Sometimes faith renewal happens in ways you would never imagine.
Mission co-worker John McCall, who has served in Taiwan for more than 20 years, works to build the leadership skills of the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan. He leads groups of pastors who meet monthly to find encouragement and challenge, but he felt called to do more. He wanted to give the pastors he was mentoring an opportunity to find spiritual renewal.
The first thing I noticed when I exited the car was the sound of bagpipes. Welcome to College Conference at Montreat, where students descend each year for faith formation, fellowship, and the occasional tune from that beloved Scottish instrument. I took the music as a personal welcome, as this was my first Montreat experience.
As over 1,000 college students and their advisors rushed the doors of Montreat Conference Center’s Anderson Auditorium on January 2 for the annual College Conference’s opening worship, Frisbees featuring the logo of UKirk — the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s collegiate ministries network—flew overhead.
At the conclusion of Valarie Kaur’s Jan. 4 electrifying keynote address at the College Conference at Montreat, the tandem lines on either side of Anderson Auditorium were at least ten deep with students all but on fire to have her respond to their questions.
Stepping again into the pulpit—and alternately striding across the stage—at the College Conference at Montreat on Jan. 3 and Jan. 4, the Rev. Paul Roberts Sr., president of Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary, Atlanta, Georgia, continued to explore the conference theme, “Beyond Babel,” based on Genesis 11:1-9.
As over 1,000 college students and their advisors rushed the doors of Montreat Conference Center’s Anderson Auditorium on Jan. 2 for the annual College Conference’s opening worship, Frisbees featuring the logo of UKirk — the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s collegiate ministries network — flew overhead. The energy level at the gathering — as high as the soaring Frisbees — continued throughout the evening as attendees were introduced to the conference theme, “Beyond Babel,” based on Genesis 11:1–9. The 2017 conference, slated for Jan. 2–5, is designed to help participants see in the ancient text “how God gave an ancient people a holy nudge towards diversity” as they are challenged to consider how God is similarly nudging God’s people today.
