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GOOD NEWS
from the
Presbytery of Great Rivers
We are called to share Christ's love by partnering in service,
uniting in worship, and risking in ministry.
August 11, 2023
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PGR Newsletter
Our Newsletters will go out the 2nd and 4th Friday of the month. The deadline for adding information is the Tuesday before at 5 pm. Please note the day that articles are due has been moved to Tuesday through the end of October.
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PRESBYTERY ASSEMBLY
Saturday, August 26th, 2023
United Presbyterian Church of Peoria
2400 W Northmoor Rd, Peoria IL 61614 & Via ZOOM
Meeting from 10 am -1:30 pm
United welcomes in-person attendees starting at 9:00 a.m.
The meal reservation deadline is Sunday 8/20/2023 – no meal reservations accepted after this!!
Lunch is being catered by One World and includes, Pulled BBQ Chicken, Pulled Pork, Bistro Salad, Wrap Tray (some of which are vegan/gluten free) and Dessert.
Peoria United will be providing Coffee and Fruit & Pastries prior to the beginning of the meeting from 9:00 - 10:00 am.
Please be aware that United Presbyterian Church Peoria is a nut free zone. We ask that you honor their policy & refrain from bringing nut products onto their campus. In order to reduce costs we are asking for donations to offset the lunch – suggested donation is $8/person.
We'll come together in worship, including communion with sermon by Lead Presbyter Rev Ann Mills Schwartz.
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We will be hosting a Book Swap
Bring your professional, continuing education and sermon resources you no longer need. Allow others to utilize these materials. Please be prepared to take home any un-swapped books.
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From Your Lead Presbyter
Friends,
It is not uncommon to be in a gathering of pastors and ruling elders and end up talking about how we came to be doing what we’re doing. Impromptu discussions frequently arise about our sense of call, divine invitations and shoves we’ve experienced, paths that have opened for us, beckonings we could not ignore, the unfolding realization of our purpose. Every person’s story is different, of course, although most folks can recall grappling, during their journey from the old life to the new, with a sense of not being up to the task of serving God.
The stories are powerful. Women who grew up in the church without ever hearing a woman preach or who were taught that women could not preach are led to preach. Folks who didn’t grow up in the church feel drawn to a life of faith. Folks who identify as LGBTQIA+ who were injured by a condemning church still want to serve the God they were told hated them. Folks who were perfectly content in their previous vocations are compelled to apply to seminary. Folks who dislike the limelight say “yes” to leadership positions. Folks convinced they have nothing to offer the church discover gifts they didn’t know they had.
Moses told God he wasn’t qualified to liberate the Israelites from Egypt because he didn’t speak well. Jeremiah told God he was too young to be a prophet. Jonah left town when God directed him to evangelize to the Ninevites. Ashamed of how he had persecuted the Jews, the Apostle Paul did not feel worthy to tell others about Jesus.
In her book Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art, Madeleine L’Engle writes: “In a very real sense not one of us is qualified, but it seems that God continually chooses the most unqualified to do [God’s] work, to bear [God’s] glory. If we are qualified, we tend to think that we have done the job ourselves. If we are forced to accept our evident lack of qualification, then there’s no danger that we will confuse God’s work with our own, or God’s glory with our own.”
So what are we supposed to do when we find ourselves in a position to serve God but all we can think is that we aren’t good enough, religious enough, faithful enough, gifted enough, smart enough, strong enough, or enough? I find the words from Isaiah 60:1 encouraging in moments like those: “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”
What you do when you find yourself in a position to serve but worry that you aren’t enough or you don’t have what it takes is shine! You accept that God works in mysterious ways, that God has called you, qualified or not. And you give yourself to God to do the thing, whatever your reluctance or inhibition or fear. You preach a sermon. You serve on the committee. You teach a class. You write. You lead. You organize. You build. You attend CRE training. You plant. You feed. You run for office. You march. You protest. You help. You pray.
God gave Moses a brother to translate his poor speech. God gave Jeremiah the words to speak when it was time to speak them. God gave Jonah and Paul some hard lessons in humility. And God equips us with what we need to do the thing God wants us to do.
We say yes to God to glorify God and not ourselves. But it is evident when folks are doing the thing God has called them to do, no matter how inadequate they feel, because God’s love and light are evident in them. I have seen it in you as I have traveled throughout the Presbytery of Great Rivers. Let’s encourage one another to shine.
Grace and peace,
Ann
Rev. Ann Schwartz
Lead Presbyter
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Prayers 
Please pray for Rev. Charles Cunningham (HR TE) as he recovers from surgery and hospitalization. Rev. Cunningham is the moderator and leads worship regularly at First United Presbyterian Church, Pekin.
