Michael Davis named EPC Chief Collaborative Officer

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Michael Davis

Michael Davis, Teaching Elder in the Presbytery of the Central South, has been named the EPC’s Chief Collaborative Officer. This new role at the Office of the General Assembly in Orlando encompasses strategic leadership with particular emphasis on strategic priorities and senior leaders; collaborative networking at all levels of the denomination; and development and innovation with a focus on missional “best practices.” Davis begins his responsibilities on August 2.

“Michael’s primary responsibilities will be to identify where God is at work inside and outside of the EPC, and help connect and network ministries, Presbyteries, and congregations to the missio dei in order that we might fulfill the EPC’s mission,” said Dean Weaver, EPC Stated Clerk.

Since 2017, Davis has served as Associate Teaching Pastor for Downtown Church in Memphis, Tenn. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor for Memphis City Seminary. He previously served as an adjunct instructor for the Memphis Center of Urban Theological Studies, Assistant Pastor to Young Adults at Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, and Chaplain for Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis.

“I am incredibly energized and excited to be the Chief Collaborative Officer for our denomination,” Davis said. “This potential for innovation and collaboration will cultivate a thriving, gospel-driven denomination that will see fruit for years to come. God has provided our denomination with an abundance of opportunities that will benefit our communities, nation, and the world all for the glory of God. It is an amazing honor to serve in this capacity.”

Davis is a graduate of the University of Missouri in Columbia and Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis. He has served as the Board Chairman for Advance Memphis since 2015, and also is on the Boards of a variety of Memphis-area ministries, including Service Over Self, Presbyterian Day School, The Center for Executive Leadership, and Memphis City Seminary. He has served on the EPC’s Church Planting Team, Next Generation Ministries Council, and Presbytery of the Central South Ministerial Committee.

He and his wife, Serena, have two children. Their third child is due in late November.

June EPC budget report: PMA contributions finish FY21 ahead of budget, over FY20 total

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At the June 30 close of the EPC’s fiscal year, Per Member Asking (PMA) contributions to the EPC totaled $2,402,378. The amount is $348,166 (16.9 percent) more than the PMA support projection to fund the EPC’s Collaborative Ministries, Connectional Support, and Custodial Operations.

Fiscal year 2021 (FY21) PMA support was $12,507 more than the $2,389,871 contributed over the same period in FY20. The EPC’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. In addition, June PMA support of $213,296 brought the 12-month rolling average for monthly PMA contributions to $201,198. The rolling average is 0.4 percent above the 12-month rolling average as of June 2020.

“God is so good,” said Stated Clerk Dean Weaver. “We ended the fiscal year in a strong financial position, which can only be attributed to His faithfulness to our churches. I am grateful that our leaders understand the value in contributing to the global movement of Evangelical Presbyterian churches that is the EPC. I want to especially recognize the five churches with the highest PMA contributions last year: Hope Church (Memphis, Tenn.); Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis; Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church in Knoxville (Tenn.); Lake Forest Church (Huntersville, N.C.); and Colonial Presbyterian Church in Kansas City.”

Of the $2,402,378 received, $480,548 (20 percent) was contributed to EPC World Outreach.

In addition to PMA contributions, the Office of the General Assembly received $5,579,940 in designated gifts in FY21. This total was $226,233 (4 percent) less than the $5,806,173 in designated gifts received in FY20. Designated gifts include support for World Outreach global workers and projects, and contributions to EPC Special Projects such as Emergency Relief, church planting and revitalization initiatives, and the EPC’s holiday offerings.

Of the total, $5,426,889 was designated for World Outreach workers and projects, and $153,051 was designated for EPC projects. These amounts only reflect gifts received and distributed by the Office of the General Assembly, and do not reflect donations given directly to WO global workers or other projects.

As noted in previous monthly reports, the decline in the total from FY20 is largely attributed to an anonymous $250,000 gift for church planting in December 2019 and more than $375,000 donated to the Emergency Relief Fund in 2019-2020 in response to Hurricane Dorian and the spring 2020 tornado outbreak.

“If we don’t consider any donations to church planting or emergency relief, giving to our global workers and designated funds is up more than $400,000 over last (fiscal) year,” Weaver said. “More than $360,000 of that was to support our World Outreach global workers. Who would have imagined when we closed the books on 2020 a year ago in the midst of the pandemic shutdown that a year later we would report this level of giving? God is so good!”

Reaping a harvest: Ward Church family befriends with apples

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Jen and Mike List

This summer, Ward Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Northville, Mich., is learning how to engage and befriend the people God has placed in its path. But turning neighbors into friends feels like it’s becoming a lost art. In people’s hectic lives, the last thing many want to do is try and cultivate any kind of relationship with those living on the other side of the privacy fence. And yet, that’s exactly what Mike and Jen List set out to do when they moved on to Harrison Street in Livonia, Mich., in 2014.

It may seem like that kind of neighborhood community now only lives in sitcoms and the memories of an older generation. But the Lists are proving that all it takes for authentic community to exist between neighbors is good food, warm hospitality, and a willingness to invite some intimacy and vulnerability into your lives.

It all started with apples.

The Lists’ home is situated on a full acre of land, and with that came a half a dozen or more apple trees. The apple harvest was plentiful in 2015, so they had an idea—invite the neighbors to help bring in the harvest, and then stick around and enjoy some of the fruits of their labors (pun intended). It wasn’t an entirely mercenary scheme. Jen had grown up in a close-knit neighborhood where everyone knew each other, and life easily flowed between homes. She wanted that again, especially for her two young daughters.

Mike List and his helpers grind freshly picked apples into cider.

“Neighbors were a big part of my life. We did everything with them,” Jen said. “So, when we moved here in Livonia, for me it was important to meet our neighbors.”

Even before they moved into their home, they came trick-or-treating in the neighborhood in hopes of meeting new people and establishing relationships. The harvest party was a natural next step for them in meeting more people. They printed flyers and went door to door, inviting everyone to their inaugural List Family Harvest Party.

“I like the quote, ‘If you’ve been blessed, build a bigger table, not a higher fence,” Mike said. “We thought it would be cool to have this Harvest Party. And we really did have a lot of apples.”

That first year, the turnout was modest, but the Lists started building friendships with those who came—especially two young families who lived nearby. Year after year, the harvest party grew. More families came. A chili cook-off was added, as well as doughnut taste-testing as people brought fresh doughnuts from cider mills around the state. The Harrison Street community grew with it.

