THURSDAY
July 25, 2024
Announcements
July Birthdays
Video Message from the General Presbyter: Montreat
The Rev. John Molina-Moore
Video Message from the General Presbyter: Follow-up to Special Meeting and More on the Missional Incubator
The Rev. John Molina-Moore
From the Desk of Rev. David Baer, Stated Clerk
From the Desk of Rev. Tara Spuhler McCabe, Dir. Congregational Dev. & Mission
From the Desk of Heather Deacon, Director of Business Affairs
Thank you to NCP’s GA Commissioners
Building Community, Making Peace: A Restorative Church Gathering
August 3 – The Church of the Epiphany
Save the Date! Hearts and Minds Prepared for Worship
August 17 – Union Presbyterian Seminary
Sail Away with Us! Retirement Party
September 7 – Celebrating the Rev. Bernice Parker-Jones
Ally Training
September 10-11 – via Zoom
Presbyterian Women Fall Gathering: Mental Health of Youth
September 14 – Saint Mark Presbyterian Church
Dialogue for Peaceful Change Training (collaboration between NCP, Baltimore and New Castle Presbyteries)
September 16-19 – Lewinsville Presbyterian Church
Stewardship Kaleidoscope – Real Tools for Real Ministry
September 23-25 –Portland, OR
Celebrate Dr. Laddie Bell’s 30 Years of Music Ministry
October 13 – Northeastern Presbyterian Church
Announcements:
Pastoral Concerns:
UPDATED: As mentioned in a previous TM, with deep sorrow, we share the passing of Rev. Lloyd Kinzer (Retired) on May 30, 2024. Rev. Kinzer served as Parish Associate at United Christian Parish, Reston (UCP) as well as preaching regularly at Eastminster Presbyterian Church. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 10, 2024 at 4:00 PM (NEW TIME due to event in Reston) at the United Christian Parish.
Healthy Boundaries Training: The Ministry Relations Team (MRT) of the Committee on Ministry (COM) is actively reviewing our Healthy Boundaries Training. If you are due to renew, look for an upcoming TM announcement.
In the news…
United Korean Presbyterian Church partners with National Capital Presbytery and a national staffer to better align with the PC(USA)’s Constitution – Click here for article by Presbyterian News Service
The offices of National Capital Presbytery will be closed August 5 – August 9. We are always mindful of the effect that operating budget spending has on per capita. Each year we utilize the Office Fund to subsidize per capita. There is a common misunderstanding that the Office Fund only covers rent for NCP offices; however, it is used to pay for a variety of expenses related to our operating expenses. Without that fund, per capital rates would be significantly higher.
As we continue to consider creative ways to respond to rising per capita costs, NCP has again elected to close the presbytery offices for two weeks during the year, allowing staff to have paid leave without using their allotted time off. This was done in lieu of the full COM COLA recommendation (4.4% was the recommendation and NCP staff received a 2.2% COLA). The first of these sabbath weeks is August 5-9 and the second will be December 2327.
SAVE THE DATE: Presbytery-Wide Installation Service, Saturday, October 19, 2024 @ 3:00 PM at Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church. We are excited to announce our preacher will be the newly elected and installed Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Rev. Jihyun Oh.
Dear Colleagues,
The 226th General Assembly met this summer, first in committees that gathered online, and then all together for several days of plenary sessions at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City. National Capital Presbytery was represented by our commissioners, Rev. Dr. Chris Deacon, Elder Lou Durden (Northminster), Elder Mark Eakin (Warner Memorial), Elder Jesy Littlejohn (Oaklands), Rev. Dean McDonald, Rev. Bernice Parker-Jones; and by Young Adult Advisory Delegate Jackie Hager (Lewinsville).
The 226th General Assembly:
• Met in person in plenary for the first time since the 223rd General Assembly in 2018.
• Elected the Rev. CeCe Armstrong, of Charleston-Atlantic Presbytery, and the Rev. Tony Larson, of New Harmony Presbytery, as co-moderators. With the assembly’s adoption of new Standing Rules, under which moderators will be elected at the end of each biennial meeting instead of the beginning, these co-moderators will have the unique privilege of presiding over two successive General Assemblies before installing their successors.
• Approved a budget that includes per capita rates of $10.84 for 2025 and $11.26 for 2026. (The total per capita assessment for members of NCP congregations will be the sum of the rates for General Assembly, the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic, and National Capital Presbytery.)
• Responded to overtures with which NCP concurred:
o POL-02: On Amending D-7.0501 Regarding Minors and Vulnerable Adults
The assembly approved an amendment to the Church Discipline section of the Book of Order that reminds clerks of session or presbytery stated clerks of their obligation to report to civil authorities any knowledge of harm or risk of harm to vulnerable persons, when they receive a disciplinary accusation. If also approved by a majority of presbyteries, the amendment will be included in the next edition of the Book of Order.
o ENV-02: On Removal of Investments In and Subsidies for Fossil Fuels
The assembly initially acted to approve the recommendation, and then upon reconsideration acted to disapprove it. While many commissioners emphasized the urgency of the climate crisis, others expressed concerns about divestment affecting the ability of the Committee on Mission Responsibility through Investing (MRTI) to continue ongoing advocacy work with fossil fuel companies.
o ENV-03: On Becoming Free from Plastic Pollution
The assembly voted to approve the recommendation, encouraging Presbyterians to
work to eliminate single-use plastics, and commending a number of resources to the church.
