The Rev. Chuy Gallegos, Foothills Presbytery's pastor for Hispanic Congregational Development, went to Washington, DC, to march in support of immigration reform March 27. The Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly in 2004 approved a call for just immigration laws. About 200 pastors gathered at the Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church for the march.

Chuy and another pastor visited Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) and two other senators in their offices following the march.

Chuy had conversations with Julia Thorne, the PC(USA) immigration attorney, and met with the Rev. Mark Adams with whom he shared the position of co-director of Frontera de Cristo in Arizona for 15 years before coming to Foothills. He stayed with the Rev. Parrish Jones, a member of Presbytery of the Peaks, an old friend. Elenora Giddings Ivory, director of the PC(USA) Washington office, helped guide the group. Chuy is shown in this picture with the husband and daughter of Julia Thorne.

Immigration reform has been much in the news as the U.S. House and Senate wrestle with the complex and controversial issue. The Presbytery's Hispanic ministry has raised awareness of the issue here.

First Presbyterian Church in Spartanburg would like to invite all those interested in seeing the Dead Sea Scrolls to travel with them on May 22 to Discovery Place in Charlotte. The group will depart at 10:30 aboard a chartered bus and will arrive back in Spartanburg around 5:30. The cost is $30 per person and includes the exhibition ticket and transportation. To register, contact Monteigne Hutchins at 583- 4531x140 or mhutchins@fpcspartanburg.org.

Chip Tumblin, a Junior at Clemson University and faithful member of Fountain Inn Presbyterian Church, is seeking a summer internship at a church in the presbytery. Chip is inquiring as to God's call with his life's vocation and is seriously praying about Christian ministry. He believes that an internship in a church this summer will help him make a decision. Chip has held leadership positions in many youth mission trips and church activities. He would like to work with youth or children, particularly children. To contact Chip, you may email him at wtumbli@clemson.edu.

In 1997 the General Assembly began releasing unassigned restricted funds for congregations and presbyteries to use. The Synod of South Atlantic has asked presbytery to inform congregations that they may apply for the funds. Go to the link below and click on the funds that are available and the application form.

The applications should be sent to the presbytery no later than May 1, 2006. Please send them to Bill Lancaster at bill@foothillspresbytery.org or mail them to him at Foothills Presbytery, 2242 Woodruff Rd., Simpsonville, SC 29681.

The presbytery can send only one application per fund to the Synod, so you should check with Bill first at 288-5774 to see if anyone has applied for the fund in which your church is interested. The application must be typed in 10-point or larger type and all information must fit within the application. Expanding the application with a word processor is not permitted. Excess information, including brochures and photographs will NOT be reviewed.

Nellie McHugh, a resident of the Presbyterian Home in Easley, celebrated her 105th birthday on Sunday, March 12, with family and friends. Ms. McHugh was born in Clemson and attended Daniel High School before retiring as the secretary to the dean of enginering at Clemson University. She never married and is the daughter of L.I. and Neddy McHugh. She attended Fort Hill Presbyterian Church, and she says she walked to work everyday. She has little health problems and attributes her healthy 105-year-old body to eating healthy and exercising.

Dr. Thomas G. Long will present the Fourth Presbyterian Endowed Lectures on April 22 and 23. The Saturday lecture at 7:00 p.m. is entitled "The Churches of the Four Corners--Wisdom for Today from the Churches of Mark, Luke, and John." Dr. Long will preach at the 8:45 and 11:15 a.m. services on "The God We Get" and will offer a lecture during the Church School hour (10:00) on "Meeting Marcus Borg Again for the First Time: The Rise of Gnostic Spirituality in the Church Today." His final lecture will be Sunday evening at 8:00 p.m. and is entitled "Unleashing Biblical Power: The Biblical Writers as Poets and Artists." Anyone who is interested is invited to attend. Fourth Presbyterian Church is located at 703 E. Washington Street in Greenville.

Two weeks ago a heating unit in the roof of the Pacolet Presbyterian Church caught on fire. There was no one in the church at the time of the fire, but a neighbor saw the smoke and immediately called the fire department. The firemen arrived very quickly and were able to extinquish the fire before any real damage was done to the sanctuary. The church members feel very blessed that this alert neighbor reported the fire and perhaps saved the church building. We offer our thanks for this wonderful blessing.