Category: Presbytery of Genesee Valley

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Dear Fellow Presbytery of Genesee Valley Members,

Over the past several months, members of the Presbytery of Genesee Valley leadership have been meeting with leaders from our nearby and neighboring Presbyteries including Western NY, Geneva, Cayuga-Syracuse and Lake Erie. During this time, we have been sharing, dreaming, and sometimes grumbling about the many ways in which our churches and presbyteries have changed over the past several years.

This time has allowed us to see the many commonalities that we share at the Mid-Council level, as well as those shared from church to church. Each of our presbyteries individually as well as collectively is discerning how we can best serve our communities during this time and into the future. We have been gathering smaller groups of committee leaders from across these five presbyteries to collaborate on training, resources sharing and more. In order to engage our entire membership in this collaboration we need to gather some information. The survey (link below) has been designed by members of each presbytery for the purpose of getting information and perspective from across a broad range of our members. The same survey will be shared across these five presbyteries.

We strongly encourage as many people as possible to complete this survey. The survey is very comprehensive, at 37 questions long, so you should plan to set aside 20 minutes to complete it fully.  

To take your survey online, simply visit this web address: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5PresbyteriesSurvey using the web browser you currently prefer (Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge,  Safari, etc.)

We ask that each person take the survey for themselves. We want to hear each person’s unique perspective. If you have multiple survey takers in your household, please close your browser window after one person takes the survey and open an incognito or in-private window for the next person. This will avoid getting a message that the survey has already been completed.  

We want as many people from as many congregations to take this survey (not just one representative per congregation), so as an incentive, we are offering:

• $250 toward a Session-designated ministry for the congregation with the most surveys returned
• $150 toward a Session-designated ministry for second place
• $100 toward a Session-designated ministry for third place

We thank you in advance for sharing your unique perspective with us.
Gratefully,
Lea Kone, PGV Moderator

Back to Basics

Saturday, March 5, 2022

via Zoom

**REGISTRATION DEADLINE: MONDAY, March 1, 2022**

The 2022 CLD focuses on elder/deacon training and leadership

development with two courses—see descriptions below:

▪ COURSE 1 – Called and Equipped: Training for Elders and Deacons

▪ COURSE 2 – Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory

Courses are designed for:

▪ new elders & deacons

▪ elders & deacons at large

▪ pastors

Courses are FREE—all are encouraged to attend!

Schedule of the day–

▪ 9–9:15 a.m. Welcome & instructions for COURSE 1

▪ 9:15–11:15 – COURSE 1 – Called and Equipped: Training for Elders & Deacons

▪ 11:30 – 12 noon Worship – for registrants attending one or both courses

▪ 12 noon – 1:30 p.m. – COURSE 2 – Canoeing the Mountains: Christian

Leadership in Uncharted Territory

Register HERE

9:15–11:15 COURSE 1

Called and Equipped: Training for Elders & Deacons

Rev. Aaron Neff and Rev. Erin Jacobson, First Presbyterian Church of Pittsford

Join in this interactive seminar to gain practical leadership tools, hone your skills for the ministry to which you have been called, and discover how discernment lies at the heart of Presbyterian leadership. A portion of the course will be spent in groups of elders and deacons focusing on the unique parts of each ministry. New and returning elders and deacons will leave feeling equipped and inspired.

11:30 – 12 noon Worship

Led by the Harvest Neighborhood of Presbyterian Churches and our ecumenical friend, Albion First Baptist Church. Also featuring specially created music by Laurence Tallman, music director at Byron Presbyterian Church.

