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News around the Synod of Lakes and Prairies
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Synod School registration opens tomorrow
 -- that's Friday, March 1
Registration for Synod School 2019 opens tomorrow, Friday, March 1. Synod School, the midsummer ministry of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, takes place in Storm Lake, Iowa, on the Buena Vista University campus nestled along the shore of the lake. The number of adult classes eclipses 80 this year, and other activities are too numerous to mention here. Synod School takes place annually during the last full week in July; this year's runs Sunday through Friday, July 21-26.
Deirdre "Dede" Johnston, professor of communication at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, will be the convocation speaker, and Shawna Bowman, associate director of field education and experiential education at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, will be the evening worship leader. Lance and Paige Loveall of Kenosha, Wisconsin, will lead the morning song and prayer time. The Synod School catalog and a link to online registration -- which will become active in the very early hours of Friday, March 1 -- will be found on the synod's website at
https://www.lakesandprairies.org/SynodSchool
.
Synod's Leadership Summit addresses presbyteries, personnel committees
The Synod of Lakes and Prairies Leadership Summit, formerly known as the COM/CPM training event, is slated April 23-25 under the  theme, "Nurturing Wholeness and Mission: The Work of Presbyteries and Personnel Committees." The conference, which takes place at Christ the King Retreat Center in Buffalo, Minnesota, will explore issues of pastor nominating committees, best practices for personnel committees, communication tools, and ongoing support through cohort groups, coaching and other means. Mary Kay DuChene, a staff associate at LeaderWise, a counseling and consulting organization headquartered in New Brighton, Minnesota, will be the keynote speaker. The conference brochure and registration information are at "Leadership Summit."
The Academy will begin another
cohort at Synod School this summer
Called simply The Academy, a series of 11 courses designed to develop well-equipped, thoughtful people to better serve councils in a variety
 of capacities, will open for another cohort this summer at Synod School. Described as a unique, cohort-based learning community, The Academy offers participants an opportunity to grow in faith and knowledge, as a leader, and to have more opportunities to serve God as needed. For some participants, the courses may lead to becoming commissioned pastors. The Academy is a joint effort of the presbyteries of Minnesota Valleys, North Central Iowa and Prospect Hill, and the Synod of Lakes and Prairies. A current brochure, with a link to registration, is at "
The Academy."
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| Conferences, camps, resources |
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Austin Channing Brown headlines
2019 Winter Forum in Wisconsin
 Austin Channing Brown, a leading voice on racial justice, will be the keynote speaker at the 2019 Winter Forum of the Wisconsin Council of Churches planned March 9 in Madison. Channing Brown is the author of the autobiographical "Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness." She is committed to exploring the intersections of racial justice, faith and black womanhood. Her presentations are infused with justice, pop culture, humor and truth-telling. Details can be found at "
2019 Winter Forum
."
Annual White Privilege Conference
planned March 20-23 in Iowa
 The annual White Privilege Conference, with the theme Understanding, Respect and Connecting, is slated Wednesday through Saturday, March 20-23, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The conference provides a challenging, collaborative and comprehensive experience, according to its website, as it strives to empower and equip individuals to work for equity and justice through self and social transformations. Additional information about the conference is available at "
White Privilege Conference
." In registering for the conference, the Presbyterian discount code is PRES2019 (entered at the end of registration).
Ecumenical Center for Clergy
Spiritual Renewal seeks applicants
The new Ecumenical Center for Clergy Spiritual Renewal, located at Holy Wisdom Monastery, a Benedictine monastery near Madison, Wisconsin, is seeking applicants to its first cohort of ministers who will participate in a renewal program through immersion into the Benedictine spiritual practices of the monastery. Supported by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., all costs for participation are covered. The program, directed by Presbyterian minister Nancy Enderle and Lutheran minister Jerry Buss, is designed for early and mid-career clergy. The first cohort begins in June. The application deadline is March 31. Details can be found at "
Ecumenical Center for Clergy Spiritual Renewal
."
'Protecting the Lifegivers' conference planned in April in Minneapolis
Titled "Winyan Awanyankapi: Protecting the Lifegivers," the April 5-7 conference at
First Universalist Church
in Minneapolis will address the  missing and murdered American Indian women, and indigenous peoples sovereignty of housing and water. The conference, open to everyone, is designed by and will be led by indigenous women. Keynote speakers are Ann McKeig, the first American Indian to serve on the Minnesota Supreme Court, and Patina Park, executive director of the Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center. The conference will offer place-based learning experiences, keynote speeches, breakout sessions and opportunities for conversations with fellow conference attendees. Meals will be provided by indigenous-owned catering companies offering traditional foods. The image above is by Jillian Elaine Stately, Red Lake Ojibwe, Santee Dakota. A flyer is at "Winyan Awanyankapi." The conference is
also on Facebook
. The registration page is at "Lifegivers."
