What is a small, isolated Presbyterian church to do if it can’t afford to hire an ordained pastor? As that dilemma becomes more common, several Midwestern presbyteries and the Synod of Lakes and Prairies are collaborating on coursework to train elders for greater responsibilities.
Not unlike many urban centers around the nation, Madison, Wisconsin is undergoing what can only be called a renaissance. Lured by work in the healthcare technology and other industries, hundreds of young adults are pouring into the downtown area to work and live in the transformed environment of housing, shopping and recreation.
Church ties may be looser and students may be less religious than in past generations, but most Presbyterian colleges and universities still believe in the role of a campus chaplain.
STORM LAKE, Iowa – Synod School, a ministry of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, recently drew a record 686 participants to the Buena Vista University campus.
Synod School takes place every summer, as the only remaining synod school of its type within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The theme this year was “Let Justice Flow.”
Synod School — the well-known midsummer ministry of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies — drew a record 686 participants to the Buena Vista University campus here this week.
The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II is calling the church to do what is just — to do what is right. Nelson, stated clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), spoke each morning during the annual Synod School of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, telling Presbyterians to “get off your blessed assurances and do something for the Lord.”
Nearly 700 people of all ages descended 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.
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.
While the setting sun cast long shadows over the land, residents of the Sacred Stone Camp gathered near a community campfire as volunteers nearby prepared the evening meal. Children and a handful of dogs welcomed the night as if it were day, running and playing, oblivious to the changing weather and the cause that brought so many to the Missouri River in Cannon Ball, North Dakota.
“All of us have to educate ourselves. All of us have to make an extra effort to understand the other.” That’s the crux of the message Dr. Sayyid Syeed, national director for the Office for Interfaith and Community Alliances for the Islamic Society of North America, brought to Redwood Falls, Minnesota, when he spoke at the First Presbyterian Church and other locations in that community Sept. 15-17.