12:00 – 1:30 p.m. COURSE 2

Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory Elder Susan Orr, Transitional Leader/Stated Clerk, Presbytery of Genesee Valley Although explorers Lewis and Clark were prepared to find a waterway to the Pacific Ocean, instead they found themselves facing the Rocky Mountains. You too may feel that you are leading in a context you were not expecting. If you’re going to scale the mountains of ministry, you need to leave behind the canoe and find new navigational tools. Author Tod Bolsinger brings decades of expertise in guiding churches through uncharted territory to help you reimagine what effective leadership looks like in our rapidly changing world. This course is a broad overview of Bolsinger’s book of the same title and serves as an introduction to a six-part series being offeredPresbytery-wide by Zoom on Wednesday evenings April 20 – May 25.

Per Capita:

“What in the world is it and what does it do!?”

Most people are familiar with denominations like ours (PCUSA) having operating expenses and as such requesting churches in the denomination to contribute to help with those costs.  For many in other denominations this may have been called: assessments, dues, or apportionments.  In the PCUSA it is called per capita.  It originates from the Latin, “each person (literally ‘each head’).”  Yet, I want to caution us regarding this myopic understanding of what Per Capita actually is and does.  Yes, it covers expenses, but it also names our commitment to each other and our desire for the work of the church to continue.  This week’s Sermon will be about the many gifts of the body of Christ and how we all rely on each other from 1 Corinthians 12:1-11.  In many ways we cannot be the Presbyterian church in Victor without the PCUSA and our Presbytery’s help and resources. We cannot be the Church of Jesus Christ without everyone’s gifts and resources being shared for the greater good.  We rely on each other in mutual love and respect, not a sense of unhealthy co-dependency.

Here is where your money goes when we pay for our Per Capita.  (This is taken directly from the PCUSA website): 

Per Capita giving makes it possible for:

• Presbyterians to discern and live out God’s call in their lives
• Churches to connect with individuals seeking a call to ministry
• Staff support for General Assembly committees and commissions
• Management and coordination of General Assembly gatherings
• Presbytery and synod leaders to gather for training and discernment
• Counsel and support for churches in crisis (misconduct, legal matters)
• Presbyteries to address matters of inclusion, participation, and representation at all levels of church leadership and decision-making
• The denomination to build connections with ecumenical partners around the world
• Presbyteries and pastors to receive support on immigration issues
• Presbyterian history to be cataloged, preserved, and utilized by future generations

Please consider making an additional gift with “Per Capita” in the memo line ($35.58 per member).  Our offering this Sunday January 23 is a special Sunday for us to consider giving to Per Capita specifically.  Let us show forth that we appreciate and are committed to this work with our Presbytery, our denomination, and with one another.

You and your family are invited to: 

A day of fun, food, and fellowship at Stokoe Farms Pumpkin Patch and Harvest Fest on Saturday, September 25.

Many of us are missing the fellowship of in-person meetings so the PGV Healthier Congregations Team has organized this gathering for presbyters and their families focusing on fellowship, mission and fun. 

Thanks to the generosity of the Stokoe family you can access the grounds and activities without charge anytime from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Be sure to join in the worship service at 11:30 and sandwich buffet meal at 12:15.

This day is open to all Presbytery members and their families. Come for lunch or just for fun but reservations are required for everyone attending. 

Get more details and make your reservations here. 

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Yesterday marked another painful day in the recent history of our nation as we struggle with illness in both body and spirit. The violence at the Capitol, the lack of moral clarity from the highest levels of leadership, and the continued loss of life in this extended time of the pandemic leaves many of us shaken. 

Please know we are strong together in our faith and in our care. God is with us and we will do well to be with one another. As best you are able please reach your hands out in service to the wounded. Reach your hands up in prayer to the wounded healer. Open your hearts to the sure and certain hope. Offer your lives to the labor of the faithful. Know that we are here if you need to reach out, and God is here always.

Psalm 46:1-7

1 God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
    though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
3 though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble with its tumult.

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
    God will help it when the morning dawns.
6 The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
    he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Attached you will find a message of care and reflection from our Synod leader.

Peace be with us all,

Colin Pritchard (Moderator)

Message from Pastor Colin Pritchard, Moderator of the Presbytery of Genesee Valley.