leadership Archives

Making a digital dream come true

Posted June 7th, 2017

Doris Garcia Rivera, president of the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico, remembers how grateful she was, standing on the stage at a meeting of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board earlier this year in Puerto Rico. When Tony De La Rosa, the agency’s interim executive director, presented a $10,000 DREAM Grant check to the Synod of Puerto Rico for use by the seminary, Garcia Rivera was ecstatic.

Synod School heads toward a record enrollment this summer

Posted June 6th, 2017

Nearly 700 people of all ages will descend upon a small town in Iowa July 23-28 to sing, study, worship, and play. Synod School, offered by the Synod of Lakes and Prairies at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, is thriving — and unusual, since it is the only such Presbyterian program left in the country.

First woman installed as senior minister of Presbyterian congregation

Posted April 6th, 2017

The Rev. Huong Dang, best known as “Cedar,” was installed this past Sunday as pastor of the Vietnamese Presbyterian Church (VPC) in Garden Grove, California. She is the first woman to be installed as senior minister of a Vietnamese-language congregation in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

UN Commission on the Status of Women offers solutions to issues affecting Detroit

Posted March 17th, 2017

Troy Byrdsong and Alison Oglesby are two young women with big dreams and big hearts. The freshman and junior attend Wayne State University and are attending the United Nations 61st Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) as a part of the 12-person delegation of the Racial Ethnic and Women’s Ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency.

Seminary student Leslie Cox blogs her way to the Commission on the Status of Women

Posted March 15th, 2017

Leslie Cox is a second year seminary student at Columbia Theological Seminary in the Masters of Divinity program. She is focusing her efforts in the area of advocacy and inclusion, and has started the blog loveles.co about “Queer Love Stories.”

Hidden sexism in a progressive denomination

Posted March 14th, 2017

In a room filled with women from around the world, participants attending the opening of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s parallel event at the 61st Commission on the Status of Women waited expectantly to hear what presenters had to say about gender discrimination within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Launching intentional communities for young adults is ‘game changer’ for PC(USA)

Posted December 29th, 2016

Coming of age in New Zealand, Paul Humphreys innately understood that nation’s special, spiritual connection with the land.

PC(USA) Board of Pensions nominates new executive team

Posted September 14th, 2016

President Frank C. Spencer has announced a newly formed executive team at The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Establishment of the team streamlines decision making as the board continues to transform so that it can better serve the church in a time of great change.

Hispanic Latin Presbyterian Women renew commitment to unity, service

Posted August 26th, 2016

Despite tension and polarization in church and society, Hispanic Latin Presbyterian Women (MHLP, in the Spanish acronym) came together recently under the theme “Connect . . . Grow . . . Serve” for their triennial assembly. Almost 200 Spanish-speaking Presbyterian women from congregations in the United States and Puerto Rico gathered in Fort Worth, Texas, to celebrate Encuentro VIII.

Presbytery in my pocket

Posted August 18th, 2016

In the northeast corner of the country, the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse made a dramatic decision. It reduced presbytery staff to just one person and got rid of its office space. Today, Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery has no building. The office is a laptop, and its number rings to a cell phone in Steve Plank’s pocket.