“This is your community, whether you like it or not,” Jen said. “Regardless, you are sharing life with your neighbors so you might as well make the most of it.”

The Lists have hosted people from across the cultural spectrum. Musician friends, neighbor friends, work friends, church friends; people who would not necessarily hang out together have met at the List Family Harvest Party.

“Then you find out that random people know each other, or know someone who knows someone else, it shows just how small the world really is,” Jen said.

Article author Kelly Skarritt-Williams

This is where my family and I come in. We also moved onto Harrison Street in 2014. We lived a further down the road from the Lists, so didn’t meet them or learn about the annual harvest party until another life event threw us in their path. We met at the corner bus stop when our son and the Lists’ daughter were in kindergarten together. It’s amazing the conversations you have when you are waiting 15 minutes for the bus to show up. Soon, the Lists invited us to one of their “neighbor dinners” that they host throughout the year for young families living in and around Harrison Street.

To say that knowing them—and the other people we’ve met on our street—has been a blessing would be an understatement. I grew up not knowing my neighbors in any intimate way, but I had always longed for that. In fact, I had been praying for nearly three years to meet some families in the neighborhood with whom we could do life together.

For those of us in this neighbor friend group, we’ve seen the potential for spiritual conversations to emerge—even when not all the friends are Christians. Having a trusted relationship has opened doors to conversations and questions.

“Inviting people over was never about a mission or a project, but just a way to make friends,” Mike said. “However, conversations naturally come out of that because you are already a community.”

The community has grown to neighborhood text chains and sharing of resources. Tools, equipment, food—you name it, we share it. In addition to being a gardener, tree farmer, and musician, Mike also is a beekeeper, barista, and baker. Every once and a while we find baskets of bread and honey on our doorstep. My daughter has dubbed him the “bread fairy.”

In addition to summertime neighbor dinners, we plan holiday parties, birthday parties, camping trips, and bonfires. When my daughter was in the hospital for a few days in 2019, we came home to the neighborhood guys raking all the leaves in our yard.

“I feel like our neighborhood community has become one of the strongest communities we are a part of,” Jen said.

This community of friends and neighbors on Harrison Street exists today thanks to a family who didn’t wait for people to reach out to them. They reached out to others, opened their home, and allowed those seeds to produce a harvest of friendship.

More ideas for reaching your neighborhood

Want to start building a community in your neighborhood but not sure where to start? Do what comes naturally to you! Here are some ideas to start with. Just start reaching out. You never know who you might meet or what friendships might emerge!

  • Make cookies and drop off on doorsteps with a note.
  • Hang out in your front yard.
  • Hand out free lemonade to people walking by.
  • Plan a neighborhood bonfire.
  • Do a Rake and Run, or help with yard work or snow removal (e.g., clean the sidewalks after a big snow).
  • Build a little free library or use that space as a small food pantry.
  • Plan a neighborhood potluck and cookout.
  • Walk your neighborhood and stop and chat with people you pass (just be open to conversations that might happen spontaneously).
  • Be a curious person and genuinely interested in the people and things you might see around your neighborhood.
  • Take it upon yourself to keep your neighborhood clean, such as picking up any litter you find.
  • Be present and pay attention to the needs of your neighborhood. Is there a neighbor who seems like they might need a hand with something? Offer your help, but not in a pushy way.

by Kelly Skarritt-Williams
Ward Church Director of Digital Marketing and Communications

Jeff Jeremiah elected Stated Clerk Emeritus, honored at celebration dinner with testimonies, RTS fellowship space

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Jeff Jeremiah

The 41st General Assembly unanimously elected outgoing Stated Clerk Jeff Jeremiah as Stated Clerk Emeritus on June 25. Jeremiah served as Stated Clerk of the EPC since 2006 and retired from the role upon completion of his fifth three-year term in June 2021.

“I am so very thankful that the Lord allowed me to serve Him and His Church as Stated Clerk for the past 15 years,” Jeremiah said. “Just the fact the He used me is humbling, and for the EPC to honor me in this way goes beyond anything I would have thought when I accepted this call. It has not always been easy, but it has been a labor of love.”

Recommendation 41-09 from the National Leadership Team (NLT) was approved 375 to 0, and marked the only unanimous vote across the past two Assemblies in which ballots were cast electronically.

“After our fully virtual 40th General Assembly when Commissioners voted by Zoom, I thought we would never have another unanimous vote—I am thankful to have been proved wrong,” Jeremiah quipped.

Celebration Dinner

During the “Jeff and Cindy Jeremiah Celebration Dinner” program on June 24 hosted by Bill Dudley, several EPC colleagues shared remembrances of the Jeremiahs’ impact on their lives over the years.

“I had only been in the EPC a short time when I developed a medical issue,” said Dudley, Moderator of the 33rd General Assembly. He related to the audience that he had been in intensive care for more than a week.

“I had just been rolled that morning from intensive care to my room,” Dudley recalled. “I felt horrible. There came a knock on my door, and there was Jeff Jeremiah. That day, I was prayed for by a pastor who came to visit me and to care for me. He sat there an entire day while a snowstorm just kept blowing across Chattanooga. He did that for a pastor that needed care.”

Norine and Andrew Brunson spoke about Jeff Jeremiah’s impact during his two-year imprisonment in Turkey.

Andrew Brunson, EPC Teaching Elder who was imprisoned in Turkey from October 2016 through October 2018, recapped how Jeremiah leveraged contacts in Washington, D.C., made through 14 years of ministry at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, Md., on the Brunsons’ behalf—including then-Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

“How remarkable what Jeff did for someone he had never met, and never even talked to,” Brunson said. “We were known to very few people in the EPC, and Jeff changed that for someone he didn’t know. So many people prayed for me in the EPC … Jeff was the one that God was really using to raise this prayer up in the EPC.”

Brunson concluded by stated that he has known Jeff “for a lot less time than most of you in this room, but I don’t think there’s anybody who owes more to Jeff than I do.”

Other speakers at the dinner included Brunson’s wife, Norine; John Adamson, Moderator of the 12th General Assembly and a member of the 2006 Stated Clerk Search Committee; Dean Weaver, Moderator of the 37th General Assembly and Jeremiah’s successor as Stated Clerk; Nancy Duff, Teaching Elder in the Presbytery of the Pacific Southwest and former member of the National Leadership Team; Case Thorp, Moderator of the 39th General Assembly; and Mary Griffin, wife of Scott Griffin, Moderator of the 36th General Assembly. A video of the 80-minute program is available below.

