Dear Resource Center directors and friends:
I hope you are enjoying an active and exciting summer. I spent a week in Miami earlier this summer, and I had my dad and my youngest brother come to Louisville to help me install new cabinets in my kitchen. It was hard work, but it seems to have been worth the effort; I now have decent counter space, and enough room to put things away!
General Assembly in June was a good time of networking and outreach to the church about the ministry and work of Congregational Ministries Publishing and Theology Worship and Education. Several resource center persons came by, examined our exhibits, and visited with Candace and me. Our John Calvin masks were a great hit at the General Assembly. You probably saw the article about them. We are working to make this a PDF file that people can download.
Tim Ruff, our marketing assistant, and I have been working hard to track subscriptions and payments. We've contacted several of you by email and by phone in an attempt to be better stewards of our resources. Thank you for your speedy responses. 2008 has been, for us, a real transition year. We welcome you communication so that we can understand and meet your needs. We hope to institute changes that will bring you resources in a timely way with less stress for all. If you are having challenges in your center, I hope you will share them with me, or with the PARC board. We want to help.
Now — about 2009. There is a lot going on with our preparation for the future. Some surprises are in store. Please watch ideas! For Church Leaders carefully for more information about We Believe and all the new products. These will be part of the Resource Center Subscription from CMP. If you do not currently subscribe to the resource center mailing, 2009 is a year you will want to look into. If you do not subscribe to the RC subscription, make certain you get an ideas! subscription.
The spring 2009 issue of ideas! For Church Leaders will be on John Calvin and the new curricula. 2009 marks the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth, and an opportunity to celebrate all of the gifts we owe to this remarkable man. Check out ideas! and the Calvin Web site for more information.
The up-coming annual event for the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators, January 28–31, 2009, will be a critical one for resource centers. There will be resource center workshops, the meeting of the Presbyterian Association of Resource Centers (with a lunch), and a pre-POINT meeting for resource center and middle governing body staff. So make your plans now to come to San Antonio, Texas in January.
May Christ shower you with peace, love, grace, and all the blessings of God.
Michael Purintun |
