The church lectern has been pushed aside and the chancel chairs rearranged — just that morning the good news was proclaimed from that space. Now, in a few minutes, another story will be told. As the last of the stragglers enter the sanctuary, quickly and quietly taking their seats, a man dressed in a Victorian frock coat and top hat walks onto the makeshift stage. After a brief dramatic pause, he begins with the opening words of all good stories — “once upon a time.”
During Tuesday morning plenary at the national evangelism conference “Sabbath Rest, Holy Surrender, Full Life,” 135 attendees were encouraged by Ryan McKenzie, director of program ministries at Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center, to “silence themselves.”
In his opening remarks at the national evangelism conference at the Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center, the Rev. Dr. Jason Santos shared a quote from The Sabbath, Abraham Joshua Heschel’s classic book on Jewish spirituality.
By the time Newark (N.J.) Presbytery was invited to participate in a two-year Vital Congregations Revitalization Initiative pilot program, it had already been placed under an administrative commission in the Synod of the Northeast.
For the first time ever, representatives from the five “ages and stages” ministry associations that work in Christian formation were in the same room, at the same time, with the same goal: to figure out how they might more collaboratively work together with the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA).
The Presbyterian Mission Agency Coordinator for Christian Formation, Jason Brian Santos, is leading this year’s Evangelism conference at Zephyr Point, Lake Tahoe October 15-19.
The plaque describing the shared history of two Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) churches is on prominent display for everyone to see as they exit the sanctuary of the 3,000-member First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, North Carolina.
In the closing message at the 2018 Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries (POAMN) conference, titled “Savoring the Journey,” the Rev. Dr. Ray Jones encouraged attendees to awaken to their purpose by drawing close to God.
At the Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries Network (POAMN) national conference, titled “Savoring the Journey,” keynote speaker Dr. John Holton spent his evenings looking at the sky.
