Upcoming General Assembly

Please pray for Commissioners Evan Hansen, Rev. Steve Toth and Young Adult Advisory Delegate Madison Lindsey for discernment at the PC(USA) 221st General Assembly in Detroit June 14 -21.

I hope to bring regular updates of GA221 to this blog before, during, and after General Assembly.

April Presbytery - Other action

The Presbytery of Eastern Oregon met in stated meeting in Pendleton, Oregon on April 19-20.  In addition to fellowship, discussion, worship, and sharing a common table, the presbytery conducted the following business:

• Elected Rev. Steve Toth to fill the unexpired term of Rev. Keith Hudson as commissioner to the Synod of the Pacific for a term ending in September, 2014.   Rev. Hudson has resigned effective after the May, 2013 Synod meeting due to demands on his time.
• Elected Ruling Elder Pete Wells to serve as presbytery stated clerk for the term July, 2013 to June, 2016.  Elder Wells was first elected to this office in 2004.
• Commissioned Ruling Elder Jack Schut to serve as pastor to the Pendleton First Presbyterian Church for the months of June through August, 2013, while pastor Rev. Roger Harwerth is on sabbatical leave.
• Recognized Luke Rembold who is beginning the inquiry process to determine whether he is called to the ministry in the Church.
• Approved revised statement of priorities for mission grants for 2014 and beyond.
• Approved amendments to the presbytery by-laws to make chairs of all committees named in the by-laws members of the the presbytery while in office.
• Accepted invitations from Grace Presbyterian Church, Milton-Freewater, to host the presbytery meeting in October, 2014, and Pioneer Presbyterian Church, Burns, to host the presbytery meeting in October, 2015.  

The next presbytery meeting will be at the Pine Valley Presbyterian Church, Halfway, October 25-26.  The meetings in February and April, 2014, will be in Umatilla and LaGrande, respectiely.

For more information see the Presbytery of Eastern Oregon home page, the Eastern Oregon Presbytery Facebook page, or the clerk's Eastern Oregon Presbytery blog.

Presbytery Meeting, Amendments to the PC(USA) Constitution

On Saturday, April 20, on the proposed amendments to the PC(USA) Book of Confessions and the Book of Order, the Presbytery of Eastern Oregon voted to:

1. approve the proposed new translation of the Heidelberg Confession and 
2. to approve proposed Book of Order Amendments 12-A and 12-C through 12-J.  
3. It voted to not approve Amendment 12-B, amending the language of G-2.0104a on gifts and qualifications for ordered ministry.

Post Elder and Deacon Necrology for recognition at presbytery meeting

We ask each congregation to post here the names of elders and deacons who have passed to Life Eternal in the past 12 months so that they may be recognized at presbytery worship on April 19.  If you are having trouble posting, email names, type of service, and date of death to Pete Wells, Stated Clerk.

Eastern Oregon Presbytery to meet April 19-20 in Pendleton

The 2013 spring meeting of Eastern Oregon Presbytery will be:

Friday and Saturday, April 19-20, 2013
2:00 PM
First Presbyterian Church
201 SW Dorion Ave
Pendleton, OR 97801
541-276-7681

The presbytery meeting will begin promptly at 2:00 PM. Friday. Additional meeting background material, including suggested lodging, may be found at http://bit.ly/WrM7Mv and will be available at the meeting.

Each congregation should send a commissioner. Travel expenses will be reimbursed for commissioners, members and invited guests.

Friday dinner, a Continental breakfast, and Saturday lunch will be available at the the church. The suggested donation for dinner is $8 and for lunch is $7. The Continental breakfast is complementary.

 

Please help the Pendleton First congregation prepare the appropriate number of meals by indicating your participation at http://ow.ly/ei2Cv by Monday, April 15.

Travel will be reimbursed at 28.25¢ per mile for members of presbytery who travel alone and at 32.25¢ for those who drive with more than one official participant. Half the double room lodging expenses for one night will be reimbursed for each person who finds it necessary to stay overnight Please make your own lodging reservations in Pendleton.

The next presbytery meetings is scheduled to be October 25-26 at the Pine Valley Presbyterian Church, Halfway.

Presbytery Council to meet by phone, March 11

The Presbytery Council of Eastern Oregon Presbytery will meet by phone on Monday, March 11, in he evening.   The principal item of business will be to plan an agenda for the April presbytery meeting, April 19-20 at Pendleton First Presbyterian church.  

For information about the Presbytery Council meeting, including a link to the draft presbytery meeting agenda go to http://bit.ly/YtARZT. Make suggestions about the proposed agenda or other business of the presbytery as a comment to this post.

Presbytery Resource Exchange

Presbytery member Ginger Johnston has suggested that the presbytery find a way to help ministers, pastors, and others exchange information about books, other publications, or other resources that you have found helpful in your ministry.

As a first step for as way to do this, please post, as a comment to this post, information about resouces you suggest to others.  You may also make comments to posts by others.

Facebook users may find other comments on the presbytery Facebook site.

You may receive notice when others post to this site by entering your email address in the "subscribe" option to your left.   These posts are copied to the Facebook site.