Synod School draws 617 to worship, classes, fun

They came to Synod School from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Bergkamen, Germany, in the east and from Santa Ana, Calif., and Seattle in the west. They came from Hallock, Minn., in the north and all the way from Bradenton, Fla., in the south.

All in all, 617 people found their way to the Synod of Lakes and Prairies' Synod School 2014 at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa.

Those who attended took part in worship, classes and fun. With the theme, "Becoming God's Next Church," Synod School heard a series of presentations from Anna Case-Winters, professor of theology at McCormick Theological Seminary, address the intersection of science and theology. Her presentation outlines and slides can be found at "Convocation."

In the mornings Scott and Pam Prouty - along with their family - led worshipers through a series of holidays, including Easter, Christmas and Thanksgiving. During evening worship, the Holy Spirit - through the Wild Goose - (see the artwork of Howard Chapman here and in Synod School's Facebook group) - flowed through the chapel.

And this year - just as in other years - more than 60 classes provided a range of options for Synod School-goers. The classes ran all the way from "The Joy of Smoking Meat" to "The Pastor's Spouse" to "Bonhoeffer and the Reconfiguration of Christianity" to the ever-popular "God at the Box Office."

The attendees included 186 children, and 142 who were making their first trip to Synod School.

Seeking, finding a church in western North Dakota

Keri Shelton, minister of pastoral care in the Presbytery of the Northern Plains, writes in the August issue of the Light of the Northern Plains, the presbytery's newsletter: "For vacation this year my family and I headed to Medora. As a part of our adventure we rented a small cabin near Rhame, N.D. ... As we traveled down dusty gravel roads we found ourselves surrounded by rolling hills, rocky outcrops, sheep, and the occasional prong horn galloping across the prairie. ... There sitting on a lonely hill, surrounded by grazing cattle and horses was a little white church. ... [We] discovered that the church was not locked. As we entered the sanctuary we were surrounded by the presence of the Holy Spirit. The wooden pews, the pump organ, and the rail around the pulpit had clearly seen many people come and go." Shelton's complete column can be found on Page 2 of the Light of the Northern Plains.

Jim Brasel named acting

executive presbyter in TCA

The Rev. Jim Brasel, an honorably retired teaching elder in the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area, has been named the presbytery's acting executive presbyter. Brasel officially begins serving in that capacity Sept. 1. He has served in a variety of interim positions, most recently at Presbyterian Church of the Way in Shoreview, Minn. He earned his Master of Divinity degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and a doctorate from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. A more complete biography can be found at "Jim Brasel."

Twin Cities minister interviewed

for podcast on writing site 

Dean Seal, executive artistic director for Forgiveness 360 and an adjunct professor of religious studies at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, was interviewed recently by the podcast, "Shake up your Writing." Seal, also a Presbyterian minister, noted the podcast addresses "writing, and theology and the arts, and the sacred stories that we learn and teach and tell." The podcast is at "Stories with Meaning."

PNS features new worshiping 

community in South Dakota

Cathy Newcomb was on a spiritual journey when she decided to try connecting with God through an activity that she had only done professionally, not personally - photography. That initial step has led to Through the Lens, a new worshiping community in Sioux Falls, S.D. Through the Lens was recently awarded a $7,500 grant from the Presbyterian Mission Agency as part of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s 1001 New Worshiping Communities initiative. Last fall, Newcomb, a professional photographer and teacher at a Christian preschool, began taking contemplative photo walks after her pastor suggested the book, "Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice." The complete Presbyterian News Service story can be found at "Through the Lens."

Church of All Nations offers pastoral

training as alternative to ordination

Presbyterians Today magazine, which features seminary education in its August issue, includes an article about Church of All Nations in Columbia Heights, Minn., and its seminary program that offers pastoral training as an alternative to ordination. The story opens, "As if doing church a different way weren't enough, the Church of All Nations - a vibrant, multicultural church in suburban Minneapolis - is now doing seminary a different way. The church already had a reputation for innovation, with its practice of testimony sharing in worship, its unique pastoral internship program, and its oversight of eight intentional Christian communities, including one in the church building. But its most recent innovation is Underground Seminary." The complete story can be found at "Underground Seminary."

Collegiate ministries, churches

seek information of students in town

Every year, when fall arrives or is at least on the horizon, many students leave their homes and home churches, and move away to attend colleges and universities. Every year, there are many missed connections between ministries in those college and university towns and students who make that move away from their home church. There are ways to encourage that connection. Parents, ministers and youth leaders in home churches - along with students themselves - can find churches near where they attend school. Many Presbyterian churches are associated with a specific collegiate ministry in a "college town." Other collegiate ministries - and chaplains at Presbyterian-related colleges and universities, and at many other private schools - can typically be found under student organizations at respective campus websites. Another excellent resource is UKirk, the network of collegiate ministries supported by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). It can be found at "UKirk." It's also on Facebook.