Topics in this eDIGEST:

 

  1. NOTE: Presbytery plans virtual Stated Meeting on December 1
  2. ACCESS: Free virtual Advent worship series from Syond of the Covenant
  3. AVAILABLE: Scholarships available for 2021 APCE Virtual Event
  4. LEARN: “Crawl” inside the organ @ Kalamazoo – First and enjoy some music
  5. WORSHIP: PC(USA) leaders offer free virtual worship based on Matthew 25
  6. AWARDED: Synod scholarship winners include four student in PLM

 

NOTE: Presbytery plans virtual Stated Meeting on December 1

 

The next Stated Meeting of the Presbytery of Lake Michigan will be held at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, December 1, via electronic meeting technology.

The agenda will focus on worship and essential business. Docket requests must be submitted by Friday, November 6 to flanelawrenceplm@gmail.com. To the extent possible, all reports to the presbytery will be given in written format and included in the written packet so that everyone has easy access to accurate information. Written reports must be sent by 2 p.m. Wednesday, November 11, to office@lakemichiganpresbytery.org .

Watch for more details about registration, training and the docket in coming weeks. 

 


 

ACCESS: Free virtual Advent worship series from Syond of the Covenant

 

Pastors, worship leaders, musicians and tech gurus have worked hard this year to create and offer meaningful worship services during the pandemics. To offer these leaders a bit of Sabbath, the Synod of the Covenant is planning virtual worship services that can be used throughout Advent.

Presbytery and Synod leaders are planning the services – which can be live streamed or downloaded – complete with sermons and scriptures from November 22, Christ the King Sunday,  through December 27, Christmas 1. The service on December 20, Advent 4, will feature the Rev. Fran Lane-Lawrence and Rev. Cal Bremer from our presbytery.

A complete schedule of the services and celebrants may be found here. Each service will be posted www.synodofthecovenant.org at least three days before its scheduled use. 

 


 

AVAILABLE: Scholarships available for 2021 APCE Virtual Event

 

The 2021 APCE Virtual Event may not happen until February but applications to get full event scholarships from the group are due soon.

A variety of workshops, keynote speakers, seminars and worship will focus on “Anything But Ordinary Time” and Revelations 21:5a during the event offered February 4-6, 2021 by the Association for Presbyterian Church Educators. Details about the event may be found at https://www.facebook.com/APCEAnnualEvent. Registration will be $100 per person.

But each presbytery can recommend up to four people to receive a $100 scholarship from APCE. Applications are especially sought from individuals who serve or attend a church with an annual budget of less than $200,000 and who commit to attend the entire virtual event. Preference will be given to persons of color.

Presbytery members interested in being nominated for the APCE scholarship should send an email to office@lakemichiganpresbytery.org by Wednesday, November 11. 

More Information

 


 

LEARN: “Crawl” inside the organ @ Kalamazoo – First and enjoy some music

2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the installation of the Casavant Frères Pipe Organ, Op. 3067 at Kalamazoo First Presbyterian Church.

To celebrate, the church had planned a series of special concerts and events. But, due to the pandemic, those events are now going virtual.

One program – Casavant 50: A Crawl Inside the Organ – already is posted on the congregation’s YouTube PageThe video features organist Michael Montgomery and music director Cindy Hunter as they share a bit of the Casavant’s history, mechanics, a stop demonstration, and conclude with a brief concert. Enjoy views of the inside of the organ chambers as well as close-ups of the console.

A second video link featuring a special Halloween concert will be released at 7 p.m. today, October 28. Check the congregation’s Facebook page for a link to enjoy the music and learn whose witchy legs and organ shoes are haunting the church. 

 Visit Facebook Page


 

WORSHIP: PC(USA) leaders offer free virtual worship based on Matthew 25

 

Posted October 26, 2020  
By Melody K. Smith | Presbyterian News Service

 

A special free virtual worship service based on the Matthew 25 vision and the beatitudes is being prepared by PC(USA) leaders and staff for use on Christ the King Sunday or anytime after that.

The service will include the new Matthew 25 hymn, “Jesus, Be With Us,” along with a sermon delivered by the Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett, president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Other participants include the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly and the 2020 co-moderators of the 224th General Assembly, the Rev. Gregory Bentley and Ruling Elder Elona Street-Stewart.  

The worship video will be shared at pcusa.org/matthew25-worship for viewing and downloading by Nov. 18, 2020. Congregations are welcome to use the video however and whenever they like.

Click here to read more about the planned service. 

Read Full Article

 


 

AWARDED: Synod scholarship winners include four student in PLM

 

More than $40,000 in scholarships were awarded recently by the Synod of the Covenant to 61 students from eight presbyteries and 18 churches. Each recipient received between $350 and $1,500.

There were 39 students – including Logan Recob, Baylee Thompson and Collin Thompson from Brooklyn Presbyterian Church and Elijah Brown from First Presbyterian Church of Holland – who received Higher Education Scholarships.

Nine students, including Elijah Brown, were awarded COVID/Emergency grants so far. Additional applications for these grants will be accepted through December 4.

More information about the Synod’s scholarship program, including how to apply for the COVID/ Emergency Grant, may be found here.

More Information