synod of lakes and prairies Archives

Nearly six centuries after being burned at the stake, Joan of Arc reaches forward with lessons for Synod School students

Posted August 7th, 2023

Born more than 600 years ago and burned at the stake for heresy at age 19, Joan of Arc still had a lot to teach a roomful of Synod School students last month — especially with guidance from Dr. Scott Stanfield, Emeritus Professor of English at Nebraska Wesleyan University and a longtime Synod School participant.

Restorative Actions explains to Synod School the work it’s undertaken

Posted August 3rd, 2023

Born in the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, Restorative Actions describes itself as “a grassroots voluntary initiative for churches, individuals, mid councils and agencies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), as well as ecumenical partners and interested organizations, to take a leadership stance in opposed to racism and racial privilege” by allowing “U.S. Americans who benefit from institutional racism to provide a credible witness for justice by surrendering ill-gotten gains toward the establishment of just relationships with Afro-Americans and Indigenous communities.”

Presbyterian pastor turned Foreign Service Officer outlines current trends in foreign policy during Synod School mini-course

Posted August 2nd, 2023

The Rev. Bill Davnie was a Presbyterian pastor for five years before hearing a different call: he then served 27 years as a career Foreign Service Officer.

Synod School keynoter: Christianity and capitalism don’t get us to the same place

Posted July 27th, 2023

“Y’all responded a little better than I thought you would yesterday,” the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins told Synod School attendees Thursday morning, referring to a talk he delivered Wednesday on whether some symbols belong in church. “So today I thought I’d talk about Christianity and capitalism.”

Synod School worship looks at agreements big and small, from pinky promises to biblical covenants

Posted July 27th, 2023

A time for children during worship Wednesday at Synod School saw about two dozen children make pinky promises before God and the 500 or so people assembled.

A wily serpent and God in three persons lay out the Genesis story of sin and banishment during Synod School

Posted July 25th, 2023

“Hey,” a middle school improv class member playing the serpent in the Genesis 3 account told the Garden of Eden’s first female inhabitant during Synod School worship on Tuesday, “I see you’re interested in that tree over there.”

The Rev. Jimmie Hawkins gives Synod School attendees a primer on what Presbyterians don’t believe

Posted July 25th, 2023

On Monday, the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, the PC(USA)’s advocacy director, told the Synod School gathered at Buena Vista University what Presbyterians believe.

Taking her cue from 29,000 cycling enthusiasts

Posted July 23rd, 2023

With a nod to the 29,000 or so RAGBRAI riders who’d arrived in Storm Lake, Iowa, a few 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.

Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Storm Lake, Iowa, throws out an enormous welcome mat

Posted July 23rd, 2023

Members and friends of Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Storm Lake, Iowa, supersized the church’s welcome mat Sunday, welcoming scores of visitors attending this week’s 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 Sunday as part of RAGBRAI, the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.

Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary is hosting a national conversation on repairing the nation’s racial divide

Posted January 10th, 2023

Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary is relying on the calling of Isaiah 58:12 — “… you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in” — as it begins convening a national conversation on what the seminary calls in a news release “the interest and capacity of diverse organizations in developing sustainable approaches to reparations” and repair.