Feb 5th, 2010 by Matthew |
St. Andrew has invited Susan Nienaber, consultant from the Alban Institute, to work with St. Andrew to provide tools, strategies, and workshops to assist our church members and leaders to effectively communicate with one another during times of disagreement and transition.
There will be several opportunities to speak and learn from Susan in the form of Leadership Training Sessions and Open Discussion Sessions during her first visit February 12-14.
Leadership Training Sessions
Friday, February 12 from 6-8 pm
Sunday, February 14 from 2:15-4:15 pm
There will be two sessions open to anyone interested in learning the type of facilitation and design skills that will be useful to assist the congregation in making some of the big decisions that are in the congregation’s future. The session will be approximately 2 hours in length. You may sign up for one of both of the sessions. Depending upon the group size, they will be either two similar workshops, or the second can build on the first.
Open Discussion Sessions
Saturday, February 13 from 8:00 am to 5:15 pm, each 1 1/2 hours in length
(Beginning at 8:00, 9:45, 11:30, 2:00, 3:45)
Sunday, February 14 from 12:30 to 2:00 pm
These groups are opportunities for Susan to get to know members of the congregation and to develop a better understanding of the issues which prompted St. Andrew to seek outside assistance. The hope is that these groups can be made up of folks with diverse views and experiences. Susan uses a very structured approach in these groups so that everyone has a safe and equal chance to share.
Sign-up at the Welcome Table or by contacting Colleen (colleenj@saintandrew-ic.org or 319/338.7523) in the church office.
Please see the Dec. ‘09 + Jan. ‘10 Messengers (www.saintandrew-ic.org/news/messenger/) for a full description of the decision-making process to hire a consultant.
Feb 4th, 2010 by Matthew |
February 27 from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm
St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, Iowa City
Helpful information to enrich your ministry with choirs of all ages. Guest clinician, Barbara Sletto. For more information, download the brochure and registration form: 2010 Winter Seminar.
Registration deadline extended until Wednesday, February 17.
Jan 26th, 2010 by Matthew |
St. Andrew is diligently working with our contacts in Haiti to provide up-to-date information on what is happening in the aftermath of the earthquake and how we as a community of faith can be working to provide assistance on many different levels.
Newest updates: Pictures from Eric Hausler’s Haiti relief trip: click here
An email from Eric (Rick) Hausler’s wife, Donna (2.1.10) with links to pictures from Haiti. Click here.
The latest newsletter from Water for Life, one of our partners in the Alternative Christmas Market, who work to provide clean water for Haiti. Click here.
A Haiti HAFF missionary, Connie Curilla, is adding blogs daily to her site at www.connieinhaiti.blogspot.com. You may click here to visit our page dedicated to updates and news on Haiti, including a letter of response from Interim Senior Pastor Bob David that outlines several opportunities for your own response.
Jan 19th, 2010 by Matthew |
Experiencing the Missional Church
Sunday, January 17 – February 7
Continuing this Sunday, Adult Christian Education will gather to consider our understanding and experience of mission. St. Andrew has counted a commitment to mission as one of its central marks of who it is from its earliest days over 50 years ago. Over these next weeks we will visit again the thinking, stories, and experiences that may challenge us to consider how we are part of God’s work in the world.
Sunday, Jan. 24: Join Kathi + Samantha Anderson as they reflect on their experience with the people of Guatemala.
Sunday, Jan. 31: Harry Olthoff, General Presbyter/Facilitator of the East Iowa Presbytery, speaker.
Sunday, Feb. 7: Bill + Patsy Lawton will speak about Wheels for the World.
Jan 13th, 2010 by Matthew |
with Jeff Charis-Carlson + Matthew Penning
Sundays, January 24, 31 + February 7
1 to 3 pm
The national Presbyterian Church (USA) is in the middle of intense study and reflection concerning the denomination’s stance on same-sex marriage and on the ordination of gay and lesbian Elders, Deacons and Ministers of the Word and Sacrament. The real life implications of these theological discussions hit close to home in April, when the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that county recorders should issue marriage licenses to otherwise qualifying same-sex couples. Closer to home, the St. Andrew Session was asked to make a determination affecting two lesbian church members. During its June 2010 meeting, the request was turned down,
citing the broader denominational question as one of the reasons.
The Session’s decision has raised many difficult – and sometime painful – questions about the degree to which St. Andrew’s gay and lesbian members can participate in the life of the church. When it comes to its gay and lesbian members, how “open and affirming” is St. Andrew? How “open and affirming” should it be?
While this is essentially a continuation of the class held last fall, there will be opportunity for new participants to join in. Click here to find additional information on this challenging subject. If you have questions or suggestions for how this class should proceed, contact 319/330.3321 or jcharisc@press-citizen.com.
Dec 31st, 2009 by Matthew |
The Committee on Ministry of the East Iowa Presbytery has given the Pastor Nominating Committee of St. Andrew permission to advertise the position of head pastor. This is very good news. We will do so ASAP using both hard copy (periodical) and online sources. If you’d like to read our Church Information Form (CIF), used to advertise us as a congregation,
click here. We hope to narrow the pool of candidates down to a select few sometime in late spring of this year. Please continue to pray for our deliberations!
The members of your PNC are:
Bill Ford (chair), Nelda Wittig, Lora Morgan Dunham, Ernie Lehman, Kyle Nicholson, James Hemsley
Dec 17th, 2009 by Matthew |
During the summer of 2009 an invitation was received from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship to take part in a discussion forum on intergenerational worship. Ministry leaders from St. Andrew, First Presbyterian (Williamsburg), First Presbyterian (Marion) and One Ancient Hope Presbyterian (Iowa City) are joining together to read a recently published book, The Church of All Ages: Generations Worshiping Together, edited by Howard Vanderwell, and discuss the many challenges and rewards of intergenerational worship.
The following is a summary of our third discussion. continue reading » »