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Clerk's Corner
The dates are set! The Session Record Reviews have been set for this year. There are several taking place in the bounds of Great Rivers Presbytery and several in East Iowa. You are welcome to attend the record review that works best for you. Here are the possibilities:

Sunday, September 10th, 3-6 PM @ First Presbyterian Church, Iowa City, IA
Thursday, September 14th, 9 AM-noon @ First Presbyterian Church, Macomb, IL
Sunday, September 17th, 2-5 PM @ First Pres, Muscatine, IA
Monday, September 18th, 9 AM-noon @ First Pres, Davenport, IA
Friday, September 22nd, 1-4 PM @ Faith Pres, Cedar Rapids, IA
Friday, October 20th, 9 AM-noon @ Faith United Pres, Monmouth, IL
Some of you completed your last record review approximately 18 months ago. My goal is to get everyone back on the same page and to have us complete record reviews on the years that the next Book of Order is published and goes into effect. This is especially important this year because of the significant policies and trainings that all governing bodies, including sessions, need to implement. We will discuss how your session can make this happen at the Session Record Review. So even if you had your last review 18 months ago, I encourage you to attend this review for this critical information.
What happens if you are not able to attend? The first step is to send someone in your place. You can send your pastor, your administrative assistant (especially in churches where the admin is responsible for putting the minutes together), or another session member. If there is no possibility for that to work either, please contact me, we will work something out.
Here is the link for signing up:
https://forms.gle/3XLiF6jzVAbDftG87
Rev. Elissa Bailey
Presbytery of Great Rivers Stated Clerk
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Not Your Average Boundary Training
The Presbyteries of Great Rivers and Southeastern Illinois are offering joint annual training on misconduct on Zoom on the following dates:
Tuesday, August 29-Wednesday, August 30—3:00-5:30 each day
Tuesday, October 31-Wednesday, November 1—3:00-5:30 each day
The five-hour sessions are identical in content. This annual requirement for all PGR ministers, temporary minister members, candidates and elders serving as Commissioned Pastors in PGR may also be met by alternative means. This is the training the presbytery provides at no charge to our members through the generosity of the Synod of Lincoln Trails.
For questions about acceptability of alternative programs or to submit your certificate of completion for 2023 now, please reach out to our Stated Clerk, Elissa Bailey at pastorebailey@gmail.com.
Registration Deadline is August 18th.
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Communion Training Workshop for Ruling Elders
Led by Rev. Kay Daniel
Central Presbyterian Church of Petersburg is excited to host a training event for elders to prepare them to celebrate communion in their home congregations if their church is not currently being served by a Minister (TE) or a Lay Pastor (CP/CRE). Congregations interested in this training for their Ruling Elders should send a registration email to greatriverscom@gmail.com with the names and contact information of those elders their Session is sending to this event. Registration Deadline is September 3, 2023.
Training date: Sept 9, 2023
Time 9 – noon
210 Douglas, Petersburg IL 62675
For Part 2 of the training, which includes individual training and practicing a communion service, a second date will be set with each church represented at the event.
Successful completion of this two-part training leads to being certified for a three-year term by Committee on Ministry (COM).
Elders needing re-certification for an additional three year term may enroll in this course to qualify for re-certification or speak to their COM Ministry Partner about alternative re-certification training. The current Ministry Partner listing can be found on the Great Rivers website under Forms/COM Forms.
This training will be repeated at a later date by Rev. Daniel by request made directly to her: churchmouse12345@yahoo.com.
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The Presbytery of Great Rivers extends their sympathy to the family of Rev. Henry Hein.
The Rev. Henry Hein, HR, died on Sunday, July 30.
A Service of Witness to the Resurrection will be held at First Federated Church in Peoria on Monday, August 14, at 11:00 am. There will be a time of visitation with the family between 10:00 and 11:00, private inurnment in FFC’s Columbarium, and food and fellowship in the Commons following. All are welcome to attend. Pastors are requested to wear red soles.
Please pray for Henry’s wife, Barbara, and their family.
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From Your Finance Team
Churches,
2nd Quarter contribution statements have been mailed out. Please take the time to review them. Always remember to submit a fully completed remittance form with any check you send to the presbytery. In just the last two months we’ve received a dozen checks with no remittance form. The completed form helps ensure that we apply your payment as you intend. If sending from your bank online you can email your remittance form to smcgrath@greatriverspby.org.
