The Presbyterian Office of Vital Congregations is inviting people to gather at the beginning of November around Lake Susan at Montreat Conference Center for a deep dive into the seven marks of vital congregations.
With the goal to help preachers explore biblical texts rather than explain them during their sermons, the Rev. Dr. Sally A. Brown, the Elizabeth M. Engle Professor of Preaching and Worship Emerita at Princeton Theological Seminary, was the guest Wednesday on the Synod of the Covenant’s Equipping Preachers series.
Members and friends of Second Presbyterian Church in Roanoke, Virginia, gathered for worship Sunday to celebrate the success of their Mission Build Campaign, which raised $1.7 million to construct or renovate four facilities stretching from across the street south all the way to the Dominican Republic.
This summer, together with his partner Troy, the Rev. Brian Ellison, executive director of Covenant Network of Presbyterians, crossed three countries off his bucket list with a visit to the Baltic states — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In Latvia’s capital, Riga, they visited the new Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, which “tells the story of a healthy functioning democracy” in a country that was occupied from 1939-89 by first the Soviets, then the Germans and then the Soviets again.
This Sunday morning, members and friends at Second Presbyterian Church in Roanoke, Virginia, will celebrate an astonishing accomplishment during worship: the 1,200-member church has raised more than $1.7 million to support the capital campaigns of four of its long-term mission partners, an amount that exceeds the church’s annual budget by about $200,000.
“The world is hungry for healing and hope,” the Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett, president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, told the Urban Presbyteries Network conference on Thursday following opening worship. “I want to remind us today to keep the main thing the main thing: the church’s call to make disciples of Jesus Christ.”
The Rev. Carlton Johnson believes God is calling church leaders in the city to do a special work — “especially in light of the Matthew 25 vision God has given to the PC(USA),” he says.
Each Saturday during March, people gathered at each of Mid-Kentucky Presbytery’s four African American congregations to hear the stories of each congregation, including its heritage and ministry.