500 Kenyans Receive Medical Services in Two Day “Medical Camp

/by

MJ Finken and Harold Johnson returned July18 after ten days spent in Kenya for matters pertaining to the activity and management of our mission partnership with the Presbyteries of Nairobi.  Newton-Nairobi Partnership Team member Darlene Tapie preceded us and has remained behind for an additional five weeks of promoting her prayer shawl ministry.

July 10-11, Kasasule Health Centre located among the villages outside the rural Town of Kibwezi staged a medical camp with 11 Kikuyu Hospital (Presbyterian) medical staff employees and several Tunza Family Pl/anning volunteers supporting the five members of KHC’s staff.  Almost 500 local residents were provided evaluative services through cancer screening, eye clinic, orthopedic treatment and family and reproduction counsel.  An evaluative report from the Kasasule Management Committee on the two days and some of MJ’s photos are attached.

Three Newton volunteer recruits who planned to participate in the July event had to postpone their trip until Jan-Feb 2019, when the next “medicamp” will be scheduled.  Therefore, time remains for others to plan joining them.

2018 funding for the KHC is being shared 50/50, with the three Nairobi Presbyteries each contributing $13,600 to match Newton-Nairobi Partnership Team’s reserve fund. The NNPT reserve fund is now depleted.

The Nairobi Partnership Board, realizing the need and benefits to be gained, is resolved to not allow the KHC to fail for lack of funds, as are we of the Newton-Nairobi Partnership Team.  Our recent May events have stirred interest within some of the congregations of  the presbytery, and NNPT efforts are underway for sharing the ministry with congregations, with initial results most encouraging.

Your gifts would be greatly appreciated. You can make a financial gift at www. highlandspresbyterynj.org    or send a check to Presbytery of Newton (390 Rte 10 W., Randolph, NJ   07869) marking the memo: “Nairobi Partnership KHC.”

Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to serve Jesus Christ through our Nairobi Partnership.

Curriculum

/by

Check it out!

We get a lot of free samples at the Resource Center, and I finally sat down to see what we have.  Now, you can do the same.

There are resources for one-room Sunday Schools for smaller churches or traditional classroom style Sunday Schools, lectionary-based, two- and three-year rotational models, adult, nursery, confirmation.  We only have samples, but you can find a lot online.   If you prefer tactile, stop by the Resource Center and check things out firsthand.

PC(USA) Store

Cokesbury

Sparkhouse

We offer some to borrow: Faith Questions, and Being Reformed.

(Engage is an evangelism curriculum available for check-out as well.)

Others we have to peruse and see if you want to order:

Bible Lessons for Youth

collaborate

Deep Blue

Feasting on the Word

frolic

Growing in Grace and Gratitude

The Present Word

Sparkhouse Family

Spark Story Bible

t.b.d. (think.believe.do)

Uniform Series

Whirl

       

Our curriculum expert is the Rev. Sue Trigger, co-pastor at Rockaway and Mine Hill Presbyterian Churches.

MISSIONAL MINISTRY PRACTICES SESSIONS REGISTRATION

/by

Kenyan Connection Rewards Women Beyond Expectations

/by

Little did the Presbyterian Women of Long Valley Presbyterian Church realize in 2000, when they committed themselves to four years of financial support for a young Kenyan girl’s secondary school education, that they would be rewarded beyond good feelings of having acted charitably.  But in May, 2018, when the object of their financial support came to visit among them, they experienced rewards  beyond their imagining 18 years prior.

The women of LVPC welcomed Rachel Nyambura into their midst as she was enabled to come to Newton Presbytery to be a participant in the celebration of 25+ years of Newton Presbytery’s partnership with Kenyan Presbyterians.  With Rachel’s presence among them for three weeks, they deepened a true relationship between themselves that has buoyed their spirits and cemented a lifetime bond as mothers and daughter.

The LVPC PW’s experience is one more example of the rewarding nature that engagement in the Newton-Nairobi Partnership has brought to those who have interacted with Christians of another land and culture who are truly sisters and brothers in Christ, extended family members waiting to be discovered and enjoyed for the enrichment of your life and spirit.

