Category Archives: Calendar Postings

2020 Faith Enrichment Conference Information …

Greetings!

Please find the brochure of workshops and registration forms for Savannah Presbytery’s Annual Faith Enrichment Conference (FEC) which will be held February 7-8, 2020 at Epworth by the Sea on St. Simons Island.

Each year, participants leave FEC feeling inspired, renewed, and encouraged to imagine new ways to be the hands and feet of Christ in their churches and communities. It is also a time when we come together as a Presbytery to celebrate the Lord’s Supper at Friday’s worship service and have many opportunities to connect with one another as we eat meals, attend workshops, and enjoy the beautiful setting of Epworth together.

This year’s conference has been moved one week earlier than it is typically held and we hope that this will allow more people to attend. Also, we will be adding a Youth Connect component as we hope to move toward making FEC an intergenerational event.

Our 2020 keynote speaker is Dr. William P. Brown, the William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. His teaching and writing explore the intersecting issues of justice, creation care, and hope from biblical and theological perspectives. He will help us explore transformation and renewal in the church from a biblical perspective. Dr. Brown is an engaging and thoughtful teacher who will help us all to open our minds and hearts to God’s Spirit that is always moving in us to transform and renew our hearts.

Registration is open now! Early Bird pricing ends on January 2^nd. The Education & Training Team truly appreciates your help in advertising for this wonderful event.

In Christ,

Rev. Will Shelburne                                                                                             Education & Training Team, chair

2020 Faith Enrichment Conference Registration Form

2020 Faith Enrichment Conference Brochure

The Fort Frederica Church Choir will present The Greatest Story as it’s Christmas Cantata at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 22nd.  The choir will be joined by several guest singers and soloists including Michael Hulett, a well known jazz musician.  The program will include readings by Federal Judge Lisa Godby Wood and Doug Alexander.  Refreshments will be served following the presentation.  This event is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Fort Frederica Church.

The Transition Team has been working hard since March to carry out the task of helping to create “a sustainable vision for the future ministry of Savannah Presbytery.” Our team has been very busy creating job descriptions, examining the presbytery’s teams, identifying needs for personnel, and, in the last few months, receiving Personal Information Forms (PIFs), and prayerfully considering candidates to serve as the Transitional General Presbyter and Stated Clerk. Rev. Joyce Lieberman, our Synod Executive, met with the Transition Team in late July to offer guidance and support as we began the process of discerning who would be the best “fit” for our presbytery. Those candidates whom we discerned to be our finalists were interviewed via ZOOM.

During these initial interviews, there was concern among candidates about taking on both the Transitional General Presbyter and Stated Clerk roles. As is the case with any transitional work, there are a lot of added tasks which rest outside the scope of an established “called” position. Given the candidates’ concerns and considering our own growing understanding of the scope of the transitional work, the team decided we needed flexibility to separate the two positions if needed. A motion was made to that effect and was approved by Council.

After the initial ZOOM interviews, the team reached out to the candidates’ references and then invited two finalists to come for in-person interviews. After these interviews, the committee sensed very clearly that God was calling the Rev. Dr. Alan Baroody to lead our presbytery during this transitional period. Many of us know Alan from his years of faithful service in and to our presbytery. The Transition Team was impressed with his experience in transitional work, his pastoral gifts, and his ideas for helping to develop a vision for the future of our presbytery.

In consultation with Alan, it was decided that he would serve as the Transitional General Presbyter only. Alan was presented to Council by the Transition Team at the stated meeting on September 30^th and was unanimously approved. He begins his ministry with us on November 1^st. The Rev. Eric Beene, who was in attendance as Interim Stated Clerk, agreed to continue in that capacity until May 2020.

The Transition Team and Alan are looking forward to working with consultant David York to set up listening sessions in each district to hear more about your hopes and suggestions for our presbytery’s initial priorities.

Meet Our Transitional General Presbyter

The Rev. Dr. Alan Baroody

A little over five years ago, Alan and his wife, Suzanne, moved from Midway to Addison, TX (near Dallas). While in Texas, Alan’s focus has been on transitional ministries and church consultations.  He served as Interim Head of Staff at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Denton, TX and Interim Pastor at Woodhaven Presbyterian Church in Irving, TX. Before moving to Texas, Alan served as Pastor of Jekyll Presbyterian Community Church for five years and over thirteen years as the Executive Director of the Marylou Fraser Foundation for Families (The Fraser Counseling Center). Additionally, Alan has served on Committees on Ministry in three presbyteries for 20 of the past 24 years of his ministry.

After forty-two years of ministry, he was Honorably Retired at the September meeting of Grace Presbytery. Two days later, he accepted Savannah Presbytery’s invitation to serve as our Transitional General Presbyter. Retired for two days, Alan says he’s “thrilled to have ‘failed’ retirement so that we can begin our work together here in Savannah Presbytery. As far as I can tell, there is no place in the Bible that addresses retiring from following Jesus!”

Alan is looking forward to visiting with all the churches in our presbytery and exploring ways in which we, as a presbytery of primarily smaller congregations, can help each other in furthering the work of God’s kingdom in our midst. “We are a denomination and a presbytery in transition. We need each other’s gifts and need to learn how to better connect and support one another in mission and ministry.”

Alan’s wife, Suzanne, is a ruling elder in the PC(USA). She is also a licensed professional counselor and works as a Military Family Life Counselor at various military installations, both in the U.S. and around the world. Both she and Alan serve as volunteers on Presbyterian Disaster Assistance’s National Response Team.

Alan and Suzanne have four adult children and two grandchildren. For recreation, Alan enjoys reading mystery novels, sailing, hunting, fishing, camping, and amateur radio.

Educational and Professional Background: Master of Divinity, Princeton Theological Seminary; Master of Theology in Pastoral Counseling, Union Theological Seminary, Richmond; Doctor of Ministry in Family Systems, Lutheran Southern Theological Seminary; licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Supervisor; Board member of the Soul Repair Center of Brite Divinity School (research and education on Moral Injury); Served churches in South Carolina, Texas, and Georgia; Directed Christian counseling and outpatient services in Colorado and Georgia.