Over two mornings at the 2016 ARMSS/POAMN conference the Rev. Dr. John T. Carroll shared his wisdom in a comprehensive, two-part keynote address with broad implications for his audience of pastors, educators, and others engaged in ministry with older adults.
For five years Westminster Presbyterian Church in Middletown, New Jersey has assembled a memorable display on its Great Lawn each fall. Beginning in 2012, the church’s “Field of Flags” display has contained one American flag for every service member killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
The Rev. Dr. José Irizarry says he was a pew child. “I learned how to crawl and walk in the pews of the church,” he said. “It was home for me.” Becoming a minister, he said, was just one step in his development, which began in those pews in his small church in Puerto Rico. “I feel called by that community,” said Irizarry, who was recently named Vice President, Education at The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). “That community nurtured me into leadership.”
There was at least one elephant in the room at Chris Pomfret’s workshop at the 2016 ARMSS/POAMN conference. But an elephant could scarcely have fit into the packed meeting space, which nearly exceeded the room’s seating capacity as extra chairs were carried in to accommodate conference-goers eager to engage the workshop’s theme, “Making Our Third Thirty a Great Thirty: How to Make the Difficult Decisions.”
The Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) is suggesting a “second mile” contribution in honor of Hunter Farrell’s 30 years of mission service to Presbyterian World Mission. Farrell leaves his post as director of World Mission, a ministry area of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, Friday, October 14.
International Peacemakers from partner churches around the world are traveling to churches throughout the U.S. as part of the Presbyterian Peacemaking program through October 17.
It’s been several days since Hurricane Matthew made its way up the eastern U.S. coastline and people are still being evacuated. Power outages and high water have made it difficult for authorities to determine the extent of Matthew’s wrath.
A lively spirit filled the gathering space as the leadership of the Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries Network (POAMN) and the Association of Retired Ministers, Their Spouses or Survivors (ARMSS) celebrated their 20th year of co-sponsoring a national conference for persons engaged in ministry with older adults.
Hurricane Matthew was like a very bad dream, watching a slow-motion bullet heading toward someone you love, unable to do anything to stop it. I kept the National Hurricane Center’s webpage open for five or six days, morning, afternoon and night; checking every few hours to see what the storm was doing.
Days after Hurricane Matthew devastated Haiti, authorities are still trying to determine the extent of damage left behind. According to the latest report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 350,000 people are in need of assistance in Haiti.
