For Friday’s final convocation during this week’s Synod of Lakes and Prairies’ Synod School being held at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, the Rev. Dr. Jill Duffield selected the biblical account of the woman pouring an alabaster jar of ointment on the feet of Jesus, which she washed with her tears and dried with her hair.
Four weeks of studying the underpinnings of systemic poverty came to an end Monday with a look at Luke’s account of the Widow’s Mite and a scholarly examination of the burden that debt has, especially on people living in poverty.
The presenter during Monday’s first of four webinars on the Matthew 25 focus of eradicating systemic poverty framed the road ahead with this question: How can we work together with others to bring the United States and the larger global economy more in line with our theological commitments?
A 2016 study conducted by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Research Services, “Gender and Leadership in the PC(USA)” identified two key findings: gender discrimination is still pervasive within the denomination, and almost half its members are not particularly aware of it. The study is a part of a larger research project assessing the status of women at all levels of the church.