• Acted on many other items of business, including these two, which touch on the life of our presbytery and its congregations:
o POL-01: On Amending the Book of Order to Include Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Among the Categories Against Which This Church Does Not Discriminate
The assembly approved two amendments to the Book of Order:
1. Adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the language describing the diversity of persons united in Christ through baptism in the Foundations section’s provision on “Unity in Diversity” (F-1.0403).
2. Adding two new requirements to the provision on the examination of church officers (that is, elders, deacons, and ministers of the Word and Sacrament) in G2.0104b. The new language would require an examination to cover “the Historic Principles of Church Order (F-3.01),” as well as the “principles of participation and representation found in F-1.0403.”
The presbyteries will now have the opportunity to vote on each of these proposed amendments. If approved by a majority of the presbyteries, they will be included in the next edition of the Book of Order.
o POL-13: Request for Authoritative Interpretation on Celebrating the Lord’s Supper within an Electronic Worship Service
The assembly approved an authoritative interpretation of the PCUSA Constitution stating that it is appropriate to celebrate the Lord’s Supper through electronic means, also referring the matter to the Office of Theology and Worship to develop a fuller authorized interpretation for presentation to the next General Assembly.
I can attest that our commissioners carried out their work with openness, creativity, thoughtfulness, and good humor! They now will serve as members of the presbytery’s Bills and Overtures Committee, helping to interpret the work of the General Assembly and to present the proposed amendments to the Book of Order for action by this presbytery.
Thank you for your prayers for all who participated in this year’s General Assembly for their safe travels, and for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in their discernment. I feel blessed to have been able to join with this body in worship, to hear their deliberations, and to pray with and for them through the course of their work.
Grace and Peace,
Rev. David A. Baer, Stated Clerk
Greetings People,
Here are some important updates into the summer and fall that we hope you can put on your radar!
1. CDC and MCC are working this summer to update all GRANT and SCHOLARSHIP language and applications. When you go to the Common Grants Page on the NCP website, please be sure to contact me (Tara) so that you are sure to connect with the correct form or have access to the updated information.
2. Dialogue for Peaceful Change September Training! There are limited spaces See flyer in this TM (Thursday Mail).There will be future trainings in January and May of 2025.
3. Allyship Training with Service Never Sleeps, September 10th and 11th You can find the needed information in this TM. Registration is required.
4. Mini Matthew25 Summit with Baltimore Presbytery, October 26th! This is organized in coordination between the two Dismantling Racism Teams of Baltimore and National Capital Please be sure to look at the attached flyer in this TM
5. Throughout the fall, we will continue to host online sessions around playing and working through your CAT (Church Assessment Tool) and MissionInsite (demographics). These tools are supportive and useful only if we can work with them. You deserve to have access to all the tools you need as disciples in this Faith Journey! Look for upcoming dates and topics in August.
6. Keep Awake Youth Gathering in Massanetta Springs, November 22-24th! This is ideal for churches with smaller numbers of high school students who would benefit in connecting with other Presbyterian youth Current registration is open. Please follow the TM Flyer information. If you need any creative assistance in transportation or chaperones, please contact my desk and maybe we can connect you with other congregations in our presbytery.
While on vacation in Austria, I recently had the opportunity to travel 120 meters underground to a salt mine Plastered within the mine, I encountered a simple and fantastic quote:
What I call crystallization here is the work of the spirit that discovers new perfections of the beloved object in everything that presents itself.
- Le Rameau de Salzbourg from De l’amour Stendhal (1822)
Aside from going ‘down’ the rabbit hole of Stendhal, I was struck to encounter an articulation of the sacred within the depths of creation I was so grateful to encounter this truth within my faith that in the midst of an incredible engineering design of cultivating salt over thousands and thousands of years, BELOVEDNESS always exists and is recognized by our Savior As we go through these days, know that we are God’s Beloved!
Peace and Courage, Rev. Tara Spuhler McCabe
Greetings Ministry Partners,
I hope you all are enjoying the interruption of rhythm that summer often provides! Sermon series, altered worship times, vacations, camps, vacation bible school, special music – all things that break up our routine and often ask us to look at things a little differently.
As of this writing, preparations for the 2025 Operating & Mission budgets are well underway. The Budget & Finance Committee recently sent out guidance to each committee/commission for developing their budgets for the coming year. In that guidance, they shared what many in our churches already know to be true: the challenges of today are going to require us to look at things a bit differently.
2025 brings opportunity for new: new presbytery office space, new ways of imagining insurance, commissions/committees merging and realigning resources, and new initiatives. With each new possibility, we continue to hold the tension of how to do more with less. That’s where the reimagining comes in – the change in perspective.
Over the summer, the hard work of reimagining will be shaped and molded by stories from across the Presbytery about who and what is important to us, culminating in our 2 budgets: Operating and Mission. Those budgets will reflect who we are and our vision of where we are going. Then, at the November Presbytery Meeting, you, the body of National Capital Presbytery, will review and vote on that vision in the form of those budgets.
Doing a new thing, reimagining, is hard work. I encourage you to pray for your colleagues AND engage with them on what programs and opportunities are important to you and the congregations you serve. Evaluate whose voices we hear and whose voices are missing. Dream about where we need to go next. Share your wonderings, questions, and conclusions.
I’m looking forward to the 2025 budget process and I hope you are, too!
As always, please reach out with any questions you might have about our budgets or their development process.
Blessing, Heather