Jeremiah Patio

Thorp, a Teaching Elder in the Presbytery of Florida and the Caribbean, announced the construction of the “Jeremiah Patio” on the campus of Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS)’s Orlando campus. The project is a joint effort between RTS and the presbyteries of Florida and the Caribbean, East, Gulf South, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and West.

The Jeremiah Patio at Reformed Theological Seminary’s Orlando campus is slated for the open area through the “loggia” under the clock tower at the school’s main entrance.

“We’ve always dreamed of having an outdoor fellowship space,” said Leigh Swanson, RTS Vice President of Community Relations. “The center of community activity on our campus is an area we call ‘the loggia,’ which is directly beyond our main entrance under the clock tower. Our students enjoy congregating on the green spaces just off the loggia, and the patio on that spot will be an immeasurable addition to campus life.”

Swanson said “the Presbytery of Florida and the Caribbean offered the lead gift to honor Jeff and Cindy this way, and everyone at RTS was thrilled with the idea. Five other presbyteries quickly joined the effort.”

When complete, the 32-by-16-foot patio will feature seating for up to 20 students, lighting, and two woodburning fire pits with removable tabletops. A dedication service is planned for this fall, Swanson said.

“RTS is honored to provide something for our students that recognizes long and faithful service to Christ and His church,” she added. “Jeff and Cindy have served Christ faithfully—and well—for so many years. Having their name on this outdoor gathering space where our students hang out every day is an opportunity that we couldn’t pass up.”

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Brad Strait elected Moderator of 41st General Assembly

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Brad Strait, Senior Pastor of Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church in Englewood, Colo., was elected Moderator of the EPC’s 41st General Assembly on June 23.

In his opening remarks, Strait noted that as a teenager he became a Christian in “one of the very first EPC churches as the EPC was being formed.”

“I grew up really not knowing anything but the fact that there is this denomination called the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, which stands for something,” he said. Later as a young businessman, Strait began serving in volunteer ministry leadership roles at the urging of Irv Rinehart, Moderator of the EPC’s second General Assembly.

Brad Strait (left) receives the Moderator’s cross and stole from Glenn Meyers, Moderator of the 40th General Assembly. (photo credit: Scott Wiest)

“I said yes, and that became a piece of what I did,” he said. “God blessed the whole church, and some of that excess flowed into our ministry. Eventually I was asked to leave the business world and become a pastor.”

He reported to the Assembly that he and his wife, Cathy, spent a week in fasting and prayer over the decision. “We heard nothing from God,” Strait confessed. “So as a step of faith I said, ‘let’s start walking this out and see what God tells us.’ He confirmed it, and the fact that the path has led here is completely overwhelming.”

Strait led the Assembly in a recitation of Psalm 119:68, “God, you are good. All you do is good. Show us your way.”

“I believe God is good, and everything He does is good,” Strait declared. “Which means the last year is good. And the next year will be good. And even if there is great difficulty and struggle and suffering ahead of us—and my brothers and sisters, I believe the world is going to get harder, not easier—the key is: will we find His way? Lord, show us what it is that you are doing that is good. That is my hope for the future. And that is my hope for the EPC.”

Strait has more than 30 years of pastoral experience, and also teaches at Denver Theological Seminary in both Leadership and Spiritual Formation. He served as a grief counselor following the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, the Aurora Theater tragedy in 2012, and the 2004 tsunami in south India. He has taught the Bible around the world and worked in refugee camps of Central America, South America, Africa, and Asia. He also has served as Chaplain for the Colorado House of Representatives, the Denver Rescue Mission, and several police and fire departments. He is a former Chairman of the EPC’s Ministerial Vocation Committee and was part of the team that produced the EPC’s Leadership Training Guide: A Resource for Pastors, Elders, and Churches.

He and his wife, Cathy, have been married for 39 years. They have three daughters and three granddaughters.

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41st General Assembly recordings available

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Video recordings of the 41st General Assembly are available on the EPC website at www.epc.org/ga2021recordings. Included are the Leadership Institute plenary sessions, worship service messages, committee verbal reports, dinner programs, and more.

The videos feature Ligon Duncan, Chancellor and CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Miss.; D.A. Carson, Emeritus Professor of New Testament for Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Ill..; George Robertson, Senior Pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tenn.; Rufus Smith, Senior Pastor of Hope Church in Memphis, Tenn.; Jeff Jeremiah, EPC Stated Clerk; Glenn Meyers, Moderator of the 40th General Assembly; and more.

In addition, audio recordings of the Leadership Institute seminars “Chaplains Workshop,” “Creating Church Planting Networks and Partnerships,” and “The Israel of God” are available. These also are available in podcast form on the EPC’s podcast channel at www.podcast.epc.org as well as Spotify and iTunes—search for “Evangelical Presbyterian Church.”

Audio recordings of numerous Networking Lunches will be available soon.

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2021 Leadership Institute: Chaplains Workshop

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In the 2021 Chaplains Workshop, Mark Ingles encouraged the Chaplains to remember their calling in settings that are often difficult.

“It’s hard to be a Chaplain,” Ingles said. “Every Chaplain who is doing their ‘ministry of presence’ is on the front lines, regardless of your military rank or where you fit in the hierarchy of your civilian institution or organization. You may get the idea—or actually be told—that you are only there to fulfill an organizational responsibility. But always remember, the people you minister to and support know your value. As does God, who is ultimately who we serve.”

Ingles also led the Chaplains in round-table discussions of how COVID-19 has impacted their ministries over the past 15 months.

“We were all impacted in one form or another,” Ingles said.

Ingles is the EPC Chaplain Endorser and is a Teaching Elder in the Presbytery of the West.

The Chaplains Workshop is part of the Leadership Institute, an equipping component of the annual General Assembly Meeting.

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2021 Leadership Institute: The Israel of God

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In the 2021 Leadership Institute seminar The Israel of God, Mike Kuhn examined an array of passages from both the Old and New Testaments in light of the question, “how we should understand ‘Israel’ biblically?” He also considered three implications regarding the current state of Israel:

First, the identity boundaries of Israel were never ethnic but covenantal.

“The sign of the covenant was the identity marker,” he said.

Second, the Old Testament anticipates what the New Testament teaches—an expansion of those boundaries in terms of both land and people.

Third, all nations are included in the Israel of God—people—and the promised land is a renewal of all creation.