SDOP Sunday is slated
April 7; resource noted
 Alonzo Johnson, coordinator of the Presbyterian Committee for the Self-Development of People (SDOP), says the committee "is about helping people, which means that we share in the work of making justice and hope real for all in our communities." Quoted in the current Justice & Peace newsletter, Johnson adds, "This is why communities matter, because we are all in it together." Presbyterians will celebrate SDOP on Sunday, April 7, and the current newsletter also includes a link to a liturgical resource for the celebration. The complete newsletter is at "
SDOP Sunday
."
Festival of Homiletics encourages
'preaching as moral imagination'
The 27th Festival of Homiletics returns to Minneapolis in May with the theme, "Preaching as Moral Imagination." The Festival plans to "inspire  and encourage preachers to embrace once again their identity as those called to give voice to God's vision of goodness and mercy, to recover and reimagine leadership in the church that seeks justice for all," according to the Festival's website. The Festival runs Monday through Friday, May 13-17, and encourages ministers to "come renew, refresh and recharge. ... Come and tap into God's moral imagination for the sake of the world God loves," the site notes. Central Lutheran Church is host to this year's conference. Westminster Presbyterian Church will also house events during the week, located less than three blocks from the main venue. Complete details are at "Festival of Homiletics."
Addiction, Faith Conference planned
in September in Twin Cities
 Noting on its website the "growing concern over the devastation of all forms of addiction, including the ever-increasing opioid crisis," organizers of this fall's Addiction & Faith Conference say the conference will "raise awareness of the terrible addiction problem we face and how the church and people of faith can help to address it." The conference is planned Friday through Sunday, Sept. 20-22, at the Doubletree by Hilton in Bloomington, Minnesota. The conference is presented by the Fellowship of Recovering Lutheran Clergy in partnership with the Recovery Ministries of the Episcopal Church. Conference details are at "Addiction and Faith."
Registration opens for Pastors School
in May at Lakeshore Center
 It used to be winter pastors school; now it's simply pastors school. And now registration for Pastors School, hosted by the Omaha Presbyterian Seminary Foundation, is open. Pastors School will run May 13-16 at
Lakeshore Center at Okoboji
. The Rev. Dr. Ken McFayden will be the main speaker. McFayden serves as academic dean of the Richmond campus of Union Presbyterian Seminary and professor of ministry and leadership development. He teaches courses in the areas of congregational leadership and administration. The schedule for Pastors School is at "
Schedule
." Registration can be completed at "
Registration
."
Ecumenical Advocacy Days planned
in early April in Washington, DC
 The website of Ecumenical Advocacy Days notes, "The history of engaging in "good trouble" is embedded in our faith tradition and our history as a nation and in the world. In the Bible, we read stories of the midwives who resisted Pharaoh and preserved the lives of Hebrew baby boys. We see Moses challenging the authority of Pharaoh, and Jesus overturn tables run by money changers." In the spring, Ecumenical Advocacy Days will draw on the "good trouble" pioneers from the civil rights era and inspiration from young leaders. The event is planned April 5-8 in Washington, D.C. Details can be found at "
Good Trouble
."
Wee Kirk Conference
planned
in May at Calvin Crest
 Kris and Brian Peterson of
Leadership Harbor
will be the plenary leaders at this spring's Great Plains Wee Kirk Conference planned May 6-8 at Calvin Crest Camp, Conference and Retreat Center near Fremont, Nebraska. The conference provides opportunities for pastors and lay leaders of smaller membership churches to find ideas for ministry in their contexts, to experience encouragement, and to have their souls fed. Additional details are available at "
Wee Kirk
."
Early bird registration underway
for series on decolonizing Bible reading
 The Church of All Nations and Underground Seminary has scheduled a continuing education event in June that offers week-long classes that seek to "decolonize our reading" of the Bible. The Underground Seminary website notes, "The white, Western, capitalist framework that has dominated the globe the last few hundred years is collapsing, but not without a fight. This has led to a global neoliberal system where everything is a commodity to be devoured for profit. Ours is an age that calls for prophets and healers. But how do we do that as Christian leaders when Christianity has been the primary ideological center of this destructive worldview?" Details about the event can be found at "A Postcolonial Survey of the Bible." Early bird registration ends March 31.
Presbyterians for Earth Care plan conference at Stony Point in August
 Presbyterians for Earth Care, a national eco-justice network that cares for God's creation by connecting, equipping, and inspiring Presbyterians to make creation care a central concern of the church, will conduct its 2019 conference Aug. 6-9 at Stony Point Center in Stony Point, New York. William Brown, professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, will be the keynote speaker. Confirmed workshop speakers are Emily Brewer of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship and Ryan Smith of the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations. Additional details are at "
Presbyterians for Earth Care
."
