Dear Colleagues in Ministry,
There are few activities within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that serve as common bonds among our congregations despite geographical, demographical, and theological differences. The Special Offerings are one of the shared practices engaged by an overwhelming majority of our churches. The Offerings are "connective tissue," bringing together all stripes of Presbyterian congregations into common mission in Christ's name. Even so, we believe there is great untapped potential in these Offerings. As leaders in our denomination, you play a key role in revitalizing these Offerings which impact so many areas of the connectional church's ministry.
That is why we urge you to participate in a focus group on the Special Offerings commissioned by the General Assembly Special Offerings Advisory Task Force and held on July 6th and 7th during the proceedings of the 219th General Assembly in Minneapolis. The focus groups will be conducted by the Alford Group [www.alford.com] and take place at the following times:
Please find attached a concept paper that describes your important role in the research and analysis of the Special Offerings.
Please contact Denise Dukes, Denise.Dukes@pcusa.org , (502) 569-5026, to schedule and confirm your participation.
We thank you in advance for the key role that you will play in growing the potential and effectiveness of these important church-wide Special Offerings!
Grace and peace,
The Rev. Karl Travis
First Presbyterian Church, Ft. Worth, TX
Chair, Special Offerings Advisory Task Force
The Rev. Betty Meadows, President of AEPS
General Presbyter
Mid-Kentucky Presbytery
Hello. You may have questions about how to get the most from visiting the AEPS website. Your Frequently Asked Questions have been answered! Well, mostly, we hope. Here is a FAQ on the distinctive features of the Blog and Forum sections of our website. We hope its helpful. Please let us know how we can make online conversations easier and and more effective.
Sincerely, The Tech Team
Attached are three (3) PDF documents submitted for public conversation:
Note: Individuals with AEPS members login access can view and join in the conversations. You will need to be logged in to view and participate in the Forum conversations on Being Church Together on this site for secure and private discussion. To request login access, please click the green Login Button located in the top right corner of the website.
These papers provide a compelling spring-board to launch our conversations.
Thank you for visiting.
Come learn the latest research on religious giving and how to cultivate generosity among our congregations and members. The Rev. Dr. Bill Enright, executive director of the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving will be sharing a consultation with Middle Governing Body Executives on Thursday afternoon, March 17th in Indianapolis, IN. (This consultation follows on the heels of the 2010 Stewardship Kaleidoscope Conference, March 15 -17, at the Hilton Indianapolis Downtown. http://www.stewardshipkaleidoscope.org )
The Bill Enright consultation on Faith & Generosity is in partnership with AEPS and the General Assembly Mission Council. There is no cost for participation, but each individual is responsible for his or her own transportation and lodging. It is our hope that you can combine this with participation in the Kaleidoscope conference and take advantage of the conference rates at the hotel. The consultation is planned for 2:00 - 5:00 PM on Wednesday, March 17th with a follow up conversation at dinner. Please save the date and stay tuned for further details.
The denomination has invited the Rev. Dr. Bill Enright to have a discussion with members of AEPS following Kaleidoscope. There is no cost for this gathering other than maybe a delayed plane ticket to return home. I have heard Dr. Enright and the information he brings is extremely helpful to all of us. -Betty Meadows
Monthly Letter and Updates from AEPS
Dear Members of the Association,
Advent greetings!
On October 2 and 3, 2009, you helped create one of the best Association meetings in recent history. You brought your energy, your ideas and your wisdom to the meeting. We voted on many changes to the By-laws, one of those being that membership is open to Synod Executives. The Steering Committee, whose names are seen below, wanted more inclusiveness and openness as we move into our future with God, a future that includes much change from what is to what will be. The fact that the church is changing does not escape anyone. These changes can be seen and felt in the downsizing of the General Assembly, in the various ways presbyteries are led, in the titles for people in the role of executive, and in the myriad of changes in congregations, especially how congregations are birthed.
