Mission Memo for November 2003

Things are buzzing around the office! Mission, as well as autumn, is in the air. You'll find some information enclosed. Please always feel free to e-mail (vestevens2@aol.com or phone Ginnie (828-438-4217 (Presbytery office) or 828-258-8220 (home office) for clarification, new ideas, or assistance.

1. WHOSE BIRTHDAY IS IT, ANYWAY? As well as many printed and video materials to help your congregation focus on celebrating Christ's birth, we have some wonderful gift alternatives, ways individuals can honor both Jesus and their loved ones with support for mission programs of this Presbytery: Guatemala seminary scholarship program; support of the Nagy's; four different health projects in Guatemala. Look at the enclosed descriptive sheet telling about these programs and showing the cards that are available for you to send to those you want to honor. There is also a sample order card. Call or e-mail the Presbytery office (syoung@presbyterywnc.org) if you'd like to order a quantity of the order cards. Samples of specific cards can be sent to you on request as well if you need them for display for a congregational mission fair.

2. In case you haven't heard, the Nagy's are going to Malawi! So far we've raised almost 30% of what is needed in the next three years for their support in Malawi. 31 churches have sent contributions thus far. If every member of every church contributed just $3/yr for the next three years, we'd have everything that is needed. We are praying that every church will become involved in both prayer and financial support. (See Christmas gift list enclosed and news about a musical event on the back for two ideas about how.) Contact Ginnie if you need a photo of the Nagy's or some educational materials about Malawi.

3. The prayer flyer for our two Young Adult Volunteers from PWNC is enclosed. Please post on a church bulletin board and lift them up during worship and at home. Check the Presbytery web site for newsletters.

4. 2004 Mission Trips: Below is the tentative list of mission trips. Applications will be available in January from the Presbytery web site. Or let me know if you want applications send for specific trip(s).
Spring: Disaster Response Team (date and place tba)
April 11-18 Laredos Unidos
April 28-May 10 Health Ministries Trip to Guatemala
May 4-12: Partner Church Delegation to Guatemala
May 14-26: Young Adult Peacemaking Travel Study Seminar to Guatemala (ages 19-35). Sponsored by Presbyterian Peacemaking Program. For more information, contact Amanda Craft at 1-888-728-7228, ext. 5624 or by e-mail at acraft@ctr.pcusa.org.
June 5-15: Intergenerational Trip to Puentes de Cristo
August 12-21: "Weave Us Together", a PWNC woman's pilgrimage to Guatemala. Participants will hear the stories of Guatemalan women from a variety of ethnic backgrounds tell about their lives and faith. Accommodations will be in hotels and other similar lodgings.
Fall: Disaster Response team (date and place tba)
Fall: Older Adult Mission Experience in Eastern US (tentative)

5. $5,000 from 2 Cents a Meal funds was sent to New Hope Presbytery to help restock the food banks in the areas of Eastern North Carolina impacted by Hurricane Isabel. In September the Hunger Committee also voted to send $20,000 to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, $10,000 to help feed Liberians fleeing the violence and $10,000 to help in agricultural rehabilitation in Malawi. Also $10,000 has been sent to support the health ministries program in Guatemala. If you'd like photos of the international projects for a bulletin board, contact Ginnie at vestevens2@aol.com or 828-438-4217. Our 2 Cents a Meal contributions are running below last year. How is your church doing?

6. Mission Sites: Need help in finding a place for your church? We have the list for 2004 from CORA (Coalition on Religion in Appalachia) and can mail you a copy. We also have reports from several churches in the Presbytery about places they have traveled to. We hope to get a database on the web site soon, but for now call Ginnie and she'll help you out.

NEW RESOURCES AND EVENTS

The 2004 Vacation Bible School curriculum from the denomination is entitled "God Calls Us: Around the World in 5 Days". Preschool through Grade 5 children will visit MALAWI, GUATEMALA, The PHILIPPINES, Pakistan, and Peru. We will help tailor the curriculum to include the Nagy's (Malawi), our Guatemalan partnership, and Sarah Tuttle (The Philippines).

An event explaining Oikocredit will be held early next year. Oikocredit is an ecumenical investment program that allows churches and individuals to both make a profit from their investments and help poor entrepreneurs around the world with micro-loans and technical assistance. This is part of the Enough for Everyone Program the denomination is encouraging all churches to participate in. (Other three programs are Fair Trade Coffee, No Sweat Tees, and Energy Stewardship.)

We are investigating the possibility of having a musical extravaganza late winter featuring some of the wonderful bands and other musical groups of members of churches in our Presbytery. Some are calling it a Battle of the Bands, others a hootenanny; another was heard to say, "The Frozen Chosen thawed out!" Proceeds would go to the support of the Nagy family.

"Sowing Seeds," a TV program on the Hallmark Channel will have a feature on Souper Bowl in Presbyterian and Baptist churches in Columbia, S.C. (Souper Bowl was begun by a Presbyterian church there.) The program airs at 6:30am on Sunday mornings and will be shown on 12/07/03. [Maybe you could set your VCR!!]

HELP NEEDED! (Contact Ginnie for more information.)
Someone familiar with construction who could coordinate work teams helping repair Kenilworth Church. This would entail organizing work and materials for groups with varying levels of skill.

Someone who knows who to build a database using Microsoft Access so it can be used interactively on the Presbytery web site. We want to get the great information that churches are sending us about the places where they have gone on mission teams into a database that everyone can use.