Scholarships Awarded

The Committee on Racial Ethnic Ministries (CREM) awarded eleven scholarships to students of color attending college or seminary. The presbyteries represented by these students are: Des Moines, East Iowa, Missouri River Valley, Northern Waters, and Twin Cities Area. Click here for information about the scholarship program.

The committee also awarded ten tribal colleges and universities, located in the Synod, with a gift for student academic and financial support.

Read about the partnership of one of these local tribal schools, Cankdeska Cikana Community College and the University of North Dakota.

DEADLINE APPROACHING!

Volunteer at the 226th General Assembly (2024)

Persons who wish to be considered for service as a volunteer to the 226th GA are encouraged to submit the volunteer form available here.

The listing of the various support roles and a volunteer interest form have been updated and expanded and are available here. Persons who wish to be considered for service as a volunteer are encouraged to submit the volunteer interest form as soon as possible but no later than January 2, 2024.

With Deepest Sympathy

Rev. Mary Lynn (Minner) Serovy passed away just before Thanksgiving. She had be bttling cancer for a few years.

Minner was an honorably retired member of the Presbytery of Milwaukee. She had served the greater church in a variety of roles, most recently as a Ministry Relations Officer of the Presbyterian Foundation assigned to the Synod of Lakes & Prairies.

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship Thanks Deanna Hollas

Many of you have been encouraged and helped in your work for gun violence prevention by Rev. Deanna Hollas, the amazing Coordinator of the Gun Violence Prevention Ministry of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship since 2018.

As of December 15, Deanna completed her work with PPF to be present for medical needs in her family.

Deanna was the first clergy in the United States ordained to the Ministry of Gun Violence Prevention. As one member of PPF put it: Deanna has been an inspiration and prophet to those of us working alongside her to end gun violence in America. We will keep her and her family in our prayers.

Some of us call Deanna "the Mother of Guns to Gardens" and we promise to do everything we can to keep her work growing, to save lives. PPF's new Executive Director Rev. Dr. Laurie Lyter Bright put it this way: It is a moment of both grief and constancy, caring for Deanna and planning for how the work of gun violence prevention will continue.

Thank you, God, for Deanna. Be with her and with her family in every hour.

Deanna was a special guest at the 2023 Synod School and taught "What Can we Do to Prevent Gun Violence".

The Rev. Dr. Beth McCaw named Dean of University of Dubuque Theological Seminary

She’ll also serve as Vice President at the University of Dubuque

by University of Dubuque | Special to Presbyterian News Service

DUBUQUE, Iowa — After a national search, the University of Dubuque has named Rev. Dr. Beth McCaw, who currently serves as associate professor of ministry at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, as dean of the seminary and vice president of the university. The appointment will begin on

Jan. 1, 2024.

Read more.

2024 National Gathering

The early bird deadline for the National Gathering has been extended

to January 15.

So you still have time to receive $50 off the cost of registration with the early bird discount. Don't miss out on this chance to gather with church leaders from all over the country for this time of equipping, encouragement, and fellowship. Special rates are available for spouses, seminary students, and leaders from churches with <100 members.

In stressful times, it’s restorative and uplifting to remember the big picture of who we are as God’s people in the world. And it’s refreshing to be with friends in faith! Since the earliest days of the Church, Jesus followers have been called to engage the culture around them and to distinguish themselves from the culture, all for the sake of the Gospel. Join the Fellowship Community to talk, pray, and dream together about how we can best live into this biblical vision in our own contexts. (Nashville will be a fun and interesting place to have these conversations, too!)

PC(USA) church's after-school academy gives hope to Minneapolis community

As a new church development nearly 25 years ago, Liberty Community Church listened to the voices of young people in their community to develop programs that would improve their sense of safety and hope for the future. Read more.

Presbytery of Milwaukee helps congregation's vitality to shine

November gathering celebrates the gifted areas of each of the presbytery's 41 churches

by Beth Waltemath | Presbyterian News Service 

Last month, the Presbytery of Milwaukee celebrated the completion of a two-year focus on Congregational Vitality during its final standing meeting of 2023.

The presbytery, which meets four times each year, structured its meetings over a two-year period to highlight and investigate one of the Seven Marks as described in the Vital Congregations Initiative.

Read more

St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Iowa City chooses like-minded neighbors to help live out the gospel

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Matthew 25 ethos was instrumental to St. Andrew Presbyterian Church‘s plans for its new facility on the outskirts of Iowa City, Iowa.

