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Synod of the Covenant trip - Part III

Day 3 of the trip began in the morning as the Synod Assembly met at the office in Maumee. I presented an hour-long presentation on the Emergent Church discussion as well as the "hyphenated - emergents" such as the Presbymergent discussion. If I did not say anything else, I wanted to get across that emergent is not just a worship style but a radically new way of being church. I think they understood a little more of what is emergent!

That same afternoon I traveled to the Presbytery of Detroit:

I was driven there by my friend Adrienne Adams who is a member of Calvary Presbyterian Church in the city and a good friend of mine from our days working together on the National Black Presbyterian Caucus with the youth track. I had not seen her in years and was glad she was at the Synod meeting. I was hosted for a Presbytery Vice-Moderator reception held at the home of Harold Ellis and his wife Elaine Terrell, who are members of St. John's Presbyterian Church near downtown Detroit. I talked about my view of the church from the Vice-Moderator role and a little about the Emergent church conversation. A good crowd attended and all had a good time. That evening I was hosted in the home of Tom and Margaret Priest who are also church members of Calvary Presbyterian Church. I had met Margaret at a funeral I officiated a few months ago in Goldsboro, NC and I was glad to see her and meet her husband Tom. He is a retired automotive executive (along with his wife) who is currently under care of the presbytery and attends Ecumenical Theological Seminary (ETS), where Margaret works as Vice-President of Development. It was great to stay in their beautiful home!

The next day I met at the Presbytery office for a discussion of the presbytery's new emergent church development, Riverside Church. The organizing pastor, Rev. Brenda Jarvis, is a friend of mine from our days at McCormick Theological Seminary. A group of us saw a power point presentation of how the ministry began and what they are all about as they minister to people in downtown Detroit. They began worship services recently at ETS and are looking to purchase a vacant storefront in the near future. Their mission is to serve all people with an emphasis on those who are not a part of a faith community, incorporate everyone's gifts and become missional people. Then I was taken to the Second Mile Center, a mission that is supported by the Presbyterian Women of Detroit. They have a wonderful director, Ruth Azar, who has a real heart and passion for children and adults serving this low-income community. I was given a tour of the area where three people were shot dead and has its share of blighted homes. But everyone knows that the Second Mile Center is a place where people can come and have hope! My day ended by visiting various sites such as Fort Street Presbyterian Church, the GM Renaissance Center, and the Riverfront before I flew back to Raleigh.

Overall, I had a great time and thankful to all in the Synod of the Covenant. Special thanks goes out to Christy Ramsey and the Synod for the pictures; The Priest family and Brenda Jarvis. May God continue to bless all of you!

Synod of the Covenant trip - Part II

Day 2 of the trip began with a drive to Kent, OH to visit Kent Presbyterian Church with Rev. Aaron Meadows as pastor. He is a young and bright minister who is a graduate of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and has been there for the past few years and the congregation is excited that he is there!

Rev. Aaron Meadows

The church is directly across the street from Kent State University. It has a very interesting sanctuary with a very modern artistic baptismal font and candelabra. Among its mission as a campus church, they have a unique ministry vision to build a dormitory on its property with the concept of a christian leadership/ministry focus that will have the capacity for almost 200 students. They are in the planning stages right now with the City of Kent and some input from the University. Hopefully it will be a reality in a few years!

Then I was hosted for a Vice-Moderator lunch reception at Mike's Place Restaurant up the road from the church. It was originally slated for a half-dozen people but grew to 15 in attendance! I was happy to speak about what I have seen and experienced as Vice-Moderator and where the church may be headed.

(Top: Rev. Christy Ramsey of Goodyear Heights PC in Akron and I)

(Bottom: Eastminster Presbytery lunch bunch!)

Following lunch, Dan drove and I rode to Maumee, OH where the Synod of the Covenant Assembly began their two-day meeting. The first portion of the meeting was held at Christ Presbyterian Church in Toledo, OH with dinner and following was opening worship. One of the themes of this Assembly was based on the Isaiah 43:19a passage where God was going to do a new thing for the Israelite people. In the same way the Assembly was discerning for God to do something new in their midst. My purpose at this meeting was to talk about the Emergent Church discussion and to set the mood, we opened with a emergent/contemporary worship service in which I preached from the Isaiah text. Christ Church had a wonderful worship team that sang contemporary music and we experienced a mix of old and new liturgy and worship expressions, including writing in the sand at our tables and having a short message with discussion instead of a full 15 - 20 minute sermon.

(That's me preaching for Synod Assembly opening worship)

Afterward there was a Vice-Moderator reception in the church's fellowship hall. One of the aspects that really heartened me during worship was a report from the First Presbyterian Church of Findlay Youth Group who reported their experiences from a mission partnership trip to Grenada. I am always glad to hear stories of young people where mission in other cultures had a profound effect in their lives.

