Glory to God in the
highest heaven,
and on earth peace,
good will among people!
Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year!
Jane, Beth, and Hilary
Orientation & Fellowship Day Saturday, January 12, 2008
On Saturday, January 12, 2008 all persons serving on a
Presbytery Branch, Committee, Subcommittee, or Ministry Team are invited to an
Orientation and Fellowship Day at the Presbytery office (700 East Melrose Ave.,
Findlay, OH) from 10 am through lunch. Coffee and fellowship time will commence
at 9:30 am. Groups may also remain after lunch for their individual meetings.
The purpose of the morning meeting will be for “new” and
“old” members of committees to become acquainted with each other, and with
officers of Presbytery. It will be a time to overview the structure of
Presbytery, how it works, how it can serve you, and discuss what is happening in
2008.
If there is a Level #1 snow emergency anywhere in the
Presbytery we will cancel this meeting.
If there is any question regarding cancellation, call your committee moderator
or the Presbytery office.
If you have suggestions about the content of this meeting
please contact Rev. Dean McGormley at 734-242-1545 or Elder Ron Boyd at
419-294-4521.
Please RSVP as soon as possible to the Presbytery
office at 800-222-2494 or by email to
jhedges@maumeevp.org
Contributions Deadline is January 9
Thank you for the support that you have given to the
Presbytery and the greater church during 2007.
Please send any remaining 2007 Mission and Per Capita funds to the Presbytery so
that they are received by Wednesday, January 9, 2008.
Any funds received after January 9 will be credited to the year 2008.
Late Session Record Review February 9, 2008
If your church wasn’t able to attend a Session Record Review
meeting this Fall, a late review will be held on Saturday, February 9, 2008,
beginning at 9:30 a.m., at Van Buren Presbyterian, 207 W. Market St., Van Buren,
OH 45889, 419-299-3097.
The Next Stated
Meeting of Maumee Valley Presbytery is February 19, 2008
The next meeting of
Maumee Valley Presbytery will be held Tuesday, February 19, 2008, at First
Presbyterian Church, Findlay, Ohio, beginning at 10 a.m.
Please join us before the meeting at 9:30 a.m. for fellowship and coffee!
Rev. Jim Miller will preach during Presbytery Worship, Holy Communion will be
celebrated, and the Focus of the Day will be brought to you by the Committee on
Ministry and Pastoral Support.
Our Connectional Church
The extreme flooding in Maumee Valley Presbytery in August
2007 has shown us in many ways the blessing of the connectional nature of our
denomination.
Our impacted communities have received assistance from
mission teams from within our Presbytery and from outside our Presbytery. Not
only have these churches provided willing, organized and skilled volunteer teams
to clean up flood damage and help rebuild homes, these Presbyterians have also
provided spiritual care, food, clothing and furniture to flood survivors.
Monetary contributions have been made directly to
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) and to our Maumee Valley Presbytery flood
fund. These funds are being used to help our churches provide assistance to
those in need throughout our communities.
One family who received help in Ottawa wrote, “We want to
thank you and everyone who has helped us thus far. Although we still have a
long way to go before we are back, it is a blessing to know that everyone at the
presbytery is willing to help. The team we had at our home this weekend was a
Godsend!”
Floods of 2007
It has been almost 4 months since the devastating August
flooding in Maumee Valley Presbytery. The Long Range Recovery Planning Team (LRRPT)
for MVP is organized and “up and running” under the leadership of Elder Lucy
Russell (Maumee) along with Elder Tami Robinson (Bucyrus). They are organizing
work teams from within and outside MVP to work on flood relief for our affected
communities, especially Ottawa, Findlay, Bucyrus, Shelby, Upper Sandusky, and
Bluffton.
The LRRPT is made up of representatives, both clergy and
elder, from our churches in the affected areas, as well as Presbytery
representatives including Jim Baker (Moderator Branch of Service), Hilary
Shuford (General Presbyter), Rev. Dean McGormley (Clerk of MVP), and Rev. Barb
Esterly (Moderator of MVP).
The LRRPT will meet on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008, at 11 a.m., at Ottawa
Presbyterian Church.
If you would like more information about the LRRPT’s goals and objectives
contact Hilary Shuford at the Presbytery office.
We are so grateful for all of the prayers, words of encouragement, and support
(both monetary and work teams) from persons, churches and presbyteries across
our denomination, and from the Synod of the Covenant and Presbyterian Disaster
Assistance, all of whom have shown us what it means to be a connectional church.
We continue to need volunteers for rebuilding!
If you are interested in sending a work team to help flood survivors, either
right away or in the spring or summer, contact Lucy Russell MVP coordinator for
Ottawa and Findlay at 419-260-6831 or Tami Robinson MVP coordinator for Bucyrus,
Shelby, Upper Sandusky and Bluffton at 419-569-5747.
