December 17, 2024

We gratefully recognize the service of Leadership Council members who have completed their terms: Ane Fitzgerald, Dotta Hassman, Ekram Kachu, and Nathan Williams. Jane Wood has been reelected for a three-year term. Jan Davison, Joan Mahaffey, Jane Martinez, Beverly Modland, and John Sprole have been newly elected and will begin service in January.

Leadership Council received an update from Jessica Paulsen and Margaret Blair of the Io-Way Forward Task Force. This task force includes members of Des Moines, North Central Iowa, Prospect Hill, and East Iowa Presbyteries. The task force will develop a proposal about presbytery staffing and boundaries and make recommendations to the respective Leadership Councils by June 2025.

LC members Ane Fitzgerald and Nate Boulton have reached out pastorally to congregations that have not paid per capita during 2024.

LC reflected on results of the recent congregational survey. Major themes pointed to the importance of:

• Support for congregations during pastoral transitions
• Helping sessions identify a vision for what thriving congregations look like
• Facilitating active participation from all members, given the reality that most ruling and teaching elders are not able to work full time
• Careful budgeting that reflects the presbytery’s most important priorities and needs

It’s been an honor to serve as Leadership Council moderator this year. Thank you to all who serve faithfully on presbytery committees and task forces, and to everyone who sustains the relationships that make up Des Moines Presbytery!

TE Nathan Williams
Leadership Council outgoing moderator

Submitted by Mickey Van Baale

Many buildings in Newton, Iowa did not survive to celebrate 100 years of existence.  But the First Presbyterian Church located at 220 N. 2nd Avenue East did just that.

Past and current members of the congregation celebrated the building’s 100 years on November 3, 2024 with a special service, a group picture,  a joyous time of reflection and a delicious lunch.  The mission statement “Sharing God’s Love Through Worship and Service” was on display as those in attendance greeted each other warmly.

Church organist, Sandra Simbro’s prelude was “When Morning Gilds the Skies”.  The hand bell choir directed by Glenda Duffus opened the service with “Ode to Joy” and shared “Jesus Loves Me” during children’s time.  The adult choir, directed by Norm Grimm presented the anthem “In Every Generation”.

Current interim Pastor Paul Millhollin gave a most inspiring message which included honoring All Saints Day.  Communion was served.

Guest Organist Davis Folkerts of Pella, Iowa (former choir director at First Presbyterian Church) presented the postlude “Fanfare”.

Following the service attendees gathered on the steps of the chancel for a group photo taken by local photographer Julie Dodds.  Items of the history and pictures of the church were on display in the parlor for all to enjoy.

Lunch was served in fellowship hall and everyone had the opportunity to share memories and stories.

Join us on December 17 at noon via Zoom. Please register ahead of time if you plan to attend.

Read the Call to the Meeting

by Ken Rummer (a member of the Presbytery of Des Moines)

Fog fills the world beyond my window this after-election morning, cold autumn air raising the ghost of recent rains. Behind the curtain of cloud, shadows loom where trees lately stood, and all the colors of the world shift toward gray.

Carl Sandberg wrote that the fog “comes on little cat feet.” I’m not seeing any cats, but I just caught a glimpse of a small bird launching from a bent prairie stem like a pole vaulter flexing the fiberglass.

One central truth about fog: it makes it hard to see. The weather folk describe its severity in those terms. Less than a mile visibility. Less than a quarter mile. This morning I’m guessing the visibility is less than a hundred feet.

The densest fog I ever drove through arose from warm air passing over late winter snow  in the dark of evening. The center line on the highway was only visible as a dash followed by nothing followed (hopefully) by another dash. I needed the headlights, but they hurt as much as they helped. More light meant more glare and less vision.

The fog was so thick, I drove right past my exit. Couldn’t see it. I had to take my cue from the Christmas magi, and travel home by a different way.

Fog renders visibility variable. At times, I’ve seen the road stretching ahead, with the fog no more than a haze on the horizon. At other times, the fog was so close I could barely see the white line edging the highway.

I find the future is like that. Some days I can see the future stretching out ahead of me with what feels like assurance and clarity. Other days, the future hides behind the fog, unknown and unknowable.

This foggy, morning-after-the-election morning is one of those latter days. What happens now? How will the future unfold? The fog has settled in and visibility is low.

I’ve run into this a time or two before. The future I imagined, the future I had made my peace with, suddenly torn from my grip. What I learned then, and am reminding myself now, is that I don’t know what the future holds. Never did, really.

The future I see in my mind’s eye turns out to be a work of fiction, an act of imagination assembled from fears and hopes and present trends continued. Sad to say, the actual future, what takes place tomorrow or next week or seven years from now, may be very different from the future in my head, or yours.  What will it be?

The crystal ball is cloudy. We’re in the fog, and it’s hard to see ahead.

We may have to slow to a shuffle, at least for a while. Feel our way along. Send out sonar pings like bats and listen for the echoes.

At least until the fog fades and we can see the road again.

Let this be a time to celebrate all that Platte Center has meant to us. This congregation faithfully served the town of Creston (IA) with 153 years of ministry! Mark your calendar for these three dates, but please come anytime to YOUR church, Platte Center Church!