One of the most important roles today in the Presbyterian Church (USA) is the role of the presbytery. How presbyteries help congregations be vital, train leaders, birth new churches, and interpret the work of the General Assembly Mission Council and the Office of the General Assembly are just a few of the significant responsibilities that presbyteries have. And how Executives lead is vital. We are to lead in such a way from our crucial point in the system that the PC(USA) is strengthened for Jesus Christ.
The purpose statement you voted on is this: We believe God gathers middle governing body leaders who are at the church's fulcrum point, and who serve as connectors between congregations and the larger church, to be a learning community that resources and supports both each other and the church as a whole. Through scripture, prayer and dialogue we seek to discern a way forward amid the pressing issues and opportunities of the Presbyterian Church (USA). This community offers its unique perspective to the church in order to challenge and inspire us to a more faithful and fervent witness to our Lord Jesus Christ.
God bless you! And thank you for who you are and for what you do in the name of Christ.
Betty Meadows
President
Tom Evans
President-Elect
Association of Executive Presbyters - 2010 officers
President- Betty Meadows - Mid Kentucky - bettym29@bellsouth.net
President-Elect - Tom Evans - Sheppard's and Lapsley
thomasevans2000@gmail.com
Past-President - Graham Hart - Peace River - graham@peaceriverpresbytery.org
Secretary/Treasurer - Sue Coller - Minnesota Valleys - sue@minnesotavalleys.org
Steering Committee:
Jim Moseley - New Castle - jmoseley@ncpresbytery.org
Kevin Yoho - Newark - Kevin@newarkpresbytery.org
Phil Barrett - Des Moines pby1@presbyteryofdesmoines.org [co-opted]
Corey Schlosser-Hall - North Puget Sound - corey@npspresbyterians.net
Mary Newbern Williams - John Calvin - revmarynw@johncalvinpresby.org
This workshop is on reframing presbyteries to be missional, with Alan Roxburgh.
Hi, AEPS is weaning you off of Facebook. One reason is Facebook is not a secure way to communicate. Not to fear. Instead of email notifications, AEPS.ORG features the what is now the ubiquitous RSS feed for instant notification. (Of course, you know, since I used the term ubiquitous, what RSS is, right!? Kidding!) RSS is simple. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and is the automatic way PC's and Mac's are notified instantly when favorite links are changed or posted on sites like www.aeps.org. How does it work? Easy. Click on the CONNECT tab at aeps,org. Notice the orange colored link Subscribe to RSS? Just click it. Then your operating system (PC or Mac) will alert you to an option of receiving RSS feeds in your browser or email client automatically. Once set up, you can rest assured that anytime someone posts a new blog at aeps.org, you will be notified and provided a link to the post. Questions? Please let me know. RSS is real simple. Hope it works for you! Kevin kevin@newarkpresbytery.org
Hi,
This is a sample blog entry demonstration.
Click on Create a New Blog
Choose the Topic area to post in
Give your Blog a title
If referring to a calendar event, click Event Date and choose date.
Enter text in text box.
Select if Everyone can view or only those who have requested and received account access as registered members.
If adding an Image or File, click and attach the respective button below.
When done, click create.
There you go, a published blog!
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Want more flexibility in writing your blog post? Hover your mouse over each tiny graphic button below to see its function.
You can format your text using the little buttons B I U, etc.
You can Copy and Paste from other documents. The Default when you Paste from another application into this window is full formatting as the original. Sometimes that's not what you want, so click the appropriate Clipboard icons below and then paste your text into the window that opens, then click INSERT which will remove the formatting of the text you are pasting.
If you want to upload a document, click on the Choose File button below, then ENTER.
(Same for a image file, just click on the Choose File under Images, below)
Before you click Save, decide who gets to comment on your blog. Everyone, or just those who requested and have been granted access to the site?
Questions, contact Kevin (kevin@newarkpresbytery.org) or Corey (corey@npspresbyterians.net).
