Saturday, 31 of July of 2010

Category » General Assembly

Greetings from Joan Erickson at GA Friday, July 9, 2010

Jesus is the head of the church. Yes, you already know this, but the commissioners of General Assembly brought that once again to our attention. Included in our study to prepare for presbytery’s consideration of amendments to our constitution is this amendment to raise standards for ordination not only to recognize the Lordship of Jesus, but it also offers the expectation that the church JOYFULLY submit to that Lordship. Wow – I know from the Vision Statement of the presbytery that joyfully responding to the call by the power of the Holy Spirit and the love of God through Jesus Christ is what we like. The proposed amendment wording is: “Standards for ordination service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G-1.0000). The governing body responsible for ordination and / or installation (G-14.0240; G-14.0450) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidates’ ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-1.4003). Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.”

Your MUP commissioners, Julie Leverenz and Ron Roberts and YAAD (Young Adult Advisory Delegate) Jen Schildmeyer are steeped in prayer and discernment as they seek God’s guidance to fulfill their call to be part of the collective prophetic voice of our denomination.

Together in God’s Grace,    Joan   


Greetings from Joan Erickson at General Assembly 7/8/10

Good morning from General Assembly. I am starting my second day as your Missouri Union General Presbyter. Yesterday the assembly transitioned from committee work back to gathering all together. Lifting up God’s love for us and our love for each other were highlights. Read more »


More Than a Free Breakfast…

On Monday, April 27, Moderator Reyes-Chow visited with students, Westminster faculty and admnistrators, and others from around Missouri Union Presbytery. About 20 attended the informal conversation over breakfast in the Jones Room of the Mueller Leadership (Dining) Hall at Westminster College in Fulton, MO.  Discussion focused around the need for congregations to engage and interact within the context of their community.  Read more »


“Faith to Birth Something New” B.Reyes-Chow

Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, Moderator of General Assembly for the Presbyterian Church (USA), visited Presbyterians in Missouri Union Presbytery the weekend of April 24-27. Rev. Reyes-Chow preached on the question “Do We Have Faith to Dream?” at First Presbyterian Church, Columbia on Sunday, April 26, 2009.  Just as God asked Abraham and Sarah to sustain their faith while God made possible “birthing something new,” so God is at work in our lives, challenging us as Reformed Christians to be faithful, obedient and more creative and risk-taking than we can imagine,  Read more »


“Praying to San Jose”

“The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.”
(1 Timothy 2:1-3)
What is “Praying Our Way to San Jose?” It’s a road trip – and a whole lot more. In the week before the 218th General Asembly, Tammy Wiens-Sorge, Associate for Spiritual Formation and Stephany Jackson, Coordinator for Congregational Leadership, traveled by plane, train and automobile from Louisville to San Jose. Congregations along the route hosted them in a special service of prayer for our denomination.We were blessed to have responses from churches along the way from Louisville to San Jose. We were especially excited to hear from several congregations not on this route, but who committed to praying with us! We celebrate the wind of the Spirit, blowing through churches all across the country and moving them to hold a special worship service during the week of June 15.
Stephany and I pose in front of Lee’s Summit First Presbyterian. Read updates from the road.  Tammy emailed updates from along the way. Follow her journey here.

Day 1- Liz picked me up at the hotel and we made our way to the United African Presbyterian Church. We made one stop to pick up Faye Chu who is the business manager/accountant for Giddings-Lovejoy Presbytery. I formed an instant friendship with these two women as we exchanged stories of our call to ministry. Another instant friendship was forged when I walked into the church and met Jemimah. We hugged like family members who’d reunited after a long absence. But of course each of these friendships began some months ago through phone calls and emails and shared plans for the worship service we were about to hold. Keep reading.

Day 2 – We woke to a glorious morning in downtown St. Louis, excited about our Amtrak leg of the journey. We’d purposely chosen the Sheraton for our overnight accommodation because of its proximity to the train station. It was only a three-block walk, but since we were carrying luggage we allowed ourselves 30 minutes to get there. As it turned out, we needed every minute! Keep reading.

Day 6 – Last night we worshiped at St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Reno, Nevada. Participants came from all over the three connected presbyteries and I am grateful to all who were in attendance. We were especially blessed to have two special guests from Texas who were also “praying their way to San Jose” and made an intentional detour in order to be part of last night’s service. Debbie Cenko and Mary Mahlmann traveled from Wharton, Texas. Can you believe it! Keep reading.

We’re in San Jose! – June 21 – Stephany and I arrived safely in San Jose yesterday afternoon. We arrived with Chandra Kearns and her colleagues in the “Health on the Move” RV. What a way to see the country … a little bumpy, but an adventure worth repeating. It’s been fantastic to hear from so many people at GA about the variety of ways their prayers have been with us during our pilgrimage of prayer. It is so awesome to feel the heartbeat of the church through the overwhelming response to this invitation to prayer.Keep reading.
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Jim in San Jose eating popcorn

CLP Jim Cruickshank, a commissioner to General Assembly from Missouri Union Presbytery, ate popcorn at the Presbyterian Network to End Homelessness Luncheon, held at the Camera 12 Theater in downtown San Jose (California). The menu featured hot dogs and other cinema fare. Photo by Joseph Williams


MUP Commissioners to 218th GA

Commissioners from Missouri Union Presbytery to the 218th General Assembly are: Elder Jim Cruickshank, Elder Don Bay (Alternate instead of Elder David Harrison, Moderator), Rev. Dick Ramsey, Rev. Pam Sebastian (Alternate instead of Rev. Diane Miller) and Amanda Lynn, Youth Advisory Delegate.  Interim General Presbyter, David Meerse, is also attending the 218th General Assembly.

Please pray for safe travel, physical strength and spiritual discernment for all commissioners and participants.


“Name of the Rain” Performances for GA

(Updated 6/20/08) The Name of the Rain is a stage play which recounts the true experiences of the first responders and evacuees from New Orleans who took refuge at Broadmoor Presbyterian Church in Baton Rouge in the early days after Hurricane Katrina. The Name of the Rain was written by Broadmoor’s minister, Rev. Hawley Wolfe. Professional actors tell the real stories of hurricane survivors brought together by the chaotic circumstances following Katrina.

The play has been performed in Baton Rouge and New Orleans in Louisiana and toured through Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas.  During June it toured Texas, Arizona, and California, with two performances in San Jose during General Assembly. Each show is followed by a DVD presentation about current recovery work by Project Homecoming, a rebuilding effort of The Presbytery of South Louisiana in cooperation with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. Website at www.pslrecovery.org/.


GA Begins…

General Assembly convenes in San Jose, CA TOMORROW, Saturday, June 21, and concludes Saturday, June 28, 2008. For more information please go to:  www.pcusa.org (denomination website) Go to: Presbyterian Church USA, under LINKS (this page-upper right)


Bible Study Pack for General Assembly

A downloadable Bible study pack for the upcoming GA of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is now available through www.thethoughtfulchristian.com and the Office of the General Assembly (OGA). The 2008 Presbyterian General Assembly Study Pack is for all commissioners or individual congregations to use before, during and after 218th General Assmbly. Two studies and nine daily devotions developed by Presbyterian leaders, including Old Testament scholars make up the study pack. Studies include participant handouts and Leaders’ Guides for 45-minute sessions for each day of the Assembly, June 21-28 in San Jose, CA.