Out & About

Dear <<First Name>>,
Here are the latest happenings in the Presbytery of East Iowa.

Prayers for Our Churches

In each issue of Out and About we highlight two churches to keep in our prayers. Please pray for these two churches:

• Iowa City, St. Andrew - served by Rev. Dr. Danie de Beer
• Keokuk, United Presbyterian Church 

PW FUN FACT, More in the Series “Former PWP Leaders”

by Beth Jensen, Moderator of Presbyterian Women of East Iowa

As this series continues I thought it would be interesting to list the past moderators and their years of service. We are fortunate to have still with us seven of the 11 past moderators. As we began the journey of becoming Presbyterian Women, no longer United Presbyterian Women, Marguerite Ackley from Marion graciously and lovingly took on the task of leading us. Marguerite served for two years, 1988 and 1989. Marguerite still supports her home church. My mom, Lois Schermerhorn (deceased) then took over the helm and served from 1990 through 1992. Her successor Charmian Magruder from Lone Tree (deceased) presided from 1993 until December 1995. Due to changes in our by-laws the next three moderators had only 2 year terms. Judy McCracken, ’96 and ’97(Cedar Rapids Westminster), Ellagene Holder, ’98 and ’99 (deceased) and Una Mae Kemp, 2000, 2001 (Davenport). I served on the board for ten years (1990 – 2000) and had the privilege of working with, traveling with and becoming close to these women.

PWP changed the by-laws again and the moderator position returned to a three year term. Dottie Skelley became our leader and motivator in 2002. Virginia Dietz (Muscatine) followed her, 2005 – 2007 with Phyllis Van Gerpen (deceased) next, 2008-2010. Karen Bartel (Davenport) and Sharon Getty (Bettendorf) served three year terms each, spanning the years from 2011 – 2016 respectively. I returned to the board in 2013 and became the current moderator January 2017 . My cloud of witnesses includes all of these women but Phyllis whom I never got the chance to know. Even though I did not serve on the board when Dottie or Virginia were moderators they were fellow board members through the years. A big thank you to these women who were willing to step forward and lead our organization, without their tireless effort and passion, PW and PWP would have withered and died a long time ago. My hat is off to all these ladies who felt the tap, heard the call and responded by saying “Here I am Lord. Is it I Lord? I will go Lord, if you lead me.”

Watch for the next issue when I will share some of Marguerite’s musings for our beginnings 30 years ago.

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED: The December issue of “THE VOICE”, the PWP newsletter was sent electronically and by snail mail to all “formally organized” Presbyterian Women’s groups at the local level BUT we would like for every church to share our newsletter with your women. Please download the newsletter, print it and share. I know there are “retired” PWers out there that would like to keep up with old friends and others that just want to see what PWP is up to. Thanks for helping us out. If you know of someone that would like to receive the newsletter, let me know and I will add their name to the mailing list. Contact me by email by clicking on the link.

Click here for an electronic copy of "The Voice."

Independence, Sharon, and Vinton PW

Written by Beth Jensen

Independence Presbyterian Women
Frances Hood, moderator for the PW at Independence reports that they have so much going on in their church they can’t keep up! Their church school meets Wednesday evenings all beginning with kids dropped off after school plus a study for adults led by their minister. Wednesdays require a lot of help so they are kept very busy. The Independence ladies have invited the Rowley and the Hazleton women to be part of their local. The Rowley group disbanded several years ago and the Hazleton church is closing. Hopefully some women will join them. I know the Independence women will welcome them with open arms. Frances wrote that they like the Horizons Bible study “God’s Promise, I Am With You”, and they support many local needs in Buchanan County such as the food bank, kids at school, single mothers and the nursing homes plus PWP through a donation to the Annual Mission Fund. It seems that once an officer of PW at Independence you serve for perpetuity because Frances told me “their officers have stayed the same for years and some of us are well over 80!” She said they are trying to do as much as they can and to serve God faithfully. I’d say they are doing a great job.

Sharon Presbyterian Women

The Sharon PW meets seven times during the year. All the women who are members of the congregation are members of PW. Approximately seven members actively attend the meetings, but their projects and budget are supported by many church members. Speaking of budgets and projects, their annual reports from 2017 and 2018 show that they have given over $1400.00 to local missions. They have also supported the Bdecan Presbyterian Church in North Dakota both years, the Boys School in Pakistan in 2018, collected $425 for the 2017 PW Thank Offering and made donations to Church World Service for Blanket Sunday of $326.00. They have been faithful attendees at PWP’s annual Spring Workshop and always bring “Little Creations” to that event. They continue to serve funeral luncheons and in 2018 they hosted 2 bridal showers. One of their local events held each year, which caught my attention was “Spiritual Bazaar”. I need to contact one of their co-moderators, LeAnn Jones or Becky Hassman and discover the “rest of the story”. Keep up the great work you do for your church, community and your worldwide neighbors.