The Welcome Mat
●We welcome Rev. Jeanne Kumbalek, who in October was
installed as pastor of First United Presbyterian, Perrysburg. Jeanne
transfers to us from Chicago Presbytery.
●In September Rev. Gus Nussdorfer began serving as
interim pastor of First Presbyterian, Bryan. He transfers to us from Lake
Michigan Presbytery.
●In October Rev. Dean Myers began serving as interim
pastor of Port Clinton, Firelands Presbyterian, Port Clinton. Dean transfers to
us from Muskingum Valley Presbytery.
●After two years of an exciting designated pastorate, Rev.
Pat Lawrence Shafer was just installed as the called and installed pastor of
Fairgreen Presbyterian, Toledo.
●Have you heard the news? Market Street Presbyterian, Lima is
expecting their new pastor, Rev. Susan Reichenberg, who will arrive on
Jan. 16 and preach her first sermon on Jan. 20. Susan comes to us from Lehigh
Presbytery.
●Also in January Rev. Conley Zomermaand will begin
serving First Presbyterian, Maumee as their interim pastor. Conley comes to us
from Miami Presbytery.
Welcome to all!
Mt. Sinai Manse Rehabilitation
Through the efforts of 22 churches, many individuals, and the
Presbyterian Women, we have more than met our fundraising goal of $15,000 for
the Mt. Sinai Hispanic New Church Development manse renovation project. The
Synod matched the first $10,000 and the Presbytery matched $15,000, so we raised
over $40,000 to complete the project. The house will be well-equipped to
welcome the new organizing pastor. A dozen churches sent work groups and much
of the work has been completed, but there is still work to be done if you want
to help.
The Pastor Nominating Committee is hard at work at their task
and continue to need our prayers.
A special THANK YOU! to Rev. Dick Mahlmann (Tiffin, First)
who has been managing the worksite at the manse renovation project and to Rev.
Kimberly Secrist Ashby. (Sandusky, First) who dreamed the vision to renovate the
manse.
We couldn’t have done this without both of you!
40 Foot Container Shipped to Malawi For “Crops of Love “
Ministry
Thank you to all who helped fill and ship a 40 foot shipping
container to Malawi. The container was full of medical supplies and farming
equipment, and even included a 60 horsepower tractor from Venedocia Presbyterian
Church!
The container was shipped from Hanmi Covenant Presbyterian
Church in Toledo to our missionary Rev. Yongjin Kim in Malawi for the “Crops of
Love Ministries” project. This project will help provide agricultural job
skills and holistic human development for 3,000 inmates in the Makande and
Makanga prisions in Malawi.
Rev. Kim is currently living at the project site in Malawi,
doing preparation work and is asking for prayers and support for this ministry.
They plan to begin plowing almost 1,200 acres at the beginning of 2008, with
their first harvest almost a year later.
Rev. Yongjin Kim left this message at the Presbytery office:
“a 40 foot container filled with so much material, including an awesome tractor
from Venedocia left on October 30th. I cannot thank you enough and may God
bless you.”
Hurricane Relief Mission Trip January 19—26
Chuck Thomas and Randy Box are leading a Mission Team from
Grand Rapids (OH) Presbyterian Church to Gulfport, MS. They are leaving early
Sat., Jan. 19, 2008, will spend the night in Huntsville, AL, arrive in Gulfport
on Sun., Jan 20, stay at Handsboro Presbyterian during the week, and return late
Sat., Jan. 26.
The cost of the trip for one worker is $300 ($100 for
transportation, $100 for food, and a $100 donation to the Mississippi Presbytery
disaster assistance fund.
Much work has been done, but much remains. Please pray for
our mission, that we will travel safely and that we will touch the hearts of
those Gods leads us to.
If you would like to join this trip please contact Chuck
Thomas or Randy Box by calling Grand Rapids Presbyterian Church at 419-832-2325.
Spring Leadership Event Saturday, April 5, 2008
“Grow Again, Naturally”
Save the date of Saturday, April 5, 2008 and make plans to
attend the Spring leadership training event at First Presbyterian, Findlay, OH.
The keynote speaker will be Rev. Dave Daubert, who is the
Evangelical Lutheran Church Executive for Renewal of Congregations. This year’s
theme is “Grow Again, Naturally,” and there are also 8 different educational
workshops to attend.
Money for Youth Ministry
Christ Presbyterian Church in Toledo is utilizing 5% gift
card rebate programs, offered to churches and non-profit organizations by Kroger
and Giant Eagle grocery stores, to provide funds for their youth ministry
program. For the details contact Amy Rudiger at 419-475-8629.
