedrick (Resource Coordinator), Linda Koogler (Mount Carmel),
Sandra Rushing (Interim Pastor, Mount Carmel), Janet Mayo (Mount Carmel),
Doug Sensabaugh (Presbytery Communicator), George Chapman (Pastor, Buena
Vista)
1. The meeting began with prayer and personal introductions
at the appointed hour of 2:30 p.m. as those present enjoyed refreshments
prepared by the host church.
2. Lisa, Doug, and Sally reported on some Presbytery
matters including Doug’s anticipated trip with Randy Webb and John Fischer
to Ethiopia to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the partnership.
The group was encouraged to pray for the Reeds of the Warm Springs Church
pending birth of their 3d son, Caleb, due in January. [Caleb was
born and is still receiving treatment in Philadelphia for a congenital
heart condition.] Malcolm’s trip to Indonesia for missionary service
as a teacher was highlighted. Malcolm also noted that the planning
meeting for a pastors support group had been scheduled for Nov. 16 at the
Lexington Church.
3. The Community accepted
Malcolm’s resignation as Mission Community Coordinator due to his upcoming
service in Indonesia. Malcolm shared some thoughts on the work of
the Community including the importance of the January planning meeting and
the need to establish clarity of responsibility for events that are planned.
In the ensuing discussion the importance of the pulpit swat, a larger Community
worship event, and officer training were mentioned.
4. Malcolm Brownlee reported on the Living Waters
project in Guatemala. Team members are continuing to build relationships
with the church in Guatemala and the water system continues to work.
The team is scheduled to make one more trip to complete the cycle for
the partnership and to check on the water system. At that time the
team will explore the possibility of an ongoing partnership with the church
in Guatemala.
5. Bonny Wilson had sent a budget report for 2010.
A full report for the year will be available in January. The Community
voted to return any funds not expended to Presbytery to help with their
expected shortfall. $100 was allocated to cover travel expenses for
Malcolm’s work as the Coordinator during the past year.
6. The Community discussed local mission efforts
ongoing in the churches:
a. Windy Cove:
Food Pantry, Mission Trip to Haiti, new after-school initiative at Millboro
Elementary
b. New Monmouth:
Habitat work, Parenting class
c. Presbytery:
youth events, Big Event scheduled for September 10, 2011, upcoming votes
on the Belhar Confession and new Form of Government
d. Mount Carmel: Kids
Night Out for younger children, Heifer Project
e. New Providence:
Youth Club, Mission Next Door, Habitat Store, ordination for their new
pastor on January 23.
f. Collierstown:
Annual Church Dinner with the money going to mission work, Back Yard Mission,
Angel Tree Ministry
7. The Community scheduled
the next regular meeting for January 16 at New Monmouth at 2:30 p.m.
8. The Community adjourned with prayer by Lisa Hedrick.
Respectfully submitted,
Rob Sherrard
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Minutes of Meeting
Maury River Mission Community
August 8, 2010
The Maury River Mission Community planning team met at Collierstown
Presbyterian Church at 2:30 p.m. with the following people present: Malcolm
Brownlee, David Dax, Horace Douty, Linda Koogler, Janet Mayo, Ella Gay
Potter, Charles Reed, Janet Scott, Martin Stokes, Christina Tutterow, and
Moderator Skip Hastings. Presbytery staff personnel Lisa Hedrick and
Sally Hinchman were also present.
Opening prayer was given by Skip.
Introductions were made around the table.
Budget (Sally) – Budget will be tight
for the next year. Mission communities will probably see a reduction of
$1,000. Just a reality.
Shenandoah 2010 (Charles) did a survey
of the events, evaluations and expectations of the mission community.
What events have you held or sponsored/supported?
What did you do as a mission community which could not
have been done by a local church or presbytery?
What were the challenges you encountered?
How have relationships grown or changed as a result of
involvement in the mission community?
What have you done on an annual basis?
What is your procedure for electing officers of the mission
community?.
How is local participation (church representation) determined?
How is the funding from presbytery used?
