People sensing God’s call to be a catalyst for change in their community can consider enrolling in “Lead Change: A Certificate in Community Faith Formation,” a new certificate in community faith formation being offered by Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary. The inaugural cohort of 15 learning partners, as the seminary calls its students, will begin in March and finish in late November.
The Rev. Margaret E. “Peggy” Howland, the 12th woman to be ordained as a Presbyterian pastor, was remembered last weekend as a way-paver and fierce advocate for those whose voices were ignored or marginalized for too long.
Rick Ufford-Chase, a ruling elder and the Moderator of the 216th General Assembly (2004), and the Rev. Ashley DeTar Birt, who last spring co-founded, along with Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary and the Presbytery of Utica, co-founded the Center for Jubilee Practice, appeared last week on A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast. The two talked about their work studying, among other things, how churches might facilitate conversations around reparations in light of the wealth gap between Indigenous and African American families and white families in the U.S.
The Rev. Ashley DeTar Birt and Ruling Elder Rick Ufford-Chase, Moderator of the 216th General Assembly (2004) and the former co-director of Stony Point Center are pleased to announce the founding of the Center for Jubilee Practice with the Presbytery of Utica and Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary.
The four-week Matthew 25 course “Civil Initiative and the Engaged Church” concluded Monday with a presentation on being more aware of and reducing the destructive damage done by hate groups and the intolerance they help to foster.
The newest four-part online series designed to dive deeply into the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Matthew 25 invitation aired Monday night. More than 50 people joined to learn about civil initiative and the engaged church and the evening’s case study, a successful tiny house ownership program in Detroit.
Four weeks of studying the underpinnings of systemic poverty came to an end Monday with a look at Luke’s account of the Widow’s Mite and a scholarly examination of the burden that debt has, especially on people living in poverty.
Due to the ongoing financial impact of COVID-19, the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) is further reducing operations at Stony Point Center (SPC), which will serve as a small retreat center moving forward. In order to reduce expenses and allow time for transition, the small-group retreat model will utilize only the Gilmor Sloane and Allison houses. The main campus will be maintained but will not house guests as the PMA begins a period of prayerful discernment on SPC’s future and explores long-term viability, both missionally and financially.
Monday’s final installment of “Awakening to Structural Racism” provided the more than 200 online participants with a tangible tool: a method for forming a concrete first step that individuals and congregations can take to dismantle systemic racism even as recent news reports indicate those first steps are sorely needed.
Part 3 of the Awakening to Structural Racism online conversation Monday dealt with Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) efforts to dismantle structural racism and white supremacy — even when those efforts are placed on hold during the most recent General Assembly, held online and without the usual committee work because of the pandemic.
