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The Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, the PC(USA)’s advocacy director, recently told the Synod School gathered at Buena Vista University what Presbyterians believe.
Closing with “Beautiful Things” by the artist Michael Gungor as performed by Synod School musicians, a recent worship service held in Schaller Memorial Chapel at Buena Vista University explored how Creation came about and what an act that occurred 4.5 billion years ago means for us today.
As the keynoter for the 69th Annual Synod School at Buena Vista University, it was the job of the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins to remind the more than 500 people gathered what Presbyterians believe.
With a nod to the 29,000 or so RAGBRAI riders who’d arrived in Storm Lake, Iowa, hours earlier, the Rev. DeEtte Decker showed up for opening worship at the 69th Annual Synod School on a borrowed bicycle that she pedaled down the center aisle of Buena Vista University’s Schaller Memorial Chapel.
Members and friends of Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Storm Lake, Iowa, recently supersized the church’s welcome mat, welcoming scores of visitors attending the 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 as part of RAGBRAI, the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.
Camille Hernandez, author of the upcoming book “The Hero and the Whore: Reclaiming Healing and Liberation Through the Stories of Sexual Exploitation in the Bible,” said during a recent edition of “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast” that “a larger conversation on sexual violence” has been made possible because of the #MeToo movement.
Video: https://vimeo.com/840948023
Through a collaboration between Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and 1001 New Worshiping Communities, church planters and spiritual leaders visited Puerto Rico in June to learn about ongoing efforts to rebuild after hurricane disasters. 1001 New Worshiping Communities leaders recognized many commonalities with pastors in Puerto Rico, including the necessity of bivocational calls and a need for community engagement and the work of healing and relief.
“They keep coming.” The affirmation echoed through the Roots 101 African American Museum on a Friday in July as the participants in the Trailblazers Program spoke and marched during a live preview of the short film “1963-Still: Same Shot.”
“Screams and hubbubs! The children were excited and happy to leave the huts and go play outside. The air was thick and full of dust and flakes falling from the sky. They thought it was snowing, something which never happened on their tropical island. They were surprised and curious. They run after the flakes, catching them with their hands, rubbing them in their hair and on their bodies,” an eyewitness recalled.
Ally Henny, a speaker and the author of the recently published “I Won’t Shut Up: Finding Your Voice When the World Tries to Silence You,” speaks her mind during a recent episode of “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast,” which can be heard here.