Vinton Presbyterian Women

The Vinton PW has spearheaded an unique mission which has been in operation since 2008. They gather and clean prescription bottles and then donate them to a free clinic in Cedar Rapids. A total of 5270 bottles were delivered this year. That brings their grand total to 164,247. They did take a year or two off due to circumstances beyond their control. When they are not busy with prescription bottles they sew! Their sewing group has made 747 items in 2018. That includes adult, toddler and baby bibs, walker and wheelchair bags, lap robes, blankets and school bags. The items have been given to the local hospital’s nursing and rehab center also the VA, U of I hospitals (children’s included) and Ronald McDonald House. Prayer blankets have been made and given to those in care centers and people in need. Their handmade prayer shawls go to the very ill and members of the immediate families of those who have lost a loved one. If that isn’t enough to keep them busy they do meet for Bible Study the third Thursday of the month. They use the Horizons Bible Study and have found the last two very informative and interesting. They include their congregation when they celebrate and collect the Birthday Offering (each person is asked to give a penny for each year of their birthday) and take up the Thank Offering. At their circle meetings they also participate in the Fellowship of the Least Coin.  And of course like many other local PW groups they serve funeral luncheons and help wherever and whenever needed by the church.

The Eastern Iowa Community Bond Project

The Eastern Iowa Community Bond Project works with bond-eligible detained immigrants and their families to pay their bond and get them back in the community. They focus on people who are eligible for relief from deportation or have extensive ties to the community. People released on bond have better chances of getting to stay in the community: nationally, 68% of people released on bond are ultimately not removed from the United States, compared to an overall removal rate of 46%.

The Eastern Iowa Community Bond Project bonds people out of detention to protest and resist unfair policies, to keep families together, and to mitigate the damage our immigration enforcement system does to the health and strength of Iowa communities. Their goal is to support and defend some of Iowa’s most marginalized populations: those without regularized immigration status or financial resources to navigate the immigration system.

The East Iowa Community Bond Project began paying immigration bonds in June 2017.  Their goal is to support and defend some of Iowa’s most marginalized populations: those without regularized immigration status or financial resources to navigate the immigration system.

The Bond Project’s work is especially valuable now: in the first seven months of 2017, total arrests of immigrants in the interior of the US increased by 43% from the end of 2016. The number of interior arrests of non-citizens never convicted of any crime has almost tripled.

For more information about how to help the Community Bond Project, see their website at https://communitybondproject.org/

Iowa City First to Host Burns Dinner

The first annual Burns Dinner is being held at Iowa City, First on January 25, 2019.

The Burns Dinner, a traditional Scottish event to celebrate our Scottish heritage is held on the birthday of Scottish national poet, Robert Burns. A silent auction begins at 4:00 pm, followed by the Piping of the Haggis at 5:30 p.m. Dinner will include traditional and vegetarian Scottish haggis, neeps, tatties, (potatoes and turnips), and sticky toffee pudding along with traditional toasts to the Lads and Lassies. The meal will be followed by a bagpipe performance and program on the history of the bagpipe.


Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for those aged 13 and under. Seating is limited so reserve your seats soon. Contact them at eatmorehaggis@yahoo.com for additional information and to reserve tickets. Hope to see you at the dinner!

Per Capita and Pastoral Compensation Recommendations

At the 185th Stated Meeting, the Presbytery approved 2019 Per Capita and 2019 Recommendations for Pastoral Compensation.

Per Capita is set at $38 for 2019.  For a detailed analysis of how Per Capita is calculated, please click here.

Following the Recommendations of MCC, the Presbytery approved changes to the Pastoral Compensation guidelines.  For a breakdown the newly approved changes, click here.  The Compensation and Benefits Manual will be updated in the coming weeks.

Communications Corner 

• Fort Madison, Union serves their community by donating volunteers and money to Community Action of Southeast Iowa and Ft. Madison Schools to provide milk to children in need
• Manchester, First -  supports the Good Neighbor Home with gifts and financial support.  The newsletter features specific gifts that the congregation can donate
• Miles supports the Manna Center through financial support and canned foods for area families in need

Statement on the Commission on Ministry Associate Position

As part of our ongoing restructuring, the Presbytery of East Iowa no longer has the Commission on Ministry Associate Position.
 
