August 2 Preaching, United Presbyterian Church, Cuyahoga Falls, OH August 4-5 &7 Toward Liberation Workshop: Christian Leaders Edition, ZOOM August 8-9 Preaching, 180 th Anniversary of Ottaway Presbyterian Church, Ottawa, OH August 9 Tim Pollock Ordination Service, Bloomfield Presbyterian Church, New Concord, OH August 11 Eastminster Presbytery Meeting, Canfield Presbyterian Church, Canfield, OH August15 Cincinnati Presbytery Meeting, Korean Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati,

Greetings Co-Workers in Christ It is with great excitement to announce the Pastoral Leadership Conference will be July 21-23, 2027, on the campus of Muskingum University in New Concord, OH! The theme of the conference will be “The Leadership Moment” and will focus on four aspects of leadership: Understanding the Leader, Followers and the Leader-Follower Relationship, Developing a Shared Vision and Meaningful Goals, and Leading Within Context. Each focus will include an openin

Our new participants are settling into their cohort groups and will have their second online meeting this August. Their focus this month is on the role of imagination in preaching. The role of the imagination is not of course to make things up but rather to connect with those to whom we are called to preach. One of the books that our participants read is the now classic A Sermon Workbook: Exercises in the Art and Craft of Preaching by Thomas Troeger and Leonora Tubbs Tisdale.

“Mami! My friends!” —Anouk-Aimée Belonni-Rosario Govens “There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.” —Thomas Aquinas “A friend is one of the best things you can be and the greatest things you can have.” —Sarah Valdez “…I have called you friends...” —John 15:15 “What are you teaching your child about what friendship requires?” —Kimberly Seals Allers Friendship is a widely digested and consumed concept. Simultaneously, it often needs resurfacing. Tra

Colleagues and Siblings in Christ, You may remember that I had a total knee replacement on July 13. July 30 was my first post-operation check-up with the surgeon’s team. The good news is that the Physician’s Assistant said that the x-rays were “textbook” and that my flexibility was about a month ahead of schedule. The bad news is that the intensity of my pain is unlikely to subside soon and that it will most likely be 2 to 4 more weeks before she would recommend beginning t

July 1-2 - General Assembly--Milwaukee, WI (Ruth-Aimée and Chip) July 4 & 5 - Preach at First Pontiac (MI) (Chip) July 5 - Preaching, United Presbyterian Church, Cuyahoga Falls, OH (Ruth-Aimée) July 9 - Attend Pastoral Leadership Conference Planning (Muskingum University, OH) (Ruth-Aimée and Chip) July 9-13 - Covenant Gathering, Lourdes University, Sylvania, OH (Ruth-Aimée) July 10-12 - Attend 30th Anniversary Celebration between Miami Valley Presbytery and the Presbytery of

Date: Friday, September 11 – Saturday, September 12 Start Time: 1:00 p.m. End Time: 1:00 p.m. Location: St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat Center, Detroit, MI Registration: $50.00 Our Synod wants to invite our Black leaders in the state of Michigan to a time away to renew, refresh, and fellowship. Over the years, the leaders of our African American churches have served with imagination, creativity, and determination. The Synod recognizes the need to come together, recha

Many who are reading this have likely had a retreat or a camp experience that they would describe as a spiritual “mountain top” event. An event wherein your faith is enlivened and deepened, or even – to use a word we Presbyterians are sometimes a bit afraid of – you have a mystical encounter with God that leaves your faith, your relationship with God, forever changed and enriched. Words often fail us here. Not because they cannot describe the experience, but because they can

We are happy to share that we launched the Racial Justice Speaking Series with Rev. Dr. Lis Valle-Ruiz facilitating a conversation on the Intersection of Art, Gender, and Racial Justice during the month of April. Our second speaker was the Rev. Dr. Alexandra Zareth, with the topic of Effects of historic generational trauma because of systemic racism during the month of June. Our upcoming conversation will be led by Rev. Dr. Alonzo Johnson, Director of the Office of Self Devel

