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The mission of Seattle Presbytery is to participate, in word and deed, in God’s transforming work through the Gospel of Jesus Christ: by strengthening the witness and mission of our congregations and members and by building strong partnerships with each other and the larger Christian community.
Giving to the Pentecost Offering makes it possible for the church to encourage, develop, and support its young people, and address the needs of at-risk children. A large portion of this offering can be retained by individual congregations wanting to make an impact in the lives of young people within their own community.
Bread for the World invites churches to write letters to Congress this Spring. This year's focus is "Reforming US Food Aid", asking Congress to make changes that would allow food aid to benefit 17 million more people each year, at no additional cost to taxpayers.
Help Wellspring win a video contest! The PC (USA)'s 1001 New Worshiping Community is running a video contest from May 1 through May 14. The first place winner will receive $10,000. Online voting will help determine the winners!
The Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life is a nine month retreat format of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, with retreat communities meeting in Seattle and Tacoma, beginning in September and running through May.
Twenty-five Seattle-area churches, including BelPres and Redmond PC, are raising thousands of dollars for Oso relief.
The group Churches For Oso has pledged money from their own churches' budgets plus donations from congregation members to Oso victims. The group has launched a fundraising website and produced a video that’s spreading online.
Following their assessment of the Oso mudslide and the initial response, Rev. David Alger and Morella Larsen of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) met with 25 Presbyterians at Mountain View PC in Marysville, WA on March 29th. This disaster, when all is said and done, may be the most costly natural disaster in the last century in Washington State in terms of human life.
Youth from your congregations are invited to participate in a Mass Youth Choir for Opening Worship at General Assembly on Saturday, June 14 at 11 AM at First Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Youth will meet for dinner and their first rehearsal at the church on June 12. Churches in Ann Arbor will open their buildings for youth and chaperones (for a minimal fee). There is no fee for participating in the mass choir itself. Dr. Jerry Blackstone, director of choral activities at University of Michigan, will conduct. 50 spaces are currently available for singers (rising 8th grade & up).
Contact: Tom Granum, Director of Music Ministries, First Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor.
Rev. Debbie Blane, Mission Co-Worker in South Sudan
Rev. Debbie Blane, Mission co-worker in South Sudan (serving at Nile Theological College) will be returning to Seattle from May 20-June 12 and is seeking housing for part of that time. Please contact her directly via email if you can help. Learn more online about her ministry.
Debbie was ordained in the Seattle Presbytery at Woodland Park Presbyterian Church in 2002.
Boston University School of Theology is conducting a national research project on how people come to faith as adults in the U.S. The project will include those who have become adherents of all major religious traditions in the U.S.
Seattle Presbytery is pleased to celebrate the announcement of Sound View's new director, Matt Klump. You probably recognize Matt from his familiar presence at our Presbytery gatherings. Congratulations! Read more.
Join Team World Vision. Run a race. Change the lives of children in Africa and Haiti and your team members. As you train for a race and ask others to make donations on your behalf, you help communities in need by enabling World Vision to provide access to things like clean water. You don't have to be a runner! Read more about Team World Vision.
CWS has recently received a request from a partner agency for 52,500 CWS School Kits to travel to Cameroon, Syria, and Romania to provide supplies that enable children to be successful in school.
The deadline for SeaPres churches to enter 2013 stats into the online system is Thursday, February 20th (midnight), even if your session has not yet approved the report. If your session meets after the Feb. 20th deadline, enter the stats by the deadline and take the paper copy to the session for approval. If there are changes, send them to Stated Clerk Kathy Lueckert and she will make them in the system.
The Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Programs at Christian Theological Seminary is accepting proposals for grants to fund “clergy renewal leaves” for congregations and their pastors.
Under the program ― underwritten by the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment ― congregations may apply for grants of up to $50,000 to underwrite a renewal program for their pastor and for the pastor’s family, with up to $15,000 of those funds available to the congregation to help cover costs for ministerial supply while the pastor is away.
The Office of the General Assembly (“OGA”) has been receiving inquiries and questions regarding the November 21, 2013 decision of a federal district court (Western District of Wisconsin) judge in Madison, Wisconsin which held that a portion of Section 107 of the Internal Revenue Code is unconstitutional. Section 107 is the provision dealing with tax-favored housing benefits for “ministers of the gospel.” Specifically, the court held that Section 107(2), which permits ministers to receive tax-free cash “housing allowance,” is unconstitutional because it violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Section 107(1), which allows ministers to reside tax-free in a church-provided manse, was not affected by the court’s decision.
Since 1991, Union Presbyterian Seminary has awarded Congregational Leadership Awards for innovative ministry to 101 PC (USA) congregations. Each award carries a $1000 prize to support the congregation in its ministry. For information and how to apply, download the brochure and application online or contact April Swofford at 1-800-229-2990 ext. 231. Deadline is February 15, 2014.
I enrolled in the CWS Karima Adult Learners' Centre in 2010, after persistent encouragement from my mother, now deceased, who also learned there.
Once I was able to read and write and was operating a successful retail shop, thanks to CWS, I was elected group secretary. This position was very challenging because most women in the group still needed guidance on small scale business management. With continuous training from CWS we were able to manage our small businesses and earn some profits. We are more united than before. As a secretary, I help to keep the group records and to set up monthly meetings.
From January of this year, because of the perennial water shortage in our village, we got on a campaign called "each one a tank." This involves purchasing a 5,000-litre capacity water tank for each of the group’s 22 households. To make it easier for everyone, we planned to buy three water tanks at a time. We were able to raise enough money to achieve this dream in just a couple of months.
Unlike before, when we didn't have money of our own, we are now captains of our lives. Because we have safe clean water year round, the health of our children has improved and we also are able to sustain our chicken project. For us, the projects demonstrate our level of literacy. We now can read and count. We can communicate with the mobile phone and, most of all, we can keep our business records.
At Karima Learners’ Centre we feel empowered as we aspire to grow together. The initial business grant from CWS has gotten larger, giving us more independence. Every one of us has a growing business that is helping to feed our families. Every month, we come together to review our individual progress as we build up our savings. We have discussed the need to invest our money in a financial institution so that we can qualify for bigger loans in the future. We have big dreams and nothing can stop us now.