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In the right hands — in this case, with the help of human props — the Rev. Scott Prouty, the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Redwood Falls, Minnesota, gave Synod School attendees some fresh material during worship on Monday on an oft-told biblical story, the Parable of the Prodigal and His Brother.
Synod School, put on each year by the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, turns 70 this year, and so who else would leaders ask to preach during opening worship on Sunday than Elona Street-Stewart, a septuagenarian who’s the synod’s executive and Co-Moderator of the 224th General Assembly (2020).
Born more than 600 years ago and burned at the stake for heresy at age 19, Joan of Arc still had a lot to teach a roomful of Synod School students last month — especially with guidance from Dr. Scott Stanfield, Emeritus Professor of English at Nebraska Wesleyan University and a longtime Synod School participant.
Concluding her week-long journey through biblical accounts starting with the letter “c” — Creation, crisis, covenant and Christ came before — the Rev. DeEtte Decker, the preacher during Synod School last week and the communications director for the Presbyterian Mission Agency, concluded worship on Friday with more alliteration: the church as co-creator.
“Y’all responded a little better than I thought you would yesterday,” the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins told Synod School attendees Thursday morning, referring to a talk he delivered Wednesday on whether some symbols belong in church. “So today I thought I’d talk about Christianity and capitalism.”
The Rev. Jimmie Hawkins warned Synod School attendees that his Wednesday message “might be a challenging. My wife says I’m not everyone’s cup of tea.”
Members and friends of Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Storm Lake, Iowa, supersized the church’s welcome mat Sunday, welcoming scores of visitors attending this week’s Synod School put on annually by the Synod of Lakes and Prairies even as they prepared further hospitality to some of the 29,000 people who were bicycling into town Sunday as part of RAGBRAI, the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.
During her convocation address Wednesday at the Synod of Lakes and Prairies’ Synod School entitled “Called Out to be a Prophet,” the Rev. Dr. Jill Duffield listed some qualities of biblical prophets:
LOUISVILLE — “Why?”
The favorite and persistent question of children everywhere may exasperate parents, grandparents and caregivers, but it’s an important question, the Rev. Samuel Son told the 450 participants during worship Tuesday at the Synod of Lakes and Prairies’ Synod School.
Blessings can come from unanticipated sources in places we might not expect. For the Rev. Dr. Jill Duffield and her family, the place was outside a Goodwill dressing room, and the sources were two older women unknown to the Duffield family.
