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Christian Formation
The Office of Christian Formation, part of the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Theology, Formation & Evangelism ministry, has launched a comprehensive online Faith Practices Toolkit designed to help faith leaders teach and guide their communities into becoming an intergenerational community of faith.
The South Central Region of the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (SCRAPCE) is hosting a three-day virtual workshop called “Dipping Deeper Into the Well of PC(USA) Ministries” Oct. 5–7. The workshop, coordinated by Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary (APTS), is recommended for Christian educators, pastors, volunteers and anyone else interested in learning about denominational resources available for Christian education and formation in the local church.
Church and worshiping community leaders, are you looking for ways to support families in faith formation at home during a time of pandemic? Would you like your community to have access to a children’s Bible, hymnal and prayers in their home?
While the apocalyptic genre might seem relatable in some ways during these times we’re living in, the characters I have found myself relating to most during the pandemic are those found in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s account of life in 19th century America that she writes about in “Little House on the Prairie.” Letting out the hem of last year’s dress to make do for a growing child totally makes sense now. Who needs new clothes when you never leave home? Sitting around the fire at night for a sing-along with Pa while Ma does the mending?
And then there’s Sundays.
Early this year, the dean of Belk Chapel at Queens University of Charlotte, Dr. Suzanne Watts Henderson, was in Chicago visiting with Eboo Patel. The founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) mentioned to her that he was interested in working with Queens to build a statewide and regional network to do interfaith work in the Carolinas.
The COVID-19 era “is going to radically push what the church is in the future,” the Rev. Dr. Jason Brian Santos told the Synod of Lakes and Prairies’ Synod School Wednesday evening.
It’s almost time to go back to school, to campus, to a new normal. What can leaders of youth and collegiate ministries do to prepare for success in the midst of COVID-19?
In Gail Godwin’s book “The Finishing School,” which features an older woman and a 14-year-old girl, the woman tells the girl she can tell by looking whether a person has congealed. That person will have no more surprises, the woman tells her young friend, and to avoid the trap she must constantly be on guard against gelling too soon. It’s a valued vignette in one of the Rev. Dr. Lib Caldwell’s favorite books.
Like most organizations, PC(USA)-affiliated camp and retreat centers were blindsided by the recent COVID-19 pandemic that has swept through the country and world over the past several months. Stay-at-home and social distancing orders struck the very heart and infrastructure of summer camp and retreat resident ministries. But amidst it all, associate for Christian Formation Brian Frick — who has oversight of PC(USA)-affiliated camps and retreats — sees positive outcomes for 2020 that hopefully carry over into 2021.
For decades, children whose clothing has caught fire have been taught by teachers and firefighters alike to stop, drop and roll.
