PRESBYTERIAN
WOMEN
PRESBYTERY
OF MISSISSIPPI
November 2007 Volume
4 Issue 4
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Moderator’s Report – Myra Hester
We began our Fall
Cluster Gatherings on Saturday September 8 at First Presbyterian Church in Port
Gibson, a beautiful historical church that is celebrating their 200th
birthday this year. We were among the
first to be able to sit on the newly refurbished pew cushions, which still
retain their original horsehair stuffing according to Rev. Michael Herrin who
gave us a brief history of the church as we began. Dr. Betsy Lipscomb
introduced the offering objective, the Society of St. Andrews, which addresses
hunger issues in this country in a variety of ways.
Our next
Gathering was Cluster B hosted by Jones Memorial Presbyterian in Meridian on
Thursday September 13. The offering
objective for this cluster was Habitat for Humanity presented by Fonda Rush,
Director for Habitat in this area.
During lunch we got to hear about the Fall Festival and Catfish Fry they
were planning and got a chance to buy raffle tickets for the quilt they had
made.
On Saturday
September 29, Cluster C gathered at Briarwood Presbyterian in Jackson. Gloria Moorman, Moderator of Mid-KY
Presbytery PW, was our guest speaker on Justice and Peace. In addition to the leaders’
workshops, Anne Hodges gave a workshop on Briarwood’s new prayer shawl
ministry, including hands-on knitting instructions. Gloria had a prayer shawl started to knit on her way home. Mickey Velkey presented the offering
objective, The Flowers Shelter at Stewpot Ministries in Jackson.
For our final
Cluster A Gathering, we met at Hansboro in Gulfport on Saturday, October 6.
Rev. Scott Castleman welcomed us to this historic church and gave us some
history of this beautiful church as well.
Dianna Kuns presented the offering cause, the Harrison County Children’s
Shelter. This was also the weekend for
Cruisin’ the Coast, one of the biggest special events in Mississippi, so as we
left our gathering we drove along Highway 90 and waved at the folks in lawn
chairs looking for cool cars.
At each Gathering, Norma Loposser gave
us an inspiring introduction to this year’s Bible Study “Above and Beyond:
Hearing God’s Call in Jonah and Ruth”.
Dr. Bill dePrater, our Executive Presbyter, also spoke and gave us
updates on what is happening in the Presbytery of Mississippi as well as in the
larger church. All the workshops for
leaders went well, we just wish more could have attended and gotten in on the
lively discussions and idea swaps that always occur when Presbyterian Women
heads get together!
We had over 200
to attend the four cluster gatherings with offerings of over $2,000.00 for the four
mission objectives.
Thank You from Gloria Moorman
Myra, I don’t
know where to begin. I enjoyed myself so very much. You will have to offer a
workshop on your photography talents. I was delightfully surprised to have
pictures so soon. Myra’s Bed & Coffee was the best. I will miss my special
living quarters, coffee on the deck and a most pleasant indescribable southern
hospitality.
Thank
you for inviting me. I pray first that God was pleased and that you were okay
with how everything went, especially my presence. I prayed and believe God
intended for me to share the words of caring and supporting each other to my
sisters there. We can be creative in developing so many fun and exciting ideas
to support mission, justice and peace. Nothing will be sustaining if we allow
sisters to fall through the cracks because they feel unloved, unwanted, and
unnecessary by their peers. On the plane, as I read scriptures, I ran across
several that I would like to share with Mississippi Presbytery PW. I will
gather my notes and send them to you. Please share with those who are directly
or indirectly affected by the challenges facing Mississippi Presbytery.
Love and Peace,
~Gloria
Gloria
Moorman with Diane Blankenhorn at the Cluster C meeting at Briarwood in
Jackson.
Together in Service Report – Sara Brown
I went to the four Cluster Gatherings and
had a good turn out at each for training.
The class was to give information on mission opportunities and the
special offerings that the PW groups take each year. I hope that each church has a guide book telling the suggestions
for missions. If any church doesn’t
have a guide book I will be glad to send them a copy if they let me know. Each church can select whatever projects they
want to do.
Casserole Caravans – Inez Dunlap
Hello all. The Casserole Caravan
continues! The work on the coast is going strong and hungry workers are
still hoping to enjoy a home-made southern delight. Whole houses are
being built from the ground up using prefabricated parts sent by the Amish
people. Of course the repair and rebuilding of damaged homes continues.
