Marking its 65th year, this year’s iteration of Synod School, the midsummer ministry of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, drew more than 600 for a week of worship, classes, fun and fellowship on the campus of Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa.

Charitable giving is not a one-time act but a work in progress for Steve and Sarah Mato, members of Providence Presbyterian Church in Parker, Colorado, southeast of Denver.

“The beauty of Presbyterian Women is that many of us are here because of the faith and hard work of all those Presbyterian women who have come before us,” said Ruth-Aimee Belonni-Rosario Govens, chief enrollment management officer at Columbia Theological Seminary. She preached Sunday morning at the closing plenary of the 2018 Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Board of Pensions has earned a spot on the Philadelphia Business Journal’s list of 2018 Best Places to Work. Employers throughout the Philadelphia region compete annually for this honor.

Native American women came together in Louisville on Aug. 2 for a pre-gathering event prior to the kickoff of the 2018 Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women (PW). “Because of limited opportunity to come together nationally, Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries (RE&WIM) put together this event,” said Irv Porter, associate for Native American Intercultural Congregational Support. “This is also a time to celebrate together the goodness of God in the lives of native women,” added Rhashell Hunter, director of RE&WIM.

Over 200 people gathered at the Galt House Hotel in downtown Louisville to join the 2018 National Gathering of Presbyterian Women in the PC(USA) for Friday’s peace and justice march. Drawing attention to “The Ninth Street Divide,” organizers hope the march raises awareness of the lingering effects of racism and discriminatory practices such as redlining that have resulted in segregation in Louisville and in many other cities in the nation.

August 6 and 9, 1945, are the days that the United States Air Force dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, causing over 185,000 immediate and slower deaths in those Japanese cities. Ever since, most churches and many other religious and moral people have sought to prevent any further use of nuclear weapons. Remembering and mourning that initial devastation is part of the spiritual resistance of Christian obedience.

It stood out to me. Spread across the front row of the guests of honor to the General Assembly of the National Evangelical (Presbyterian) Synod of Syria and Lebanon (NESSL) sat three amazing women holding key leadership roles in the larger church community.

Racial Ethnic & Women's Ministries (RE&WM) of the Presbyterian Mission Agency has a new name. The ministry area is now Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries (RE&WIM).

Growing up, one of my favorite shows was Little House on the Prairie. The characters were old and young, likable and unlikable. Even though some (like the Olesons!) were petty and others made mistakes, they were always there for each other when it counted. Little House had story lines for both kids and adults on the show.