The Presbytery of Lake Erie Ghana Partnership provided $5,000 for Manse renovations and $4,000 for vehicle repairs for the new incoming Moderator of the Upper Northern Presbytery.

 

Photo left: Renovation of the Manse in Yendi

 

 

Photo right:  Rev. Vincent Dagadu (2nd from left); Rev. Joshua Nabuer, Yendi District Pastor (2nd from right).

Photo above center: This is Wapuli Clinic’s only Ambulance. They were trying to get the engine started when this picture was taken (Ghana trip Oct. 2019). The Presbytery of Lake Erie provided $3,886.43 to replace the engine in the Ambulance and the engine in the Clinic’s pickup truck (also in need of repair).

Covid-19 Relief Assistance  for Pastors and Lay Leaders in the Upper Northern Presbytery

The Covid-19 pandemic caused additional hardships for the Pastors and Lay Leaders (Catechists and Evangelists). Weekly offerings significantly declined, and salaries are not able to be paid. The Presbytery of Lake Erie provided $8,000 in relief assistance to these faithful servant leaders.

Rev. Vincent Dagadu shared …

“This amount will provide the equivalent of two month’s salaries to 11 Pastors, 10 Lay Leaders, the Presbytery Driver and the Presbytery Treasurer. It will also provide an honorarium for 7 Presbytery Executives who have sacrificed their time and resources for years to ensure the work of God continues in the Presbytery.”

“We believe if this support is given, it will help alleviate poverty in about 30 households with an average of 6 people per household. They will also be very grateful that for the first time they have received such a wonderful gift for their Christmas festivities. At the end of the day, they will give glory to God and thank Him for your lives. Thank you very much.”

 

As the Youth Leadership Team discussed over the summer the possibility of gathering for our annual Fall Youth Event, there were some questions that guided us: What does Jesus mean when he tells us to love our neighbor as our self? What does it look like to be a neighbor in your neighborhood? What does it mean to be a neighbor to someone who practices a different religion or Christian tradition than you do? Our hope was to gather to explore these faith questions in community. However, we have learned as the Church that we need to be flexible and wise. At our planning meeting a little over a month before we plan to gather youth from across the Presbytery, two of our members’ families were in quarantine. We knew then that we needed to come up with a way to explore and edify our youth separately but together.

Below you’ll find the outline and videos that accompany this curriculum.

Youth Event Guide

Video #1 The Good Samaritan 

Video #2 Genesis 14

Video #3 Rev. Nathan

 

“I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason, I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.” Ephesians 1: 15-16

Presbytery Friends, Every morning I wake up grateful for the love of Christ being expressed through faithful disciples in our Lake Erie Presbytery.  Every day my prayers are full of joy for your commitment and service.  In my role as General Presbyter, I am privileged to see a broad view of church life in this presbytery.  I see ordinary acts of faith expressed consistently year after year.  I also see extraordinary expressions of loving service. Both often go largely unnoticed as dedicated Christians quietly serve in Christ’s name without fanfare or applause.  With this in mind, I have started a monthly column called “Anita Applauds.” I will highlight a mission or ministry of one of our churches that valiantly reflects the love of Christ.  I hope that you will join me in giving thanks for these ministries.

Typically, this column features a noteworthy ministry of one of our 57 churches in the Lake Erie presbytery.  This month, Anita Applauds First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in Erie.
Tis the season of giving and Thanksgiving and First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in Erie has a thriving outreach ministry in downtown Erie.  They have learned, as well as any other church I know, how to partner with other local agencies and organizations to reach the needy with gifts and services.  During the last two months of the calendar year, their mission outreach is quite extraordinary.  Members fill grocery bags with both perishable and non-perishable food items to provide holiday meals for 20 families in the church and 40 more families of students at Strong Vincent Middle School.  This is in addition to the meals served out of their basement kitchen, one of the largest commercial kitchens in downtown Erie.  This Fall they facilitated an after-school program with Strong Vincent students that was an international cooking class.  Teachers for the classes were international graduate students from Gannon University and an assortment of ethnic immigrants from all over the world who are now Erie residents.  Last weekend, Nov. 20-21, twelve youth and 6 Gannon graduate students hosted an International Thanksgiving dinner to introduce the traditions of an American Thanksgiving meal to those internationals who may not be acquainted with American history and practice.  The MLK Community Center assisted with the food and members of the church made traditional pies.  In addition, as cold weather sets in, First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant will partner with the Erie United Methodist Alliance (EUMA) to offer an overflow shelter for the homeless, inviting people to move off the streets and overnight in the building.  Their facility will be a warm lodging for eight weekends in the coming winter months.  Congratulations, First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, for giving tangible witness to the generosity and hospitality of our Lord Jesus Christ.  We applaud you and will seek to emulate your cooperative spirit.

