Special Guests from Office of General Assembly in January

Rev. Tom Hay, Dir. of Ops. & Assoc. Stated Clerk for Office of the General Assembly

Dr. Heath Rada, Moderator of the 221st General Assembly, PC(U.S.A.)

We’re gearing up for the 222nd General Assembly, happening June 18-25, 2016 in Portland. Special guests Tom Hay, director of operations and associate stated clerk for Office of the General Assembly (OGA) and Moderator Heath Rada (via video conference) will be available at Bellevue Presbyterian Church on Tue., Jan. 19 from 12:00-2:00 PM for in-depth discussion. Learn more & register now.

Please also remember to send your elder commissioners to our January 19 stated meeting (Tuesday @ 5:00 PM at Lake Burien Presbyterian Church), where Tom Hay will facilitate the General Assembly discussion at our meeting. 

Other important details and deadlines:

• If your session would like to present overtures or concurrences to presbytery, please contact: karen@seattlepresbytery.org.  Background: The councils of the church use overtures to bring recommendations and matters of concern to the whole church.  The overtures may ask the assembly to take a particular stance, initiate (or eliminate) a program or change the constitution.  When two councils send essentially the same overture, the second council’s overture is considered a “concurrence” of the original and allows for the rationale of the second overture to be added to the first.      
• Because of the deadlines for the different types of overtures and concurrences and the Seattle Presbytery meeting schedule, overtures and concurrences that propose changes to the Book of Order or that have financial implications must be emailed to the Stated Clerk by December 11, 2015 in order to be considered for the January 2016. All other overtures may be emailed to the Stated Clerk by March 8, 2016 to be considered for the April 2016 presbytery meeting.

More Resources:

• Presbyterian Governance Comes to Life

• PC-Biz

• 222nd General Assembly 2016

• Manual of the 222nd General Assembly 2016

• Join the Conversation

• Our presbytery's elected GA commissioners. 

General Assembly Commissioners Elected

At the October 2015 stated meeting, Seattle Presbytery elected the following ruling elder and teaching elder commissioners and alternates to General Assembly:

The presbytery approved the election of the following ruling elder commissioners and alternate:
Ruling Elder Steve Aeshbacher, Bellevue
Ruling Elder Pattie Holt, St. Andrew
Ruling Elder, Kyle Hurst, West Side, alternate

The presbytery approved the election of the following teaching elder commissioners and alternates:
Teaching Elder Doug Early, commissioner
Teaching Elder Chris Pritchett, commissioner
Teaching Elder J. P. Kang, first alternate
Teaching Elder Rich Gingrich, second alternate

More Background: 

The presbytery approved setting aside the standing rules in order to elect commmissioners based on the new rules of General Assembly. Two ruling elder commissioners and one alternate were selected using the criteria in the standing rules but the reduced number allowed by General Assembly. Two teaching elder commissioners and two alternates were selected using the following criteria: there were two pools for selecting commissioners – a general pool into which all names were placed and a pool for persons historically underrepresented in Presbytery and General Assembly. The second pool was open but not limited to racial minorities and people with disabilities. Any teaching elder who believed he or she should be included in the second pool and wished to have their name moved to that pool had the opportunity to ask the clerk to be moved, giving the reason for changing pools. Since no one requested to be moved to pool two, both commissioner and alternate names were drawn from pool one. 

Questions: Contact Stated Clerk Karen Breckenridge

SeaPres Triennium 2016 Applications Due Dec. 11

Seattle Presbytery is leading a delegation to attend the Presbyterian Youth Triennium at Purdue University (Indiana), July 19-23, 2016.  

Download the registration form and return to Seattle Presbytery (Attn: Presbyterian Youth Triennium), 1544 S. Snoqualmie Street, Seattle, WA 98108 with payment.  Make checks payable to: Presbytery of Seattle. All forms and payment due: December 11, 2015.

More details from Triennium Registrar Derona Burkholder:

I am reaching out in the last weeks to make sure you are aware of this opportunity for youth entering high school next year or those who will graduate this year. The deposit and application are due to Seattle Presbytery by Dec. 11th.  This is a presbytery sponsored youth event.  The final cost is divided into 3 portions.  One portion is covered by Seattle Presbytery, one portion by youth's family, and one portion by fundraising within the local church. Please think about sending your youth.  We have a limit of 50 people, so we are on one bus once we fly into Chicago.  Our first delegate meeting for those who are going from the Seattle Presbytery is scheduled for Jan. 24th at Newport Presbytery in Bellevue. 

Currently, we have two women leaders and one male leader, with the possibility of another male leader.  If there is a need for more leaders to attend the conference, please email me if you are interested, and once I have a final count I can let you know if we need to add additional leaders.  The adult leaders have their fees covered. 

Contact SeaPres Triennium Registrar Derona Burkholder or EJ Lee (Seattle Presbytery). 

Watch: PCUSA Moderator Rada's Call to the Church

Heath Rada, Moderator of the 221st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), presents his "Call to the Church" -- a request for a study of the form, function and mission of the PC(USA). Recorded at the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board Meeting, Sept. 23, 2015.