Background/Rationale Racism is not a problem to be solved. It is an insidious virus part of society’s collective DNA. It is a malicious condition that affects us all. It is in the air we breathe, in the conversations we have, in the thoughts that invade our brains, and in the tilting of our internalized ideas that have been fed to us about ourselves and others. The Synod of the Covenant is not immune to this shared human struggle and experience. The Synod’s past, recent, and

1. The right to be loved, without having to earn it. 2. The right to be protected, without having to deserve it. 3. The right to feel valuable, even if you came into the world with nothing. 4. The right to be listened to without having to be interesting. 5. The right to be read a bedtime story without having to compete with the evening news or EastEnders. 6. The right to an education without having to dodge bullets at schools. 7. The right to be thought of as adorable (even i

A tropical wind blowing beneath the palm trees. 100 worshipers in two languages. 30-year-friendships and brand new pals gathered around the table. Hands swinging overhead in joy. Even a conga line to the African praise song, “Siyahamba.” All of this, and more, characterized the joint worship service last month celebrating the work of the Spirit in the 30-year-partnership between Miami Valley Presbytery and the Presbytery of the North Coast in Colombia. The service was one of

We are impatiently waiting for the 3rd Annual Alma Preaching conference to begin! From June 4th to June 8th, we will welcome 14 new emerging preachers into the CGPI family, along with 24 returning participants, and 6 alumni. In addition, we are welcoming four new mentors to the program and several new speakers. This year, our keynote speaker is Catherine Williams, who serves as the Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship, and the Director of Chapel Worship at the Lancast

Greetings Co-Workers in Christ As I am weeks away graduting from Fuller Theoligcal Seminary with a MDiv and anticapte ordination as a Minister of Word and Sacrament, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on my call journey from Ruling Elder, to Commioned Pastor, to Inquirere and Candidate. First, let me be open and honest: am I not a cradle presbyterian. When my wife and I moved to New Cononcrd, OH over 20 years ago, we made a decision to find a church locally and committ

June 1 - Presbytery of the Western Reserve Meeting—Cleveland Heights, OH (Chip) June 2 - Lake Huron Presbytery Meeting—Linden, MI (Ruth-Aimée) June 3-8 - Cultivating the Gift of Preaching Conference—Alma (MI) College (Ruth-Aimée and Chip) June 9 - Lake Michigan Presbytery Meeting—Muskegon, MI (Ruth-Aimée) June 14 - Preaching, First Church of Warren, OH (Ruth-Aimée) June 14 - Preach at West Berlin Church—Delaware, OH (Chip) June 14 - Participate in Scott Nowack’s Installation

I often wonder how often the church’s proclamations really make it into the public consciousness. Our denomination’s 227th General Assembly begins in late June; as commissioners debate various proclamations, I hope they will consider whether the statements will mostly annoy other Presbyterians who disagree, or if the declarations will actually help the world look more the way God wants. Perhaps we should look to Pope Leo for a model. According to Google, his recent statem

“Learning and memory are generally associated with brains and r cells alone, but our study shows that other cells in the body can learn and form memories too.” Dr. Nikolay V. Kukushkin, NYU Professor “Your nervous system is your body’s command center. It works by sending messages, or electrical signals, between your brain and all the other parts of your body. These signals tell you to breathe, move, speak, and see, for example. Your nervous system keeps track of what’s going

May 2-3 - Vacation (Chip) May 7-8 - Alma College Board Meeting (Chip) May 10 - Preach at the Presbyterian Church of Traverse City (MI)—Mackinac Presbytery (Chip) May 12 - Miami Valley Presbytery Meeting—Bellbrook (OH) Church (Ruth-Aimée) May 13-15 - Princeton Theological Seminary Board Meeting (Chip) May 14 - Mackinac Presbytery Meeting—Zoom (Ruth-Aimée) May 19 - Scioto Valley Presbytery Meeting—Circleville (OH) Church (Ruth-Aimée) May 19 - Maumee Valley Presbytery Meeting—Fi

As I write this, our third annual preaching conference is just over a month away! So, we are busy finalizing schedules, booking housing, making reservations, so that everything runs smoothly. We are excited to welcome back our 24 current emerging preachers who will complete the program at the end of this calendar year. In addition to lots of in-person fellowship and attending our lectures on preaching and worship by our keynote lecture, the Rev. Dr. Catherine Williams, these