All are welcome to a presentation from GenOn Ministries on how to do church life that ALL ages can be engaged in, followed by a workshop on developing inter-generational events. Tuesday, May 20th at 4:00 pm before the Presbytery Meetings at Wayside Presbyterian Church.

GenOn Ministries will make a presentation on how to do church life that ALL ages can be engaged by, followed by a workshop on developing inter-generational events. This presentation will be held on Tuesday, May 20 at 4:00 p.m. at Wayside Presbyterian Church prior to the Presbytery meeting. Anyone involved in your church’s life and mission including clergy, elders, deacons and volunteers, are encouraged to attend.

Most churches are multi-generational. With intentionality, a church can become intergenerational, transforming to a new way of being the church—growing disciples, and impacting the world for Jesus Christ in the way, we believe, God intended. This transformation brings about a sense of belonging for all, to be in relationship as equal parts of the body of Christ—the intergenerational church.

Please RSVP to the Presbytery office by May 15.

“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 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.

This time I applaud the Lake Erie Presbytery’s Administrative Assistant, Melinda Wingenbach, and Financial Administrator, Nicholas Barber. Typically, I don’t pay much attention to the Hallmark- generated-holidays in the calendar. There are a lot of them, and I don’t have to celebrate “National Marine Mammal Day” to appreciate whales and other sea creatures. However, April 24th, was National Administrative Assistants Day, and I couldn’t let that day pass without giving a shout out to Melinda and Nick. They excel at what they do and make a difference in my life and work every day. They have tangible skills that I do not possess, and they sharpen my skills for the greater good. Equally important is their dependability and consistency. You and I can count on them and they serve us well. So I celebrate Melinda and Nick and give thanks to God for putting us together in this time and place in the life of the Presbytery of Lake Erie.

Rev. Anita Berdhardt – General Presbyter / Presbytery of Lake Erie

Rev. Tony Larson, the Co-Moderator of the 226th General Assembly (2024) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), will be joining our Presbytery for our stated meeting on May 20, 2025. He will be available for a luncheon at IHOP at 11 a.m. Following the luncheon, he will preach at the Presbytery Meeting at 6:30 p.m.

Rev. Larson graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a double major in Public Policy Analysis and Religious Studies. He felt a call to ministry while serving as director of youth ministries at Williamsburg Presbyterian Church and earned his Master of Divinity from Union Presbyterian Seminary.

He has held leadership roles, including co-leader of the Synod Youth Council and planning team member for the Montreat Youth Conference. Rev. Larson’s first pastorate was at Springs Community Presbyterian Church in East Hampton, NY. He is currently the pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Surfside, SC, and is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry at Union Presbyterian Seminary. Click Here for more.

We welcome Josh to the Presbytery and invite you to connect with him while he is here. Josh was one of the vast majority of PCUSA Mission Co-workers whose positions were eliminated at the end of March. He served in Ghana for 16 years and also as the West Africa Regional Liaison. Josh was instrumental in helping Lake Erie Presbytery initiate and establish our Partnership with the Upper Northern Presbytery of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana. It has been with Josh’s continued support, encouragement and guidance that our Ghana Partnership has thrived for over 12 years.

We hope you will be able to meet with Josh in some informal gatherings to share our appreciation, to hear from him, and to have conversations about what might be next for him and possibilities for continuing our Presbytery’s relationship with him in mission and ministry.

Please contact Donna Cammarata at 814-873-4860 or donna.camm@gmail.com if you would like to have Josh visit your area or if you would like to join in a meal on any of these dates (places TBD):
May 1 – Lunch or Dinner
May 2 – Lunch or Dinner
May 3 – Brunch
Josh will be preaching at Wayside Presbyterian Church on May 4th.

 

God of all Joy,

Fill our souls to overflowing with the fullness of your grace.

