COFFEE HOUSE BECOMES MINISTRY IN IOWA CITY: "An idea has been brewing in Rob Smith's mind for quite some time," the story opened in the Aug. 30 issue of Out & About, a newsletter of the Presbytery of East Iowa. The story noted, "A weekend getaway this past January provided the setting to meditate on the issues that keep the under 40 demographic from participating in church. In March, he attended a workshop in Iowa City by emergent pastor Brian McClaren entitled, 'Following Jesus in the 21st Century.' During a break, he spoke with the Rev. Sam Massey from First Presbyterian Church in Iowa City and briefly shared the idea that had been percolating for two months. The two agreed to meet for coffee and by the time they waved goodbye in the parking lot, they had been able to grind out the basic framework for a new ministry in Iowa City-the coffee house as church." The complete story is at "Coffee House."

'THE HELP' SHOWS STAYING THE SAME PREVENTS GROWTH: Harry Olthoff, general presbyter for the Presbytery of East Iowa, wrote, "'The Help' is a book making rounds of booklists as a must read. So I read it this summer. It is a story set in the early 1960s about black women in Mississippi who work as domestic servants in homes of white people and the relationship between these women and the families they work for. ... As the author, Kathryn Stockett, a white woman of privilege who lived in Mississippi, rolls out the plot, an overriding theme is, as Bob Dylan, sang 'The times they are a-changing.'  The clash of values and perspectives are running counter to the changing culture. ... Fear of change and loss of control emerges as a major theme." Olthoff wrote in the Sept. 6 issue of Reading Between the Times, a newsletter of the presbytery. The complete column is at "The Help."

SOMETIMES SILENCE IS NECESSARY: Patricia Hendricks writes, "For several days, 10 years ago, I was given the gift of dwelling in non-linear time. It was December ... and I hadn't bought Christmas presents or sent cards. I hadn't climbed into the garage rafters to retrieve the tree, or the crèche, or the tall drummer boy. I didn't have the energy ... or the desire. I hardly had the capacity to think clearly. My mind was sluggish, and my emotions raw." Hendricks' column, which appears in the current edition of Thin Places, a publication of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, can be found at "Silence." Hendricks is the executive director of Christos Center for Spiritual Formation near St. Paul, Minn.

DISCUSSIONS VARIED AT FELLOWSHIP GATHERING: The Fellowship of Presbyterians gathered in the Twin Cities in August and the stories of the event are many and varied. Below are introductions and links to four stories from Presbyterian News Service. There is also a link to a column by the Rev. Glenn Wilson of the Presbytery of North Central Iowa. The Fellowship of Presbyterians can be found online at "Fellowship."  

FELLOWSHIP EXAMINES OPTIONS FOR 'DIFFERENTIATION' FROM PC(USA): Whether to stay within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and, if so, under what conditions dominated the first gathering of the Fellowship of Presbyterians, which drew more than 1,900 Presbyterians to Minneapolis Aug. 25-26. The seven large church pastors who form the Fellowship's core leadership readily acknowledged that PC(USA) congregations dissatisfied with decisions and perceived trends in the denomination "are all over the map" about how to respond. Much of the gathering was spent exploring four "tiers" or options that are being developed - from trying to reform the denomination from within to the creation of "a new Reformed body." The complete Presbyterian News Service story is at "Differentiation."

FELLOWSHIP OF PRESBYTERIANS URGED TO TAKE A VOW OF THEOLOGICAL ORTHODOXY: Presbyterians committed to theological orthodoxy should consider a special vow, akin to special vows taken by members of various Catholic orders, Fuller Theological Seminary President Richard Mouw told the Fellowship of Presbyterians at its Aug. 25-26 gathering in Minneapolis. In a wide-ranging and free-wheeling address and question-and-answer session, Mouw said, "Historically, when Catholics felt the church had gone astray, they didn't leave, they formed special orders who took special vows according to their commitments. The commitment to theological orthodoxy for many of us should take the form of a special vow, to witness to the essential tenets and the power of the Reformed faith." The complete Presbyterian News Service story is at "Vow."

FELLOWSHIP LEADERS OUTLINE NEXT ORGANIZATIONAL STEPS: The fledgling Fellowship of Presbyterians was described in Minneapolis Aug. 25 as an empty warehouse, and the 1,900 Presbyterians gathered for the group's first get-together were invited to fill it up between now and January 2012, when the next gathering will be held in Orlando, Fla. "The world does not need another denomination," said the Rev. John Crosby, pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Edina, Minn., a Minneapolis suburb, and a member of the Fellowship's seven-member steering committee, "but continuing on the same path is a dead end and we're not going to do that anymore." The complete Presbyterian News Service story is at "Empty Warehouse."

