FIRST MONDAY

September, 2004 First Monday is a monthly mailing to Church Professionals in The Miami Presbytery from the Presbytery Staff including information of events and news of interest as submitted by appropriate Presbytery entities. Publication of such information does not imply presbytery endorsement of the views and opinions expressed or implied. This month we have included: 1. News and Reviews from the Resource Center 2. The September Calendar. 3. The Prayer List, which now includes the first Sunday of the next month at

popular request. 4. Presbytery News – What’s Happening Around The Presbytery. 5. Synod Assembly Flyer 5. Brochure: Pastoral Institute: Sharing the Gospel in a Multicultural World Please let the Miami Presbytery office know if you would like to switch to e-notification of the First Monday posting to the Presbytery web site!

News and Views from MacRead and MacView

September 2004

T h e M i a m i P r e s b y t e r y

R e s o u r c e C e n t e r

The Miami Presbytery Resource Center

is open every Tuesday,

Wednesday, and Thurs-day from

9:30 a.m.—4:00 p.m.

You are welcome to visit us and browse dur-

ing regular hours or call us at 258-8118

(1-800-270-8118 within Miami Presbytery) with

your questions or requests. If you are unable to visit us during these

times, we will be happy to mail resources or ar-

range for you to get them in another way.

The Miami Presbytery Resource Center is located at 1541 South Smithville Road

Dayton, Ohio 45410-3242

937-258-8118 1-800-270-8118

www.miamipresbytery.org

Resource Center Staff: Terry Biers

Pat McLaughlin Ruth Price

A digest of some new or timely resources and information that might be of interest to church professionals and their congregations. First Monday Edition

September 2004

Next Miami Presbytery Meeting September 14

At Kirkmont Center Resource Center Display: Advent and Christmas

Information regarding the rules governing political activity by religious organizations can be found at the PCUSA website: http://www.pcusa.org/legal/electionyear.htm. An on-line resource — Political Activity Guide-lines for PC(USA) Organizations: Permissi-ble Activities for Churches and Other Enti-ties, Especially During Election Year — can

be downloaded.

The Proclamation of the Gospel for the Salvation of Humankind

by Catherine Gunsalus Gonzalez …is the first in a series being produced by Witherspoon Press. This book is an engaging study that helps readers understand more clearly what it means to be an individual incorporated into the body of Christ. Questions for the group dis-cussion are found at the end of each of the four chapters as well as the intro-duction.

Preaching that Matters: The Bible and Our Lives

by Stephen Farris ...offers specific advice for those who preach. By using analogy, the author helps the reader construct sermons that relate the world of the biblical text to the reality of life today. An appendix discusses using a manu-script. There are also notes and scripture and subject indices.

Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading by Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky

...offers advice for those in leadership positions from a business model that is general enough to be applicable to a variety of leadership roles, including those in the church. Because leaders often suggest new ways of doing things, challenging long held beliefs, pain is often a result. This book pro-vides strategies for leaders to respond effectively to the conflicts that arise.

SEPTEMBER 2004 Page 2

Use the Resource Center’s on-line catalog to search for resources. It’s on the presbytery’s website:

(www.miamipresbytery.org). Click on Resource Center and then on-line catalog/webrary. Search by title, subject, or author.

E-mail the Resource Center at

resource.center@miamipresbytery.org

Looking Ahead… September 5—Christian Vocation Sunday September 6—Labor Day September 12—Christian Education Week begins September 14—Presbytery meeting at Kirkmont Center October 3—World Communion Sunday; Peacemaking Offering October 31—Daylight Saving Time ends November 1—All Saints Day November 2—Election Day

Let us help with your planning!

Consider starting a walking program at your church. The Office of National Health Ministries, PCUSA, has developed a congregational walking program to help Presbyteri-ans maintain healthy lifestyles. Let’s Get Moving ® is designed to take the guesswork of how to start such a program. Visit their website at http://www.pcusa.org/health/usa/programs/walking/index.htm where you will find materials to get you moving: • Walking Program: Benefits • Gather Group Participants • Beginning the Program • Essentials for Safe and Effective Walking • The Value of Walking • The Top Ten Common Walking Mistakes • Walking Logs and Posters

Permission is granted for use and reproduction of these materials on the website on condition that credit to the source — Health Ministries USA — is given in writing with each use.

Giving Together: A Stewardship Guide for Families

by Carol A. Wehrheim ...provides a five-session study for adults and chil-dren who want to better understand the impor-tance of stewardship in the family, congregation, community, and world. Each session/chapter of-fers a brief Bible study, spiritual practice, and a simple yet profound activity designed to help par-ticipants make choices in how they live as Chris-tians in today’s world.

