March 2021

Themes of Covenant

This Lenten season will be an exploration of God’s Covenant promises, relationship, challenges, salvation, breadth, and endurance. Sermons will address new facets of God’s Covenant ongoing to today and forever. Daily postings on our church Facebook page will remind us of the over 380 scripture references to God’s Covenant and our life within that Covenant. My favorite Covenant testimonies are non-verbal: Psalm 19 – The heavens are telling the glory of God! The creation story evolves out of God’s spoken command: Let there be . . . and it was good. Verbal Covenant, like the 10 Commandments and Jesus’ assurance of presence and the non-verbal like the stars in the sky testifying to the glory of God are perpetual reminders of God’s steadfast and enduring Covenant relationship with us.

During Lent we think about our response to God’s amazing Covenant wonders. We ask ourselves “What can God do with dust?” Scripture is full of answers, are we?

Covenant of Per Capita

I will reshare with you a post I made last year about per capita – a phrase that causes most Presbyterians to change the channel, so to speak. I am not most Presbyterians because every congregation of every denomination struggles with funding supportive ministries.

The history of Presbyterian Per Capita assessment from the
Presbyterian Historical Society, www.history.pcusa.org

“As with so many other issues, American Presbyterians have struggled with the means of supporting their mission and ministry. Eschewing England's system of patronage by landed gentry, American Presbyterians' Scots forebears supported their ministers by pew rents. By the middle of the nineteenth century, pew rents had fallen out of favor, and a thousand flowers bloomed to support local ministry.

A 75-member church in Greenwich Village (median income $100,859) is assessed exactly what a 75-member church in Grundy, Virginia (median income $35,023) is assessed. Where did Presbyterians' system of funding the General Assembly--known as Per Capita--come from, and why is it flat? The answer is complicated, but includes: it was an issue of fairness--the fairness of expense in having all presbyteries represented at the General Assembly--which first spawned the idea for such a sharing.

Conflict over the apportionment was constant . . .” And it still is.

“By the 1980s, per capita sustained not just the operations of the Office of the General Assembly, but the Committee on Ordination Examinations, the Department of Chaplains, and the staffing and administrative costs of the General Assembly Mission Council. The long-running tensions between what money is given out of duty and what is given freely, between what is spent on necessary bureaucratic functions and what is spent on work in the world, has not in the past 160 years been satisfactorily resolved.”

With a history of changes that respects the diversity of opinions and vision for PCUSA, per capita assessment continues; and it continues to be re-evaluated. The vision of funding a mission agency through our General Assembly and ministry with mission through our Presbytery continues. Mission co-workers receive a living salary for where they minister, in order to respect the extremely different economies, USA vs. Gabon for instance, and the one Church of Jesus Christ.

Today per capita is still not a thrilling topic. Lent gives us a time to think outside of the box and the Covenant realities of interconnective relationships. Per capita, a mere $35 annually per member, is voluntary giving. However, Pittsburgh Presbytery is required by the Book of Order to submit a portion of every church per capita assessment for every member in our Presbytery. Our per capita is $10 a person less than some of our neighboring Presbyteries.

Your per capita funds Presbytery mission such as:
New worshiping communities – this Presbytery has pledged $100,000 toward new communities that reach people who are not interested in the ‘church’ familiar to you and to me.
Administrative Commission for Transformation – which offers funding to congregations for special projects that will bring new vitality to a congregation’s mission.
The Lazarus Fund – which accepts applications for assistance during emergencies.
Great Commission Team – which creates connections and links between local ministries and international partnerships for reaching people with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Personally I am thrilled with the deep and extensive administrative work the 3 Presbytery ministry staff do in assisting conflict resolution, pastoral search processes, disciplinary cases, and supporting the ministers and clerks of session that work with local congregations, all 170 of the congregations in this Presbytery.

Your per capita supports the Covenant of grace this Presbytery offers her churches so is itself a covenant of per capita and a huge blessing in a $35 bundle.

Lenten Bible study - The Grace of Les Miserables

A study guide written by Matt Rawle is our guide for a combine Lenten study with Valencia Presbyterian Church and Jim Kirk. The study artistically weaves the study of Victor Hugo’s main characters and the story of their lives, in the novel and the musical into images of grace received, grace rejected, grace unknown, and grace learned. Our study has over 20 participants and is open to anyone interested. We gather via zoom on Wednesdays at 7:00. Please call the office for the zoom link to join the group.

Confirmation Class 2021 

Confirmation class has six attendees who faithfully gather via zoom each Sunday morning at 9:00. We are looking at some big questions to be considered about our very big God and how we respond in faith, love, and action. Please pray for our confirpeople as they consider their life in Jesus’ Church.

Puzzles for Lent!

For Lent, Faith made puzzles with 40 Lenten symbols that tell the story of Holy Week for our kids and their families. Check out how cool these are!

Children of all ages are invited to join us on Fridays from 5-7pm for our Lenten Friday Club gatherings! We'll start in Fellowship Hall where we'll cook and eat dinner together. Our confirmation class will share scripture dramatizations to guide our conversation and fellowship together. We'll also spend time playing games, getting creative, and making s'mores around the fire! Weather permitting, we'll spend the majority of our time outside so please come dressed for outside.

Everyone must wear a mask (no bandanas, neck gaiters, or face shields) and we do have extra masks if needed. We'll practice physical distancing, regular handwashing, and have enough supplies for everyone to use without needing to share.

We would love for your children to bring friends to share in the fun!  Please make sure each visiting family fills out our Family Info Form. You can find a shareable, online version here: https://form.jotform.com/faith.plumcreek/family-info-form or see Faith for a printable version.

Please email Faith at faith.plumcreek@gmail.com with questions.

Safe Center for Online Learning – SCOL

SCOL has been temporarily paused. Our numbers were shrinking at the same time Plum Borough School District began bringing more children back to in-class sessions. Like any good mission we worked ourselves out of a job. SCOL was there when families needed us. All families expressed deep gratitude toward the staff Ava Hoguet, Rebecca Zombek, Ian Kist, Lindsey Mialki and director Faith Kemmler and the creativity, energy, and love SCOL gave to their children.  Also a big thank you to our church members who volunteered and to those who donated funds, food and supplies! 

It was a hard decision to let this mission/ministry go but it was a wise choice Christian Formation Committee made to press pause. SCOL can be reinstated with a day’s notice but it looks like schools are meeting the safety needs of our community children. 

Christian Formation is looking into other opportunities which look

very hopeful.