“Jesus, in word and action, gave sufficient indication that the true people of God are those people who believe the testimony about Him and join themselves to him to become one with Him,” Kuhn said. “Jesus is the spiritual progenitor of a new people, a new nation consisting of both Jews and Gentiles.”

Kuhn emphasized that this new nation is the inclusive and expansive continuation of Old Testament Israel.

“The difference is that now the anointed prophet, priest, and king has appeared—God’s eternal purpose for His people is fulfilled in Christ,” he said. “To use the language of Hebrews, the shadow has now given way to the reality. In Christ, God’s purposes are not merely proclaimed, but achieved. Christ is the Israel of God.”

Kuhn serves as Missional Theology Specialist for EPC World Outreach’s International Theological Education Network (ITEN). For more than 28 years, he lived in three different Arab countries: Morocco, Egypt, and Lebanon, where he served as Professor of Biblical Theology and Discipleship at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Beirut from 2012-2018.

The Leadership Institute is an equipping component of the annual General Assembly meeting.

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2021 Leadership Institute: Creating Church Planting Networks

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In the 2021 Leadership Institute seminar Creating Church Planting Networks and Partnerships, Shane Sunn discussed three bottlenecks for starting a new church.

“First is having the right planter—an available, properly assessed church planter,” Sunn said. “We always want to have planters in the pipeline.”

He noted that the other two potential bottlenecks for planting a church are funding and location.

“We know where we want to go next, and it’s not always a city,” Sunn said. “We just planted a church in Kansas in a community of 2,500 people. But we always want to have a variety of options available—we don’t fully know how the Holy Spirit is working in the planter’s life.”

Sunn is Director of the Aspen Grove Church Planting Network in Denver, Colo.

The Leadership Institute is an equipping component of the annual General Assembly meeting.

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General Assembly check-in is underway

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Commissioner check-in for the 41st General Assembly has begun in earnest on Tuesday morning, June 22. The Assembly is June 22-25 at Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tenn. From left, registration staff Marti Ratcliff, Vanessa Mullendore, Rachel Joseph, and Cassie Shultz assist commissioners with their registration packets.

General Assembly kicks off on Tuesday, June 25, with the Leadership Institute. The plenary sessions, as well as Assembly business and worship services, are available via live stream at www.epc.org/ga2021livestream. More information on the 41st General Assemly, including a complete schedule of activities, is available at www.epc.org/ga2021.

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#epc2021ga the official General Assembly hashtag

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Add your voice to the proceedings of the 41st General Assembly by including the hashtag #epc2021ga on your social media posts. Connect your message with others on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms.

If you are not attending the Assembly, you can watch the live stream and monitor the social media feed at the same time at www.epc.org/ga2021livestream. The Leadership Institute plenary sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday, the worship services, and the business sessions will be available on the stream. Audio recordings of select Leadership Institute workshops and Networking Lunches will be available following the Assembly.

Start talking!

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GA worship services focus on Assembly theme of ‘God Will Restore’

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Worship services are an integral part of the EPC’s General Assembly meeting each year. The 41st GA is no exception, and the worship speakers will speak to the Assembly’s theme, “God Will Restore.” The 41st General Assembly will be held June 22-25 at Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tenn., and each of the messages will be available via live stream at www.epc.org/ga2021livestream.

Phil Linton, Director of EPC World Outreach, will speak prior to the opening business session on Wednesday, June 23. His message, “What Comes Before Restoration,” focuses on Philippians 1:1-30. The service begins at 3:15 p.m. (Central).

Jeff Jeremiah, outgoing EPC Stated Clerk, will preach on Wednesday evening, June 23. His message, “God Will Restore,” is based on the Assembly’s theme verse, Joel 2:25-27. An offering will be received for the EPC’s Restore Church Planter Health Fund. Proceeds will fund projects designed to help restore the emotional and spiritual health of EPC church planters in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The service begins at 7:30 p.m. (Central).

George Robertson, Second Presbyterian Church Senior Pastor, will deliver the message at the Morning Worship Service at 9:00 a.m. (Central) on Thursday, June 24. His message, “Encouragement for Ministry in Difficult Places,” is based on Jeremiah 1:13-19. An offering will be received for the EPC’s Restore Pastor Health Fund. As with the Wednesday evening offering, donations will fund projects designed to help restore the emotional and spiritual health of EPC pastors in light of the pandemic. The service begins at 9:00 a.m. (Central).

D.A. Carson will preach in the Global Worker Commissioning Service on Thursday evening, June 24. Carson is Emeritus Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Ill. His message, “Choosing Your Identity,” is based on Colossians 3:1-17. An offering will be received for the EPC’s Restore Global Worker Health Fund. Proceeds will fund projects designed to help restore the emotional and spiritual health of World Outreach global workers. The service begins at 7:30 p.m. (Central).

Glenn Meyers, Moderator of the 40th General Assembly, will lead the Moderator’s Service of Communion and Prayer at 9:00 a.m. (Central) on Friday, June 25. His message, “Be Aware. Be Transformed. Be Hopeful” focuses on Mark 13:3-13. An offering will be received for the EPC’s Moderator’s Scholarship Fund. Donations provide financial assistance to offset travel costs for ministers and Ruling Elders from smaller EPC churches who otherwise may not be able to attend General Assembly.

Click here for more information about the 41st General Assembly, including daily schedules, business items, and more.

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May 2021 EPC financial report: PMA support continues above budget, above 2019 level

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Contributions to Per Member Asking (PMA) received by the Office of the General Assembly in fiscal year 2021 (FY21) through May 31 total $2,189,082. The amount is $335,599 (18.1 percent) more than the $1,853,483 FY21 PMA support projection to fund the EPC’s Collaborative Ministries, Connectional Support, and Custodial Operations.

With one month to go in the fiscal year (which runs from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021), PMA contributions are $25,812 above the $2,163,270 contributed over the same period in FY20. In addition, May PMA support of $154,111 brought the 12-month rolling average for monthly PMA contributions to $201,471. The rolling average has now increased for three consecutive months and is 1 percent above the 12-month rolling average as of May 2020.

“When we presented a significantly reduced budget to the 40th General Assembly last September, none of us envisioned being where we are at the end of May,” said Stated Clerk Jeff Jeremiah. “I am very grateful for how our churches have supported PMA in this most unusual year.”

“Our churches continue to demonstrate amazing generosity to the EPC,” said Dean Weaver, Stated Clerk-elect. “The past three months especially are truly awe-inspiring. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for God’s grace toward us.”