The Superman Bible Study: The Revelation of Jesus Christ as

Super Hero—Volume I by Stephen Skelton

...is a four-session study not to be treated lightly. A good leader can use the materials to help youth and

adults explore just who Jesus was and is. Using early film shorts—the first Superman films following the comic book inception in 1938—(7-10 minutes in length), the study attempts to explore the mythology of the Superman character as it relates to the Christ figure.

Teaching Children Worship in the Sanctuary by Joyce MacKichan Walker and

Carol A. Wehrheim ..provides twelve sessions on the basic elements of worship to help children understand worship while they are in the sanctuary!! An additional two sessions — for Baptism and Lord’s Supper—are included. For each topic, a 5-minute children’s time is provided, with a suggested script as well as other ideas for the service. Then, the authors provide an activity for young children (to take place outside the sanctuary during the sermon) and an activity sheet to be used by older children in worship.

Do you want to explore what it would mean for your congregation to fully include children in the life of your worshiping community? Check out Children In The Sanctuary: Study Guide and Video !!

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2 Presbytery Office Work-Day & Staff Meeting Emergency calls only, please

3

4

5 6 Labor Day Ob-served—office closed.

7 10:00 PW Council 2:00 Mission In-terpretation 4:00 Trustees

8 2:00 Older Adult Ministry Work-group

9 7:00 Council 9:00 Docket 4:00 Staff Services

10 11

12 13 14 2:00 Using Annui-ties Training @ Kirkmont Center 2:30 Session Re-cord Reviews @ Kirkmont Center 4:00 Presbytery Meeting @ Kirk-mont Center

15 16 9:30 COPM 6:00 Global Mis-sion

17 18

19 20 9:00 Nominating Committee 10:30 CCE

21 1:00 Congrega-tional Develop-ment Committee

22 12:30 Social Jus-tice 1:00 Committee on Representation

23 4:00 Discipleship Group

24 25

26 27 5:30 PYC

28 4:00 COM

29 9:00 Interims Meeting @ Mar-garet Haney’s Home 12:30 NW Pastors Meet @ Greenville

30 12:00 Clark County Pastors Meet @ Peaches, Yellow Springs 5:30 Congrega-tional Strategy

September 2004

MIAMI PRESBYTERY PRAYER LIST

September, 2004 5 September Trinity Presbyterian Church located at 3211 Lakeview

Avenue, Dayton; 331 member congregation with Pastor Johnny Merritt. And please remember the Trustees/Finance Committee in your

prayers. 12 September Monroe Presbyterian Church located at 57 West Elm

Street, Monroe; 158 member congregation with Pastor Patrick Warren. And please remember the people around the country whose lives

have been impacted by recent storms in your prayers. 19 September Covenant Presbyterian Church located at 415 North

Main Street, Springboro; 139 member congregation with Pastor Kenneth Howard.

And please remember the millions of children affected by AIDS in

your prayers. 26 September Somerville United Presbyterian Church located in

Somerville; 16 member congregation with Pastor George Witmer. And please remember the Self Development of People Committee

in your prayers.

3 October Oxford Presbyterian Church located at 101 North Main

Street, Oxford; 598 member congregation with Co-Pastors Mark and Barbara Barnes.

And please remember the Committee on Ministry in your prayers.

What’s Happening Around the Presbytery Workdays at Kirkmont Center in 2004 Saturdays September 18th and October 23rd. Call Kirkmont Center at 1-800-572-1747 or 937-593-2141For more information.

Bread for the World Lectionary: Elder Larry Hollar, regional organizer of Bread for the World and husband of Rev. Karen Cassedy, pastor at Heritage in Centerville, has copies of a newly-available book of Year A lectionary reflections he’s edited for Bread for the World, called "Hunger for the Word." For more about the book, see http://www.bread.org/publications/hunger-for-the-word/index.htm. Table Talk: Any and all interested in some theological discussion in a happy hour setting are invited to a Table Talk on Thursday Sept. 30th at 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. in Pepito’s Mexican Restaurant and Lounge on Catalpa Rd. in Dayton. I understand the booths are large and the margaritas tasty, though I’m sure their soft drinks are also a pleasant accompaniment to tapas and/or chips. Brian Maguire and Lisa Hess will host the table (though not the cost!) and we expect conversation to go for as long as it is of interest to participants. 6 p.m. is a logical end time to get back to families… The invitation is a “come and leave when you need to” one, and strict attention will be paid to “no shop talk” except for theological discussion. Offenders will be gently reprimanded for bringing the business of the church into the life of the church. Y’all come, and if no one does, Brian and I will enjoy a nice date night out.

