Presbytery of Chicago

Job opening: Associate Stated Clerk in Great Rivers

lcathey — Fri, 11 May 2012 22:44:34 +0000

The Personnel Committee of the Presbytery of Great Rivers is looking for someone to serve as Associate Stated Clerk. Mike Fitzsimmons, who is currently the associate clerk, is resigning this position as of the end of the June presbytery meeting. The Associate Clerk is the parliamentarian for presbytery meetings and is responsible for the minutes of the meeting. The Associate also plans and carries out the training for clerks and the review of session minutes for all of the churches in the presbytery. The Personnel Committee has also decided that, if Sue is elected moderator of the General Assembly, then the Associate will take over most of the duties of Stated Clerk. This would mean attending Committee on Ministry meetings and working with the office staff to accomplish the detailed work that is part of the clerk’s responsibility.

The Associate Clerk is an adjunct staff member of the presbytery and works on a contract basis. Letters if inquiry may be sent to Andy Gifford, moderator of the Personnel Committee, agifford@stlukeunion.org . The deadline for applications is May 15.

Job opening: Youth Director

lcathey — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:50:52 +0000

Edgewater Presbyterian Church in Chicago seeks a Youth Director and Coordinator of Children’s Christian Formation. This person will have oversight for the Christian Formation/Education of children and youth ages birth through 18, with an emphasis on junior high. This is a part-time position, averaging 10-15 hours/week. Salary commensurate with experience. Edgewater is an international, multi-racial, multicultural congregation.

Read the full job description here.

April Assembly Tweets

lcathey — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:39:55 +0000

Whether you were tweeting the meeting or not, you can read this “narrative agenda” and conversation from the April Presbytery Assembly meeting at Winnetka.

The April 24h Presbytery Assembly meeting was tweeted under the hashtag #chipres. Around 19 people engaged in this dialogue via Twitter concurrent to the meeting. You can view a record of the conversation: who was tweeting, what they said, and where it fit in the agenda. For example:

Click here for the full conversation.

Still have questions about Twitter? Read this FAQ created by Emily McGinley.

Open House

lcathey — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:53:53 +0000

Welcome, friends! It’s an Open House at the Presbytery of Chicago’s new offices.

815 W. Van Buren Street, Suite 500
Chicago, IL 60607
312-243-8300
(Van Buren and Halsted)
Tuesday, May 8, 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Refreshments will be served

Please RSVP by April 30 to Kitty Ridley
312-488-3010; kridley@chicagopresbytery.org

Centsability Resources Online

lcathey — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 15:44:32 +0000

Cents-Ability is a small first step in the battle against hunger and poverty. Congregations invite every member — of all ages — to contribute a few cents at every shared meal.

Download Centsability materials - desciptions, can labels, etc – for use at your next church meeting or meal.

All-Black Governing Bodies

lcathey — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 20:12:44 +0000

The “how we got here” story is a long one but suffice it to say a mini-victory happened today. I just received the PDF version of the out-of-print All-Black Governing Bodies history written at the behest of the General Assembly and published in 1996.

Why is this important? Well we are living through a time of change with regard to the ways we structure ecclesiastical life and when we do this we often use examples we understand to build on – that is happening now with a conversation about non-geographic presbyteries and synods. The problem is when the discussion is happening it is often being conducted without a full understanding of history and how we’ve done this before. In fact, non-geographic presbyteries in particular are seen as a way to retain unity by allowing folks to assemble by affinity or “like-ness”.

This history was not included in the Middle Governing Body Commission conversation about structures in the PCUSA and predecessor denominations. I include it so at your leisure you may also learn of the rich history of All-Black Governing Bodies.

Grace and peace,

The Rev. Molly Casteel

Assistant Stated Clerk and Manager, Representation and Inclusiveness Services

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) | Office of the General Assembly

Read: The History and Contributions of All-Black Governing Bodies

Churches of Presbytery thru History

lcathey — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 19:36:45 +0000

Bill Lankton and Lou Haase created this useful record. When historical questions about churches in this area come up, this is the go-to handbook on congregations who have been and now are:

“Churches of the Presbyteries of Chicago“ (2010)

Reading List: Small Church Leadership

lcathey — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:14:35 +0000

Small Church Leadership

Preaching and Worship in the Small Church
William H. Willimon, Robert L. Wilson; Resource Publications (OR) 2001Read a review on Google Books
Activating leadership in the small church
clergy and laity working togetherSteven E. Burt; Judson Press 1988Read a review on Google Books
Raising Small Church Esteem
Steven E. Burt, Hazel A. Roper; Alban Institute 1992Read a review on Google Books
Read our own Debbie Dennis’ review of Raising Small Church Esteem.

How to thrive as a small-church pastor
a guide to spiritual and emotional well-beingSteve R. Bierly; Zondervan 1998Read a review on Google Books

February Assembly Tweets

lcathey — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:28:40 +0000

Whether you were tweeting the meeting or not, you can read this “narrative agenda” and conversation from the February Presbytery Assembly meeting at Rogers Park, when we installed Debbie Paton as the new moderator.

The February 18th Presbytery Assembly meeting was tweeted under the hashtag #chipres. Around 16 people engaged in this dialogue via Twitter concurrent to the meeting – and others who could not be present at the meeting followed along by reading the tweets, from as far away as Texas. You can view a record of the conversation: who was tweeting, what they said, and where it fit in the agenda. For example:

Click here for the full conversation.

Still have questions about Twitter? Read this FAQ created by Emily McGinley.

February Assembly Call Papers are Up

rbirkey — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:52:57 +0000

You can now access the call and floor papers for Presbytery Assembly. Keep in mind the password has been updated for 2012.