Of the $2,189,082 received, $437,816 (20 percent) was contributed to EPC World Outreach.

In addition to PMA contributions, $5,153,361 in designated gifts were received through May 31. This total was $236,059 (4.4 percent) lower than the $5,389,420 in designated gifts received in the same period in FY20. As noted in previous monthly reports, the discrepancy is largely attributed to significant donations to the Emergency Relief Fund following Hurricane Dorian’s devastation in the Bahamas and North Carolina in September 2019, and several large anonymous gifts designated for church planting efforts. Not counting contributions to those two areas, giving to designated funds is $400,267 more than in FY20.

Of the total, $5,031,772 was designated for World Outreach workers and projects, and $121,589 was designated for EPC Special Projects such as Emergency Relief, church planting and revitalization initiatives, and the EPC’s Thanksgiving and Christmas offerings.

These amounts only reflect gifts received and distributed by the Office of the General Assembly, and do not reflect donations given directly to World Outreach global workers or other projects.

Updated mobile app available for 41st General Assembly

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The EPC’s GA mobile app, updated with information and content for the 41st General Assembly, is now available for Apple iOS and Android operating systems.

The app includes a wide variety of information, including daily schedules, meeting room locations, all GA-related documents including the Commissioner’s Handbook of action items and other information, permanent and interim committee reports, standing committee assignments and meeting details, and more. Users can donate to the worship service offerings and send prayer requests to the host church prayer team. The app also offers one-touch access to EPConnection (the EPC’s news and information service) and the denomination’s Facebook and Twitter feeds.

Previous users of the iOS version will need to update the app on their mobile device for the most current content (look for the EPC GA app under the “Updates” tab of the App Store).

New users can click here to download the GA app for iOS; click here to download for Android, or search for “EPC GA” in the iPhone App Store or the Google Play Store app.

The app was developed by the EPC Communications Department and AppsforMinistry.com.

The 41st General Assembly is June 22-25 at Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tenn. For more information, see www.epc.org/ga2021.

 

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Revised Procedure Manual for Ministerial and Candidates Committees now available

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The revised, second edition of the Procedure Manual for Ministerial and Candidates Committees is now available for download in PDF format. The Manual was developed by the EPC’s Ministerial Vocation Committee as a resource for EPC Presbyteries, churches, and ministerial candidates. The second edition includes amendments and legislative actions approved through the 38th General Assembly.

The manual can be downloaded at no cost from the EPC website at www.epc.org/downloads/#training and from the EPC Resources online store at www.epcresources.org.

“The Procedure Manual puts in one place the constitutional requirements from the Book of Order, practices required by our Acts of Assembly, and other helpful material,” said Jerry Iamurri, Assistant Stated Clerk. “It also contains sections that will have great value to search committees, Sessions, and Candidates Under Care.”

New to the second edition is “From Candidacy to Call: an Overview of the Ordination Process.” The section provides a high-level overview of the process of the pastoral call, including steps and milestones for candidates, search committees, and Presbytery Ministerial and Candidates committees.

Another change from previous editions is that forms, checklists, and other resources designed to be used by Presbyteries and churches are not included in the second edition, but rather provided as links to downloadable forms on the EPC website.

“Many of these forms are updated—sometimes multiple times—between printings of the Manual,” Iamurri explained. “These forms have been available on the EPC website all along. With this edition we included an Appendix that includes a clickable link for each form, which will always be the most current version.”

41st General Assembly final preparations underway

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In an annual tradition, it’s “all hands on deck” for the staff of the Office of the General Assembly compiling registration packets for the 41st General Assembly. From left, Cathy Flores, Marti Ratcliff, Vanessa Mullendore, Pat Coelho, Zenaida Bermudez, Rachel Joseph, Liz Francescone, Wosene Scott, April Hair, Catherine Rutter, Cassie Shultz, Janet Linton, and Phil Linton ensure that each on-site Commissioner’s lanyard receives the proper credentials, meal tickets, and more.

The 41st General Assembly will be held June 22-25 at Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tenn.

Go to www.epc.org/ga2021 for complete GA information, including schedule, worship speakers, business session documents, and more.

#epc2021ga

Commissioner’s Handbook, committee reports available for 41st General Assembly

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The 41st General Assembly Commissioner’s Handbook and reports from the EPC’s permanent and interim committees to the Assembly are now available for download in PDF format at www.epc.org/ga2021documents. The Handbook is available in its entirety as well by individual sections.

The Assembly will be held June 22-25 at Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tenn.

“Every Commissioner should take time between now and the Assembly to familiarize themselves with the 30 Recommendations we will act on,” said Jeff Jeremiah, Stated Clerk.

Other documents available include the 2020 Annual Church Report; Auditor’s reports of the EPC’s Combined Financial Statements and Benefit Resources, Inc, (BRI) Benefits Plan and BRI Retirement Plan financial statements; Churches Received, Dismissed, and Dissolved in 2020-2021; Provisional Minutes of the 40th General Assembly, and more.

In addition, Commissioner assignments for the Standing Committees on Administration, Memorials and Appreciation, Theology, and World Outreach are available. In-person Commissioners will participate in Standing Committees on Thursday, June 24.

In addition to the GA Documents page of the website, all permanent and committee reports for the 2020-2021 ministry year are available at www.epc.org/committees/reports.

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Phil Linton reflects on seven years as Director of World Outreach

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Phil Linton

At the end of this month, I will step down after seven years as Director of World Outreach. I want to reflect here on four developments I’ve seen in our work during that time.

Internationalized Church-planting Teams

The EPC World Outreach global workers we send out from North America almost always end up teaming with spiritual brothers and sisters sent out from Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. These relationships are rarely orchestrated from denominational or mission agency headquarters, but rather are organic partnerships that grow as disciple-makers from very different cultures discover each other working on the same task directed by the same Spirit.

Second-generation EPC WO Global Workers

By Presbyterian standards EPC World Outreach is relatively young, having sent out its first workers in 1985. But in recent years we have seen adult children (Jackie, Peter, and Josh) from three different EPC WO families return with the EPC into full-cycle church planting among people with least access to the gospel. With these folks we build on the foundation of decades of the very best preparation for cross-cultural ministry.

Repatriated Immigrant Global Workers

The dream of escape to America—the Land of Opportunity—is still very much alive throughout much of the world. Few who have achieved that dream give it up and return to the lands of their birth, but we in EPC World Outreach have several families where at least one spouse fits that description. These families have unusual credibility with neighbors who recognize they are animated by a power greater than material success. Coupling that credibility with a deep understanding of local culture to share the gospel has had a major impact in many cases.