Background
For nearly a year, the Presbytery of East Iowa has been moving toward a new model of mission and ministry, also known as “restructuring.” The document Discovering and Claiming Our Common Calling was approved by the body at the 180^th Stated Meeting held at Iowa City First on January 13, 2018 with the understanding that we would work toward implementation of the new structure by July 1, 2018.
 
One of the fundamental changes in this new structure is the move from a Commission on Ministry (COM) to the Ministerial Relations Teams, which includes Ministers and Congregations Commission (MCC), Church Development and Vitality Team (CDV) and the Leadership Development Team. Many of the functions remain the same but the intent in all the committees is to move from being a staff-driven, top-down organization to a more horizontal organization governed by elected groups of presbyters.
 
To this end, when the Commission on Ministry ended its work and the Ministers and Congregations Commission began in August 2018, the Commission on Ministry Associate Position also ceased to exist. Harry Hoyt’s tenure as COM Associate ended on September 30, 2018.
 
Going Forward
Many of you may be wondering, “Now what?” The functions of the COM Associate is now being done by multiple people:

• Background checks of candidates– Stated Clerk Rebecca Blair
• Provide references to other judicatories upon request- Stated Clerk Rebecca Blair
• Church Leadership Connection liaison for matching pastors and congregations – Teaching Elder John Hougen, member of MCC
• Conflict Resolution – Teaching Elder Danie deBeer, moderator of Congregational Development and Vitality Team
• Questions about Interims, calling a new pastor, etc. – Teaching Elder Jennifer Jennings, moderator of MCC

Clerks of Session Information

• Go online to http://oga.pcusa.org/section/churchwide-ministries/stats/statistical-reporting-faq/
• Under the heading “Statistical Reporting and Frequently Asked Questions,” you will find a link that is labeled “Go to the Online Statistics Entry System.”  Click on this link!
• You will be taken to the statistics entry page.  Please enter your User ID (your church PIN preceded by a zero and ending with an exclamation point) and your password.  Contact Rebecca (319-930-7470/rblair@peia.org) or Julia (319-354-9220/julia@peia.org) if you need your User ID or password.
• This year’s form is much shorter than in past years.  Also, there is no workbook this year.  Instead, instructions for each entry are included with that entry.  The form also automatically calculates as you enter data, so no advanced math is required!
• Click “Accept” when you finish each page—and you are done!  It’s that easy!

Stated Meeting Dates Set for 2019

The Stated Meetings for 2019 have been set. They are:

• January 19. 2019, 10:00am - 2:00pm at Williamsburg, First.  Hosted by Mount Vernon, First
• March 16, 2019, 10:00am - 2:00pm.  Location TBA
• July 13, 2019, 10:00am -2:00pm .  All Presbytery Picnic. Location TBA
• September, 21, 2019.  10:00 am -2:00 pm.  Location TBA
• November 21, 2019.  1:00pm -5:00pm.  West Liberty, First Church United.

Presbyterian Youth Triennium is July 16-20, 2019

Our Presbytery is once again sending a delegation to PYT. All churches are invited to include youth who are currently in 9th-12th grades.  For those churches wishing to participate please contact Sarah Hegar  (319-217-9444) who is serving as our delegation Registrar.  For more information go to www.presbyterianyouthtriennium.org

It is our goal to have our delegation established and registered by January 11, 2019.  NOW IS THE TIME to start having conversations and getting your youth committed!

Author Event: To Loose the Bonds of Injustice: The Plight of the Mentally Ill and What the Church Can Do.

Marcia A. Murphy will read an excerpt from her book and lead a community-wide discussion on mental health on January 12, 2019, 1pm – 3pm, in Meeting Room A at the Iowa City Public Library, 

This new book is the first to address the living conditions of the mentally ill from the standpoint of social justice. It is the first for religion to partner with the psychiatric field from a spiritual vantage point to improve the lives of those afflicted with medical, social, and spiritual maladies. It is written by someone who has lived with the challenges of a marginalized human being, someone who has insights that no one in the mainstream has experienced.

The Event is free and open to the public. It is co-sponsored by St. Andrew Presbyterian Church & the Iowa City Public Library

Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!

Don't forget to take a look at our jobs postings.

Go to our Employment Page to check out all the job postings.