Presbyterian – what does it mean and
where did the word come from?
‘Presbyterian’ is a name given to specific Christians who
are Reformed Protestants. It can also refer to the type of church where
Reformed traditions are practiced.
e.g. People who join Erin
Church are called Presbyterians.
Erin Church is
part of the PC(USA) Presbyterian denomination.
People at Erin
Presbyterian Church worship God according to Reformed practices.
The word ‘Presbyterian’ has its roots in an old word
‘presbuteros,’ which is the original New Testament Greek word for ‘elder’.
Presbyterian churches usually have elders who both lead and serve the
congregation to which they belong. At Erin, we have many people who have served
as elders. Our Session has currently 20 elders – 19 ruling elders, including
the Session Clerk, and one teaching elder – the Pastor.
How many elders in our church can you name?
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What do you think that a ruling elder does?
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What do you think that a teaching elder does?
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At Erin, our elders meet once per month on the third
Thursday evening in the Heritage Room to discuss what’s happening in our church
and to make decisions on behalf of the congregation. The pastor chairs the
meeting and is called the Moderator of the Session.
What kind of decisions do you think our elders make at the
Session meeting? Why is it important to have a group of people make decisions
for the whole church?
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Handout the Booklet: History of the Presbyterian Church
Presbyterians began as a protesting movement against the
Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century. A Frenchman, John Calvin,
began the movement, which was originally called “Calvinism.” He suggested that
local churches could rule themselves without bishops, cardinals, or popes.
Groups of these churches in the same region could meet together on a regular
basis to support one another.
These meetings were called Presbyteries. Erin
Presbyterian is part of the Presbytery of East Tennessee.
Let’s watch a video of the Presbytery of East Tennessee
According to the video, what is Presbytery and what does it do?
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Presbyteries that group together to meet twice a year are called
Synods. We are in the Synod of the Living Waters. Here is a map of the Synod
Our Synod meets twice per year to discuss mission projects
mainly connected to supplying clean water in different parts of our country and
around the world.
General Assembly
The largest meeting of elders in our denomination takes
place every two years at a different location. Hundreds of ruling and teaching
elders gather together to make important decisions about the Church’s life,
work, and ministry in our nation and throughout the world. Youth delegates from
each Presbytery are also chosen to attend the meeting and their opinions about
the whole church are very important for the future of our denomination.
Let’s watch a video of how our system as Presbyterians in
the PCUSA actually works:
The Constitution of the PC(USA) is made up of two books:
The Book of Confessions
The Book of Common Order
So, what is a Presbyterian?
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Any
other questions?
Your Bible assignment for this week is to read the chapters
7 & 8 of the Gospel of Mark, as well as completing the question sheet.
Bring it back to our next meeting. Our next meeting takes place on Sunday
February 28 at 4:45PM.
Finish with prayer.
