We are busy planning the 2026 Alma Preaching Conference and moreover recruiting a new class of CGPI participants. The Alma Preaching Conference is scheduled for June 4-8, 2026 where we will welcome a new, third class of emerging preachers and welcome back our second class. Apply here: Apply for CGPI | Synod Of The Covenan Our second year group will participate in two new or revamped workshops, a workshop on preaching for social justice led by the Rev. Dr. Gregory Bryant f

March has been designated as Women’s History Month, where women’s contributions and embodied trailblazing are celebrated, highlighted, and explored. During this month, the lives of women, their struggles, joys, inventions, and contributions in all facets of society are lifted in multiple educational formats. In 1996, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) “instituted Celebrate the Gifts of Women Sunday after a resolution by the Advocacy Committee for Women’s Concerns was approved b

Our overarching theme is “In our synod, we’ll try anything to equip and support leaders who attend to God’s creative, emerging future.” People most invested in our ministry together will often quote with pride the “we’ll try anything” part of this statement. In this column, though, I want to tell you about some new initiatives we’re taking on this year to equip and support leaders: an in-person leadership conference, a racial justice speaker series, and a Christian nationa

Rev. Dr. Catherine Williams Rev. Dr. Catherine E. Williams is the Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship, and Director of Chapel Worship at the Lancaster, PA campus of Moravian University’s School of Theology. An ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church, Dr. Williams earned her BMus. in Church Music from Westminster Choir College of Rider University, her MDiv. from Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University, and her PhD in Homiletics from Princeton Theolog

We are thrilled to announce that we have four of our five mentors in place. We hope to soon announce our fifth mentor, who will come from our partnership with the Justice Center for Sacred Theological Studies (JCSTS, formerly known as Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary). The four mentors who will guide our third class of emerging preachers bring years of experience and wisdom from preaching and pastoring across the Synod. Rev. Dr. Kymberley Clemons-Jones Rev. Dr. Kymberl

In the Spring of 1935, Dietrich Bonhoeffer returned to Germany as he recognized that God was calling him to serve his home country as it suffered under the rapid rise of the Nazi Regime. By the Fall of that year, he was the head of a newly founded underground seminary – the famous Finkenwalde Seminary – founded to train pastors and preachers who had little or no previous theological education to serve in the Confessing Church (the minority of the German Church that was resist

Joseph D. Small, Proclaiming the Great Ends of the Church (Louisville: Geneva Press, 2010) I am writing this newsletter on Shrove Tuesday, the eve before the beginning of Lent. Like many of us who are involved in the life of the church, I have been thinking about how to observe Lent – and like many a Presbyterian this means that I have been thinking about what to read for a Lent Devotional. I have a stack of half-read, withmore than one unread (!), Lent devotionals from year

Gathering Dates: March 17-19, 2026 (Check in at 4:00 pm, check out at 10:00 am) Gathering Location: Camp Christian, 10299 Maple Dell Rd, Marysville, OH 43040 While the United States has a long history of hostility towards immigrants, the current administration has created a crisis for immigrants and refugees through aggressive immigration enforcement and racial profiling, diverting resources from the public good to immigration detention and deportation. With the rescinding of

February 1 - Preach at Trinity Flint (MI)—Lake Huron Presbytery (Chip) February 5-6 - Alma College Board Meeting (Chip) February 7 - Ordination Service at the Kirk in the Hills—Detroit Presbytery (Ruth-Aimée) February 8 - Preach at Second Saginaw (MI)—Lake Huron Presbytery (Chip) February 10 - Attend Presbytery of Scioto Valley Meeting—Columbus, OH (Ruth-Aimée) February 14 - Preach at Miami Valley Presbytery Meeting—Zoom (Ruth-Aimée) February 16 - President’s Day (Offi

The Presbyterian Historical Society is in the process of developing a resource and/or training to help churches research and write their own histories through an anti-racist lens. We want to hear directly from churches and mid councils about the resources and guidance that would be most useful to them as they engage in anti-racism work, regardless of where they are in this process. Please consider responding to the survey via the following link and sharing it via your newsl

With Gratitude to First Church in Grand Haven, MI (Lake MI Presbytery) We want to help children and youth in your church go to Christian camp this summer! First Presbyterian Church of Grand Haven (FPGH) has a camp grant program that provides children and youth some funding to attend a Christian camp, and we’d like to help the children of your church go this summer. No, this is not too good to be true! The program is simple: * Children and youth should have some connection

Hosted by College Hill Church (Miami Valley Presbytery) on Tuesday evenings in February. During the month of February, the College Hill Community Church (Dayton, Ohio) Peace and Social Justice Ministry will discuss/review How We Win the Civil War by Steve Phillips (available on Amazon and on Audible.com ) which first reviews the issues which created voter disenfranchisement and what worked during the 1960’s thru 2000’s Civil Rights Era. The final section of the book describes

We have been very busy this new year! As of mid-January, all of our first cycle cohorts (the 2024-2025 class) have had their final retreat and have completed the program. I am delighted to report that we had a near 100% “graduation” rate, with all but one person from the first cycle completing the program. The one who did not complete it dropped out to attend seminary full time; we consider that a success! Many from the first cycle are already serving as pulpit supply preac

“Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a better person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.” — Martin Luther King, Jr. One of the favorite pastimes of my family and other cultures is to gather and talk, laugh, and tell stories. The telling of stories is powerful. They are filled with wisdom, teaching, warning, warmth, laughter, and love. One element of these storytelling interac

At our February 3 Synod assembly, the commissioners will have a chance to brainstorm new ministries for 2026 in two areas: artificial intelligence (AI) and peacemaking. God has provided the financial means to expand our offerings to equip church leaders and to support congregations in these two areas, and the assembly is the first step toward shaping these opportunities. Here's a little bit of background about these two areas. You may remember from my December column ( F

Jan 4 - Preach at First Findlay (OH)—Maumee Valley Presbytery (Chip) Jan 5 - Meet with Presbytery of the Western Reserve Staff (Chip) Jan 11 - Preach and Lead Adult Ed at Kinsman (OH) Presbyterian Church—Eastminster Presbytery (Chip) Jan 13 - Out of Office (Chip) Jan 18 - Office Closed for Martin Luther King, Jr, Day (All Staff) Jan 18 - Preach at Circleville (OH) Church - Scioto Valley Presbytery (Ruth-Aimée) Jan 19 - Speak at Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Breakfast - C

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