The Bible doesn’t talk a lot about dreams, but they still show up - maybe not all the time, but often enough. In the Old Testament, Jacob has dreams as does his father-in-law, Laban. Joseph has a couple of dreams that indicate how his brothers and his parents will bow down to him. Later, when he is in prison, he is able to interpret the dreams of his fellow prisoners, as well as the dreams of Pharaoh. In the New Testament, Joseph has dreams. An angel tells him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife, even though she is pregnant. The magi are warned in a dream not to return to Herod. An angel tells Joseph in dream to take Mary and Jesus and flee to Egypt to escape from Herod, and after Herod dies, another angel appears in a dream to tell him it’s safe to return to Israel. Perhaps the most famous modern dream was given to Martin Luther King, Jr., who dreamed of a day when America will live up to the ideals espoused in the Declaration of Independence that “all men [sic] are created equal…” so that one day “little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.” As the coronavirus pandemic stretches ahead of us, I think it’s time for us to dream, or perhaps to ask God for a dream, about the future. What would your dream be for your church?

This year's Virtual Festival of Faith, with Keynote Presenter Jill Duffield of The Presbyterian Outlook, seemed to go very well on August 29. Several in attendance have asked about obtaining a recording of Jill’s keynote and workshop, and the links to those, as well as the Gathering, are available by contacting office@wvpresbytery.org. You do not have to have attended the event to request these recordings.

On September 27, the Synod of the Trinity begins its Sunday night Zoom speaker series, "The Beloved Community," which will identify some values that characterize a Beloved Community and begin to make connections with specific challenges in our world right now. Topics include The Character of Beloved Community, Racism, White Privilege, Hyper Partisanship, The Pandemic, and Technology.

The first speaker is Dr. James Calvin Davis, the author of Forbearance: A Theological Ethic for a Disagreeable Church, which will be available for $18 from Hearts & Minds Books Sept. 26-28 when you use the promo code SYNODTRINITY. Registration is mandatory for this first session. Registration for the remaining sessions will be available as topics and speakers are finalized. Click here for the event PDF.

Katie joined the staff of Kanawha United this summer. She was introduced to ministry in West Virginia in 2017 as a Site Director in Logan for YouthWorks, a Christ-centered youth mission work organization. Now that she is in the Charleston area, she is working at the church part-time and is also a therapist at Highland Hospital. Joining Katie is her 2-year-old pitbull, Caleb, who has been helping her with her virtual lessons for children that she posts on the church's Facebook page.

Most congregations faced uncharted waters in mid-March when mandates from the coronavirus pandemic resulted in closed doors for communities of faith. Enslow Park Presbyterian Church in West Virginia was no different, but it also had a few other circumstances to deal with. A new pastor was scheduled to take the pulpit for the first time at the end of March, and the church’s preschool staff was laid off due to the pandemic.

Figuring out how to connect with a church body he was still getting to know became the top priority for Pastor John Yeager, C.P., who had served at nearby Eleanor Presbyterian Church for the previous five years. There were also some deferred maintenance problems with the Enslow Park Church building John found that needed immediate attention, and the situation with the preschool was another thing that required careful deliberation.

This fall, the Presbytery has the privilege of having Thomas G. Long, Bandy Professor Emeritus of Preaching at Candler School of Theology and author of The Witness of Preaching, lead an Expanding Your Ministry Toolbox Course on Preaching. This is a virtual course, with an hour off for lunch. Click the title link for more information and to register online, or click here for a PDF registration that you can print off and mail to the Presbytery Office.

“Jesus Christ and the Dividing Wall: Race and God’s Mission” is the theme for this year’s World Mission Initiative Conference, which is moving online October 7, 14, 21, and 28. Noted authors and educators Brenda Salter McNeil and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove will headline the event, which includes four lectures and six pre-recorded workshops, as well as Q&A sessions and facilitated discussions. The conference is free, but registration is required.

The comprehensive online Faith Practices Toolkits are designed to help faith leaders teach and guide their communities into becoming an intergenerational community of faith. Each kit explores a practice to celebrate Sabbath communally. The five faith practices featured are Hospitality, Prayer, Service, Storytelling, and Retreat. The toolkits are available for download on the office’s new toolkit webpage.