You can read the personal and intimate reflections of Sally Strusz and Carol Procter, PW principals at LVPC, as well as Rachel’s by clicking here

#metoo

/by

Start here!

https://pres-outlook.org/2017/12/metoo-churchtoo-resources-congregations-pastors/

How can people of faith respond to the to the national #MeToo and #ChurchToo conversations? Here’s a sampling of ideas, opinion pieces, blog posts and resources available online. This list is being updated periodically to include new material.

It Never Starts at Assault: the overlooked ways in which the Church enables abuse. Denise Anderson, co-moderator of the 2016 General Assembly, writes at Ecclesio.com about practices that often don’t get interrogated — including paying women less and comments made to women leaders about their appearance, parenting and singleness. Anderson asks: “If this is how we treat women outwardly when everyone is watching, what then is happening when no one is watching?” Added 2/22.

Bodies of hope and harassment. abby mohaupt writes at Ecclesio.com about the people in churches who commented on her clothing and weight, about being propositioned and people who don’t understand the meaning of the word “no.” She contends that “people in the church have to be willing to root out the causes of harassment and assault, and then they (we) have to work against those causes.” Added 2/20.

A joint statement on sexual injustice from Presbyterian Women and the Advocacy Committee for Women’s Concerns. Added 1/26.

Amid #MeToo, evangelicals grapple with misconduct in their own churches. National Public Radio explores issues #MeToo raises in evangelical churches.  Added 1/25.

I can’t even remember the names of all the men on my #ChurchToo list. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) pastor Cynthia A. Jarvis describes in The Christian Century her many #MeToo encounters in the church — with professors, supervisors, ministers, theologians and church leaders — and what that tells her about total depravity. Added 12/22.

A letter on #MeToo and #Churchtoo from General Assembly co-moderators Denise Anderson and Jan Edmiston. Added 12/6.

The pastoral is political: #churchtoo. PC(USA) pastor Emily Heitzman writes on the RevGalBlogPals website about the messages she received about sexual harassment as a teenager, when women from her church brought charges against a pastor and he was found not guilty. “What kinds of messages are we in the church sending to victims of sexual abuse – whether through our actions or through our silence?” Heitzman asks. Added 12/5.

Sexual Abuse Happens In #ChurchToo – We’re Living Proof.  Hannah Paasch writes in the Huffington Post about purity culture.  Added 12/5.

“I believe the women.” PC(USA) minister Stephanie Sorge Wing, writing for the Young Clergy Women International website, writes of how many women have internalized a victim-blaming culture, and how “Scripture speaks soundly against a dominant culture that does not believe women.” Added 12/5.

What churches must do right now to stop being part of the sexual harassment problem. Amy Butler, senior minister of the Riverside Church in New York, writing in the Washington Post.

PC(USA)  minister and rape survivor Ruth Everhart, writing in Sojourners that #MeToo is an opportunity for the church.

Also from Everhart, writing in the Christian Century (added 12/5):

  • A pastor’s #MeToo story. Her account of being sexually abused by her senior pastor and supervisor, a PC(USA) minister, and the case she brought against him in the church courts. As a result of complaints filed by victims, a criminal case also was brought against a youth leader from that congregation, who was convicted and incarcerated.
  • 18 ways churches can fight sexual assault in 2018. 
  1. Require all leaders to take boundary training, even non-ordained leaders.
  2. Intentionally use the words sexual violence in the liturgy—for example, in a prayer of confession.
  3. Use the hashtag #MeToo on the church’s outdoor sign.
  4. Plan education classes on these issues during April and October.
  5. Educate the congregation about the grooming behaviors of predators.
  6. Invite a victims’ advocate to lead an adult education class or series.
  7. Focus education about sexual violence on justice, rather than healing.
  8. Have various groups sponsor a #MeToo night.
  9. Preach a sermon or series on biblical texts of terror, such as Tamar’s story.
  10. Put women in high-level positions in leadership.
  11. Speak about sex from the pulpit in a frank and forthright manner without using code words or making inappropriate jokes.
  12. Have the leaders create a no-tolerance statement and post it beside the church’s mission statement: If any abuse occurs within the fellowship of this church, we will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law no matter who the offender might be.
  13. Pull the skeletons out of the church closet and prosecute the offenders.

