The five panelists spoke with passion, and then hurried off to a protest at the police department.
On Day 30 of a justice movement they said will go on “as long as it takes,” these pastors and theologians from the St. Louis area challenged Presbyterian mid-council leaders to join them in the streets.
The panel on “Faith in Action: Being Church in Times of Social Unrest” was one of the workshops offered for stated clerks and mid-council leaders of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in St. Louis October 13–17.
General Assembly Stated Clerk J. Herbert Nelson, II loves Westerns.
In one film he watched recently, Nelson told 350 church leaders today (Sunday) gathered here for the annual Mid Council Leaders Gathering,20 people were locked inside a barn, assailed by a large gang of bad guys. In desperation, the besieged ones just started making as much noise as they could.
When she first became executive presbyter of the Presbytery of Donegal, Erin Cox-Holmes approached two small congregations about the possibility of sharing a pastor.
They told her, “That would never work. We were on opposite sides in the Revolutionary War.”
Jeff Japinga, executive presbyter of the Presbytery of Twin Cities, opened his workshop, “A Presbytery Response to Departing Congregations, with a prayer:
“I’m not sure any of us want to talk about this, O God,” he said. “We’d rather talk about ministry and mission.”
But how to deal with congregations that want to leave the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is “a question we’re all wrestling with across the country,” Japinga said.
Presbytery moderators and vice moderators from across the country at the Mid Council Leaders Gathering in St. Louis began the day October 14 learning the basics of planning worship.
“I like to think of worship as an organic, dynamic thing — like a tree that is rooted, growing, bearing fruit for the world,” said the Rev. David Gambrell, associate for worship in the Office of Theology and Worship of the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA), in a plenary session on “Worship Responsibilities of a Presbytery Moderator.”
When Ken McFayden was expecting his first child in the late 1980s, a master craftsman in his congregation suggested that they build a cradle together.
“I had never build anything in my life,” McFayden recalled in his second presentation to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s annual Mid Council Leaders Gathering here October 14. “He insisted that I do the actual building while he watched and offered advice.” After designing, preparing the wood, constructing the cradle – all while making plenty of mistakes – McFayden experienced what he called “the joy of creating something that’s built to last.” He said he hopes that cradle will eventually be used by both his sons for their children.
“Flexibility is key to good leadership.”
So began remarks by the Rev. Holly Inglis, president of the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators and associate pastor for community and connection at Palms Church in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, as she introduced her session during the opening plenary of the Mid Council Leaders Gathering of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) here October 13.
“Leaders without followers are just out for a walk,” a renowned expert on leadership development in the church told the annual Mid Council Leaders Gathering here Friday (October 13) evening.
In an address entitled “Leading and Following,” the Rev. Ken McFayden – academic dean and professor of ministry and leadership development at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia – said, “We talk too much about leadership and not enough about followership. If there’s no followers, there’s no leader. If there’s no followership there’s no leadership.”
Hurricanes, wildfires, mass shootings — it seems as though the world has been ravaged by a seemingly endless string of disasters over the past few months.
“And what does God call us to do in these days?” Jan Edmiston, co-moderator of the 222nd General Assembly (2016), asked nearly 500 leaders of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) presbyteries and synods. Edmiston preached at the worship service that opened the Mid-Council Leaders Gathering in St. Louis October 13.
The Presbyterian Writers Guild (PWG) is accepting nominations for its 2018 David Steele Distinguished Writer Award. The award is given biennially in even-numbered years to recognize the cumulative work and influence — regardless of genre or subject matter — of a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) writer.