Stan Ott and the Acts 16:5 Initiative

What a treat we had in the sermon and feature presentation by Stan Ott, Director of the Vital Churches Institute! Stan was with us to introduce the Acts 16:5 Initiative, a program of support and consultation with congregations interested in transforming themselves to meet the demands of being the church in the 21^st century. The program is designed to give congregations

The presbytery voted unanimously to approve a contract with Vital Churches Institute to conduct an Acts 16:5 Initiative here.

There will be an Introductory Retreat for the Initiative on 19-20 February 2009, at Montgomery Conference Center. Look for a brochure with details in the near future. Don’t miss this opportunity to help your congregation grow in faith and discipleship.

Welcoming Do In Kim

We welcome into our fellowship a new Organizing Pastor: the Rev. Do In (pronounced “dough-in”) Kim. Do In was educated in both Korea and the Philippines, and has a MATS from McCormick Seminary in Chicago. He was ordained in the Presbyterian Church of the Republic of Korea, and with his move here transfers his ordination to the PC(USA). Do In serves as organizing pastor for the One-in-Christ development in Jacksonville. He is married and has two children. We welcome Do In, asking God’s blessing on his work at One-in-Christ.

Welcoming Christopher Hooker

The presbytery also welcomed Christopher Hooker into its membership, pending his ordination service later this fall. After growing up in Atlanta, Chris graduated Florida State University (where our own Tim Simpson was one of his professors) and Columbia Theological Seminary. He enrolled this fall at Princeton Seminary where he is working on a Th.M. in Old Testament Studies. He hopes to remain at Princeton after completing the Th.M this spring and pursue a Ph.D. Chris was married this past June to Sarah Chamberlain, a candidate of Twin Cities Area Presbytery and also a graduate of Columbia Seminary. 

Chris’s reception into the presbytery marks an interesting occasion, and one with no small personal significance for me. Chris’s grandfather, Floyd Hooker, is an honorably retired member, having joined the presbytery in 2000, and I am Chris’s father. While perhaps not a unique situation, it is certainly unusual for a presbytery to boast three generations of one family who are simultaneously members of the presbytery. We welcome Chris and pray God’s blessing on his further study and service in Princeton. 

Other Important Actions

The presbytery took several other important actions at the meeting: 

·      We received as information the 2009 Asking Budget for the presbytery. I am presently working on re-recording the narrative track of the PowerPoint slide presentation of the budget, and I expect to have it posted on our presbytery website or available in CD form in the very near future.

·      At the recommendation of Council, we voted to withdraw from the Florida Cabinet for Campus Ministry. The same action guaranteed that our funding commitment to campus ministry would remain intact through the rest of 2008, and the intent is to continue support through 2009, once the 2009 operating budget is approved. This action is consistent with that of the other five presbyteries in Florida. We are seeking together to restructure the way we support and govern Presbyterian campus ministry throughout the state. It is not an attempt to bring an end to the work of campus ministry, but to eliminate potential legal liabilities inherent in the current structure

·      We also received into candidacy for ministry three Inquirers under the care of the Committee on Preparation for Ministry. Rebecca Gillespie is a member of First Church Fernandina Beach, and Barbara Brice and David Grachek are both members at Mandarin. All three are students at the extension campus of Gordon-Conwell Seminary in Jacksonville.

·      We dissolved the administrative commission that has been working with the session at Live Oak church since February 2006. The commission made its final report to the presbytery, in which it indicated that, although the congregation is small and somewhat fragile, it now believes the session is strong enough to lead the church without the regular assistance of a presbytery commission. Shirley Mergan is commissioned lay pastor for the congregation. 

Winter Stated Meeting Announcement

The Winter 2009 Stated Meeting will take place at
Mandarin Presbyterian Church, Jacksonville
14 February 2009  at 9:00 am

Our preacher and featured speaker will be
Professor Darrell Guder
Academic Dean, Princeton Theological Seminary
Author of Missional Church and The Continuing Conversion of the Church