Can we talk about sexism? Asks Susan Rothenberg, a Presbyterian minister from Pennsylvania.

Why not me? From the Feminism and Religion website, by PC(USA) minister Marcia Mount Shoop, who has written and spoken publicly about her experience with sexual violence.

An Open Letter to my Brothers in light of #MeToo, by Mike Morrell

Four ways churches can respond faithfully to #MeToo, by MaryKate Morse on Mission Alliance

An online #MeToo worship resource from Rachel Guaraldi, a Quaker chaplain and spiritual director.

Dear Church: #MeToo. In this blog post, Lutheran pastor Jennifer Chrien presents accounts of sexual harassment experienced by women in ministry.

#MeToo and the Bible. Video from a panel discussion held Nov. 12 at Faith Lutheran Church in Chico, California, featuring a rabbi, Lutheran and AME ministers and a college comparative religion professor.

The church and the #MeToo movement, a Catholic perspective from Our Sunday Visitor.

PC(USA) abuse prevention hotline

PC(USA) child/youth/vulnerable adult protection policy and procedures

Sojourners:

How ‘Me Too’ Began—10 Years Ago

https://sojo.net/articles/how-me-too-began-10-years-ago

4 Ways Churches Can Respond to the #MeToo Movement

https://sojo.net/articles/4-ways-churches-can-respond-metoo-movement

As a Father of Sons: Confronting the Culture of Toxic Masculinity

https://sojo.net/articles/father-sons-confronting-culture-toxic-masculinity

Men: Women Spoke Up. How Will We Respond?

https://sojo.net/articles/men-women-spoke-how-will-we-respond

Video Resource:

#HerTruth from the UMC

https://www.umcna.org/hertruth

with Discussion Guide and Church Assessment

There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.                                                                                             Galatians 3:28 (NRSV)

  1. What are lay and clergywomen’s experiences in your local church? How  well  would  they  say  you  are  doing  at  being  fully  inclusive  of them and treating them equally?
  2. Has your  [Personnel Committee]  checked  their practices to see if there are discrepancies in pay between men and women at your church (i.e. housing allowances, salaries, continuing education, childcare, etc.)?
  3. Where do women serve in leadership in your church? Where do women  hold  positions  of  chairing  or  leading  a  ministry  team  or committee?  Where  have  women  never  chaired  or  led  a  ministry team or committee? Why?
  4. Who takes the minutes or makes the coffee for your meetings and gatherings?
  5. How do  you  encourage  women’s  opinions  and  experiences  to  be voiced regularly in meetings?
  6. Are women included and valued when decisions are made about the church?
  7. Have you had female clergy appointed to serve you? If you haven’t, why not? Have you had a female senior pastor?  If so, how did the congregation welcome the pastor?
  8. Does your church use expansive language for God…Does your church use pronouns and examples of God that are more than masculine? Why or why not?
  9. What is  your  church’s  plan  in  the  case  that  harassment, discrimination  or  abuse  occurs?    Do  you  publicize  the  confidential hotline  of  the  Commission  on  the  Status  and  Role  of  Women  for persons  to  have  if  they  need  to  report  abuse,  harassment  or discrimination?
  10. What is your  church’s  plan  to  grow  towards  full  inclusion  and  equality of women in all areas of your church? What is one step the church  can  take  right  now  to  work  towards  that  goal?    What are other steps the church can put in a plan to work towards within the next 3 years?

Ideas:

The Synod of the Trinity is offering a retreat (a place and space for healing) for clergy women in the church who have suffered sexual harassment/assault/abuse.  If you are interested in something similar, please contact Rev. Robin Miller Currás.

If there is one or two male clergy interested in organizing a retreat for men or for fathers and sons around “healthy sexual relationships,” please contact Rev. Robin Miller Currás.

 

Opioid Crisis Resource List

/by

New Jersey Addiction Services Hotline:

1.844.276.2777 for assistance and referral to treatment

REACH NJ: Gov. Chris Christie’s initiative

www.reachnj.gov

844.REACH.NJ (844.732.2465)

–A clearinghouse for support for those seeking treatment and support for their families

“In my experience, there are as many active addicts and alcoholics upstairs in churches as there are downstairs. But the ability to be honest about it and seek help unfortunately is a challenge for most people.”

