Calendar

Announcements

Presbytery of Blackhawk Special Meeting

The Presbytery of Blackhawk held a Special Meeting at the First Presbyterian Church of Mendota on December 15, 2008. Papers for the meeting are available .here.
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November 11, 2008 Presbytery Meeting

Blackhawk Presbytery met November 11, 2008 at Stronghold Camp & Conference Center. The presbytery was honored by the presence of noted Biblical scholar Dr. Kenneth Bailey and Rev. Byron Wade, the vice-moderator of the 218th General Assembly, who was here to commission Rev. Brenda Harcourt. The day included:

• Learning opportunity with Dr. Kenneth Bailey
• Worship with Rev. Dr. John O’Lane from Willow Creek Presbyterian Church, Caledonia, preaching
• Commissioning of Rev. Brenda Harcourt to her call as mission co-worker with the Presbyterian Church of East Africa
• A mutual invitation conversation around “what is the covenant that we (Presbyterians) have with one another, with God, and God with us?”

During the business plenary, the presbytery

• Approved the proposed presbytery budget for 2009
• Approved a slate of nominees for Boards, Commissions, and Committees, including Bill Pittenger, elder from Ridgefield Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church as vice-moderator and Karen Herbst-Kim, associate pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church, DeKalb as moderator
• Elected Rev. John Huff as Treasurer of the presbytery
• Approved the call between Rev. Dr. Roy Backus and First Presbyterian Church, Morris
• Approved the call between Rev. Karen Brugler and First Presbyterian Church, Elgin
• Heard reports from Dale Hammond and John Hamilton on their trip to Kenya to assist in training deacons in Imenti Presbyteries and from those forming a Disaster Response Network in the presbytery
• Dedicated kits prepared by the churches of the presbytery for Church World Service.

Papers from the meeting are available here.
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Stronghold International Gift Shop

The gift shop will be open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. till 2:00 p.m. until Christmas. Come and do your holiday shopping.
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Disaster Response Network Forming

Disaster can be huge and community wide, it can be local but affect you greatly, it can be farther away but still have an impact on you and your community. Fire, tornado, flooding, violence. . .we have experienced all of these in Blackhawk Presbytery this year. How do we as people of faith respond? Are we prepared?

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance enables congregations and mission partners of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to witness the healing love of Christ through caring for communities adversely affected by crisis and catastrophic events. They focus on long-term healing, working with partners in the community and with other church and non-profit agencies. They also provide training and resources for churches and presbyteries. PDA has already completed a brief training with several members of our presbytery.

Blackhawk Presbytery is in the process of creating a Disaster Response Network. We're hoping to have at least one person from each of our congregations involved so that when something happens, we are able to respond.

This network is currently in the process of forming--join us on January 31, 2009 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 830 Annie Glidden Road, DeKalb to learn more.

Our current goals are:

1. To form a team that will work on a disaster response plan for Blackhawk Presbytery, including guidance for individual congregations, a plan for the Presbytery office/Stronghold, and ways to mobilize the presbytery in case of disaster here or elsewhere
2. To begin a process of training individuals and groups from every congregation in our presbytery to respond and work with other first responders in case of local disaster
3. To begin a process of identifying people throughout the presbytery who are called to and gifted for wider disaster response, pehaps becoming part of a PDA team that would assist communities throughout the country in preparing and responding

Attending the January meeting will not automatically commit you to any of these taskes--we are information sharing and beginning to get a network together to do these things. We are hoping for 100% participation from Blackhawk Presbytery congregations--community is our best resource in stressful times.

For more information or to let us know you are coming in January, contact Rev. Won Ho Kim at won@emmausroadcommunity.org.
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Domestic Violence Awareness Network Forming

The session of First Presbyterian Church in Elgin has endorsed the development of a domestic violence awareness network among the congregations in Blackhawk Presbytery. The network would assess awareness of domestic violence issues in congregations and explore way to educate congregations about domestic violence, violence prevention, and support resources. Sally Hoffman from First Presbyterian-Elgin is spearheading the formation of this network. Once interest is established, the group will apply to the Mission Strategies & Resources Board to become a recognized network of Blackhawk Presbytery. If you are interested in participating in the development of this network, please contact Sally Hoffman at 847.888.2834 or sallybob66@att.net.
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Link to General Assembly Information

For details about the actions of the 218th General Assembly, go to www.pcusa.org/ga218.

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Blackhawk Presbytery Meeting Dates for 2009

February 10, 2009
First Presbyterian Church
200 East Jackson Street
Morris IL

May 12, 2009
First Presbyterian Church
221 North Main Street
Belvidere IL

September 8, 2009
Waltham Presbyterian Church
809 N 3450 Road
Utica IL

November 9&10,2009
Stronghold Camp & Conference Center
1922 N Il Rt 2
Oregon IL

Created on 02/04/2003 10:24 AM by install Updated on 12/16/2008 03:27 PM by barb