News

They’re seeking dry ground. Let’s help them find hope.

The people of Pakistan have suffered numerous natural and human-caused disasters over the past several years. Presbyterians have been in ministry there since before the nation of Pakistan was formed. We stand with them today in their time of need. The recent floods have brought record-breaking destruction to the country, with more than 1,400 people dead and more than 1.5 million displaced. You can make a difference in bringing God’s healing to a nation torn by devastation.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is responding through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) and working with our ecumenical partners to help meet emergency needs – providing food packages, shelter material, and non-food essentials. Emergency health services are also being provided.

How Can We Respond?

Give – Give to support the relief and recovery efforts through PDA. Individuals may give through their local Presbyterian congregation, on the secure PC(USA) Web site or by sending their check to:

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
P.O. Box 643700
Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700

Please include the special designated giving account DR000038 - Pakistan.
Make a donation by calling 1-800-728-7228

Act - Congregations and individuals can put together hygiene kits and baby kits to be distributed through Church World Service.

Pray - Join with others in lifting up the people of Pakistan and those seeking to provide aid in this critical time. As the eyes of the world turn to Pakistan, let us join our hearts in prayer:

God of compassion, please watch over the people of Pakistan, and weave out of these terrible events wonders of goodness and grace. Surround those who have been affected by tragedy with a sense of your present love, and hold them in faith. Though they are lost in grief, may they find you and be comforted; guide us as a church to find ways of providing assistance that heals and gives hope. Help us to remember that when one of your children suffers we all suffer. Through Jesus Christ who was dead, but lives and rules this world with you. Amen

Download a bulletin insert here.

Help Presbyterian Schools ‘Raise a Ton of Money With a Few Clicks’

Two Presbyterian schools have added their names to the ring in a contest that will award half a million dollars to 20 winners. In honor of the 10th anniversary of its Kohl's Cares program, Kohl’s department store is sponsoring a contest that will award $10 million to be split among 20 schools. The winners will be chosen based on the number of online votes they collect.

Two Presbyterian schools, Menaul School and Presbyterian Pan American School, are hoping to be among the recipients. The contest is open to public and private non-profit schools, grades K-12. Votes are collected on the Kohl's Facebook fan page. Voters can vote up to 20 times, with no more than five votes going to the same school. Voting began July 7 and ends Sept. 3. As of Aug. 19, Menaul has 835 votes and Pan American has 317. The top three schools have more than 40,000 votes each.

"You have to make this go viral," said Lindsey Gilbert, president of Menaul. "The way this is going to fly … is if thousands of Presbyterian partners across the country to get together."

Menaul and Pan American schools are racial ethnic and are supported in part by the Christmas Joy Offering of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Both schools are encouraging their supporters to vote for each school. To be eligible to win, every school must submit at least one idea about how it would use the money. These ideas can be viewed under each school’s voting page online. Melissa Windham, centennial campaign coordinator for Pan American, posted one idea on the school's page: "For our students, this is their "home away from home," and campus facilities, built in the 1960’s, are showing their age. The renovation of our existing gymnasium to an all-purpose center (to include a stage for fine arts performances, audience seating, and restroom facilities) is a project that would benefit the entire student body of Pan Am," the idea reads.

Students and alumni from Menaul have posted suggestions ranging from technology updates to support for the school’s scholarship program, Gilbert said. "Half a million would be a game-changer for our scholarship program," he said. "We change the trajectory for hundreds of kids' lives every year."

Both schools provide scholarships or financial assistance to their students.

With less than a month until the contest is over, Gilbert urged supporters to act soon. "Our goal is to ask many of our Presbyterian friends and partners to raise a ton of money with a few clicks," he said.

To vote for Menaul, click here.

To vote for Pan American, click here .

Westminster Joliet Fire

On the night of July 10, there was a fire at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Joliet. The Sanctuary portion of the building sustained fire and water damage and there was smoke and water damage to the Christian Education building and social hall.

Pastor Matt Robinson and the congregation rallied immediately and Sunday worship service took place in the parking lot the next day. One family brought their motor home to stage fellowship time following the service. And at the service, a child of God was baptized. Peggy Robinson says it best in the title of her Facebook photo album from that Sunday—after the fire—there is love!

Please keep the congregation and its leaders in your prayers as they move forward with the challenge and opportunity that is re-building.

We understand that cleaning and restoration of the sanctuary is underway.

Blackhawk Presbytery Responds to Streator Tornado Damage

On Saturday evening, June 5, two separate tornadoes touched down in the community of Streator. The National Weather Service classified these as EF2 level, meaning wind speeds may have reached up to 135 miles per hour. The first tornado cut a path of damage some 400 yards wide, running the length of the south side of the town. The second caused additional damage, tipping over barns and silos, damaging roofs, and downing phone lines. While there were injuries, fortunately, there was no loss of life. As of yesterday, damage surveys indicated that some 200 residences were affected, with 36 declared uninhabitable.

Park Presbyterian Church was undamaged. BP Committee on Ministry Moderator Suzanne Finefield tells of seeing the tornadoes heading towards her residence and moving to the basement with her family. Her home sustained damage. Streator’s mayor is a member of Park Presbyterian Church. He is also the area Red Cross coordinator, so his responsibilities have been heavy.