(First PC of Findlay youth group and leaders)

That was the end of the second day. More details about the Synod meeting and Presbytery of Detroit visit tomorrow in Part III!

Synod the the Covenant trip - Part I

Hey! As you can tell I have been away for a while! After my trip to the Synod of the Covenant - which I'll get to in a moment - I went on vacation to Myrtle Beach, SC with the family and as of today was supposed to be Stony Point Conference Center in NY as the Worship/Bible Study Leader for the PCUSA Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) orientation. However, I had a church member pass away on Friday afternoon and another member lost his father on Saturday. So I had to cancel that trip and will be involved in two funerals this week. I would ask that you keep the Mordecai and Davis families in your prayers.

I wanted to tell you about my wonderful trip to the Synod of the Covenant (OH and MI). I began on August 11 by flying into the Akron/Canton Airport to visit Eastminster Presbytery. I was picked up by Rev. Dan Schomer, the General Presbyter. Our first visit was to First Presbyterian Church of Akron, where Rev. Dr. Mark T. Ruppert is the pastor.

Picture of First Presbyterian Church of Akron

Like many downtown churches, First PC is seeking God's direction to find new and innovative ways of doing ministry in its local community. The church is down the street from the University of Akron and nearly adjacent to Summa Akron City Hospital. First Akron has partnered with several other churches and community groups to do joint ministries. They recently began in conjunction with other area groups a full-day preschool for up to 40 low-income, at-risk children which is located in a modular building on church property. I toured the facility and it was wonderful with a new play area in back! As a congregation they are seeking God's vision to plant another congregation in a nearby neighborhood, have a wonderful (and huge!) child care center, food pantry and great stuff for youth including a wonderful summer program named Best Two Weeks. Great urban ministry stuff going on at First PC!

That evening I went to Eastminster Presbytery's Committee Night at Westminster Presbyterian Church. I sat in with the Committee on Preparation for Ministry as they examined an incoming inquirer and a candidate for ministry. After a wonderful dinner of grilled pork tenderloin and fixin's, I made a "State of the Church' presentation to the Presbytery. They had great questions about the direction of the church and its future.

Speaking at Presbytery Committee Night

As you can see I had a full day - and that was just day one! I'll tell more about the trip in part II of the blog-post!

Back on the road again - August and September V-M travels (UPDATED)

After about a five-week break, it's about time to get back on the road as Vice-Moderator travels pick up again. I have had a great time being at home reintroducing myself to my church and going a few family vacations. But now it's time to get back out there and see what is going on with the mission and ministry of Presbyterians. Below is my schedule for August and September which included local as well as national invitations:

August 6 in Chapel Hill, NC. Speaking to the March 5 Group (a group of local Presbyterians who identify and support those who have an interest in going to seminary) on the topic of "The State of the Church"

August 11-14 in Synod of the Covenant

*August 11 - Attend "All Committee Night" with Eastminster Presbytery

*August 12 - Attend and preach for Synod Assembly (Toledo, OH)

*August 13 - Presentation on "The Emerging Church" at Synod Assembly, then travel to    Detroit, MI and talk about the Emerging Church at Presbytery of Detroit.

*August 14 - Part II of presentation and return to Raleigh.

August 23 - 31 in Stony Point, NY. I will be the Bible Study/Worship Leader for the Young Adult Volunteer (YAVOrientation Program at Stony Point Conference Center. NOTE: This will be the first year the National and International YAV's will be orientated together!

September 3 in Wendell, NC (Tentative date). Discussion about the state of the church and my travels at Covenant Presbyterian Church.

September 13 in Montreat, NC. Will spend the morning at Black Mountain Presbyterian Church to lead their Christian Education kickoff with possible speaking and preaching. Then I will be the keynote speaker for the Presbytery of Western North Carolina Senior High Rally at Montreat Conference Center later on that day.

September 20 in Chapel Hill, NC (Tentative date). Preach at Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church.

September 23 in Richmond, VA. Preach Chapel service for Union Presbyterian Seminary (also known as Union - PSCE).

September 27 in Wake Forest, NC. Ordination service for the soon-to-be Rev. Sarah Wiles at Wake Forest Presbyterian Church. She will be a Lilly Pastoral Resident at First Presbyterian Church in Ann Arbor, MI for the next two years!

That's all that I have on my plate so far. Please keep Bruce and I as well as our families and churches in your prayers as we begin our fall schedules. I will definitely keep you in the loop as to how things are going and if you are in the areas where I visit, please come by and say "Hello!"