In this season, remind us of your triumph over the tragedy of the cross, 

and your victory for us over the powers of sin and death, so that we

may reflect your glory as disciples of

Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. Amen

 

Living God, on the first day of the week
you brought to birth a new creation
through the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Fill us with the hope and joy of new beginnings,
so that we may share the good news
of your liberating, life-giving power
with all the world;
through Christ our Savior, who is alive
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
now and always.
Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:12 / Years ABC

 

Living God, through Jesus Christ
you emptied the power of death
and gave us the gift of life in fullness.
Now dry our tears and send us out
to tell the good news of the gospel:
Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.
John 20:1-18 / Years ABC

Source: Office of Theology and Worship, Presbyterian Church (USA) 1

The 2025 Pastors’ Retreat is set for May 7 – 9,  2025 at the Athenaem Hotel, Chautauqa, NY. This retreat is offered to clergy and commissioned pastors, including the retired, in the Presbyteries of Cayuga/Syracuse, Genesee Valley, Geneva, Lake Erie, and Western New York.

This year the guest speaker is Rev. Dr. Glen Bell. The theme: “The Gift of One’s Self: Identity, Belonging, and Purpose.” Join us as we talk about identity, belonging,  and purpose in ways that will invite participants toward their own reflection and spiritual growth. Rev. Dr. Glen Bell is Senior VP of Development at the Presbyterian Foundation. Before serving the Foundation, he dedicated 30 years as a pastor in a wide variety of Presbyterian congregations in North Carolina, Indiana, and Florida. Glen received his Doctor of Ministry from McCormick Theological Seminary and his Master of Divinity from Union Presbyterian Seminary. For registration information, follow this link: 2025 Pastors’ Retreat at Chautauqua

 

 

“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 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.

This month, Anita Applauds . . . the churches who give so generously to the mission and ministry of the whole Presbytery of Lake Erie. Every day I am proud of the way the churches of the Lake Erie Presbytery support the larger Church through their financial contributions to Per Capita and through their gifts in Mission support. Did you know that we are one of the healthiest presbyteries across the nation in terms of our Per Capita percentages? In addition, we have some churches who are very generous in their support of the Lake Erie Presbytery’s ministry goals. Sometimes we only celebrate the churches who are able to give the largest amounts (and we are grateful for these!). However, I want you to see the “Top Ten List” of churches who gave the most generously per member in 2024. You might be surprised. They, and the one individual who gives a mission support gift directly to the presbytery every year, are heroes in my book!

Lake Erie Presbytery’s Top 10 Honor Roll of highest mission contributors per member in 2024:
Nickleville – with an astounding $216.22 per member!
Tionesta – $111.11 per member
First, Warren – $108.69 per member
First, Oil City – $81.08 per member
Harmonsburg – $80. per member
Coudersport – $72.92 per member
Adamsville – $47.06 per member
Kane – $42. per member
North Warren – $41.38 per member
First, Harborcreek – $36. per member
As you can see, generosity has little to do with size and ability. Generosity is about grateful hearts wanting to share God’s grace with others more expansively. Generosity is about believing in something greater than yourself. I thank my God every day for generous people and pray that I might become more and more so myself!

Rev. Anita Berdhardt – General Presbyter / Presbytery of Lake Erie

“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 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.

This month, Anita Applauds …preparations for the season of Lent. The six weeks of Lent begin on Ash Wednesday, which this year is March 5th. I didn’t grow up observing the season of Lent – or Epiphany for that matter. The Sundays between Christmas and Easter in my home church felt more like “ordinary time” until you got to Holy Week. So, when I started as a pastor, I was somewhat perplexed about what to do with Lent. Since, I have experienced a number of meaningful structures and outlines for Lenten worship. I have come to appreciate the reflective and meditative nature of Lent, even when it has felt like a dismal and discouraging season. How seriously I have engaged in the Lenten disciplines has determined how challenging or meaningful it has been for me. I confess that my engagement has not been even. Some years my head and heart don’t seem to be “in it”. I think that’s okay. When the Holy Spirit wants my attention, I hope I’ll be listening but, I trust that I don’t need to force anything. As leaders in the Church, I suggest that we offer a Lenten season that is potentially meaningful to you and others then let the Holy Spirit take it from there. Plus, who doesn’t like the pretty lighted candles?!

Rev. Anita Berdhardt – General Presbyter / Presbytery of Lake Erie