General Presbyter John Rickard was immediately in touch with the Streator church to offer support from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA). In situations such as this, PDA can provide immediate funds of $10,000 from One Great Hour of Sharing and the resources of an onsite National Response Team. In addition, the presbytery organized an immediate response clean up team. The team spent Friday, June 11 working as part of a group of 150 removing downed trees and debris from houses in a local park, under the direction of the Streator Fire Department.

The core of the clean up team was 15 counselors in training for their work at Strongholdsummer camp—young adults from Russia, England, Hungary, Australia, Columbia, and Illinois got firsthand experience with disaster response and local hands on mission. They were joined by presbytery staff—John Rickard , Jan Hartman, Ryan Anderson, and Nick Toops. Although a call for volunteers did not go out until Wednesday, June 9, folks from 9 Presbyterian churches were able to participate: Park Presbyterian Church, Streator; First Presbyterian Church, Kankakee; First Presbyterian Church, Pontiac; Plainfield Presbyterian Church, Wheatland; First Presbyterian Church, Ottawa; Oswego Presbyterian Church; Fox Valley Presbyterian Church, Geneva; First Presbyterian Church, Henry; and Ridgefield-Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church. Park Presbyterian Church was the team’s headquarters. See photos of the cleanup day here.

Two members of PDA’s National Response Team arrived over the weekend. They have toured the area, worshipped with the congregation at Park Presbyterian Church, met with pastor Jane Esterline and the session, the mayor, the ministerial association, the city manager, and the general presbyter John Rickard . They will be in the community through Thursday, sharing resources and knowledge and participating in the beginning of long term recovery planning.

Pastor Jane Esterline has asked that we share the following:

Dear Blackhawk Friends and Colleagues,

Please accept the heartfelt thanks from Streator and Park Presbyterian Church for all the organizers and participants this past Friday. Many, many thanks for the prayer warriors who have shown so much care for our town following the tornado on June 5th. Your support, both hands on and behind the scenes is an overwhelming blessing to many, many people.

God bless you!

Jane Esterline and the Session of Park Church, Streator

Please keep the Streator community in your prayers, as well as the communities of St. Anne, Dwight, and Elmwood who were also affected by the weekend storms.

First Presbyterian Church, Aurora Dismissed to EPC

First Presbyterian Church, Aurora has been dismissed, at the congregation’s request, from Blackhawk Presbytery and the Presbyterian Church (USA) to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). It’s pastoral leadership, pastor Jeff Moore and associate pastor Stephen Rhodes, have also been dismissed to EPC.

Minister members and elder commissioners of Blackhawk Presbytery voted to accept an agreement of dismissal at the May 11, 2010 presbytery meeting. The agreement was crafted by an administrative commission elected by the presbytery and a negotiating committee of the session of the Aurora church.

The agreement opens with this covenant:

“Humbly acknowledging that Jesus prayed that his disciples be united as a witness to him in the world (John 17), we confess that in this act of separating we deny Jesus’ intent; we confess our brokenness and our sinfulness. But in God’s gracious forgiveness we also believe that the Holy Spirit has guided us in our conversation and negotiation to this conclusion.

We share the belief that scripture calls us to seek to resolve our disagreements and avoid the harm that is done to the Gospel and the Church when Christians resort to civil litigation and witness to their brokenness, rather than the love of neighbor and of enemies that Christ commands. We are aware that this proposal will not meet the expectations of some members of FPC Aurora and of the Presbytery; we have compromised to reach this agreement; we have agreed to mutual material sacrifices; and we have acknowledged fundamental differences remain. This is, however, our best effort to act in the way of Christ putting others before ourselves, supporting Christian ministry and mission of both FPC Aurora and of the Presbytery, and seeking the reconciliation to which we are called in Christ.”

First Presbyterian Church, Aurora brought its request for dismissal following a congregational meeting on April 8, 2009. There were 334 votes cast with a result of 317 in favor of seeking dismissal and 17 against the motion. First Aurora reported a membership of 847. Speaking on behalf of Blackhawk Presbytery prior to the vote were Carl Gray, pastor at Fox Valley Presbyterian Church in Geneva, John Rickard, general presbyter of Blackhawk Presbytery and Karen Herbst-Kim, associate

pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church in DeKalb and (at that time) Moderator of Blackhawk Presbytery.

At its May 12, 2009 meeting, Blackhawk Presbytery elected an administrative commission to respond to the request for dismissal and report to the presbytery. Members are: Rev. Carl Gray (moderator), Fox Valley Presbyterian Church, Geneva; Rev. Terry Hennesy, Oswego Presbyterian Church; Rev. Chuck Legvold, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Aurora; Rev. Gary Huffman, honorably retired, Elgin; Elder Fred Parker, Wheatland Presbyterian Church, Plainfield; Elder Beth Elbersen, First Presbyterian Church, Woodstock; and Elder Lois Ramon, First Presbyterian Church, Belvidere.

Blackhawk Presbytery is grateful to the administrative commission for its graceful work on this complex emotion-charged task.

Dismissal Agreement

Background Information