Just a week before a day of national thanksgiving, the Presbytery of the Highlands of New Jersey met via Zoom with an emphasis on gratefulness. Fittingly, this spirit of gratitude was woven throughout the meeting, as all of the elements of worship —prayer, music, Scripture, and reflection — were interspersed in what is known as “Worshipful Work.”

After welcoming the Presbytery’s newest Inquirer, Ben Willans (Whippany),  the Rev. Dr. Rose Niles of the Presbyterian Foundation joined the assembly. She has been a frequent visitor over the last few months (this was her third event with us), and we were grateful to hear about the services and opportunities available through the Foundation.

As will be the case for three more meetings, voting on proposed amendments to the constitution will play a major Presbytery agenda. Because the pandemic limited the business of the 2020 General Assembly, no proposed amendments were forwarded to the presbyteries at that time. That means there are many more proposed amendments this year than usual, 33 in total. Eleven were addressed at this November meeting, on such issues as electronic meetings and items in the Directory for Worship. More information is below.

Ruling Elder Pete Peterson presented the second reading of the budget which the presbytery approved.

The end of 2022 also meant determining leadership for the year ahead. Nominating Committee Moderator Rev. Barbara Aspinall (Meyersville) presented nominations   for our committees beginning January 2023.  The presbytery elected 24 people to  serve on the our committees that help us all be Christ’s hands and feet in the world. There are still vacancies, so if you are feeling led to contribute to any of the Presbytery’s important ministries, go the Presbytery website and look for the Nominating Committee.

Welcoming new people into service means giving thanks for those who have fulfilled their terms. To all of those who have faithfully served on the many teams and committees, a big “Thank You!” We can’t name everyone here who deserves our gratitude, but special thanks were expressed to outgoing Moderator Rev. Tracey Henry (Clinton).  For her final act as moderator, she presided over the installations of Rev. Tom Brown and Ruling Elder Sue Cail for their 2023 leadership in the Presbytery.

The Presbytery meeting ended as it began, gratefully singing a verse from “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” We were led, as we had been throughout the service, by the newly retired Rev. David Young.