Presbyterian Women
The Presbyterian Women of the Presbytery of Glacier recently held their annual Retreat at Spruce Lodge located at Glacier Presbytery Camp..The Rev. Dr. Tracy Keenan senior pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church of Columbus Ohio was our featured speaker, come join in the celebration of worship that we enjoyed on Wednesday August 24th as the concluding event for our Retreat. The Worship service was an open event and many of the area pastors were able to attend.
Amy Peterson. PWP Moderator
Photo Sets: Thanks to Lynn Dukelow (click for large view)
Tracy R Keenan
Glacier Presbyterian Center
August 24, 2011
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The PW/Presbytery Retreat at Spruce Lodge, Glacier Conference Center on Flathead Lake was a fantastic success! Rev. Dr.Tracy Keenan was so very well received by the women who attended; her energy and enthusiasm was contagious.
Chuck Paulus was so gracious; he attended the Wednesday morning Worship Service to video tape it for the Presbytery Web site—check it out under glacierpresbytery.org -Presbyterian Women Heading...I am sure you will enjoy the viewing. We did a new thing this year by extending an open invitation to any and all who would like to attend the PWP Worship Service. We were very fortunate to have Lee Scifers of Kalispell First Pres. Church attend as the organist and he brought the music Tracy requested. Reverends: Glenn Burfeind, James Coates, Al Foster, Jim Mehler (Tracy’s husband) and Curtis Peterson also attended.
The blessing of many first-time attendees was most encouraging. We had 58 come on Tuesday which was a very good number considering it was on a weekday instead of the usual weekend retreat.
We did miss Lona Albright, our PWP Treasurer (1985-current) as she is recovering from a broken hip. This is the first retreat she has missed since 1982
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Note from Rev. Dr. Tracy Keenan
Jim and I have been home and we’re still flying high with that marvelous Montana spirit you have talked about. The weather here (Ohio) turned cool almost immediately upon the start of September and we put the Big Sky quilt that Lisa Lovell made on our bed and opened the windows to let in some of that cool air. What a great group you have there! I know that I really enjoyed being with such an amazing group! : responsive, deeply faithful, fun, interesting, welcoming and in the loveliest of settings.
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Note from Yvonne Moody, PWP Treasurer
The thing that stands out in my mind about Dr. Tracy Keenan’s remarks at the Women’s Retreat is that we should let go of what controls us (egos, self image, pride, how we rush in to protect our feelings) -all are sins. What others think of us is none of our business-it is theirs. We find the living waters by emptying ourselves. Dr. Keenan did a wonderful job of presenting God’s message and those of us who attended were so glad that we were there to hear what we needed to hear.
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P.W. HAPPENINGS
AROUND THE PRESBYTERY OF GLACIER
WEST LEADERSHIP COORDINATOR—CAROLYN PFRIMMER
I recently attended the Women’s Retreat at Glacier Camp. Those attending know what a blessing it was to be there; I encourage you to join us next year if you were unable to attend. Retreat is scheduled the 3rd weekend in August—find a 2012 calendar and mark it as a priority. As West Leadership Coordinator, please share what your PW are doing at meetings and mission projects. Seek out ideas from other churches for your own PW Association.
My first “job” of this 2011-2012 year is to give each church at least 2 copies of the new PW, Presbytery of Glacier Booklet. Some were handed out at the Retreat, and Bonner, Hot Springs, Seeley Lake and Libby were mailed—you should have received them by this date. Email if you have any questions or seek information about the PW in the Presbytery.
EAST LEADERSHHIP COORDINATOR-JEAN DUNCAN
I attended the organization meeting of PW of First Presbyterian Church in Great Falls. Now I want to share their recipe for “Soup PW Style.” Someone fills a large kettle with broth and everyone brings something to “dump in the pot” and the result was the best homemade soup I have had in ages...I recognized the chicken, the noodles, the tortellini, the celery, onion and carrot right off. There were also some black beans and other various shaped items that I can only surmise were spices and such….anyway, the result of the soup mixture, with a roll and butter, created a culinary delight! What a fun way to host the lunch.
The group was especially delighted that the dates for the Retreat will be the third weekend in August. Horizons Magazine will have new subscribers and PW/Presbytery will have new friends ——-a WIN, WIN situation. Mary Fagenstrom is Moderator
MISSOULA— Guadalupe Hilliard, Moderator
Greetings! - We have started a new year. We met on Sept. 1, 2011 with a potluck meal and added two new members to our Altheans Bible Study and membership to PW. Lois Puckett arranged a skit on Membership with the help of some of our members.