Lisa M. Hess, Ph.D

OLDER KIDS FALL GATHERING! Come enjoy our Presbytery Camp in the fall. Tour the grounds and enjoy the colors. We suggest on your way home or to the Gathering you visit Marie’s Candies, The One World Shoppe and the Ice Cream Shoppe in West Liberty. The gathering on on Wednesday, September 29th at Kirkmont Center’s Croft House. Registration begins at 11:00 and Lunch is at noon. Cost of lunch is $5.00. This year’s program is “Stay Alive as Long as You Live”. Please register by Wednesday, September 22nd at the Presbytery office, 1-800-27008118. SEPTEMBER PASTORAL INSTITUTE: The Rev. Raquel Welty and a panel of Christians from other countries will present “Sharing the Gospel in a Multicultural World” on Monday, October 4 at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Fairfield.

We live in a nation of immigrants. People come to live among us bringing their language, their culture, and their own faith experiences. What do they experience when they enter our faith community? What makes them feel welcome? What do they find difficult to understand? What can we do in our churches to share the gospel with these people? Even more importantly, what can we learn from them? Immigrants come with faith to share with us. How can we be open to viewing the gospel through these new eyes? What fresh, new understanding of God's love and grace can we gain from embracing God's messengers who come among us.

For more information, see the attached brochure.

INTERFAITH LISTENING PROJECT October 1-4,2004 A Weekend with the Interfaith Listening Team from India: Dr. Andreas D'Souza, a Christian, and Dr. Ismat Medhi, a Muslim FRIDAY - October 1, 2004

Meeting with the Social Justice Committee and tour of the Presbytery Office SATURDAY October 2, 2004 Interfaith Dialogue for Youth 10:00am-1:00pm Presbytery Office

Forty senior highs, twenty Christian and twenty Muslim, will gather at the presbytery office for a morning of interaction and dialogue with Andreas and Ismat. Because we are structuring this as a dialogue experience, we are limiting it to twenty youth from each faith tradition. If you know a youth who would like to participate in this project, please email that name to barbara.battin@sinclair.edu.

"Gandhi's Relevance for Today" A Public Lecture and Conversation 7:00pm Presbytery Office- Social Hall

In remembrance of the birthday of Mohandes (Mahatma) Gandhi and in celebration of his life, Dr. Ismat

Mehdi and Dr. Andreas D'Souza will share a presentation about Gandhi's life and work and its relevance for the world in which we live today. SUNDAY - October 3, 2004

"Christian and Muslim Resources for Nonviolence and Peace Building in the World"

Adult Education Presentation at Sugar Creek Presbyterian Church, Kettering 9:40-10:40 am

"I am a Christian. I am a Muslim. Together, we work for peace in the world.”

Luncheon presentation and conversation Memorial Presbyterian Church - 12:00 noon

Christian -Muslim Dialogue on Cooperating for Peace in the Local Community"

Islamic Community Center/School - Beavercreek - 6:30 - 8:00 pm

20-30 Miami Presbyterians will gather with 20-30 Miami Muslims to hear a presentation by Dr. Andreas D' Souza and Dr. Ismat Mehdi on peacemaking and peace building in the Christian and Muslim faith traditions and to talk in table fellowship groups following that presentation. We will raise the question of how each of us can actively engage in peacemaking in our local community. MONDAY - October 4,2004

"Interfaith Dialogue: a Tool for Building Peace in the World" Sinclair Community College in conjunction with the Office of Campus Ministry

12:00 noon; Tartan Marketplace An opportunity for students, staff and faculty to engage in interfaith dialogue with Dr. Ismat Medhi, a Muslim and Dr. Andreas D'Souza, a Christian. For further information, contact the Social Justice Committee through its Moderator, Barbara Battin - 937-2481, barbara.battin@sinclair.edu.

Using Annuities & Life Insurance

For Charitable Giving At

Kirkmont Center 2:00 – 3:30 p. m. in Dunaway Lodge

Charitable and Special Gifts Seminar Sponsored by Kirkmont Center

To be held prior to the September 14th meeting of Miami Presbytery Leaders: Steve Booher of McDonald Investments, Inc. and Larry Johns of

Pacific Life Interfaith Listening Team - in Miami Presbytery October 1-4,2004

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WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN INTO? TRAINING FOR

NEW CLERKS OF SESSION

Workshop leader— Doris Arnett Whitaker, Stated Clerk

Tuesday, October 19, 2004 7:00 pm

Memorial Presbyterian Church 1541 S. Smithville Road

Dayton, OH

Who should attend?

Clerks of Session who have been elected to the office within the last year.