Registration is underway for Women's Connection 2019 at Montreat
Registration is underway for Women's Connection 2019, described as a time to connect with old and new friends, and a time for space and sabbath. Women's Connection is planned August 9-11 at the Montreat Conference Center in Montreat, North Carolina. The keynote spea
ker is
Valarie Kaur
, a civil rights activist, award-winning filmmaker, lawyer, faith leader and author. Conference details are at "
Women's Connection
."
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| News of colleges, universities and seminaries |
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Record $5.5 million gift will bring scholarships, faculty to Carroll University
A $5.5 million gift from the estate of a Carroll University alumnus will be used by the college to establish two new scholarships, support an  existing scholarship and create an endowed faculty position, the school announced Tuesday, Feb. 19. The donation, from 1963 Carroll graduate Bill Yersin, is the largest single gift in the school's history, according to a news release from the university. Yersin graduated with a degree in business administration; the new scholarships will bear his name. Carroll is one of seven Presbyterian-related institutions of higher education in covenant with the Synod of Lakes and Prairies. The complete story by Steven Martinez, published Feb. 19 in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, can be found at "Carroll Gets Record Gift."
SFTS, University of Redlands
begin 'permanent partnership'
San Francisco Theological Seminary and the University of Redlands in Southern California have signed an agreement in principle that the university says will lead to the acquisition by this summer of the Presbyterian-related seminary in Northern California. In a statement released Monday, University of Redlands president Ralph W. Kunci said the university's board of trustees voted last week to adopt the agreement to "move toward the acquisition, expected by July 2019, of SFTS in order to form a new graduate school at the University of Redlands -- the Graduate School of Theology -- and a new regional campus in the Bay Area." The complete Presbyterian News Service story by Mike Ferguson can be found at "SFTS and Redlands."
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| News around the PC(USA) and more |
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Apology was first step in healing church, Native American relationship
Two years ago, the current and former Stated Clerks of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
journeyed to Utqiagvik
(Barrow, Alaska) -the nation's northernmost city -- to apologize to Native Americans, Alaska natives and native Hawaiians for damage inflicted by the church in previous decades. That act came as the result of action by the 222nd General Assembly, which directed the apology within and beyond the denomination "especially to those who were and are part of 'stolen generations' during the Indian-assimilation movement, namely former students of Indian boarding schools, their families and their communities," according to assembly minutes. The complete Presbyterian News Service story by Mike Ferguson can be found at "Apology Only First Step."
Poor People's Campaign highlights
poverty, racism in bus tour
 Leaders from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Racial and Intercultural Justice Ministry and Office of Public Witness participated in a Monday morning announcement by
The Poor People's Campaign
that it will be embarking on a National Emergency Poverty and Truth Bus Tour in the coming months. "We will be hitting more than 28 states coast-to-coast, region-to-region highlighting the poverty, the racism, the ecological devastation, and the militarism that our elected leaders would rather ignore, or in some cases make worse," said the Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, a PC(USA) minister who is co-chair of The Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. The complete Presbyterian News Service story by Rich Copley can be found at "
Poor People's Campaign
."
Co-moderators announce new book study
 The co-moderators of last summer's General Assembly have selected a new book study for Presbyterian churches. The Rev. Cindy Kohlmann and ruling elder Vilmarie Cintrรณn-Olivieri have selected "Neighborhood Church: Transforming Your Congregation into a Powerhouse for Mission" by Presbyterian leaders Krin Van Tatenhove and Rob Mueller. Kohlmann said the book focuses on the initiatives that both the Presbyterian Mission Agency and the Office of the General Assembly have lifted up as essential to Presbyterians. "If our churches follow Jesus as he's called us to do, we will be in our neighborhoods, pursuing justice for our neighbors. That ties directly to our goal to be a Matthew 25 church," she said. The complete story by Rick Jones of the Office of the General Assembly can be found at "Neighborhood Church."
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| Just one more |
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Pew addresses transition to online polling
This one is for research nerds; your editor is still one. It must have been -- now approaching, I think, 20 years ago -- when someone in a  newspaper boardroom asked your editor if the data he was presenting included anything collected via cell-phone and/or internet users. The answer then, of course, was no. Just this week, Pew Research addressed the transition to online polling - cell-phone collection has been going on much longer. If you're remotely concerned about the polls you and your editor often cite in random political commentary, you might want to take a look at this. (You did know about Pew's Religious Landscape Study.) You can find this at "Transition to Online Polling."
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