“Too many web pages to wade through” is a common complaint and I agree! It’s hard to find decent sites with relevant information in formats that are accessible. You could spend ALL day looking

In an effort to help you find what you’re looking for, we’re going to start publishing an occasional Resource Round-up. Quick links to church relevant web-sites and a brief description. Please note that a link here is not an endorsement. There are nearly 8000 members in Winnebago Presbytery with a wide range of interests and so we hope to provide information and connections on a variety of topics.

Here is the first round.

Movie Clips. More and more churches are using movies or movie clips as part of their education curriculum. If you don’t know about the Presbytery’s group CVLI liscense, you can read more about that here. Below are some of the places you can go to download clips.

HollywoodJesus.com ~ Pop Culture from a spiritual point of view. Looking for sermon illustrations? movies for the youth group? A film for family movie night?

Wingclips.com ~ Movie clips that illustrate and inspire. Sorted on the left column by topic, these clips are available for you to search. Downloads are available for monthly fee.

SermonSpice.com ~ Give your Message some motion. With everything from conservative to progressive and hilarious to serious, these high quality videos may be just the thing you need.

Other sites of interest

albanlearning.org ~ Alban’s new blog on the topic of transforming congregational leaders. Posts on education events, relevant research and

ymilive - the social networking site for youth by the Presbyterian Church (USA) - it’s like Facebook but it’s Presbyterian!

When Religion Meets New Media - the blog of Heidi Campbell

And finally, click on over to our own Stephen Wright’s new blog at the Wausau Daily Herald

If you haven’t yet seen it, ask your Pastor or Mission Committee Chair for the Presbytery’s Mission 2008 presentation. Each congregation was given two copies at the February meeting of the Presbytery. Not only will you find pictures and statistics for every single local mission grant recipient from 2007, you’ll also see the projects that our Genesis Fund has supported over the last two years.

Most importantly, you’ll find the application form for the 2009 grant cycle. The deadline is May 31st and it will be here before you know it. While I STRONGLY encourage you to view the CD you can, by clicking here, download the application.

The 218th General Assembly will take place this summer June 21-28 in San Jose CA. As you may know there are four candidates for moderator this year. More information can be found about each of the candidates here. Additional information can be found at each candidate’s web site.

Carl Mazza
Bill Teng
Roger Shoemaker
Bruce Reyes-Chow

The commissioners from Winnebago Presbytery are:

CLP Jess Wakefield
Elder Kay Smith
Rev. Richard Moore
Rev. Susan Phillips

Youth Advisory Delegate Meghan Keller

Information about GA will be available here and during the assembly it will be available on the pcusa.org site.

Every church in Winnebago Presbytery has a CVLI license which allows congregations to use and show videos. Whether it’s for a youth lock-in, a Sunday school class, an adult education hour or a movie clip during a sermon, the CVLI license gives permission to use copyrighted material.

CVLI is now providing a new service to its members. Each congregation should have received a letter with the following information:

As I am sure you are aware, CVLI has been involved in an on-line illustration and Movie Scene download service called ScreenVue. ScreenVue has committed to a large expansion of its service and, effective immediately, CVLI is proud to give a complimentary standard membership to every CVLI Member Licensee.

The standard membership provides free access to over 1,200 illustration ideas on ScreenVue.com from major movies that you rent or purchase. Each scene idea includes a movie summary, scene summary, themes, scripture references, plus valuable insights and suggestion for using a scene effectively.

It’s a GREAT research tool, designed to work hand-in-hand with your CVLI License, helping you find that perfect movie illustration to enhance next Sunday’s sermon or class!

The letter you received gives log-on instructions and your individual license number. Because we purchase a group license for the Presbytery, this service is free for every congregation. (The standard membership does not allow you to download clips however, downloading privileges are available for $34.95/year.)

Can’t find your letter - call Member Services at 888.302.6020

Have you seen it? At the February meeting of the Presbytery, the Resource and Program Coordinating Team showed a presentation highlighting many of our local mission projects.

Did you know that more than half of the program budget of the presbytery is used to provide grants to agencies and groups in our communities that feed the hungry and provide clothes, education and other services to those who need them?

Each church received TWO copies of the CD. One for the Mission Committee and one for the Pastoral staff. If you haven’t seen it - ASK! Find out where your mission dollars are going.