Let's get busy cooking and do what we can to help boost this worthy
mission. The schedule is the same as last year: Cluster B in
November: Cluster C in December and Cluster D in January. Happy cooking!
Fall 2007 Cluster
Meetings in Pictures
Cluster D Meeting in Port Gibson
Cluster B Meeting in Meridian
Cluster C Meeting in Jackson
Cluster A Meeting in Gulfport
PW Service
Projects:
Trinity Meridian:
Presbyterian Women of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Meridian,
Mississippi for the past several years has been making about 350 cupcakes each
month for our local Boys & Girls Club. The children all look forward to
this homemade treat. Accepting our Synod’s Moderator’s Challenge we looked for
another project in our community to benefit women or children. Since we already
have a connection with the Boys & Girls Club, it seemed like a perfect fit.
We all know that school supplies are consumable; therefore, we felt this was
more than just a one time need of the children. We decided to collect the
basics: spiral notebooks, loose-leaf paper, crayons, markers, pencils, pens,
and folders. Also we realized they
often have other donations at the beginning of the school year. Therefore, it
was decided to store the supplies at Trinity and deliver them during the year
as needed.
Briarwood Jackson:
Briarwood Presbyterian Women held their Dorcas Auction on October 4. The
purpose of the annual event is to raise money for various facilities for the
developmentally disabled. The year's evening featured a soup supper,
white elephant sale, silent auction, and live auction. Ladies attending the
lively and fun evening raised $3,450.00 to benefit Mustard Seed and Baddour
Center.
Briarwood PW also collects school
supplies for the children in the Jackson Public Schools.
PW Honorary Life Membership Changes
The PW Honorary Life Membership Program
office announces two changes beginning January 1, 2008:
1. On the occasion of the celebration of the 20th Anniversary of
Presbyterian Women in 2008, there will be a 10 K gold HLM pin available for
$250.00.
2. The sterling silver HLM pin will increase in price to $95.00.
Revenue from the Honorary Life Membership
program supports the Leadership Development Grant program. To learn more
about Honorary Life Memberships or to download an order form, visit
www.pcusa.org/pw/gifts <http://www.pcusa.org/pw/gifts>
or call 888/728-7228, ext. 8014.
Kaleidoscope Information
Kaleidoscope is February 8-9, 2008. The following link will take you to the
Kaleidoscope website with speaker, classes and registration information.
http://www.first-trinity.org/kaldscp/kaldscp.html
New Address for Presbytery Office
The Presbytery of Mississippi office has
moved. The new location is 107 N. 25th Ave., Hattiesburg, MS 39401 (next
door to Westminster Presbyterian Church). The new mailing address is P.O.
Box 16837, Hattiesburg, MS 39404-6837.
13th Annual Winter Retreat, January 25-26, 2008
St. Mary of the Pines - Chatawa, Mississippi
“Finding God....Finding Home”
Retreat
Leader is Dee Koza. Dee is a certified
Presbyterian Church USA Educator with experience in local, presbytery, and
national level educational positions. A
national keynote/consultant, Dee continues to concentrate on faith development,
vision/mission planning, narrative in worship, and youth ministry. Her latest published works are Faithful
Living in a Time of Violence and Peace Knows No Season.
Contact Jane Bloss at janebloss@aol.com
for registration information and forms.
In Memory
Lucile Smith of
Westminster, Gulfport transferred to the Church Triumphant on October 26. She was a charter member of Westminster, and
the first woman ordained as an elder, serving several 3-year terms. She also served Westminster as President of
Women of the Church and Moderator of Presbyterian Women for four separate
terms. She was active in PW on the
Presbytery level, serving on the Coordinating Team, and attending many
Gatherings, Cluster meetings and retreats.
She was awarded an Honorary Life membership by South Mississippi
Presbytery in 1974, and by Westminster in 1978. She will be greatly missed.
Synod PW News
PARTICIPANTS ANNOUNCED
for
PW GLOBAL EXCHANGE FOR 2008
Synod of Living
Waters
Fund Raising Request
For Global Exchange, 2008
October 15, 2007
Dear Presbyterian Women Sisters,
Anna McIlwain of
Shephards and Lapsley Presbytery has been selected to represent the Synod of
Living Waters when the PW Global Exchange travels to Eastern Europe in
September of 2008. We are honored to
have someone chosen from our Synod. A
group of women from Eastern Europe - Hungary, Czech Republic and Ukraine – will
be invited to attend the 2009 Churchwide Gathering in Louisville, KY.