Some of us visited Flor Haven Assistant Living Home and found the residents in need of almost everything! They take in the poorest of the poor and the disabled folks. We have allocated $200 to Flor Haven and are contributing food and other items as well individually. At Christmas we plan to provide them with other items from a list that the owner has given us.
Other missions and projects we support or have supported are: Mountain Home Teen Pregnancy Center - Battered Women’s Shelter—YMCA Pathway Program—Missoula 3:16—Nakuro, Kenya 3:16—Food Bank—Helping Hands— Habitat for Humanity—Casa por Cristo…...just to name a few.
For our October meeting, we have invited the women from the local Congregational church to attend. We plan to have a speaker from Flor Haven Asst. Living Home. We also plan to pass out a questionnaire to find out what kind of programs the PW members would like to have for the coming meetings.
Note: Sally Wright, our Treasurer, had knee surgery on 9/21 and is home recuperating.
CHINOOK— Londa Nelson, Moderator
Our PW will meet on Wednesday, October 5 at 6 p.m. and our Bazaar is scheduled for Saturday, October 8, 2011. Please come and participate in this fun and worthwhile event which includes fellowship with each other and the entire community!
POLSON—June Hommas, Moderator
What a great day it is to celebrate with our friends and family...to enjoy the beautiful autumn days...to praise God for all His blessings in our lives !
Some of our projects are:
Supplying These Days (Daily Devotions for Living by Faith) are made available to our church family. These writings strengthen our faith and we are asked to share them with others.
Scholarships for our youth at Glacier Camp are provided. Some of our youth enjoyed the summer activities offered at camp on beautiful Flathead Lake.
We support the Country Store with our time and treasures. The Country Store was an idea of Elsie Dutzar and others over 40 years ago as a way of selling useful clothing and other used household items at a reasonable price. A portion of the money from sales is returned to the participating churches in Polson.
We hold a Community Friendship Dinner in October and it will be hosted by the PW. Our church serves this meal for the community the 2nd Friday of every month in the fellowship hall. We are called to love people. It all goes back to Acts 2 and learning to be a community.
We help support Glacier Cottage at the Children’s Home in Helena.
A Christmas party for women and girls is hosted by our PW. We collect food for the food pantry and donate scarves, hats, boots and blankets for all ages.
Whitefish-Carolyn Pfrimmer/Evelyn Peterson, Co-moderators
Whitefish PW had their first meeting after the Retreat on Sept. 15. The program, given by Marlene Barnes & Miriam Foster entitled “Retreat Revisited.” was most interesting— using examples given to us by our Retreat speaker, Rev. Tracy Keenan specifically God reminding us in his loving way: “I Gotcha” ! We are never alone, no matter the circumstances. Our Bazaar & luncheon will be Nov. 4. Our church plans to participate with PW with a Thank Offering Oct. 23.
HELENA—Yvonne Moody, Moderator
Our Lisa Lovell has been hospitalized again for a couple of days and is at home recuperating. Please continue to pray for her gradual recovery. She is so excited about serving as Moderator of PWP, so prayers to be physically able to officiate next year are very much appreciated.
We in Helena PW are looking forward to having you all come to our church in April, 2012 for the Spring Gathering.
Our Mission Sunday is planned for October 9 where we will display our mission sewing in the sanctuary. We will have a “Moment for Mission” at the worship service to explain to the congregation all what PW-Helena does for mission. Mission Luncheon is scheduled for Tuesday, October 11, displaying the sewing again, and dedicating the Least Coin and Thank Offering.
The Annual Bazaar will be held Friday & Saturday, October 28 and 29. For the “Cookie Walk” - we will weigh the cookies by the styrofoam carton at a set price per pound rather than covering metal coffee cans and selling them at a set price per canful…..we’ll let you know through Glacier Greetings—how it went ! The cost of ingredients has gone up so much that we have had to raise prices on our soup and pie, cookies and other baked goods. It will be interesting to see if the economy of the country affects bazaar sales this year.
Kalispell—Lynn Dukelow, Moderator
Our 4 Circles met during the month of September. Three circles are studying Confessing the Beatitudes, a Horizons study. Our Eve Circle is reading/ studying, Really Bad Girls of the Bible—by Liz Curtis Higgs—we hardly can wait to have their report!
Mission Sewing –TOGETHER-IN-SERVICE for the year will be displayed in October at church and shipped by November 1.
Our first PW ASSOCIATION meeting will take place on October 6 where we have a luncheon and program. About 30 of us join for this event.
