 Mosiac
News and Information
about Presbyterian Women and the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Historians Make Note
 On April 22--26, 2002 the Presbyterian
Historical Society will offer the 23rd annual Seminar on Local
Church History in Montreat, North Carolina. The seminar is open
to anyone interested in the collection, preservation and writing
of Presbyterian history. Workshops on writing, researching and
publishing a history will be given, as well as a two-day writing
workshop for Presbyterian Women historians. Members of anniversary
celebration committees and archives or heritage room committees
will want to attend the workshops on the preservation of church
records and library books, disaster preparedness, oral history,
exhibiting church treasures, using new digital technologies,
photograph preservation and ideas for celebrating a congregation's
anniversary.
For more information or an application, visit www.history.pcusa.org
or contact Diana Ruby-Sanderson by mail at Presbyterian Historical
Society, PO Box 849, Montreat, NC 28757, by phone at 828/669-7061
or by email at dsanderson@history.pcusa.org.
Albuquerque to Host Clergywomen
 April 26--29, 2002 will find Presbyterian
clergywomen from around the country attending an annual retreat,
which is being held this year in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The
four day event offers participants numerous plenaries, workshops
and worship services. Three speakers are slated to appear at
the conference: Ina Hughes, a popular speaker, teacher and the
author of A Prayer for Children and A Sense of Human; Marjorie
Thompson, a minister and the author of Family: The Forming Center
and Soul Feast; and Jennifer Butler, associate for justice and
gender issues at the Presbyterian United Nations Office.
For a registration form or scholarship inquiries, contact Carol
Shellenberger, 618 Las Colindas Rd, San Rafael, CA 94903;
415/479-4962; revcjshell@aol.com.
Corrections
We apologize for a misprint in Mosaic of the January/February
2002 issue of Horizons that advertised note cards for the Ghana
project. We incorrectly stated there are eight cards in a set;
there are four cards in each set, priced at $8 for one set or
$15 for two sets.
Additionally, in the photo credits for the January/February 2002
issue, Louise Davidson was named as the photographer for the
picture of Nene Amogu that appeared in "Global Partnerships"
(page 15). Jeanne Matt was the photographer for this photo. We
apologize for any inconvenience these errors may have caused.
Breaking Down the Walls
Montreat Conference Center continues the tradition of an annual
women's gathering this summer, on August 11--15, 2002. This year's
theme is "Breaking Down the Walls: Building the Household
of God," based on Ephesians 2:11--22. In addition to study,
worship and songs, women will have the opportunity to participate
in up to three workshops. There are more than 20 workshops being
offered on a range of topics, such as leadership, health, justice
and peace concerns, church resources and art. Two pre-conference
events are connectional times for women of color (August 10--11)
and clergywomen (August 11).
To request an application, contact Montreat Conference Center,
P.O. Box 969, Montreat, NC 28757-0969; 828/669-2911; http://www.montreat.org.
Scholarships are available; contact ext. 312 or 371 for more
information. Registrations must be postmarked by August 11 for
acceptance.
Elders Support Rejection
of Amendment 01-A
Based on a 2001 survey conducted by the Presbyterian Panel, a
majority of elders reject Amendment 01-A, the proposal to delete
"fidelity and chastity" from the ordination standard
outlined in the PC(USA) Book of Order (G-6.0106b). The 1,069
elders and 1,443 ministers were asked "This year's General
Assembly sent to presbyteries for their vote an amendment to
the PC(USA) constitution to permit each presbytery to ordain,
at its discretion, sexually-active gay and lesbian Presbyterians.
Do you want your presbytery to approve or reject this amendment?"
63 percent of elders answered "reject," 27 percent
replied "support" and 9 percent were undecided. The
ministers responses had no statistically significant difference-46
percent supported rejection, 48 percent, approval and 6 percent,
uncertain.
The close results for ministers suggest that the more differentiated
votes from elders will be the deciding factor in the vote. Jack
Marcum, Panel administrator, commented that since not all elders
will vote, the final outcome depends largely on which elders
are elected to be commissioners to the 2002 General Assembly,
June 15--22, in Columbus, Ohio.
What You Said
Last summer, the staff of Horizons asked for your help in looking
for ways to improve the magazine. So many of you responded to
our request with helpful and insightful suggestions and responses
that we thought you might like to know what other readers think.
When asked "Why do you read Horizons?" the most frequent
response was "to keep connected"-to Presbyterian Women,
women's issues and the information presented in the magazine.
Readers applauded Horizons for providing insights on PC(USA)
issues and worldwide issues, as well as discovering what other
women (and their groups) are doing and thinking. The helps for
the Bible study were also mentioned as a frequent reason for
reading the magazine.
When asked how Horizons could improve, you said we should try
harder to appeal to younger women, give more information to help
smaller churches and provide more Bible study helps in every
issue. However, the majority of responses to this question were
that readers could not think of any improvements to make and
applauded our improvement in the last few years.
What features are the most popular?
|
What do our readers look like?
The most popular features that readers
found informative or intriguing were
reported as follows:
|
What do our readers look like?
The look of the Horizons reader does not surprise us. She is
65-79 years old (51.3%) or older (17.3% for 80 years +) and active
in PW (89.9%).
 |
Gathering Theme Song Contest
You're invited to submit a theme song for the 2003 Churchwide
Gathering of Presbyterian Women, based on the Gathering's theme
-"God's Vision · Our Calling" and the accompanying
scripture-Ephesians 4:1--6.
The submissions
· should consist of original words and music
(or original words to a tune in the public domain) reflecting
the Gathering theme, the chosen scripture and the biblical concept
of "vision and calling"
· must be theologically sound,
in keeping with the Reformed tradition and use inclusive language
· must be original and shall not be used any time
prior to the Gathering, July 9--13, 2003
· will become the property of Presbyterian Women
· are due no later than May 1, 2002
Members of the plenary committee will sing the songs submitted
with writers' and composers' names covered. Presbyterian Women
reserves the right not to select any of the entries. Songs may
be mailed to Horizons, 100 Witherspoon St., Louisville, KY 40202-1396
or faxed to 502/569-8085.
Back to top | Previous
Department | Next Department
|