National Church Missional Leaders

As World Outreach Director, I receive several requests each week from Christians around the world, asking for “partnership.” Of course, partnership may have many different meanings, but usually these appeals are for funds to carry out ministry in their communities. As important as these ministries are, I routinely turn down such requests to focus our resources and energies on a different kind of partnership.

World Outreach has developed close relationships with church leaders in Asia and Africa whose eyes are always on the frontiers of their communities. They look beyond where their churches are, to the neighborhoods, villages, and towns where no churches are. They pray for those places; they go to those places; they train and send people to those places; and EPC WO comes alongside to help them. Our efforts here become magnified and multiplied for a hundred-fold effect.

One final note: these developments in World Outreach have been gifts from God through the labors of people other than me. It has been the labors of loving missionary parents which have borne sweet fruit in the lives of our World Outreach MKs. It has been the faithful service of elders in our presbyteries who nurtured relationships with national church missional leaders in places like Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Albania, and Russia. It has been EPC pastors who welcomed and befriended immigrant Christians in their congregations, and then encouraged and guided them to be sent back by EPC World Outreach. And it has been our WO global workers who have recognized “God’s team” in the faces of El Salvadoran, Brazilian, Singaporean, Indonesian, Albanian, etc. brothers and sisters and reached out hands to work together. To all of you, I say thank you for your service to Christ, and for making my work as WO Director a joy.

Grace and peace,

Phil Linton
Director, EPC World Outreach

Church Revitalization Workshop session 7 recording, other resources now available

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The recording of the final session of the 2020-2021 Church Revitalization Workshop is now available. “How our identity in Christ, leading change, and overcoming barriers can lead to revitalization” was hosted by Doug Resler, Senior Pastor of Parker Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Parker, Colo. Panelists were:

Recordings of the entire seven-part workshop are available on the EPC website at www.epc.org/churchrevitalizationworkshop, as well as resources for church and personal revitalization recommended by each of the facilitators. In addition, written summaries of each month’s session are available in Spanish.

Audio podcast versions are available on the EPC’s podcast channel at podcast.epc.org, as well as Spotify and iTunes (search for “Evangelical Presbyterian Church”).

General Assembly to consider new Presbyteries, Book of Government amendments, Approved Agency separation

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Commissioners to the 41st General Assembly will vote on a variety of recommendations from the EPC’s permanent and interim committees and boards. The Assembly is June 22-25 at Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tenn. The meeting is the EPC’s first “hybrid” General Assembly, in which Commissioners will participate both in-person and virtually.

“Since our hybrid format requires us to close registration on June 4 and not permit walk-up registrations or day passes at the Assembly, we wanted to announce ahead of time some of the business items that the Assembly will consider,” said Jeff Jeremiah, EPC Stated Clerk.

Presbytery of the Mid-Atlantic

The Presbytery of the Mid-Atlantic is overturing the Assembly to split into three presbyteries, effective January 1, 2022. With 117 churches, the Presbytery of the Mid-Atlantic is the EPC’s largest. Between 20 and 73 churches comprise each of the EPC’s other 13 presbyteries, and each of the new presbyteries would include a similar number of congregations.

Theology Committee

The Theology Committee is recommending that the Assembly withdraw approval of Bethany Christian Services (BCS) as an Approved Agency of the EPC. A Christian adoption and child services organization, BCS announced in March 2021 that they would change their national policy and begin placing children with same-sex couples.

“This recommendation is not set before the General Assembly lightly,” said Zach Hopkins, Theology Committee Chairman. “Our committee was asked to review the EPC’s relationship to BCS in light of our commitments to Scripture, the Westminster Standards, and our Constitution—especially as it is expressed in our Position Papers. When this matter was first brought to the attention of the General Assembly, the concern was focused on only one specific chapter of Bethany’s organization. However, within two years, Bethany has made the approval of same-sex adoption a matter of national policy. The EPC cannot in good conscience remain in partnership with an agency that does not align with the doctrine and practice of the historic Christian faith.”

Hopkins is a Teaching Elder in the Presbytery of the Rivers and Lakes, and serves as Pastor of Edgington Presbyterian Church in Taylor Ridge, Ill.

The Theology Committee also will present a motion to amend the EPC’s Book of Government regarding ministry to and inclusion of the disabled.

National Leadership Team

The National Leadership Team (NLT) is presenting a motion to name current Stated Clerk Jeff Jeremiah as Stated Clerk Emeritus upon his retirement at the conclusion of the Assembly.

Case Thorp, NLT Chairman, said the committee’s decision to honor Jeremiah with the title “was unanimous and easy.”

Other motions presented by the National Leadership Team are the EPC’s fiscal year 2022 administration budget and Special Projects, as well as an in-depth description of the role and purpose of the Office of the General Assembly.

Nominating Committee

The Nominating Committee is presenting Brad Strait, Teaching Elder in the Presbytery of the West, as its nominee for Moderator, and Rosemary Lukens, Ruling Elder in the Presbytery of the Pacific Northwest as Moderator-elect. Strait serves as Senior Pastor of Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church in suburban Denver, Colo. Lukens is a Ruling Elder for Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church in Gig Harbor, Wash.

“I am thrilled that Rosemary accepted the Nominating Committee’s invitation to be presented as Moderator-elect,” said Dean Weaver, Stated Clerk-elect. “She has served with distinction on the National Leadership Team and will bring a wealth of leadership development experience to the role.”

Chaplains Work and Care Committee

The Chaplains Work and Care Committee (CWCC) will present a motion to amend sections of the Book of Government and Book of Worship that address Chaplains’ administering of the sacraments. The CWCC also will present for vote a revised Policy Statement on Chaplain Ministry to Same-Sex Couples and LGBTQ individuals.

Giving Culture Study Committee

The Giving Culture Study Committee will recommend that a proposed change in the EPC’s funding formula from Per Member Asking (PMA) to Percent of Budget (POB) be sent to all Presbyteries and churches for study. On Thursday afternoon, June 24, committee member Scott McKee will present the rationale behind the formula change. His presentation will be available to virtual participants and those viewing the live stream, and will take place concurrent with the Assembly’s Standing Committee meetings. McKee, a Teaching Elder in the Presbytery of the Midwest, serves as Senior Pastor of Ward Presbyterian Church in suburban Detroit.

