christian formation Archives

Intergenerational conversations help ease isolation for young and old

Posted January 28th, 2021

The Youth Services Opportunities Project (YSOP), a short-term mission program founded nearly 40 years ago by Edward Doty, is continuing its mission — virtually — during the pandemic.

‘God is With Us Always Even in a Pandemic’

Posted January 21st, 2021

Inspired by their grandchildren, three friends and members of Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church in Sunnyvale, California, have created a new children’s book, “God is With Us Always Even in a Pandemic.”

Christian camps and a French contemplative community draw the faithful for similar reasons

Posted November 18th, 2020

During his Wednesday keynote for the “Gathering as One” online conference of the Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association, the Rev. Dr. Jason Brian Santos managed to compare two experiences that seem very different: a week-long immersion into the contemplative Taizé community and a week at one’s favorite Presbyterian church camp or conference center.

Monthly webinar designed to promote spiritual formation among young adults

Posted October 3rd, 2020

“The (Un)Simple Truth,” a webinar on spiritual formation open to everyone but offered especially for young adults, begins at 7 p.m. Eastern Time Monday. Webinars will continue at the same time on the first Monday of each month after that.

Holy rhythms

Posted July 29th, 2020

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.

UKirk offers pivot grants to support collegiate ministries during COVID-19

Posted July 14th, 2020

As the reality of COVID-19 set in, it forced the postponement of the UKirk Collegiate Ministries Association’s national gathering until 2021.

Ferncliff’s ‘Camp in a Box’ draws more than 1,300 participants

Posted June 23rd, 2020

In the early days of the pandemic, Joel Gill, the executive director of Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, gathered staff together for a brainstorming session.

Creating online worship space for Presbyterians of all ages

Posted June 19th, 2020

Worried about how mainline churches are communicating to the youngest and oldest in their congregations during a time of online worship, Karen DeBoer, creative resource developer for the Christian Reformed Church in North America, recently surveyed a landscape of churches.

Gelling too soon

Posted June 18th, 2020

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.

Youth workers and mental health

Posted May 8th, 2020

As a way to mark May as Mental Health Awareness Month, Brian Kuhn, director of the Presbyterian Youth Workers’ Association and a licensed professional counselor, offered a webinar Wednesday that outlined the top 10 mental health issues all youth workers should be aware of.