In January, representatives from the six Presbyteries in Iowa gathered in Perry, IA, for a 24-hour retreat. This group has been meeting every-other-month for the last 18 months to discuss the future and dream together. At first, we all came with our own desires and feelings, but through team...
My role as Moderator of the Presbytery keeps me busy! On January 8th the Presbytery called a special meeting to examine two candidates for ordination. Janelle Groteluschen was the elder commissioner from our congregation. Ms. Erin Marth from Eden Presbyterian Church in Rudd, was unanimously...
Sara’s article: As the moderator of the Presbytery, I get to chose a theme for the year. This theme is woven through our Pastor to the Presbytery’s sermons and throughout our Presbytery worship services. I chose the theme “finding joy.” When I think about finding...
On November 5th I was installed as the Moderator for the Presbytery of North Central Iowa. This is a one-year position, from the 1st Sunday in November 2017 through the 1st Sunday in November 2018. This past year I was vice-moderator and watched Rev. Kerry Carson serve in the Moderator role. I...
Our gardening has come to an end for the season. We were able to give away produce to the Lord’s Cupboard, Beacon of Hope men’s shelter and Gateway to Discovery women’s recovery home. We also had produce to share with some of our church members and the KidZone kids. One time...
On August 6th I had the opportunity to preach at my home church, Westminster Presbyterian Church, in West Chester, PA. They are celebrating their 125th year of ministry. I am one of the 14 children of the church who have gone on to become an ordained minister. This is the only church of which...
Lesson Number Four: God Is Like Our Compost Bins... When I dreamt about the garden, I knew I wanted to include a composting bin. At first, I thought we’d build our own wooden compost bins. But I realized that open compost beds would produce a stench that no one wanted around the church...
Lesson Number Three: Doing Things With Consistency On May 17th the confirmation students and I planted the last of our seeds in the ground. They joined the pumpkin and tomato plants that were already in the beds. The confirmands added spinach, lettuce, carrots, beans, peas, cucumbers and...
Lesson Number Two: BEING REALISTIC... When Heather Peck and I dreamed up our garden last year, we had grand plans. Our original plan included 8 raised beds and multiple large pots for herbs. It included a composting bin made from wood and then also doing a composting-with-worms activity with...
Lesson Number One: Pruning My first lesson from the church garden came from planting the pumpkin plants. Each of our 4-year-old preschoolers planted a pumpkin seed in a cup in March and tended it over the past 6 weeks and now we had 20 pumpkin plants ready to be planted in one 4x8 bed. Any good...
