If you want tickets for Witherspoon events at GA, and missed the deadline for ordering them from the Office of the General Assembly, Witherspoon officer Ray Kersting will be glad to help you out.

Contact him by Monday, June 10 at the latest, and he'll take care of your needs. Well, not all of them, but the need for Witherspoon tickets. And that's no small thing!

E-mail to sfkerst@rt66.com
Or phone (505)982-4548.

Ambassadors for Christ

we have this Word

this Word who is God

and we'd keep it close, behind walls.

but the Word will get out

and we can go too

but we'll have to be brave to follow.

because THE WORD is not chained --it Cannot be held

nor can it be tied up by anyONE

Because the WORD will get out

even from death on a cross and go where the WORD needs to be

we can't HOLD the WORD we're to sing/set it free

The Ambassador of God IS the WORD

and our joy is to share

and the joy will increase

The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship has issued a paper listing the issues it will be focusing on at the 214th General Assembly.[5-29-02]

The issues include:

We recently received a thoughtful comment about references to Christopher Columbus in relation to the coming General Assembly, which will gather in the Ohio city that bears his name.  The writer is concerned about what these references will communicate to "some of the people we are trying to include in our Presbyterian family: Native Americans."

Going to GA?
Want to eat?
Act soon!

[5-21-02]

If you want to attend any of the special events held by many different Presbyterian-related groups (including the Witherspoon Society!) you have until May 31 to order your tickets.

Check out our own information about Witherspoon events, and if you wish, you can order tickets for those events directly from Ray Kersting, 305 Loma Arisco, Santa Fe, NM 87501. Phone (505) 982-4548. Or send him an e-mail note. sfkerst@rt66.com

You can download the full information booklet about the Assembly, in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format, from http://www.pcusa.org/ga214/registration.htm

It includes registration information, and the text of the Registration Book.  Online registration will be available soon. (The detailed schedule of events is in Adobe Acrobat [PDF] format.)

A page on business coming before the Assembly lists the overtures so far received from presbyteries.

We hope you'll join us!

Friday, June 14

"Opening the Cornerstone" - 8^th Annual Semper Reformanda conversation. From 2 to 6 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal church, $15. Thirty-five years after the Confession of '67 capped the "Book of Confessions," we will examine how this groundbreaking statement of our corporate faith continues to challenge our mission and ministry.

Commissioner Orientation, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., in Delaware B, C and D at the Hyatt Hotel. $10. An opportunity for commissioners and others to learn of the issues before the assembly and how to be an effective participant. Reflects a progressive point of view. This event will follow the Covenant Network dinner and will be held in conjunction with it.

Sunday, June 16

Witherspoon Society Luncheon, 12:30 to 3 p.m. in the Regency Ballroom North in the Hyatt Hotel. $23. Keynote speaker will be Doug Ottati, professor of theology and ethics, Union Seminary, Virginia, speaking on "A Theology for Progressive Presbyterians." We will be celebrating the Confession of '67. The annual Whole Gospel Congregation Awards go to two downtown Columbus churches, Bethany, an historical African American Congregation, and Broad Street.  Check out a little more information about the two churches.

Tuesday, June 18

Witherspoon Society Awards Dinner and Annual Meeting, 6 to 8 p.m., Morrow Room in the Hyatt Hotel. $32. The annual Andrew Murray Award will be presented to the Rev. Kathy Lancaster, who has just retired as editor of Church & Society Magazine ("the journal of just thoughts"), and as Associate for Criminal Justice  in the Social Justice Program Area of National Ministries Division, where she served more than 23 years.  She will be the keynote speaker for the brief program, which will be followed by the Annual Meeting of the Witherspoon Society.

Witherspoon Party and Dance, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., Regency Ballroom South, Hyatt Hotel. $20. Here's a chance for committee-worn commissioners and friends to relax and celebrate whatever it is they're ready to celebrate. Tickets will be on sale at the door!

Or you can order tickets directly from Witherspoon officer Ray Kersting, 305 Loma Arisco, Santa Fe, NM 87501. E-mail: sfkerst@rt66.com 

We have a report from a member of the Presbytery of San Francisco, which nominated Stuart on September 9, 2002.

Presbyterian News Service offers a more complete report.

[1-8-02]

At Witherspoon's annual luncheon at the 214^th General Assembly, on Sunday, June 16, the Whole Gospel Congregation Award will be given to two congregations in downtown Columbus.

Bethany Presbyterian Church, a historically African American congregation, has supplied a number of national leaders to the Presbyterian Church, including Mary Jane Patterson, former director of the Washington Office, and Robina Winbush, Director of Ecumenical and Agency Relationships.

Broad Street Presbyterian Church has been associated through the years with ministers like Ganse Little, Ray Kearns, and John Buchanan. Broad Street's community programs are prominently displayed in the illustrated volume, Presbyterians: a Spiritual Journey.

[1-8-02]

The Presbyterian Health, Education and Welfare Association (PHEWA), National Ministries Division, is seeking nominations for its five General Assembly Ministry Awards. They will be presented during the PHEWA event at the 214th General Assembly (2002) in Columbus, Ohio. To nominate a ministry, congregation or individual for these awards, submit the following information by March 1: who is being nominated, with address and phone number; the contact person for the nomination with address and phone number; a two-page description of the nominee, including why they are deserving of this recognition. Send nominations to PHEWA, 100 Witherspoon St., Room 4617, Louisville, KY 40202-1396 or fax to 502.569.8034.

1. One award recognized a community ministry that has been faithful and creative in its ministry to and with the community. It is sponsored by Community Ministries and neighborhood Organizations, a network of PHEWA.
   
2. Another award recognizes the ministry of an urban congregation that has strengthened its congregation and/or served its neighborhood through an effective outreach ministry. It is sponsored by the Urban Network of Congregational Leadership, another PHEWA network.
   
3. Two awards are sponsored by the Presbyterian Network on Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse. The David Hancock Award goes to a church or church professional for their contributions in the field of addictions prevention, intervention and recovery. The Margaret A. Fuad Award is presented to a layperson who, as a volunteer or activist, has been instrumental in getting the church and/or community involved in issues related to drug and alcohol abuse, through education, awareness or treatment.
   
4. The Florence Iversen Kraft Award goes to a congregation that has demonstrated outstanding leadership in its ministry with those who have a serious mental illness and with their families. It is sponsored by the Presbyterian Serious Mental Illness Network of PHEWA.