T

he S

ynod o

f the C

oven

ant

An

nual A

ssembly

Sep

tember 1

5–1

7, 2

004

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nesd

ay—

Thursd

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Frid

ay

T

hursd

ay A

fternoon an

d E

venin

g 1:3

0–8

:30 p

.m.

A

time fo

r everyone in

the

syn

od —

com

missio

ners,

church

mem

bers, officers,

presby

tery staff m

embers,

pasto

rs, musician

s, friends,

youn

g and o

ld!

First P

resbyterian

Ch

urch

200 E

ast Bro

adw

ay

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mee, O

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shops

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elated A

gencies

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eated)

4:0

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ner

6:0

0 p

.m.

Worsh

ip

7:0

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Th

e Sacram

ent o

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ord

’s Supper

Guest P

reacher —

Joh

n B

uch

an

an

, pa

stor of Fou

rth P

resbyterian

Ch

urch

, C

hica

go, E

ditor of T

he C

hristian

C

entu

ry, former G

enera

l Assem

bly M

odera

tor M

usician

s and C

hoirs o

f First

Presby

terian C

hurch

, Mau

mee

Installatio

n of th

e New

Syn

od M

oderato

r

Synod A

ssembly

Work

shops

1. In

Her S

hoes

A p

articipatory w

orksh

op m

eant to con

vey a realistic un

derstan

din

g of dom

estic violence. W

ith given

iden

tities out of actu

al situation

s, particip

ants exp

lore the op

tions an

d im

plication

s of their d

ecisions.

Availab

le places and p

eople w

ill inclu

de clergy, sh

elters, police, job

h

un

ting, b

ack h

ome again

, friends an

d fam

ily. Lead

er — Jean

Sn

yder, C

incin

nati, fou

ndin

g mem

ber of G

A’s

Presb

yterians again

st Dom

estic Violen

ce Netw

ork, retired teach

er and

guid

ance cou

nselor

2. W

hy A

re We T

rainin

g Terro

rists?

Th

e Western

Hem

isph

ere Institu

te for Secu

rity Coop

eration (W

HIS

C,

formerly th

e Sch

ool of the A

mericas) in

Fort B

enn

ing, G

eorgia, is a U.S

. A

rmy train

ing sch

ool for Latin A

merican

soldiers. N

early 60,0

00

gradu

ates, wh

o inclu

de M

anu

el Noriega, are resp

onsib

le for hu

man

righ

ts abu

ses, massacres an

d u

nderm

inin

g dem

ocratic efforts. Lead

ers — C

hu

ck B

ooker-H

irsch, A

nn

Arb

or and Joh

n E

wers, D

ayton,

pastors jailed

for peacefu

l protest

3. C

an Y

ou C

ant?

S

ingin

g the w

ords of th

e psalm

s and lead

ing resp

onsive sin

ging in

w

orship

have b

een lon

g-held

tradition

s in Jew

ish an

d C

hristian

litu

rgies. Com

e, learn h

ow to b

e a cantor an

d retu

rn h

ome to offer you

r con

gregation an

other w

ay to sing b

efore the Lord

. Lead

er — Jan

e Van

Valk

enbu

rg, Organ

ist and D

irector of Mu

sic at F

irst Presb

yterian C

hu

rch, F

indlay, O

hio, fou

ndin

g Dean

of the

Am

erican G

uild

of Organ

ists 4. S

piritu

al Practice, P

ractice, Practice

Spiritu

al discip

lines, lik

e all other d

isciplin

es, require p

ractice. Both

person

al and com

mu

nity tim

es of prayer, con

templation

, readin

g scrip

ture an

d atten

din

g to God

’s Spirit d

eepen

as these tim

es occur

repeated

ly. Join th

is group of sp

iritual exp

lorers to share th

e variety of exp

eriences an

d m

any availab

le resources.

Leader —

Rob

ert Bu

tcher, p

astor, Port C

linton

Presb

yterian C

hu

rch

5. P

eace, Un

ity an

d P

urity

— P

ossible fo

r Presby

terians?

D

iscuss th

e video p

rodu

ced b

y the G

A T

heological T

ask F

orce on P

eace, U

nity an

d P

urity after th

eir first year’s work. Learn

, as they d

id, ab

out

bu

ildin

g a comm

un

ity of trust, sh

aring p

ersonal faith

and

un

derstan

din

g bib

lical auth

ority and in

terpretation

. Lead

er — B

arbara E

veritt Bryan

t, First P

resbyterian

Ch

urch

, An

n

Arb

or, research scien

tist at the U

niversity of M

ichigan

Bu

siness S

chool

and m

ember of th

e Peace, U

nity an

d P

urity T

ask F

orce