The
theme of this Global Exchange is “Joined and knit together in love”. I know that we will want to encourage all of
the participants as they prepare for their adventure. The focuses of this Global Exchange is to discover how our church
partners have fared and are in ministry since the end of Communism, how the
societies are dealing with minority populations, and the issues facing women
and children in these societies.
Resources
for study and information about the countries to be visited will be in future
issues of Horizons magazine and on
the Presbyterian Women’s web site, www.pcusa.org/pw. Because Anna will represent us, study the
resources to prepare, and take three weeks to travel in September 2008, we are
privileged to assist her financially.
The cost of the trip is $4500 for each participant. I am hoping that PW in each church and every
presbytery in our synod will contribute as they are able to the 2008 Global
Exchange. A remittance form is attached,
and all money must be forwarded from your presbytery to our Synod Treasurer,
Jean Starnes. Your support will be
appreciated! Consider that you are
paying the honorarium for a future program when Anna can come to you to
interpret the Exchange.
Participation
in the Global Exchange changes lives and opens the participants to seeing the
world in a different light. Feel free
to share this letter with others and plan to schedule a presentation by Anna in
the two years following her return.
You
may reach me at hillsidetwo@roadrunner.com with questions regarding the Global Exchange
and about scheduling a program. Do not
hesitate to call me if there is some way I can help your PW.
Peace and Joy,
Mary Weber
Moderator of Presbyterian Women
Synod of Living
Water
Prayer Cues from Mary Weber
Moderator of Presbyterian Women
Synod of Living Water
So
far in my travels around the Synod I have found several things that hold us
together as women of faith. To me one
of the most important is prayer. No
matter our age, our physical condition, or our walk in life—we can pray. Using a cue to remind me to pray has
impacted my prayer life in a positive way, and I hope that you will consider
trying it out yourself.
In
the 1970’s I attended a Bible study class in our church in Mesa, Arizona. One of the class members, a local
pediatrician, mentioned that every time he heard a siren he prayed for the
patient and for the medical staff providing the care. I was impressed that a doctor would admit that he turned to God
in that way.
The
Scriptures admonish us to “pray without ceasing,” (1 Thessalonians 5:17.) My prayers, though heartfelt, were
infrequent, certainly not continuous.
Perhaps the use of a cue, like my doctor friend used a siren, could help
my prayer life. But, like good
intentions to improve my diet, I let the idea languish.
It
is only in recent years that I have tried to put this principle into
practice. When I was teaching, I was
impressed with “Lessons from the Geese” and used them as rules for my
classroom. When a family member
experienced some work related trouble, I looked up and saw geese flying
overhead. I began to pray every time I
saw geese flying in formation. God
gives many messages through geese—to take turns leading so that we can benefit
from the efforts of others, to get ourselves back in line, to take care of each
other when we are hurt, and to be sure that our honking is for encouragement.
Continuing to
pray whenever I saw geese, I gradually realized that every bird I saw was
cueing me to pray. A single bird making
its way through the air provided personal messages of God’s love and care for
me. Or it might help me to pray for
those who are lonely or who don’t belong.
Groups of birds reminded me of others and prompted me to pray for the
corporate body.
As
I had hoped, my prayer life had become enriched. This is not the only time I
pray, but it adds to the frequency
and meaningfulness of me prayers. I
have been surprised at the infinite variety of messages that God sends to me
through my observation of birds.
If
you want to try this for yourself, let your prayer cue find you. It may be something that you experience
every day—the buzzing of the clothes dryer, the ring of the telephone, a red
light in traffic. One woman prays each
time she turns on a light switch. With
our Synod interest in Living Waters for the World, you might want to pray each
time you turn on the water tap or drink a glass of water. Whatever you choose, I hope you find that
your prayer life becomes enriched as mine has.
For when we pray, we are fulfilling one of the purposes of Presbyterian
Women.
Website for PW Synod
PW Synod website
www.pwslivingwaters.org <http://www.pwslivingwaters.org>
Computer Tips from a Church Secretary
- When sending a file as an attachment and wanting
approval/corrections/additions, etc. - after opening file and making
necessary changes, you must first save it on your hard drive and then
return as an attachment to your email. If you only make changes, save and close
the file, if you just reply…the attached file will not have the changes you
made.
- Ever have trouble highlighting just one word for
correction, cutting or moving? Well, just double click on the word and it
highlights the whole word. If you want to highlight a whole sentence, Ctrl
and left click.
of the
Mississippi
Presbytery
5826
Kings Place
Jackson,
MS 39211
Address Service Requested