Birmingham’s history of civil rights set the stage for the Association of Partners in Christian Education (APCE)’s Annual Event, held in the city Jan. 25–28, with pre- and post-event touring and learning opportunities around Birmingham and Alabama available to participants.
Last week as part of the Association of Partners in Christian Education’s annual event, it fell to the Rev. Elizabeth Boulware Landes to lead the workshop “The Language of Grace.”
“We never outgrow fear,” John Pavlovitz said in his second plenary at last week’s annual event of the Association of Partners in Christian Education. “As we get older, we just trade in our terror for more age-appropriate models.” Pavlovitz, a pastor, writer and activist from North Carolina, then described the two responses we have at any age to the storms that scare us: “We become frozen or frantic.”
Last week’s Association of Partners in Christian Education annual event included a helpful and important online workshop on the role churches play in mental health. The Rev. Talitha Arnold, pastor of the United Church of Santa Fe, New Mexico, led the workshop attended by about two dozen people.
People attending the Association of Partners in Christian Education’s annual event had a role to play at the start of pastor and author John Pavlovitz’s final plenary Saturday morning: Pavlovitz turned over the microphone and asked them what they’ve experienced since the conference opened on Wednesday.
Brought on stage by a powerful version of “I Want My Life to Make a Difference” by G. Phillip Shoultz, III, who provided music for the Association of Partners in Christian Education’s annual event this week, keynoter John Pavlovitz continued his theme Friday of dealing with the turbulence in our lives.
The Association of Partners in Christian Education honored three people Friday, one as its educator of the year and two for their lifetime achievements. The three received their awards during a dinner Friday, the next-to-last day of APCE’s annual event being held in Birmingham, Alabama.
At the annual corporation lunch for the Association of Partners in Christian Education on Thursday, the Rev. Dr. Kathryn Campbell was sworn in as president along with other new officers: Tori Smit (president-elect), and Deb DeMeester and Jim Monnett (Co-Treasurers).
The ministry areas of the Presbyterian Mission Agency and offices of the PC(USA) practiced being good neighbors in the marketplace at this week’s Association for Partners in Christian Education event. APCE’s Marketplace, which features a bookstore and informational resources from various denominations, seminaries, and church-adjacent non-profits, is a major attraction at the annual event.
Christian education enthusiasts from all over North America have convened in Birmingham for the Association of Partners in Christian Education with an invitation to rest inspired by Matthew 11:28-30 as found in The Message, where Jesus asks his followers if they are “tired, worn out, and burned out on religion?”