FELLOWSHIP TOLD JESUS HAS A PLAN; CALL IS TO FOLLOW IT: Though many Presbyterians are grieving the current state of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), they need to remember that Jesus Christ has a plan for the church and their job is to follow it, a leader of the fledgling Fellowship of Presbyterians said in Minneapolis in August at the group's first gathering. More than 1,900 Presbyterians from more than 850 congregations in 49 states met in Minneapolis Aug. 25-26 to explore their options in the wake of denominational decisions that have roiled the PC(USA). Their movement began last winter when a group of large-church pastors wrote an open letter declaring the church "deathly ill." The complete Presbyterian News Service is at "Following Jesus."

NORTH CENTRAL IOWA PASTOR WRITES ABOUT FELLOWSHIP GATHERING: "This past week I attended, along with some other pastors from our presbytery, the Fellowship of Presbyterians event in Minneapolis. Almost 2,000 evangelical Presbyterians met there to begin to discuss ways to 'a more faithful future' in their witness to the denomination and the world," wrote the Rev. Glenn Wilson in the Sept. 1 issue of the newsletter of the Presbytery of North Central Iowa. Wilson, pastor of Burt (Iowa) Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church of Woden, Iowa, added, "The newly formed Fellowship of Presbyterians called the meeting to help churches concerned by recent changes in the Book of Order to find ways to work within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), or to leave the denomination. I am firmly in the 'stay within the PC(USA)' crowd, as were many attending the event." Wilson's complete column can be found at "Wilson." (Wilson's column is on page 16 of the newsletter. The newsletter may take a few minutes to load.)

COMMUNICATORS CONFERENCE STILL OPEN FOR REGISTRATIONS: Spots are still available for the Synod of Lakes and Prairies Communicators Conference Sept. 15-16. The conference, "Doing it All: From Storytelling to Disaster," opens with check-in at 11 a.m. Thursday and runs to noon Friday at the Holiday Inn, 1950 Rahncliff Court, Eagan, Minn. Session titles and speakers are "Presbyterian Disaster Assistance with a Lutheran Twist," Kaylene Hoskins, disaster assistance coordinator, Presbytery of North Central Iowa; "From Generation to Generation:  Language, Messages and Media," Barbara Anne Keely, associate professor of life and leadership of the congregation at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities; "Social Media with Little or No Cost," Dennis Sanders, information technology and communication specialist for the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area; and "Storytelling" and "Working with PC(USA) Editors and Publications," both led by Eva Stimson, editor of Presbyterians Today, and Jerry Van Marter, coordinator of Presbyterian News Service. A $50 fee covers one-night's lodging, two lunches, dinner, breakfast and all presentations. Details are available from Duane Sweep, associate for communications for the synod, by email or by calling 651.357.1148.

RE:IMAGE CONFERENCE FEATURES PAUL NIXON IN KEYNOTE SPOT: The Rev. Paul Nixon, author of "The Wonder of New," will be the keynote speaker at RE:image 2011, a one-day conference Saturday, Sept. 17, sponsored by Iowa Religious Media Services. The conference takes place at Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in Des Moines. Nixon has worked with more than 300 congregations in 10 denominations. A complete list of speakers can be found at "IRMS."Registration can be completed online. 

HISTORICAL SOCIETY OFFERS GRANTS TO RECORD CHURCH HISTORY: Some Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations can qualify for a grant from the Presbyterian Historical Society to microfilm records. To qualify for an award of up to $300, congregations must have 250 members or less, be at least 50 years old, be interested in the preservation on the congregation's history and be seeking financial assistance to microfilm records. Details can be found at "Microfilm Grant."

NATIONAL TENTMAKING CONFERENCE SET AT STONY POINT: The 2011 National Tentmaking Conference will take place Nov. 4-6 at the Stony Point (N.Y.) Conference Center, featuring the Rev. Robert LaRochelle, right, with "The Flap on Tentmaking, Part-time Pastors - Full-time Churches." The conference brochure, which contains a registration form, can be found at "Tentmaking."

AMAZON IS A RIVER? WHO WOULD HAVE KNOWN?: The start of a new academic year means the latest edition of the annual Beloit College Mindset List is out. Since 1998, the list has provided cultural touchstones for entering college students. For example, "Amazon has never been just been a river in South America," and, "There have always been at least two women on the U.S. Supreme Court." The full list can be found at "Mindset List."