Greetings,                                May 8, 2008

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is issuing a special appeal through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) in an effort to support recovery efforts as a result of the cyclone that has devastated Myanmar.  An appeal card is being sent to every congregation in the next few days.  In addition PDA has committed $100,000 from One Great Hour of Sharing and designated funds to provide emergency assistance to survivors of Myanmar.  The appeal card is available to download online at www.pcusa.org/pda.   A bulletin insert is being created and liturgical resources are being collected.  These items will be accessible online and we encourage your churches to use them as they become available.  Linda Valentine, Executive Director of the General Assembly Council stated, “The PC(USA) through its disaster relief agency seeks to accompany the people of Myanmar through this catastrophe.  Our mission is to heal broken lives, as well as broken homes.”

PDA is responding in Myanmar as a member of and in partnership with Action by Churches Together (ACT) International and Church World Service.  Both entities have local partners in Myanmar and will have representatives to help in the provision of relief items to cyclone survivors.  Valentine also commented, “We have trust in our partners to help us be the hands and feet of Christ during this difficult time.”

Communication has been widely destroyed in the region, but attempts are being made to be in conversation with our partner churches in the area including the Presbyterian Church of Myanmar located in the northeast of Myanmar, our PC(USA) regional liaison located in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Christian Conference of Asia, and Myanmar Council of Churches.

The situation in Myanmar is dire. As of today UN and Church World Services officials have reported that close to one million people are homeless and priority needs are for water purification tablets, plastic sheeting, basic medical kits, bed nets and food. Power and water supply have been disconnected, and the price of food has multiplied since the storm.   Current estimates indicate tens of thousands of lives have been lost, with tens of thousands still missing.

Cyclone Nargis, packing winds up to 120 miles per hour, swept through the country on Saturday. A storm surge with waves up to 12 feet high washed inland causing widespread destruction. The low-lying Irrawaddy Delta region, the country’s main agricultural area, suffered the most severe damage.

The full extent of the damage throughout the country has not yet been determined. An already marginal infrastructure has been further damaged resulting in poor communications and impassible roads. Power outages and scattered debris also hamper recovery efforts.

Our church’s generous gifts will help us stand with our brothers and sisters in long term recovery efforts as their broken lives and communities begin to heal.

Gifts for this disaster can be designated to DR000145 –Myanmar/Burma.

Donations may be sent through normal mission giving channels. Gifts by credit card can be made by calling PresbyTel at (800) 872-3283 or online at
http://www.pcusa.org/pda/response/asia/myanmarburma-index.htm .

Gifts can also be made through your churches normal giving channels.

Checks payable to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) can also be
Mailed directly to:

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Central Receiving Services
Individual Remittance Processing
DR000145
P.O. Box 643700
Pittsburgh, PA  15264-3700

Or

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Central Receiving Services
Church Remittance Processing
DR000145
P.O. Box 643678
Pittsburgh, PA  15264-3678

Please be in prayer for those most vulnerable and so adversely affected by this catastrophe.

Grace and Peace,
Mindy Marchal
Communication Associate for Compassion, Peace and Justice
PC(USA)
888-728-7228, ext 5212
Mindy.marchal@pcusa.org

2009 seems like a long way off, but it’s time to think about ordering your copies of the Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study.  Order forms have arrived in local congregations.  Discounts begin with an order of 25, but what if you only want 1 or 6 copies?  Do you need to order them at the full price ?  No!

The Presbytery Office will once again submit a bulk order.  Since we will be ordering 100 or more, we can purchase them for $5.00 per copy, including some of the postage costs.  The office pays the balance of the postage.  What a deal! 

We need to order during the month of August so I’ve set a deadline of August 1 to receive orders from congregations and individuals who will be ordering less than 100 copies.  The order forms are available on the Forms & Policies page of this website.  Click here.

“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.