Rev. Anita Bernhardt – General Presbyter

Dear Leaders of the Lake Erie Presbytery,

Undoubtedly you have been hearing for years that big changes are coming in the life of the Church.  Some of these changes were already happening before the Covid-19 pandemic hit and others have been precipitated by it.  Many of our local congregations do not look like or function in the way they did just 18 months ago.  The same is true for the larger Church and our denomination, the PC(USA).  In June of 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, the PC(USA) learned how to hold a General Assembly virtually with a modicum of success.  Building on these learnings, the General Assembly staff have composed a plan for the next General Assembly in 2022 that looks different from our historical concept of the bi-annual national gathering.  It is a hybrid plan that asks commissioners to meet in-person in Louisville, KY for committee and commission work for 5-7 days and then to gather on-line for 5 intensive days as a whole plenary on July 5-9, 2022.  This format may appeal (or conversely, not incentivize) you as a church leader and potential commissioner.  I am sending you the proposed GA docket and other helpful documents to help you discern if you (or someone you know) might be the right person to serve at the national level, including an application. (See related documents below). My experience of the General Assembly is that it is a fascinating combination of many, various disciples being energized by the Holy Spirit and, simultaneously, working hard for the greater Church to the point of near exhaustion!  It is a heady, emotional, inspiring, messy, and thrilling picture of the reign of God!  So, what do you think?  Who is God calling to help shape the PC(USA) in these new times?  Is it you? Someone who impresses you. Someone who is a visionary leader? Who will our Lord assemble at the 225^th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA)?  May we all pray and listen for the opportunity to work alongside the Almighty!

That We May Grow in Grace, Anita

Rev. Anita Bernhardt, General Presbyter

Presbytery of Lake Erie/2816 Elmwood Ave. Erie, PA  16508/presbyte[email protected]

Related documents:

General Assembly 225^th

GA Commissioner Application 2022

GA Commissioner Application YAAD 2022

GA Commissioner Nominating Process LEP 2022

The First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in downtown Erie returned to in-person worship with COVID-19 restrictions the middle of May.  Starting July 4, those attending worship in-person are no longer required to wear masks, if they are fully vaccinated. Those who are not yet fully vaccinated will be required to continue to wear masks. Advance registrations are also no longer required. First Covenant is continuing with livestreaming the 10:00 a.m. worship service on Facebook Live. First Covenant along with other churches throughout the Presbytery of Lake Erie are slowly returning to in-person worship. At the same time, many pastors and staff and members have discovered that continuing to livestream worship offers several benefits to those at home. Contact individual member churches for worship times and livestreaming.

 

Legacy Giving
May 2 is Legacy Giving Sunday, which offers you a unique opportunity to invite the faithful to consider a bequest gift to continue the ministry of the Church into the future. The Presbyterian Foundation has numerous resources to support you in sharing this opportunity with your congregation on Sunday, May 2, and throughout the year. You can learn about the basics of planned giving here.
Share this inspiring video from First Presbyterian Church of Durham about the powerful impact planned giving can have for the future of your church. Access a short version here to use in a minute for mission presentation, or the longer form here for small group study or discussion. You can find all of our resources for Legacy Giving Sunday here. If you have questions, please reach out to your Ministry Relations Officer for support and additional tools

The Presbytery of Lake Erie’s Spiritual Formation Committee hosted a workshop and roundtable discussion on how to teach children, youth and adults online. Rev. Britney Knight (First Covenant) and Rev. Nathan Royster (Wayside) have provided some guidelines that have worked for them. This workshop is available here SF Workshop.

 

Rev. Anita Bernhardt will be our next General Presbyter

At a special meeting January 5 with 50 in attendance, Lake Erie Presbytery elected our next General Presbyter. The Rev. Anita Bernhardt will take this leadership/transformational role for our 57 congregations starting February 1. Prior to her current work as temporary pastor at Emmanuel Presbyterian Church in Erie, she carried out extensive work and multi-denominational ministry in local congregations and regional networks, including Western North Carolina Presbytery.

The nominating committee recommended her to us, bringing “compassion and caring. She nurtures relationships, has a collaborative work style, and will foster hope and respect. Anita has a particular gift of nudging congregations toward the future.”

Anita will start her service in this role February 1, 2021.

Thanks also goes to the eight persons on the nominating committee:  Emily Zeig Lindsey, Art Amann, Don Hall, Matt McCullough, Katherine Randall, Ronee Christy and Dan McEldowney. We also appreciate the extra work since David Oyler’s retirement carried out by our office staff, transition team, committee moderators and others who stepped up in the interim.