From the spacious, modern building to the land surrounding it, St. Andrew aims to serve its community providing space for meeting and gathering resources and identifying like-minded neighbors to sell its surrounding property to. Read more.

You're invited to:

Join other Presbyterian Women from the Synod of Lakes and Prairies for a monthly round table discussion on issues prominent in today’s world.

Sit & Sip events will be held via Zoom on the last Saturday of each Month from 11 a.m. to noon Central Time.  The theme for December 30^th – What does Christmas mean for you? What traditions have been passed on to you and you are now passing on? What about a New Year’s Resolution? Yes or No?

So, grab your favorite beverage, relax in your favorite chair, and join in the discussion!

Please register by contacting Kathleen Keefer at kathleenkeefer20@gmail.com and a Zoom link will be sent to you a few days prior to the event along with any “study” materials to aid our discussions.

We are on Facebook! Find us at Synod of Lakes and Prairies Presbyterian Women.

Gone for Good? Negotiating the Coming Wave of Church Property Transition

Book launch January 17, 2024, in person and online.

By 2030, as many as 100,000 church buildings and billions of dollars of church-owned property are expected to be sold or repurposed throughout the U.S. — representing the loss of gathering places and even social services in communities nationwide. According to Pres House Executive Director Mark Elsdon, author and editor of Gone for Good? Negotiating the Coming Wave of Church Property Transition (Eerdmans, 2024), the transfer of church property is both a critical issue and opportunity for church and community leaders seeking to serve the common good. How do we face the issues and opportunities head-on and mission-minded?

Join us for a book launch and conversation on Wednesday, January 17 at Upper House with Mark and some of the contributing authors in the book. Reception at 5:30pm followed by a talk and discussion from 6-7:30pm. Register to attend in person or via online streaming. Pre-order the book for delivery on January 9th.

Homeless: The Unbefriended Poor

written in the hope of spurring on new concerted efforts to support the unhoused individuals within our communities. This book is now available from Wipf & Stock Publishers. Marcia A. Murphy, the author of this book, is the team leader for Mental Health Initiatives (MHI), an outreach ministry of Saint Andrew Presbyterian Church, Iowa City. Proceeds from this book supports the UIHC Psych Patients' Apparel Fund, a program founded by MHI. Please consider supporting a much neglected and marginalized segment of our society whose voices often go unheard. Click here to purchase and read the author's book page.

The Omaha Presbyterian Seminary Foundation (OPSF) has received a $1.25M grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish the Synergos Pastoral Residency Program. 

The project is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative. The aim of the initiative to encourage the flourishing of congregations by helping them deepen their relationships with God, enhance their connections with each other, and contribute to the vitality of their communities and the world. Read more.

PC(USA) Positions Work for the Church

Church Leadership Connection (CLC)

Presbyterian Foundation - Work for the Foundation

People are hurting. How can church leaders be present in a different way -- a trauma-informed way -- to those who are significantly struggling?

LeaderWise facilitators will equip congregational leaders - pastors, faith formation leaders, staff and volunteers - in taking a trauma-informed approach to their ministry, so that they may provide safe care and connection to those in their congregation and community. A trauma-informed approach involves being attuned to the ways in which a person's life context and lived experience may shape how they are able to receive care or to experience safety and connection. A trauma-informed approach is necessary now more than ever as the times we have lived through, and are living in now, are stirring up strong emotions and deep trauma in those we are serving.

The series will have 4 workshops; the first workshop will be 3 hours (1:00 - 4:00 Central), and each of the next three will be 2 hours (1:00 - 3:00 Central). Registration and participation in all four workshops is encouraged.

Trauma-Informed Ministry as Leaders in Your Parish – Caroline Burke, Ph.D., LP

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2024 (1:00-4:00 PM CT)

Religion, the Bible, and Spiritual Trauma - Rev. Laura Beth Buchleiter

THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2024 (1:00-3:00 PM CT)

Trauma and Grief – Joanna Quanbeck, Ph.D., LP

THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2024 (1:00-3:00 PM CT)

Trauma and Intersectional Identities - Rev. Laura Beth Buchleiter

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2024 (1:00-3:00 PM CT)

The total cost for all four workshops is $75/members; $100/non-members.

Learn more and register here.