In addition to the business items, Weaver will be installed as the EPC’s fourth Stated Clerk, and Gabriel de Guia introduced as the new Executive Director of EPC World Outreach.

The Commissioner’s Handbook includes each of the recommendations to the Assembly. The Handbook will be posted on the EPC website at www.epc.org/ga2021documents no later than June 1.

Registration for the 41st General Assembly ends on Friday, June 4, at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern). Online registration is available at www.epc.org/ga2021.

#epc2021ga

General Assembly registration fees double June 1, registration closes June 4

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If you have not yet registered for the 41st General Assembly, June 22-25 at Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tenn., please don’t delay—registration fees double on June 1 and registration closes on June 4 at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern). Click here to register now.

This year’s meeting is the EPC’s first “hybrid” General Assembly, in which Commissioners will participate both in-person and virtually. In addition, the worship services and business sessions will be available via live stream on the EPC website at www.epc.org/ga2021livestream.

“Closing registration on June 4 ensures that we have a final list of virtual Commissioners in enough time to send the login credentials to the Zoom component as well as the orientation meetings,” said Jeff Jeremiah, EPC Stated Clerk. “It also gives our office time to ensure that all Ruling Elder certification forms have been received for our registered Ruling Elders.”

Two virtual Commissioners Orientation meetings are scheduled. The identical meetings will be held Tuesday, June 15, from 4:00-5:30 p.m., and Thursday, June 17, from 7:00-8:30 p.m.

Jeremiah noted that the orientation meetings are recommended for all participants.

“Like last year’s fully virtual format, we will all be ‘new Commissioners’ at this hybrid General Assembly,” Jeremiah said. “It is important for everyone to understand how we will conduct this meeting, since there will be some differences from past years when we have been able to gather exclusively in person.”

Registered Commissioners will be emailed the link to the orientation meetings no later than Tuesday, June 8.

In other GA-related news, final editing of the Commissioner’s Handbook and Committee Reports is nearing completion. These and other Assembly documents will be posted on the EPC website no later than June 1.

Online registration is available at www.epc.org/ga2021.

#epc2021ga

Church Revitalization Workshop concludes May 26

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The EPC’s seven-part virtual Church Revitalization Workshop concludes on Wednesday, May 26, with a discussion of how the believer’s identity in Christ, leading change, and overcoming barriers can lead to revitalization in the local church. Previous installments of the monthly series focused on the revitalization of the Session, the revitalization of the pastor, and revitalizing the congregation through evangelism.

Facilitators of the workshop include Bryn MacPhail, Senior Pastor of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Kirk in Nassau, Bahamas; Doug Resler, Senior Pastor of Parker Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Parker, Colo.; and Mike Wright, Pastor of Littleton Christian Church in Littleton, Colo.

The workshop will be held from 4:00-6:00 p.m. (Eastern) and is open to both Teaching Elders and Ruling Elders. For more information, recordings of previous sessions, or to register for the final installment, see www.epc.org/churchrevitalizationworkshop.

Second Presbyterian Church offers localized theological education through Memphis City Seminary

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Carl Ellis, Provost’s Professor of Theology and Culture at Reformed Theological Seminary, teaches Minority Church History for Memphis City Seminary in February 2021 at Second Presbyterian Church.

Starting a new seminary during a pandemic would not appear to be a wise thing to do. But when the purpose and strategy of Memphis City Seminary (MCS) are taken into consideration, it makes total sense. A ministry of Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, MCS launched in February 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic began sweeping across the United States.

The organizers weren’t sure of the seminary’s immediate future at the time, recalled Taylor Tollison, MCS Director of Operations, who also serves as Domestic Outreach Coordinator for Second Presbyterian Church. Yet in looking back, he said the school’s flexible, local-oriented model—plus low tuition cost of $100 per credit hour—turned out to be “a great approach” during a time of restrictions on travel and in-person gatherings.

He explained that from the beginning, the seminary was designed to provide not only flexibility in academic preparation for ministry, but also a focus on “place-based” education. That means that MCS, training students for ministry in the urban landscape of Memphis, would ensure its students would gain an understanding of how their biblical and theological studies would be applied in their local context. Specifically, recent U.S. Census data shows that the Memphis metro area of more than 5 million is nearly 48 percent African American and only 43 percent non-Hispanic white.

Taylor Tollison

“MCS offers a distinct curriculum that is designed to prepare pastors for the Memphis context and the surrounding region,” Tollison said. “We want to learn from those voices in theological education that are often underrepresented by offering specific courses and requiring specialized reading.”

Tollison noted that a key value of MCS is that the seminary views its students as more than just “academic thinkers.”

“Our hope is that our students will receive a holistic and comprehensive theological education that equips them in four key areas: knowledge, character, skills and vision,” he said. “Our aim is not merely to transfer information to the mind, but to take part in the full-orbed formation of Christian leaders. We believe the demands of gospel ministry require the whole person to be equipped—not merely the mind.”

George Robertson

George Robertson, Senior Pastor of Second Presbyterian Church and MCS Academic Dean, said the school’s faculty are “pastoral scholars” who integrate education with practical ministry.

“We are making our experience and the best of biblical and theological scholarship available and affordable to Christ-centered leaders in Memphis,” he said.

Brian Lewis, Second Presbyterian Church’s Director of Domestic Outreach, serves as MSC’s Executive Director. He said the seminary is “well on its way” to providing affordable, high-level education for ministers who do not want to leave Memphis to receive their theological education.

Brian Lewis

“We are attracting bivocational workers and many people of color,” Lewis said. “We strive to be very multi-cultural, which mirrors our Memphis culture. We believe we will also steadily attract students regionally and nationally, because Memphis has world-wide appeal.”

Rufus Smith, Senior Pastor of Hope Presbyterian Church in Memphis and a member of MCS’ Board, said that he often promotes the seminary’s “affordability, accessibility, and action-oriented training for gospel ministry in churches, non-profits, and the marketplace.”

Tollison said MCS is officially “authorized” by the State of Tennessee—which legitimatizes it as a school of higher learning—and is pursing official accreditation through the Association for Biblical Higher Education and the Association of Reformed Theological Seminaries. He hopes MSC will receive full accreditation in three to five years.

The groundwork for MSC started in 2006 when Second Presbyterian Church began to envision what an urban seminary for Memphis might look like, with the ultimate goal to offer an entire Master of Divinity degree locally. From 2006 to 2009, a venue for offering seminary education was through the Memphis Center for Urban Studies initiative. In 2009, Second Presbyterian Church began hosting a Reformed Theological Seminary extension site.