Thanks,
Sabrina
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Please click on the blocks below to follow the links: | |
2025 Presbyterian Youth Triennium Production Team—A message from the Office of Presbyterian Youth and Triennium
Applications are now being accepted for the 2025 Presbyterian Youth Triennium Production Team.
This team consists of youth and adults who share a passion for youth ministry and work alongside staff to refine the many layers of Triennium and make this large-scale event happen.
Joining the Production Team is an incredible opportunity to serve the church, develop as a leader, form lifelong friendships, problem-solve creatively, laugh and work hard, and deepen your relationship with God. The nature of a lot of the Production Team’s work is inherently behind the scenes, and an ability to be a good listener and work well with others is of great importance.
We are striving to assemble a Production Team that is reflective of the diversity of our church and of God’s kingdom and we need your help to do this. We want team members from big cities and rural areas, big churches and little churches, and different cultures and backgrounds who are excited to come together with other Presbyterians to create an event and experience bigger than themselves.
We start fresh every three years with a new theme, new schedule, and new theological grid and are always looking for new perspectives and voices. We strongly encourage people who are Black, Indigenous, people of color, disabled, immigrants, queer, trans, and/or non-binary to apply for the 2025 Production Team. We joyfully invite church leaders to seek out congregations and individuals who are a part of these communities, spread the word about the 2025 Production Team, and encourage people to apply.

For more information or to fill out an application, please visit the Triennium website. Please note that applications will be accepted through September 15, 2023.
Article and Images from MidCouncil Relations Newsletter, July 5, 2023
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Clergy Wellness Support Grants
The Board of Pensions recognizes the importance of ministerial self-care and the need for ministers to take a break from the demands of their roles. To support this endeavor, the Board of Pensions offers the Clergy Wellness Support grant, partnering with various programs that focus on vocational, spiritual, mental, and physical wellness.
Among the approved programs are the Center for Pastoral Excellence, Horizon Hope Counseling, LeaderWise, MoSeGol, Pilgrim House, The Clergy Program – Davidson Centre for the Professions, and The Kineo Center. Ministers can also propose other relevant programs for consideration.

The grant provides up to $5,000 for program and travel fees once every six years and is available to PC(USA) ministers enrolled in Pastor’s Participation or Minister’s Choice, with an effective salary not exceeding $80,000 (excluding manse value).
Eligible ministers can apply for this support between sabbaticals by completing the Clergy Wellness support application and emailing the application and required documentation to memberservices@pensions.org for review and decision.
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Synod Program for New Pastors
A new version of the synod-wide New Pastors program is in the works! The design team will meet with Sara Dingman in August to start planning.
We want to hear from you! Did you participate in the Synod of Lincoln Trails New Pastors program? Do you have ideas on how to faithfully equip new leaders? Let us know! https://s.surveyplanet.com/lj06j0vu
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Click the button below for the entire August 2023 issue. | |
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2023 Assembly Dates
August 26 at Peoria United
November 11 at Faith United, Monmouth
In-person and Virtual
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Grants from your Visioning Team
Grant applications are open now! Check out our Mission page (http://www.greatriverspby.org/mission.html) for information about the Visioning grant to support programming and projects in churches and partner organizations, as well as grants for sabbatical assistance and funding while clergy are on paid family leave. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, and the Visioning Team is ready to answer your questions. Contact us at PGRVisioning@greatriverspby.org to learn more!
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Presbytery of Great Rivers Virtual Office
Virtual Office Assistant Crystal Goforth 309-683-6980 Email: office@greatriverspby.org
Crystal works remotely from South Carolina (Eastern Time) and is available until 4 pm CST Monday thru Wednesday and Friday, and 1:45 pm EST on Thursdays. Please leave her a message & she will return your call.
Bookkeeper Sabrina McGrath 309-683-6981 Email: smcgrath@greatriverspby.org
Sabrina works from Peoria IL.
Her regular schedule is Tues & Thurs between 8am-3pm (Central Time)
Lead Presbyter Ann Schwartz 309-683-6983 Email: aschwartz@greatriverspby.org
Stated Clerk Elissa Bailey 309-371-2511 Email: pastorebailey@gmail.com
My regular office hours are Monday through Thursday from 7:30 am - 3 pm.(Central Time) If you have an emergency, please call or text me at 309-371-2511.
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Get Connected!
Be sure to encourage your congregations, sessions, and even your church newsletter editorial staff and volunteers to be sure to sign up for our presbytery newsletter and follow our Facebook page so you don't miss out on what is going on in our community of churches!
Have you liked our "Presbytery of Great Rivers" Facebook page?
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