Any recounting of the journey of the children of Israel must include the story of the golden calf. It’s an important story because it reminds us of our own ways of traveling the journeys God has set before us. We want to claim our place among God’s chosen, and yet we cannot do so without owning our own failures as followers of a leader. We, too, have often found our spiritual leaders “up on the mountain” awaiting a word from God and, like Moses’ followers, have tired of waiting for epiphany that will provide us the answers we desire. We know what happens next.
Attaining Resurrection — a virtual Refresh Retreat — provides an opportunity for 1001 New Worshiping Community leaders to replenish and reclaim their spiritual grounding in a time of pandemic. There will be three of these retreat opportunities this year, with the next scheduled for April 12–13. Leaders will have a chance to choose their start time, based on Eastern or Pacific time zones.
“This is our stone-cold moment to be like Jesus, our rock and our redeemer,” Dr. Brian K. Blount told the recent NEXT Church national gathering at the close of a sermon. The president and professor of New Testament at Union Presbyterian Seminary called on worshipers to “stand on God’s promise … and rock out our world.”
We are bombarded by news in our nation and around the world of the manifold ways the rich prey on the poor, the strong oppress the weak, and racism and religious intolerance erupt in horrific acts of violence. Moreover, the leaders of nations continually conspire to create international conflict in their reach for power.
In 2017, when representatives from the United Nations toured the Black Belt of Alabama, one commented that the poverty there was unlike any he had seen in the First World. This area across the southern half of Alabama, once famous for its antebellum cotton production, is now well known for its difficult living conditions. These conditions disproportionately affect the African-American descendants of enslaved labor. Yet, many of these black residents also inherited an indomitable work ethic and have made incredible strides for themselves and their children.
Education and training of church leaders is key to the transformation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), General Assembly Stated Clerk J. Herbert Nelson, II, told the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly (COGA) at its winter meeting.
Sean Chow, 1001 New Worshiping Communities west region associate, will host a two-part webinar discussion on Facebook about the Benefits Plan of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) this Friday at 9 a.m. ET. Highlights of the conversation include the flexibility and menu options offered to 1001 NWC leaders.
The New Immigrant Clergywomen’s Leadership Institute begins this week in Daytona Beach, Florida, as approximately 17 female clergy from around the country gather to collaborate and develop leadership skills to better serve their congregations and the church.