Code for the Kingdom Seattle Recap

Update from Organizer Chris Lim (RE, Indonesian): 

I just wanted to say thank you to Seattle Presbytery for supporting Code for the Kingdom Seattle! We had over 100 people registered, 10 projects pitched and many rich relationships formed.

Read an event summary from GeekWire.

I also had the privilege of creating the intro video: Why Code for the Kingdom? and some of the Challenges we addressed. 

Here is also a podcast episode I recorded with a friend where I tell a few of the stories of God's gracious provision every step of the way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN_VXAL0S7Y

Thanks again and Glory to God!

Join the Conversation

COGA issues open invitation to discuss identity, purpose of PC(USA)

Identity conversations are taking place across the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly (COGA) wants to make sure all join in.

What does it mean to be Presbyterian? Who is the church called to be in this current day and time? How should the denomination serve into the future?

Valid questions are being discussed in nooks and crannies throughout the church, and now the General Assembly committee that oversees assembly work between biennial meetings is inviting the entire denomination into a churchwide conversation.

Read more.

Ekklesia Fellowship Program Accepting Church Applications

Whitworth University's Ekklesia Fellowship Program is a 10- to 12-week summer-ministry experience for current Whitworth students and those who have just graduated. The development of strong partnerships with churches and ministries is essential to this experience. We hope that, through a partnership, ministries will provide an opportunity for students to serve, develop their gifts, and discern their vocations in Christ's body. In turn, each ministry will be supported by a student committed to meeting practical needs and building the capacity of each ministry. Below are documents that contain all of the programmatic and partnership details.

Learn more.

Practical Church Leadership Seminars @ Menucha

PRACTICAL CHURCH LEADERSHIP SEMINARS AVAILABLE @ MENUCHA

March 19, May 7, September 10, and October 22, 2016: Practical Church Leadership workshops with Rev. Heidi Husted Armstrong (Seattle Presbytery). Back by popular demand! These Saturday workshops are specially designed for pastors and lay leaders of small churches but applicable for people from churches of any size. Participants attend the workshop from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and leave with lots of materials and new insights. Dates and topics for 2016:

• 3/19: The times, they are a changin' 
• 5/7: Who is Robert and why do we follow his rules anyway?
• 9/10: Dealing with congregational conflict
• 10/22: Unique challenges for the 21st century church

For information on all of these programs, visit our website (www.menucha.org/programs) or call Program Director Scott Crane at 503-695-2243.

Menucha Retreat & Conference Center is an ecumenical outreach mission of the First Presbyterian Church, Portland, OR, and is located at 38711 E. Historic Columbia River Hwy, Corbett, OR 97019.  Its mission is enriching lives through hospitality, learning, reflection and renewal.

Syrian Refugee Crisis: How to Help

September 10, 2015 by Leslie Scanlon (Presbyterian Outlook)

Seeing the images of refugee children dying, families crowded into train stations and herded into communities of desolation by the sides of the roads, staring over the barbed wire fences, sleeping on the dirt, carrying what little they have, people around the world are beginning to pay attention.

This pain is not new: It’s been building for years on the backs of people who have no homes, no jobs, no decent education for their children, no good choices.

Read more.

Rev. Gary Barckert (HR) Shares His Study Leave Experience

Gary L. Barckert

Study Leave – July 17-26, 2015

C. S. Lewis Home
Oxford, UK

This Spring I had been considering registering for the C. S. Lewis Summer Seminar, sponsored by the C. S. Lewis Foundation – Redlands, CA. Our long acquaintance with Stan Mattson (director of the Foundation) and his vision for the Kilns bred a deep interest in studying there. The opportunity to be with Earl was equally important.

Miriam’s encouragement sealed the deal and I enrolled for the second week with high anticipation.

READ MORE HERE ...

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

As a pastor, would you be prepared if…     

Summer is a busy time at Mayfield Central Presbyterian Church. We always have a summer intern from Princeton Theological Seminary and a large part of that student’s internship involves leading Vacation Bible School. It was the first day of VBS and it was a sunny, hot day. The church was buzzing- with staff persons, parents, grandparents, and children of all ages- registering children and getting everything set.

Suddenly a woman appeared, sweating, out of breath, and extremely upset, looking to talk to the pastor. She was hysterical. I took her into my office, closed the door, and her story began to pour out in the midst of her hysteria. She has been living in an abusive relationship for the past fifteen years and surviving day by day.

Read more.

Awareness resources.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance continues assessment of northwest wildfires

August 25, 2015

Louisville

By Rick Jones, Presbyterian News Service

High winds and dry weather continue to fan the flames in the northwest as wildfires spread, damaging or destroying homes and businesses. Representatives of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance’s National Response Team have spent nearly a week meeting with the Presbytery of the Inland Northwest and the Synod of Alaska-Northwest to assess the damage and determine needs. The fires in Washington State and Idaho alone have burned thousands of acres over the past two weeks and the work to contain the fires continues.