What suggestions do you have to take back to presbytery?
If there was no mission community – what would be lost?
Resource Center (Lisa)
Budget Report (Bonny Wilson – written
report) reviewed, and accepted with gratitude. (Report attached below)
Report from Windy Cove (Rob Sherrard
– written)
Rob reports that they were pleased
with the overall turn out for the music & ice cream event at the Pavilion.
Approximately 10 churches were represented among the 50-60 people who attended.
He suggested we be more proactive in recruiting groups to sing or play
for the next event.
Windy Cove had an excellent trip
to Haiti. They had 9 people on their team. There was a lot
of destruction in Haiti, but it was not total. There were lots of tent
cities. The Team passed out over 500 boxes of food from North Carolina.
The boxes weighed 33 pounds each and contained 36 full meals adequate for
a family of four.
While there the teams also
visited two schools where they had previously worked on other trips. There
was great destruction of the buildings. The children were back in school
in very substancial tents. They are making up time lost because
of the earthquake.
The team visited the hospital
in Leogane. It has not functioned for some time The main hospital
had suffered minor damage in spite of widespread destruction in Leogone.
The guest house and missionary house were lost in the earthquake.
They are working to have the hospital open this fall.
Report on Youth Events (Olivia Patton
– written )
Youth Trip to Philadelphia - We had 3 adults and
5 youth participate the week of June 13-18. “Youth Works” was the organization
they used as their mission planning group. All were highly impressed
by the organization and the contact they had with their leaders. There
was another group of youth from Charlottesville that was there and the
groups worked together at various sites. I know that they worked in some
gardens started by a youth organization in the city. Apparently, the gardens
provide a lot of food for the people in their neighborhoods. The
neighborhood in which they stayed at a Methodist church gave them a picnic
one evening, so the group met a lot of folks living around there. Apparently,
the area has seen a lot of hard times and the pastor of the church has
managed to get people to come to church who had not come in a long time.
People have been impressed by his efforts to rally the neighborhood and
bring people together to revitalize it. The kids also ran up the “Rocky”
stairs and pumped their hands into the air, dancing around at the top.
All’s to say that they
had a great time, got very into the work, were touched by what they saw,
and felt very positive about making some impact for others. Apparently,
the Youth Works leaders really got into helping the group digest their experiences
and observations each night. I heard there were some good tears.
MRMC youth also participated
in the Triennium at Purdue University with 15 youth and 3 adults going
from our presbytery. 14 youth and 3 adults attended the Montreat Youth
Conference.
Living Waters for the World (David)
reported on the Living Waters for the World (LWW) training session in Mississippi
that he attended in July. He shared about a related program of the Synod
of the Sun called Solar Under the Sun. This program has provided solar power
units for LWW projects in Haiti. He also reported that Walter Kerschl and
the Rockbridge-Haiti Medical Alliance team will travel in November.
The MRMC Living Waters team has not
yet scheduled the fourth trip to Guatemala to which we are committed, but
he has been in touch -- off and on -- with Claudia Caballeros, one of
LWW's in-country coordinators about thew most advantageous time to return.
We still have about 18 months in our covenant with the folks at La Iglesia
Alianza in Santiago Atitlan. By all reports the system has been running
smoothly with a growth in local interest.
The Big Event (Martin & Lisa)
A brief reminder was given that the date of the event is drawing near and
registration deadline is the end of August. Brochures were distributed.
Officer Training (Skip) The event
is scheduled for Saturday, November 13, at New Monmouth. Please
advise your officers of this event, which has proven to be very helpful
to all officers who attend.
Sharing News from Local Churches (Everyone)
A brief time of sharing local church programs and events.
Next Meeting: November 14 at Mt Carmel
– 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Closing Prayer - Horace
Respectfully submitted,
Martin Stokes, Secretary Pro-tem
Maury River Mission Community Budget 2010
Revised 1/2/4/2010
- DOWNLOAD Adobe PDF Budget
document here.
