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synod school
Marking its 65th year, this year’s iteration of Synod School, the midsummer ministry of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, drew more than 600 for a week of worship, classes, fun and fellowship on the campus of Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa.
What is a small, isolated Presbyterian church to do if it can’t afford to hire an ordained pastor? As that dilemma becomes more common, several Midwestern presbyteries and the Synod of Lakes and Prairies are collaborating on coursework to train elders for greater responsibilities.
Synod School — the well-known midsummer ministry of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies — drew a record 686 participants to the Buena Vista University campus here this week.
The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II is calling the church to do what is just — to do what is right. Nelson, stated clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), spoke each morning during the annual Synod School of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, telling Presbyterians to “get off your blessed assurances and do something for the Lord.”
Nearly 700 people of all ages descended upon a small town in Iowa July 23–28 to sing, study, worship and play. Synod School, offered by the Synod of Lakes and Prairies at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, is thriving — and unusual, since it is the only such Presbyterian program left in the country.
Nearly 700 people of all ages will descend upon a small town in Iowa July 23-28 to sing, study, worship, and play. Synod School, offered by the Synod of Lakes and Prairies at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, is thriving — and unusual, since it is the only such Presbyterian program left in the country.
The sounds could be coming from any busy school office responding to myriad requests: Someone needs first aid for a scraped elbow. Someone else is turning in a missing nametag. Someone else wants to change classes.
But this school is different. It’s Synod School, the annual midsummer ministry of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies. It’s a nearly weeklong event—Sunday afternoon through Friday noon—that always runs the last week in July at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa.
The sounds could be coming from any busy school office responding to the myriad requests of all those who enter the doors.