The National Response Team consists of the Rev. Bill Neely, Jan Spence and Barbara Mason. The three report that despite the damage, volunteers and churches have mobilized to provide clothes, food and shelter for those displaced. The team has also visited some of the small, hard-hit communities of Kamiah and Kooskia, Idaho.

“Right now the people are still in shock and concerned about where the fire is burning and cannot fathom just what to begin to do for long term recovery,” said Spence. “We have helped to set up a Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC), but local church leaders believe they and the other volunteers will have to make house calls in the surrounding hills to help those too traumatized and self-sufficient to come to town.”

Early in the visit, the NRT along with volunteers assembled donation bags and drove throughout the area to find anyone in need.

Read more.

Financial contributions can be made by visiting the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance website and designating gifts to DR000015.

Theological Education Fund (TEF)

The Presbyterian Foundation invites you to celebrate God's inspiring work in equipping our seminaries to educate and prepare Christian leaders to "do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God" (Micah 6:8). May these liturgical resources assist you in preparation for worship, prayer, meditation, and reflection. The Presbyterian Planning Calendar specifies Sunday, September 20th as the Lord's Day for recognition of this mission emphasis, yet you may choose an alternative date as customs dictate or circumstances require.

Lectionary Resource: Click HERE to download the .pdf resource
Bulletin Insert: Click HERE to download a copy and/or order printed bulletin sets

Learn more online.

The PC(USA): Stretched Harmony

August 7, 2015 by The Presbyterian Outlook 

Guest commentary by Doug Kelly (Seattle Presbytery, Bethany PC)

“Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” (Colossians 3:14)

I love when our choir breaks out into 4 or even 8 part harmony. The mixture of different notes, vowels and meter brings a rich sound.   Sometimes the harmony is a simple major chord blend. However, sometimes the harmonies are pushed, tense and don’t resolve so quickly.   I appreciate these harmonies too, although it takes some practice to endure them; they’re harmonies that stretch you.

I feel that way about the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), our denomination.   We are unified in Christ and also in a theological and ecclesiastical tradition, but that unity is being tested by differences around same-sex marriage and ordination standards. Some churches and pastors have left the PC(USA).   Some churches have left the denomination while their pastors have remained in the PC(USA). And there are many churches not talking about going anywhere. Some of my friends have even asked me if I am considering leaving the PC(USA).   I am not – for three reasons.

Read more.

Whitworth's Academy of Christian Discipleship

"Train yourself in godliness," the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, his spiritual apprentice," for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come."

To be a disciple requires a lifelong apprenticeship to Jesus. The ACD is designed to provide both instruction in and training for a life of discipleship. It is also designed to work in partnership with ministries and Christian organizations. The academy will be based on three foundational principles. First, it will equip and send people back to their local ministries as exemplars and servants. Second, it will train leaders to help establish a training program in those ministries. Finally, it will require commitment to a comprehensive vision of discipleship, which will include not only formal instruction but also deeper relationships, accountability, worship, spiritual exercises, and application to life in ministry.

The program will videotape all sessions and offer them virtually so anyone can participate.

Presbyterian News Service Features Madrona Grace's Tiny House

Madrona Grace Presbyterian Church in Seattle is addressing homelessness by installing Tiny Houses on their property, and in the yards of parishoners.

Posted by Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) on Monday, August 3, 2015

Photo: Presbyterian Foundation

MDC 30 Theatre Organ Available

A generous donor in Seattle is making a MDC Theatre 30 organ available to a church, school or other charitable organization.  Click here for details on organ. Contact SeaPres office if interested.

Listening to God Together

As followers of Jesus, we live, work, and minister in a complex and rapidly changing culture. The church is reforming and recalibrating to share the gospel and minister more effectively in this context. As we face these challenges we need spiritual renewal and to intentionally seek God’s way forward through our practice of communal discernment.

We want to hear God speak into our challenges and our opportunities.  We want to learn more about how to discern well. In this program you will first learn spiritual practices that aid deepening in your relationship with God through prayer. And second, you will learn and have the opportunity to engage a process of communal discernment with your leadership team in which you listen to God together.

More information here...

Pictures are live from July Stated Meeting

Posted by Seattle Presbytery on Thursday, July 23, 2015

Code For the Kingdom Recap

By Chris Lim (RE, Indonesian PC):

About a hundred people gathered for the first ever Code for the Kingdom @ Microsoft on July 10-11. We prayed, worshiped, hacked (kids did too!), pitched and celebrated–it was an amazing time. Read more.

Here are some pictures, videos and tweets from the event. You can read my thoughts on the winning projects here.

One participant shared, "Initially I registered as a photographer volunteer to participate in "Code for the Kingdom" event, because I never thought I was capable of handling a software project of real user impact. But after discussing with the tutor, I suddenly got some idea. Why cannot I use the algorithms I learned in Bing for biblical verse ranking? Although got the initial idea, there are a lot of technical challenges. But I really felt that God inspired me to attack my limitation. With the help of two tutors, my project "Bible insight" got the second place out of three, winning $100 gift card. I don't think I deserve the prize, but this event was really a spiritual treasure for me!"