“How many people are out of power?” was the opening question in a Tuesday night call between Christian formation leaders hosted by the Office of Christian Formation of the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Mission associate Miatta Wilson welcomed a group of a dozen church leaders, saying, “It’s great to have people who are from various different parts of the country and time zones.”
A special one-time grant program from the Office of Christian Formation suggests that rest may be the hardest thing to learn when practicing what you preach.
“We never outgrow fear,” John Pavlovitz said in his second plenary at last week’s annual event of the Association of Partners in Christian Education. “As we get older, we just trade in our terror for more age-appropriate models.” Pavlovitz, a pastor, writer and activist from North Carolina, then described the two responses we have at any age to the storms that scare us: “We become frozen or frantic.”
Brought on stage by a powerful version of “I Want My Life to Make a Difference” by G. Phillip Shoultz, III, who provided music for the Association of Partners in Christian Education’s annual event this week, keynoter John Pavlovitz continued his theme Friday of dealing with the turbulence in our lives.
The Association of Partners in Christian Education honored three people Friday, one as its educator of the year and two for their lifetime achievements. The three received their awards during a dinner Friday, the next-to-last day of APCE’s annual event being held in Birmingham, Alabama.
The ministry areas of the Presbyterian Mission Agency and offices of the PC(USA) practiced being good neighbors in the marketplace at this week’s Association for Partners in Christian Education event. APCE’s Marketplace, which features a bookstore and informational resources from various denominations, seminaries, and church-adjacent non-profits, is a major attraction at the annual event.
When he flies, author, activist and pastor John Pavlovitz is a little like the disciples on the boat with Jesus when it was being rocked by a storm. On a flight to Albuquerque, Pavlovitz, the keynote speaker for this week’s gathering of the Association of Partners in Christian Education, heard the captain announce there’d be some turbulence.
Christian education enthusiasts from all over North America have convened in Birmingham for the Association of Partners in Christian Education with an invitation to rest inspired by Matthew 11:28-30 as found in The Message, where Jesus asks his followers if they are “tired, worn out, and burned out on religion?”
Writer, pastor and activist John Pavlovitz’s latest book is called “If God is Love, Don’t be a Jerk: Finding a Faith that Makes Us Better Humans.” He writes a blog called “Stuff that Needs to be Said.” He sees our world through the lenses of kindness and empathy, and his many talks around the country are infused with both.
The Rev. Dr. Michael W. Waters, whose “For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe in a Better World” and “Liberty’s Civil Rights Road Trip” were both published by Flyaway Books, an imprint of the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, appeared Wednesday as part of the Association of Partners in Christian Education’s annual event being held in Birmingham, Alabama.