The ANNUAL BAZAAR and SOUP/PIE LUNCHEON will be at the churchon Saturday, October 22. Nearly $3-4,000 is raised for local missions at this event.
We will dedicate our Thank Offering and Least Coins in November.
GLOBAL EXCHANGE TO INDIA
OCTOBER—2011
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Our chosen representative from Utah, Aloha Whitney—”Hi everyone. Just wanted to thank all of you who have sent in donations to the Synod for the Global Exchange. ….I am sending my tentative itinerary so you will know where I am. Please include all of us in your prayers.
I know it will be a life-changing experience, and I am ready!” This is a Global Exchange because next summer a group of women from India is invited to participate in the Church-wide Gathering of Presby. Women and share their stories. Presbyterian Women are concerned about the problem of human trafficking, particularly its effects on women and children. The Church-wide Coordinating Team chose this issue as a special focus for the 2009-2012 triennium.
My commitment is to visit all the Presbyterian Women Gatherings in the Rocky Mountain Synod during the next 2 yrs. giving post-trip presentations of my experience to educate Presby. Women about Global Exchange issues.”
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- Oct. 9 –depart in the morning for Newark, NJK to meet up with the other participants that evening for dinner & community building.
- Oct. 10-orientation and get assignments for the Global Exchange; depart for New Delhi in the evening with 2-hr. stop in Paris arriving there the eve. Of Oct. 11.
- Oct. 12-day for rest, community building and local sightseeing, staying at YMCA.
- Oct. 13-full day orientation at the Church of North India Offices and WFCS.
- Oct. 14-fly to Guwahati—travel by van to Shillong where we will stay at a hotel or guest house
- Oct. 15-16-Presbyterian Church of India, with host families, worship in local congregations
- Oct. 17-my group will travel back to Guwahati for flight to Calcutta staying in hotel
- Oct. 18-19-with host families
- Oct. 20-back to Shillong for debriefing
- Oct. 21-fly to New Delhi and debriefing in the evening
- Oct. 22-25-visit mission projects and schools, worship in local congregations, shop, and debrief to write Commitment Statement
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THIS AND THAT
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Psalm 46: RIVER OF HOPE
“I love waterfalls! While I appreciate their splendor, I’m always mesmerized by the power embedded within the tumbling, roaring water. My mind swirls around the contemplation of each individual molecule of H2O making its way over the rocky cliff face. Individually the particle would not be noticed, it being so small, so feeble. It certainly wouldn’t make much of a splash! Yet combining together the molecules become breathtakingly magnificent and powerful.
Like the waterfall, God has formed us to live, work and worship together as connectional people. Our mission and ministry are best accomplished when we support one another. Together we find joy, strength, wisdom and courage for the tumultuousness of life. Like the molecules of the waterfall, we are never alone. We belong to God. We belong to each other.
May you find strength, beauty and power in your connections to God and to others………..Marsha Anson, Presbytery of Glacier Stated Clerk
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TOGETHER-IN-SERVICE
Thanks to Yvonne Moody, we now know that we may “Google” IVORY SOAP and find that we may order packets of 10 bars of 3.5 oz. soap for inclusion in the SAFE MOTHERHOOD KITS.
Note: Please let Betsy Scifers (email) know what your group has done this past year for the PWP year-end report, (Must be in by November 1, 2011) all mission activities, not just the kits. Anything local and regional is great for sharing.
TREASURY NOTES:
This is somewhat an accounting of where our PW dollars go.This is why each church’s pledge is so important. There are other expenses incurred but these are the recurring items. Thank you to all who donate to PW to enable our local churches to pledge: Ongoing- $5589 PC (U.S.A.) mission & administration. Our legacy..”always active caring for others”
| Synod of the Rocky Mtn Dues |
1403.25 |
| Birthday Offering |
1088.92* |
| Thank Offering |
345.69* |
| Honorary Membership |
310.00* |
| Least Coin |
310.00* |
| Hunger Fund |
70.00* |
| Global Exchange |
250.00 |
| News letter |
225.00 |
| Spring Gathering |
458.00 |
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| Retreat/Fall Gathering |
1000.00 |
| Leadership training |
300.00 |
| Glacier Camp |
450.00 |
| National Meeting |
300.00 |
| Justice & Peace/Global Exchange |
350.00 |
| *means these are “in” and “out” funds |
| · Balance 1/1/11 |
1556.15 |
| · Income |
13011.64 |
| · Expenses |
7958.52 |
| · Balance 8/13/11 |
6609.27 |
| · Total in Money Mkt Acct |
3048.32 |
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