Piney Woods Presbytery Meeting

The gracious congregation of First Presbyterian Church of Lufkin ("Crossroads of the Piney Woods") is hosting Saturday's presbytery meeting. So I'm off on a road trip tomorrow so's to avoid arising Saturday morning at o-dark-thirty.

Presbygirlfriend will be accompanying me on the drive. El Jefe is staying home because his office is being moved Saturday to a temporary space while his floor is being remodeled and all hands have to be on deck at the law firm.

Saturday's meeting will feature the installation of the Moderator and the Moderator-elect (yours truly). My RevGal readers will be interested to know that the Moderator is a RevGal. I'll try to post pictures afterwards. Craig Barnes will be speaking during morning worship.

The main business comes in the afternoon session as the presbytery will be asked to approve a budget severely impacted by and a plan to repay the The Million Dollar Problem. As Moderator of General Council, I have to present the plan which it approved to the presbytery for approval. A super-majority will be required to approve it because of previous presbytery actions, and the vote has to be ratified again at a special meeting if it passes Saturday. If you're interested in the details of the report, it is posted here, see pages 13-17. It's a complicated proposal, which I drafted for the task force, so I'm praying for the ability to respond accurately and clearly to questions from the floor and to keep my wits about me if amendments are offered.

Having a plan in place to cover these unexpected and devastating financial obligations will help those responsible for the financial side of presbytery determine the resources available for presbytery. There's a lot of work ahead, and we want to remain faithful to our call to grow disciples and churches in southeast Texas.

Please keep us in prayer on Saturday!