The Presbytery of Prospect Hill

---

The Presbyterian Camp on Okoboji is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary of ministry with youth and families in 2006. It has been a place for spiritual and physical refreshment, for deepening friendships, for learning and developing new skills, and for fresh insights during study and discussion. Plans are in place to construct a $1.7-million conference center as the camp broadens its vision to meet the needs of all age groups and retreat opportunities.

First Presbyterian Church in Battle Creek, Iowa, celebrated its 125th anniversary by honoring the more than seventy-five men and women who have been members for more than fifty continuous years. Video interviews were conducted in which all of these members shared their faith memories. Interview clips were combined to complete a video of faith stories set to music that was presented at the congregation’s anniversary celebration on October 3, 2005.

First Presbyterian Church in Manning, Iowa, is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2006. Like other small-town churches in Iowa, the membership numbers are slowly declining, but its activities are going strong. A Sunday school program is maintained despite an average attendance of four persons. A strong Presbyterian Women group coordinates the “Prayers and Squares” mission, through which the congregation provides hand-tied lap quilts to members of the community who are seriously ill.

The congregation of Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian in Marcus, Iowa, took a proactive approach to the closing of its church and the completion of its ministry. Many members could trace their family’s membership back four generations. Members voted to preserve the church building by moving it to the Marcus fairgrounds, where it was set on a new foundation, thus preserving the historic building for years to come. The building will be open for tours as well as used for weddings, family reunions, and Mt. Pleasant Church reunions. The former site of the church has been donated to a preservation group and developed as a wildlife sanctuary. Senior members of Mt. Pleasant in particular are comforted in knowing that their church has been preserved—from age to age—in a safe and secure place.

The Presbytery of Prospect Hill has 58 churches with 9,308 members.