Limitations Lead to Vision

For the next 10 years, Lewis and his wife, Joanne, directed the RTS extension. Students could begin their seminary degree in Memphis, but were only eligible for a Certificate of Biblical Studies (CBS) upon the completion of 29 hours. After 29 hours students could complete an MA degree online, or for other degrees were required to transfer to a degree-granting seminary location to complete their coursework.

To bridge this gap in local seminary education, MCS was launched in November 2019 as a degree-granting seminary for both Master of Arts in Biblical Studies and Master of Divinity degrees. Twenty degree-seeking RTS students joined 30 other students to bring the initial enrollment to 50.

Spring 2021 enrollment has grown to 60 students—35 men and 25 women—with 16 of those being minority students. Local churches represented by MCS students include Downtown Church, Fellowship Memphis, First Evangelical Church, Hope Church, Second Presbyterian Church, and The Avenue Community Church.

“One of the things I love most about my job,” said Joanne Lewis, MCS Director of Enrollment, “is to see students in our classroom who have dreamed, prayed, and waited for an opportunity to pursue their theological education but until now were unable to do so.”

Braden Tyler

Braden Tyler, a teacher and soccer coach at a private Christian school in inner-city Memphis, is one of those students.

“I am 31 years old and have wanted to do seminary ever since becoming a believer [while] in college,” Tyler said. “However, college debt, getting married, and having children kept me from pursuing this. All the seminaries that I wanted to attend were too expensive and not located in the city of Memphis. I could do online seminary, but it would be too expensive for me and it would be a lonely road.”

He noted that relocating to an in-resident seminary would require quitting his job, moving to a new city, and having his wife get a job in order for him to be a full-time student.

“Unsatisfactory options like this kept putting seminary on the back burner,” Tyler said. “Then along came MCS—an affordable, flexible, and local seminary that could give me the high quality, biblical education that I wanted. I could keep my job and keep my family in our city. Christians shouldn’t have to pay thousands upon thousands of dollars and have to leave the context of their city in order to get a seminary degree. I have talked to many people and it seems that seminaries like this could be the future for the church.”

He said that after he receives a degree from MSC, his goal is to continue his education by pursuing a PhD to teach in a seminary or become a pastor.

Denny Catalano

Denny Catalano, director of Campus Outreach in Memphis, said MSC is “a great complement” to his work.

“I chose Memphis City Seminary because I wanted to grow in my knowledge of God, in my character, and in my skills to more effectively reach the lost and shepherd my team,” he said. “We serve a very broad ethnic and cultural demographic, so I was looking for something that would give me a broad and thorough understanding of God and how He has worked throughout history among all nations. I count it a great privilege to be able to learn from some of the best scholars out there while being able to collaborate and learn alongside people ministering in a broad array of contexts.”

Bradley Morrow, Second Presbyterian Church’s Recreation Coordinator, said MSC makes a seminary education financially possible for him.

Bradley Morrow

“MCS has allowed me to gain a sound theological education that is affordable and allows me to work a full-time job where I am able to apply what I am learning in class to my ministry in the city,” he said. “MCS is equipping me to read, study, and teach the Scriptures in a way that reveals Jesus and proclaims the gospel as good news to every ZIP code in the city.”

Tyler agreed, adding that is it is a “big advantage” taking seminary classes alongside people from the city where you live.

“This is very unifying for a city and for churches,” Tyler said. “The next spiritual leaders of the community are people who have been trained in the same seminary and are friends with each other. This seminary can provide classes that fit the needs of Memphis and can better train leaders to impact this city.”

For more information on Memphis City Seminary, see www.memphiscityseminary.org

by Tim Yarbrough
EPConnection correspondent

General Assembly women’s gatherings feature discipleship, connection opportunities

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Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tenn., is hosting several gatherings designed for women attending the 41st General Assembly, June 22-25.

TESS Talks Dinner

“Growing as Word-filled Women” is the theme for the annual TESS Talks dinner on Wednesday, June 23. Speakers are Mary Willson Hannah, Leesa Jensen, Kelsie Ellison, and Rong Guo. Willson is Director of Women’s Ministry at Second Presbyterian Church. Jensen and Ellison serve on the women’s Bible study teaching team at Second Presbyterian Church. Guo was trained as a surgeon in China and came to the United States in 1999. She accepted Christ in 2000, was baptized at Second Presbyterian Church in 2001, and has since served as a workplace chaplain, assistant youth group teacher, and a children’s leader with Bible Study Fellowship.

Modeled after the popular “Ted Talks,” TESS (Teaching, Encouragement, and Spiritual Sustenance) Talks offer practical discussions on topics of interest for women across the EPC.

Ministry Wives Luncheon

“The Joys and Challenges of Following Christ as a Ministry Spouse” is the topic of this year’s Ministry Wives Luncheon on Thursday, June 24. The speakers are Lynn Erickson, whose husband, Todd, serves as Pastoral Executive for Second Presbyterian Church; Gina Johnson, whose husband, Tim, serves as pastor of the EPC church plant The Avenue Community Church in Memphis; and Sarah Sadlow, whose husband, Ron, served on the pastoral staff at Second for 32 years.

Female Teaching Elders Networking Lunch

On Friday, Carolyn Poteet will host the annual Networking Lunch for women Teaching Elders (and ordination candidates) to connect, encourage, and pray for one another. Poteet serves as Lead Pastor for Mt. Lebanon Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, Pa.

For details about these gatherings, see www.epc.org/ga2021womensevents.

For more information about the 41st General Assembly, including registration, daily schedules, and more, see www.epc.org/ga2021.

#epc2021ga

May Jeremiah Journal offers reflections on 15 years as Stated Clerk

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In the May 2021 (and final) edition of The Jeremiah Journal, EPC Stated Clerk Jeff Jeremiah reflects on his 15 years as EPC Stated Clerk, and thanks a number of individuals and groups he has served with. Jeremiah is retiring as Stated Clerk following the 41st General Assembly in June 2021.

The Jeremiah Journal is a monthly video blog hosted on the EPC’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/EPChurch80. Each month’s update also is posted to EPConnection and the EPC’s Facebook page and Twitter feed. An audio podcast version is available on the EPC’s podcast channel at podcast.epc.org, as well as Spotify and iTunes (search for “Evangelical Presbyterian Church”).

For a transcript of this month’s edition in printable pdf format, click here.