Pastor Mike Clark

Preach, Pray, Partner

Articles:

Candlelight Vigil or Remembrance Day Event for those who have lost loved ones to addiction

https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/11768921-74/died-capozzi-county

Lenten Devotional:

“Into the Light: Join the Conversation” (Written for 2017, easily adapted)

https://redstonepresbytery.org/docman-lists/linked-documents/1051-intothelightlentendevotionals2017-pdf/file

Curriculum:

“Celebrate Recovery” from Saddleback Church, Rick Warren and John Baker

“Celebrate Recovery uses the language of hurts, habits and hang-ups,” said Mark McNeese, a pastoral assistant at First Church. “It’s a Christ-centered program based on the eight principles that are found within the Beatitudes. It also follows the regular 12-step program.”

Drug Policy Reform Resources (listed below)

https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/compassion-peace-justice/acswp/drug-policy/

Drug Policy Task Force Recommended Resources

Papers and Studies

Video and Film

Radio

Article

Books

  • Addiction and Grace, Gerald G. May, Harper One, 1988 (available in Resource Center)
  • Chasing the Scream, Johann Hari, Bloomsbury Circus, 2015
  • Dealing Death and Drugs, Beto O’Rourke and Susie Byrd, Cinco Puntos Press, 2011
  • Drug Crazy: How We Got Into This Mess and How We Can Get Out, Mike Gray, Routledge, 2000
  • Drug War Zone: Frontline Dispatches from the Streets of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, Howard Campbell, University of Texas, 2009
  • The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander, The New Press, 2011
  • Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow, Daniel Hunter, Veterans of Hope Project, 2015
  • To Die in Mexico, John Gibler, City Lights, 2011
  • Victims & Sinners, Linda Mercadante, Westminster John Knox Press, 1996

Presbyterian Mission Agency Resources (available on-line)

  • Addiction, Grace and Healing
  • Celebrating the Miracle

An Idea for Newton Presbytery:

Because there is shame associated with addiction, find a church (or churches) with whom to partner to host a support group for families dealing with substance abuse.  If several of our churches host support groups, people can drive a distance from their own community and still feel anonymous but get the support they need.  If you’re interested, contact your Resourcing Coordinator, Robin Miller Currás who will convene a planning meeting: resourcecenter@highlandspresbyterynj.org.

A Ministry of Comfort for the Grieving

/by

If you knit or crochet and participate in a Prayer Shawl Ministry, you can spread the graces of this specialized ministry internationally. Your modest contribution can support the mission of Ruling Elder Darlene Tapie of the First Presbyterian Church of Blairstown who launched this ministry internationally.  It has expanded in the past four years by her services offered within the Newton-Nairobi Partnership.

Visiting our Kenyan mission partners initially in 2015, Darlene introduced Women Guild groups of several congregations to the concept of Prayer Shawl Ministry, which has provided her and thousands of U.S. women a channel for contributing the skill of their hands to the healing of broken hearts and spirits. Hearing Kenyans’ expressed desire to learn more and develop greater skills in knitting and crocheting, Darlene returned self-funded in 2017, introducing more congregations in Nairobi, women in rural Kibwezi, and even some young boys to learning the skills and launching their own Prayer Shawl Ministries and she is returning in July-August, 2018, her travel being funded this trip by an “angel.”

 

Darlene presents a shawl to Mrs. Fridah Mugambi, recovering from illness, at a Women Guild meeting in Chogoria, Kenya, June 2017.

The ministry’s goal is to provide an encouraging support network of prayer for persons and households dealing with serious illness, grief or other prolonged challenges to the human spirit, with the suffering person(s) presented a knitted/crocheted shawl created by a group of women who assure the recipient(s) they will be remembering them daily in prayer. When a Prayer Shawl is given to someone it is an absolute GIFT without anything required from the recipient – no money, no requirement to come to church, no further contact unless the recipient initiates it.

It costs about KSh 1000 ($10) to purchase needles and yarn in Kenya for supplying each individual with the materials needed to begin learning and producing her/his first piece. Darlene would welcome your contribution to assist Kenyan women to make the purchase of materials more manageable for those with minimal income. On the home page of Newton Presbytery’s website, click the “Online Giving” button to make your contribution.

