Dec 2  - Luke Huron Presbytery Meeting—Flushing, MI (Ruth-Aimée) Dec 5 - Vacation Begins (Chip) Dec 12 - Western Reserve Presbytery Christmas Celebration—Cleveland (Ruth-Aimée) Dec 14 - Calvary Presbyterian Church Celebration of Life—Detroit, MI (Ruth-Aimée) Dec 15 - Vacation Begins (Ruth-Aimée) Dec 24-31 - All Synod Staff on Vacation   If you would like Executive Chip Hardwick or Associate Executive Ruth-Aimée Belonni-Rosario to come to your church or ministry to preach

Blessed Advent Co-Heirs with Christ!   As we begin the new liturgical year (and wind down the calendar year) there are several presbyteries evaluating their CRE programs or taking them in a new direction. This is also a time where seminaries have updated their training programs for CREs, while others are beginning to develop new programs. And of course, with General Assembly around the corner, there could be additional changes and updates to CRE training and support!   I have

H appy New Year! As we begin a new liturgical year and enter into the Advent season, we are excited to share with you that the Synod will once again produce a pre-recorded post-Christmas virtual worship service for use on the Sunday following Christmas (Dec 28th).   We offer this service because we know that the Sunday after Christmas is one of the more difficult times to find pulpit supply. Our hard-working and diligent pastors, preachers, musicians, liturgists and the many

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” — Desmond Tutu “Lament is not despair. It is not a cry into a void. Lament is a cry directed to God.” — Walter Brueggemann “We are called to learn the anguished cry of lament.” – Center for Action and Contemplation The season of Advent is upon us. Advent is my favorite liturgical season. The hymns, songs, scripture readings, and sermons are filled with hope, joy, peace, and a sense of wonder. Over th

During this Advent season of waiting, I received unexpected news.  Back in October, the Synod applied for a grant from the People-First AI Fund from the @OpenAI Foundation to explore the opportunities and perils that church leaders need to navigate when ministry and Artificial Intelligence (AI) come together.  I imagined that we might not hear back for months, but I learned last Tuesday that we received a $94,000 grant!  Thanks be to God!   You can read more about the grant a

There are two resources I wish to draw your attention to this quarter:   First, one of the books that CGPI participants read, and which they have reported great enthusiasm for is Karoline Lewis’s A Lay Preachers’ Guide: How to Craft a Faithful Sermon. This book is part of the Working Preacher Book Series published by Fortress Press and Luther Seminary’s Working Preacher. Many of the other books in this series would be of great benefit for not only or CGPI preachers but other

with the CPGI Director, Dr. Matt Aragon Bruce While recruiting for the CGPI program, one of the comments I often hear from those who have been recommended to the program is that they can’t imagine themselves as a preacher. I don’t know how many times I have heard some version of, “I don’t know enough,” “I’m not a good speaker,” or “I’m not holy enough” – i.e., some form of the excuse that I am not in the same category as a pastor and thus am not qualified to preach. Yet, at t

This quarter, our inaugural group of CGPI participants will complete their program. All four cohorts will have in-person meetings sometime between November and January (two have already meet as I write this) as their final official time together. They will spend time reading and thinking about the preaching life as a type of pilgrimage wherein the preacher listens to the voice of God speaking both in the Scriptures and in the life of the Church and bringing what they hear bac

Nov 2-4 - Gathering of Synod Executives—Dallas, TX (Chip) Nov 8 - Miami Valley Presbytery Meeting—Kettering, OH (Chip) Nov 9-12 - Gathering of MidCouncil Leaders—Louisville, KY (Chip) Nov 10-11 - NEXT Still We Preach Cohort—Grand Rapids, MI (Ruth-Aimée) Nov 11-14 - NEXT Church National Gathering—Grand Rapids (Ruth-Aimée) Nov 12 - Retirement Celebration for Jack Sullivan of the Ohio Council of Churches—Columbus, OH (Chip) Nov 14 - Installation of Shauna Hannan as Presid

Mary Llyod-Seals shares her experiences in CGPI The Synod Assembly was held at the end of October and, as part of the CGPI report to the Synod commissioners, we invited two of our participants – Mary Lloyd-Seals (Moderator of the Presbytery of Detroit and member of Grosse Pointe Memorial in Detroit) and Sean Eaton (member of Westminster Presbyterian in Ann Arbor). Mary and Sean shared their experiences in the CGPI to the delight and encouragement to the Synod commissioners an

Greetings Siblings in Christ!   We are excited to share with you all that we will be creating a pre-recorded post-Christmas virtual worship service again this year! It is designed for use on Sunday, December 28, 2025.   We, the Synod of the Covenant, recognize the hard and fruitful work of pastors, musicians, and worship teams during the season of advent and we hope this virtual service will be a gift of Sabbath for all of you. We will make the virtual worship service availab

“Stories are the communal currency of humanity.” — Tahir Shah “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” — Maya Angelou Storytelling is one of the oldest and most sacred practices of the human community. It is how we pass down wisdom, remember our origins, and give shape to our collective identity. Within communities of faith, storytelling is not merely about recounting events—it is about proclaiming God’s activity in human history. From the parables

One of the greatest joys from serving at the synod is the chance to visit so many churches throughout our bounds.  By the end of November, I will have visited 40 different congregations, preaching at most of them.  Without fail I see God’s Spirit at work in worship and service to the community and fellowship.  Today I want to tell you about two particularly impactful visits here in Detroit Presbytery (where I live):  the Korean Presbyterian Church of Metro Detroit (KPCMD) and

Oct 1-3 - Alma College Board Meeting—Lake Huron Presbytery (Chip) Oct 5 - Preach at New Hope Church, Novi—Detroit Presbytery...

We are busy with a host of matters this month!   The bittersweet news is that our inaugural group of participants are nearing the end of...

Welcome to our first CRE Spotlight! Keith Schroedor serves First Presbyterian Church Menominee, MI in the Presbytery of Mackinac. Keith...

In the 1960s, parish priest Peter Scholtes wrote the hymn “They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love” as a song for his youth choir...

As I write, Charlie Kirk’s memorial service took place yesterday.  His mix of conservative politics and Christianity clearly struck a...

Different Together:  A Leader’s Guide”  Addressing Toxic Polarization October 24, 2025 9:00 am to 3:00 pm; In Person at the Garden Level...

Sept 9 - Miami Valley Presbytery Meeting—Springfield, OH (Ruth-Aimée) Sept 13  - Muskingum Valley Presbtery Meeting—Canton, OH...