April 8

Presbytery of Northern New England

A new thing: resource presbyter

 
April 8, 2016

In 2010, an opportunity to rethink the way the presbytery relates to its congregations began to unfold. In 2011, that process resulted in a vision for a different kind of leadership, replacing the traditional executive presbyter with a resource presbyter.

In a nutshell, the central responsibility of the resource presbyter is to identify resources and to make them available in order to help the congregations and ministries of the Presbytery of Northern New England to thrive. Serving a partly diagnostic and partly prophetic role, the resource presbyter seeks to hear what the needs on the ground are and to find creative ways to match those needs with new possibilities.

The results? Annual leadership training opportunities, smaller membership church forums led by the Presbyterian Foundation, increased visits from Presbyterian Mission Agency staff addressing church growth and other important issues, and Board of Pensions educational events at presbytery meetings. Recent discussion topics include creating a culture of hospitality in our churches and using social media to make an impact.

There is a renewed sense of connection to the presbytery and to one another, a renewed energy for being the body of Christ in new ways.

Rev. Cindy Kohlmann, Resource Presbyter

Let us join in prayer for:

Presbytery Staff

Cindy Kohlmann, Resource Presbyter
TJ DeMarco, Stated Clerk

Presbytery Partnerships

The Presbytery of Northern New England has fewer than 3,000 members spread across Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and northeastern Massachusetts, with churches ranging from ten members to over 500 members in cities, towns and rural communities. The presbytery has been in partnership with Amathole Presbytery in the Eastern Cape of South Africa since 1999.

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff

Daniel Manzanares, PMA                   
Troy Marables, FDN                                                                                            
Clifford Martin, BOP

Let us pray

Creating God, help us participate in the new things you are doing all around us every day. Instead of seeing scarcity and barriers, may we see your abundance and your connections. Draw us out of our fear and into your new-every-morning possibilities.