The Highlands Presbytery Teams meetings this week. 

The week of  May 17 the Committee on Preparation for Ministry met and had their final assessment Candidate Emily Arnold, Bound Brook Presbyterian Church. She was approved “Certified and Ready for a Call”! She has a call as a chaplain and will be seeking ordination soon. Watch for more information.

The Church Development Team met and continued their orientation to their work in assisting congregations during times of transition.

The Highlands Presbytery Teams Meeting – 1st Week of May

The Committee on Ministry met on May 4. Most of their work was reviewing, rewriting and approving guidelines and policies. These policies and guidelines will be presented to the presbytery for approval on Tuesday, May 11.

The Property and Insurance Team met on May 6. They are recommending to the Presbytery approval of a PILP loan for Clinton Presbyterian Church.  They are working on updating the ReEntry guidelines and hope to have them published soon after the Presbytery meeting.  They also reviewed their responsibilities for Manse assessments and the Cemetery Association.  Their next meeting will be a training on their responsibilities.

THE HIGHLANDS PRESBYTERY TEAM MEETINGS

Administration and Coordinating Team met on April 27. A few highlights from their work.

As their training for the meeting, they reviewed the Personnel Policy. Each meeting the team discusses upcoming content and themes of upcoming Presbytery meetings.  The May meeting is Called to Be Community in the Midst of the Pandemic, scripture emphasis is 1 Corinthians 16: 8 & 9, 13 & 14.

The BIG NEWS from the meeting is the September Presbytery Meeting, September 14, will be in person (and hopefully live streamed) at Johnsonburg.  The day will begin with a Pastor’s retreat, a late afternoon presentation for all followed by dinner and the Presbytery meeting.  Mark your calendars. More information will be coming throughout the summer about our first in person meeting.

The team also gathered in break out rooms in their assigned work teams to discuss and plan their next steps. The work teams are Budget and Finance, Presbytery Worship, Online Community, Personnel, Funds Development, Technical Team (working on NJ transition) and the Transition/Discernment Team.

The Transition/Discernment Team

This team met on April 30 for the first time as a group. They reviewed their purpose and planned for the next steps in leading the Presbytery in the process of Discerning where God is calling The Presbytery of the Highlands in mission and ministry.