Presbyterian Visitor

Presbyterian Visitor

July 3, 2026

A big THANK YOU goes out to everyone for their help with this year’s Tasting Luncheon. Without everyone’s help this event would not be able to take place. We have several dishes and containers that were left after the tasting luncheon, on the kitchen counter and table. Mark your calendar’s for the last Friday in June 2027 for the 49th Annual Tasting Luncheon.

On Sunday, June 28th our congregation welcomed John and Teresa Inman into membership. John and Teresa transferred their memberships from First Presbyterian Church, Clinton, SC.

Our church would like to wish all our area 4-Hers good luck at this years 4-H Fair. The fair will be taking place July 11th-17th.

We will be hosting Soup on Saturday on July 4th. Volunteers are needed to provide food and to work. Please see the sign-up sheet on the bulletin board.

Our church will be providing lunch for the Feed the Children Summer Lunch program at the park on Monday, July 6th. There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board if you would like to help provide food or work. Anyone working will need to have a background check completed. To do so you will need to contact the Baptist Church. We will, also, be providing lunch again on Monday, August 3rd.

  This program is being provided by several area churches and originations to provide summer meals for children in our community. Hot meals are served every Monday and Thursday and non-perishable food bags are given out. As of the June, this program has served 322 children with hot meals and distributed 432 non-perishable food bags to children in our community.

The Session will be meeting on Wednesday, July 8th at 5:30 p.m. in Fellowship Hall.

Our church secretary will be on vacation July 10th-17th. Deb Cullison will be checking the church email and answering machine during this time. In the event of an urgent concern, please contact Susan at 812-384-6789.

The Women’s Association is sponsoring a Free Swim Day at the Bloomfield Pool on Saturday, July 18th. On this day admission to the pool is free.

Pastor Hana will be on vacation July 13th – 19th, and July 27th-Aug. 2nd. Rev Kevin Wrigley will be leading us in worship on Sunday July 19th and August 2nd. Due to Pastor Hana being on vacation August 2nd, we will be postponing our monthly communion to Sunday, August 9th.

“Growing In God’s Love” Vacation Bible School will take place July 20th, 21st, and 22nd starting at 5:00p.m. to 7:00p.m. Volunteers will be needed for lessons, crafts, games, and food. Please see the sign-up sheet on the bulletin board or Melinda Hendrix if you would like to help.

  They are in need of 20 clean milk jug with lids for Bible School. If you have any, please leave them in the library.

On August 9th, during worship service, the children and parents are invited to bring in their backpacks and workbags for the Blessing of the Backpacks for the new school year.

Also, on this Sunday, we will be having our Annual Block Party on the church lawn from 4:00pm-6:00pm. It promises to be a fun filled afternoon with bounce houses, games, music, and food.

Pastor’s Message

The PC(USA), the denomination that our congregation is part of, holds a national convention every other year to make decisions. This event is called General Assembly (GA) and it is taking place during the last week of June and the first week of July this year.

Since the pandemic, GA has included a week of online committee meetings that leads to the discussions and votes at the nation assembly in person the following week, this year in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This process may change this year as GA considers a proposal to hold fully in-person meetings at this year’s assemble.

There are ten committees meeting this year:

●  Climate and Environmental Justice                                 ●  Gender and Sexuality Justice

●  Constitutional Interpretation                                          ●  Theological Education and Ordination

●  Financial Stewardship and Witness                                 ●  Racial Justic

●  General Assembly Operations                                         ●  Reformed Identity Around the World

●  General Assembly Relationships                                     ●  Reformed Identity in the United Staes

The first week, committees deliberate, hear from experts on the topics at hand, from those who wrote the proposed overtures, from those who disagree with or want to change the overtures, and others.

Some of the major topics being discussed this year include the following:

●  Every assembly a new moderator or co-moderators are elected to serve as the leaders for the following two years. This year, there are four candidate pairs running.

●  A new confession for our constitution was commissioned a few years ago, and the team that worked on it brings the final draft and recommendations to this assembly.

●  The denomination restructured over the last few years and there are ongoing needs related to that restructuring.

●  A variety of justice issues will be addressed including: how we invest our money as a denomination, climate action, LGBTQ+ inclusion, healthcare and gender-affirming care, confronting Christian Nationalism, justice and peace in Palestine and Israel, racial equity, and others.

●  A new structure for the Ordination Exams that every pastor must pass to be ordained is proposed as a way to increase accessibility for those with disabilities, test anxiety, and those whose primary language is not English.

●  Discussions will happen about the way that the mission-coworkers (formerly known as missionaries) were dismissed in the midst of the restructuring of the denomination over the last two years.

Amidst all this, the gathered assembly also does acts of service, fellowships together, worships, prays, and probably dances!

While some of this may seem far from the everyday life of our congregation, the way that we gather to make decisions as a denomination is a valuable expression of our connectedness, and of our conviction in the priesthood of all believers.

Over the coming weeks and months, we will learn more about the outcomes from GA, and presbyteries will consider whether to ratify the constitutional amendments passed by the assembly. (If this process sounds like the way our federal government works, that’s because it is!)

With hope for the church and its future,

Pastor Hana