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Minutes of Meeting
Maury River Mission Community
April 25, 2010
The MRMC met at 2:30 p.m. at Bethesda Presbyterian Church with the
following members present, Skip Hastings (Collierstown), Janet Scott (Collierstown),
John Mormon (Lex Pres), Olivia Patton (Lex Pres), Christina Tutterow
(Bethesda), George H. Chapman III (Buena Vista), Lisa Hedrick (Presbytery
Staff) Linda Koogler (Mt. Carmel), Martin Stokes (New Monmouth), and
Bonny Wilson (Fairfield), Moderator pro tem.
Call to Order: Bonny called the meeting
to order & opened with prayer.
Secretary’s report: (Rob Sherrard)
Minutes were approved as presented.
Treasurer’s report: Bonny reviewed
the expense report and answered questions.
Total budget for year...$4, 968 (received from presbytery)
Expenditures............. $2,500
Living Waters............. $2,000 (3rd and final installment)
Relief to PDA............ $ 500
Balance......................$2,468
Living Waters Project - (David Dax)
- Sent report on future of Living Waters ministry. At least one more trip
within the next 2 years.
Haiti Mission (Rob Sherrard) - reports
a generous gift which will cover all air fair.
Pulpit Swap (Martin Stokes) - Five
of our pastors agreed to serve in this event which took place earlier
today. Invitations were sent to everyone on February 4, 2010.
Carl Moore preached at Bethesda
(11:00 a.m.) & McElwee Chapel (7:45 p.m.)
Christina Tutterow preached
at Mt. Carmel (11:00 a.m.)
Larry Miles preached at
Fairfield (9:00 a.m.) and Timber Ridge (11:00 a.m.)
Martin Stokes preached at
McCutchen (9:30 a.m.) and Ben Salem (11:00 a.m.)
Sandra Rushing preached
at New Monmouth (11:00 a.m.)
A letter from New Providence regarding their session’s action concerning
the session’s pre-approval of supply speakers was discussed. Since
nothing was communicated about the reason for the session’s action, the
letter was simply received as information.
Haiti Mission (open discussion)
Concluded we can be most effective when we do cooperative efforts such
as supporting Windy Cove through our gifts and support.
Sharing - Good News happenings
Youth Works - Olivia reported forthcoming youth trip to Philadelphia.
$258/person - June 13 - 18 20 people will be the maximum. (Rising
9th graders through graduates.)
Montreat - George is taking three
young people to the Youth Conference, July 18-24, 2010,
Triennium - There will be a group
going to Youth Triennium 2010 at Purdue University, July 19-24.
Back Yard Mission of Collierstown. Skip reported that
they have built a Habitat House. The family is attending Collierstown.
Music Event at Windy Cove on June
13, 3:00 p.m. - with Ice Cream. Bill Klein & Olivia Patton
will coordinate.
Mt Carmel - will have a guest cantor
from the Baltimore area (Linda Baer) The planning team extended an invitation
for her to attend the Windy Cove on June 13.
Elder Training - (Skip & Martin)
Nov. 13, 8:30 - 2:00 at New Monmouth.
Living Waters Coordination
Election of Convener - Skip Hastings
was elected Convener and agreed to continue serving until Carl Moore
has completed his studies and agrees to take the position. Presbytery:
The Big Event. Lisa summarized the September 11 event at Massanetta
Springs. It is a combination of the PW Fall Gathering, Mission
Fair, and Leadership Training.
Introductions were made around the table - Discussion of possible
Disaster Relief Trailer - Martin reported
that this idea had been explored in 2001. It was concluded then
that the project would be cost prohibitive. He showed pictures of
the trailer which had been considered nine years ago. Initial cost
was not high, but the upkeep, storage, insurance, supplies, and towing
vehicle contributed to the group concluding that this would not be the
best stewardship of our funds.
Adjournment: the meeting was closed
with prayer by George.
Next meeting: will be August 8, 2010,
2:30 p.m. at Collierstown
Respectfully submitted,
Martin Stokes, Secretary pro tem
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