As the keynoter for the 69th Annual Synod School going on this week at Buena Vista University, it’s the job of the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins to remind the more than 500 people gathered what Presbyterians believe.

Ukraine is now using cluster munitions to strengthen its counteroffensive against Russia after being supplied with the weapons by the United States in a decision that concerned many because of the risk of more civilian casualties.

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.

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.

Meeting online Saturday, the Unification Commission heard from three human resources experts in the Administrative Services Group — Ruth Gardner, Anisha Hackney and Rick Purdy — on how a consultant might be brought on to strengthen the work of the commission as it merges the Office of the General Assembly and the Presbyterian Mission Agency.

Camille Hernandez, author of the upcoming book “The Hero and the Whore: Reclaiming Healing and Liberation Through the Stories of Sexual Exploitation in the Bible,” said during the most recent edition of “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast” that “a larger conversation on sexual violence” has been made possible because of the #MeToo movement.

Through a collaboration between Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and 1001 New Worshiping Communities, church planters and spiritual leaders visited Puerto Rico in June to learn about ongoing efforts to rebuild after hurricane disasters. 1001 New Worshiping Communities leaders recognized many commonalities with pastors in Puerto Rico, including the necessity of bivocational calls and a need for community engagement and the work of healing and relief.

As pastor of Broad Street Presbyterian Church in Columbus, Ohio, the Rev. Amy Miracle said she waited a few years before preaching about sex.

With passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and other recent legislation, Congress has authorized — and the Biden administration is carrying out — billions of dollars in payments for clean energy installations for, among many kinds of entities and organizations, the nation’s faith communities.

A visit to the Presbyterian Historical Society’s offices in Philadelphia will not disappoint the avid historian or curiosity seeker who wants to know about their great grandparents’ work in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). It is the oldest continuous denominational historical society in the United States. Walking the halls and scanning the shelves and exhibits will open a treasure of documents, paintings, photos, videos, and artifacts that tell a long and detailed story of the PC(USA).

Record Archivist David Staniunas is responsible for managing new collections. In this week’s OGA In Focus, he describes his work from moving historical items into the building to getting them on the shelves and into the database.