From Your Synod Executive
Artificial Intelligence has been in the news a lot over the last month, after a tweet by an industry insider a couple of weeks ago said, “The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.” If you’ve been considering the impact of AI on culture and ministry, please plan to come to an all-day in-person workshop at our Synod Assembly on October 30 in Adrian, OH.
You may remember that we received a $94,000 grant from the OpenAI Foundation to study the perils and possibilities of Artificial Intelligence for our culture and churches. The first major step in ministry will be the workshop, called “Navigating AI: Understanding → Discerning → Ministering.” We will be led by three amazing speakers: Noreen Herzfeld, Director of the Benedictine Spirituality and Ecotheology Program at St. John University in Minnesota; Greg Cootsona, Executive Director of AI and Faith; and Drew Rick-Miller, Executive Director of Science for the Church. (Many thanks to Drew for coordinating this event.)
While much of the event will be recorded for our YouTube channel, we encourage you to come in person if your schedule allows. It will be 9:00 am to 4:00 pm on October 30 at the Weber Center in Adrian, MI. There is no cost to attend and meals are provided, but if you would like to stay over night, the rooms cost $85/night. You can register and learn more about the whole day here: Annual Assembly Information | Synod Of The Covenan
I’m also excited about the rest of the assembly, which is October 29-31. Besides this AI workshop, the commissioners will also discuss a proposal to develop a ministry of Peacemaking Grants from the $85,000 in restricted peacemaking funds which the peacemaking offering has generated over the past few years. Commissioners will also discuss an inaugural Pastoral Leadership Conference for Commissioned Ruling Elders and pastors at Muskingum University July 21-23 that you can learn more about here. Attendees will also hear testimonies from participants and graduates of the Cultivating the Gift of Preaching Initiative. Many thanks to staff members Ruth-Aimée Belonni-Rosario, Tim Pollock, and Matt Aragon-Bruce for developing these ministry proposals.
Of course, we’ll also have worship, committee work, and the ever-popular Synod After Dark, where attendees get to share food and drinks at the end of each day. We will also have the chance to thank Andy Thorburn of Lake Michigan Presbytery and Mike Wakeland of Miami Valley Presbytery for their service as moderator of the leadership committee and of the assembly, respectively, and to install Valerie Lyons of the Presbytery of the Western Reserve as our new moderator. I’m grateful to be able to serve alongside the staff and all of our commissioners!
God bless you!
Rev. Charles B Hardwick, PhD
Executive
309-530-4578
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