Get those needles clicking and clacking!

Church Emails (for Beginners)

/by

Every Thanksgiving, I go to a open house at the home of my preschool Sunday School teacher, Mrs. L. in Islip, New York.  I get to see people that I grew up with, people who loved me into faith and for whom I care deeply.  Darien, who was sooooo much older than me when I was a kid and is now a peer asked, “Are you on the Prayer Chain?”  No, I wasn’t.  She rectified that, and I have since received EVERY COMMUNICATION THAT MY HOME CHURCH PUTS OUT.  Seriously?!  They can’t have a “Prayer Chain List” and a “Newsletter List” and a “Who Can Help at the Food Pantry” list?  I actually called the church to encourage the pastor/admin/whoever-would-listen to create different lists.  “I really just want to be able to pray for the people I know and love.”  The person on the other side of the line seemed overwhelmed.  If that sounds like you: take a deep breath; let it out; it’s really not that hard.

I’ve done a little research to help you.

Your email provider has a way for you to create a contact list and put people into groups.  For a recent mailing for my Resourcing Coordinator gig, I created three groups: one for Morris County Clergy, Morris County Churches, and one for each individual church in which I included pastor, admin and clerk of session.  This is straightforward.  You can do this in your church for the choir, Sunday School families, food pantry volunteers, etc…

If you want to be fancy and grab people’s attention, use an Email Marketing Company. These user-friendly apps can help you create a lovely banner (picture at the top of the email), and send out your short-but-sweet messages.

MailChimp is the only free provider that I found.

Constant Contact is very popular but costs you money.

Flocknote was developed for churches and enables you to text as well as email.  It’s free for churches that have 40 contacts or less.  People can actually RSVP with a click using this app.  Very cool!

With all of these, you can track to see who is actually opening your emails, who unsubscribes, who clicks on links, etc…  It’s called “Analytics.”

There are a ton of applications out there to use and try.  I’m giving you three.

I’ll say more about this in a future blog post, but respect people’s time.  Don’t clutter inboxes with emails that don’t pertain to them or that don’t interest them.  Keep it short and sweet! Tell them how they can get involved!  Make it easy!

If you have ideas you’d like to share, please comment below.  Also, if you’d like to host a gathering of interested folks to learn more about using these tools, let me know!

Grace and peace,

Robin

PS–The greatest communication tool we have to share our faith is our very lives.  That is my prayer for you and for me.

Emergency Alerts Across Generations

/by

What if you could create one message and send it out to the friends and members of your church based on their communication preference?  You can.

Text?  Yes.

Phone Call?  Yes.

Email?  Yes.

So, when it snows and you decide to cancel worship on Sunday morning, you can send out a message to millennials, boomers, and the silent generation in one fell-swoop.  (Gen-Xers weren’t coming anyway.)*

Mid-week meeting?  No one wants to venture out on the slick roads?  Yep.  One message via phone, text, or email.

I found two companies that are geared for churches.  If you know of another or use another service, PLEASE comment below!!!

Check out https://www.onecallnow.com/religious or https://www.call-em-all.com.

One-Call-Now offers a yearly subscription for as low as $250 for small churches with a 50-person call list to $1000 for a 500-person call list.  That includes unlimited alerts throughout the year.  You can contact sub-groups, e.g. the choir, Sunday School, etc…  They have a referral program that could benefit the presbytery so please contact your friendly Resource Coordinator, me, to officially refer you and then you can get a quote.  A win-win.  (resourcecenter@highlandspresbyterynj.org)

With Call-Em-All, you buy credits which will cost you 9 cents per credit.  A less-than 30 second message will cost you one credit multiplied by the numbers of contacts you make.  So–

100 contacts x 9 cents = $9.00

50 contacts x 9 cents = $4.50

25 contact x 9 cents = $2.25

You get the idea.

Let me know if this was helpful to you!

Grace and peace,

Robin

PS–May the silence of snowfall, the exquisite construction of a bare tree, and the imposed Sabbath of a snow day draw you closer to your Creator.

*It’s a joke.  I’m Gen-X.

 

May 12th Presbytery Meeting Registration

/by