Nearly 250 Presbyterians from four presbyteries (John Knox, Milwaukee, Northern Waters, and Winnebago) gathered May 3-4 for the “first ever” Four Presbyteries 
Meeting (4PM) at the Kalahari Resort and Convention Center in the Wisconsin Dells. The timely theme of the event “Relevancy and Resiliency in the Church” inspired speaker, Dr. Ken McFayden’s two keynotes: “A New Prescription for the Church Today: A Good Dose of Relevancy and Resiliency.”
An idea that was sparked about 16 months ago by joint conversations between the councils of John Knox, Milwaukee, and Winnebago Presbyteries, the hope and goal of the event was to help Presbyterians from throughout the region to get to know one another better as they consider ways to cross presbytery borders to engage in ministry and mission together. A grass-roots effort,the event was planned by representatives of each presbytery, modeling an effort to take risks, be counter-cultural and try something new!
The event included workshops ranging from topics on hunger and food justice to leading change in the congregation, growing congregations through relationships, and developing social media as ministry.
Three presbyteries (John Knox, Milwaukee, and Winnebago) held their spring meetings at the event and denominational (Board of Pensions, Presbyterian Foundation), educational (McCormick Seminary, Dubuque Seminary, Carroll University) and regional (Presbyterian Homes and Services, Wisconsin Council of Churches) “partners in ministry” briefly addressed the group and hosted information tables that included a bookstore from the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. An evening vespers service led by the three presbytery moderators and many opportunities for making connections and building relationships, were other highlights of the event.
As participants said goodbye on Monday evening with smiles on their faces and hearts and heads full of inspiration and new ideas, people were asking, “when can we do this again?” The planning team has already received several notes of gratitude with comments like: “Thank you all so much for the amazingly wonderful 4PM event at the Kalahari! I had been looking forward to it and yet it went SO far beyond my expectations!” and “Spread the word, if you will, about how GREAT that gathering in the Dells was. I think it’s one of the best Presbytery sponsored events/ideas I’ve encountered.”
by Rob Ater
