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CHANGE of DATE for WEEK 2
Art of Transitional Ministry Training
Week 2, October 27-31, 2025, March 2-6, 2026, this online training focuses specifically on the leadership of a person in a pastoral role serving in a ministerial context characterized by transition. This can be any ministry that is consciously seeking to work with the change they are experiencing or change that is anticipated (whether in leadership, culture, context, and ministry). More information and registration at: https://lakesandprairies.regfox.com/week-2-of-the-art-of-transitional-ministry
Week 1, November 17-21, 2025, training focuses on leadership in a ministerial context characterized by transition. This can be any ministry that is consciously seeking to work with the change they are experiencing or change that is anticipated (whether in leadership, culture, context, and ministry). This training is offered online. More information and registration at: https://lakesandprairies.regfox.com/week-1-art-of-transitional-ministry
There are requirements for both trainings, click on the appropriate link above. Questions should be directed to Deb DeMeester, Director of Leadership Development.
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Being Presbyterian in a Dysvangelical America: A Guide to Reclaiming the Good News of God’s Grace
Dysvangelical names a theology that is distorted, dysfunctional, and dystopian, twisting the good news of God’s grace into a message of fear, partisanship, and exclusion.
In Being Presbyterian in a Dysvangelical America, Ted V. Foote Jr. and P. Alex Thornburg speak directly to Presbyterians who are disillusioned and confused by how Christianity is being misused in American culture. So often, our beliefs as faithful Christians do not line up with the shouted chants and disturbing actions taken by those claiming to represent a true vision of Christianity. Twenty-five years after their best-selling book Being Presbyterian in the Bible Belt, the authors return with fresh urgency to affirm the heart of Reformed theology and what it means to be truly evangelical in a time of theological and cultural distortion. With clarity, compassion, and a touch of humor, Being Presbyterian in a Dysvangelical America equips readers to name what feels wrong, rediscover what is right, and live into a gospel that is still good news for all. Read more
It is impossible to ignore the many loud voices who claim to speak for God with the absolute certainty and divisive rhetoric that has become the playbook for Christian nationalism. To help readers counter this overwhelming narrative, Foote and Thornburg provide an accessible, faithful alternative rooted in the core Presbyterian convictions of grace, community, humility, and ongoing reform. This is the message to speak loudly in our time: not one of fear and exclusion, but a living, evolving faith that proclaims the wide welcome of God’s grace.
Ideal for individual or group study, the book includes an eight-session study guide that provides focus Scriptures, questions for discussion, and prayers. To enhance group study, chapter introduction videos from the authors are available on the WJK YouTube channel.
P. Alex Thornburg is pastor at Heartland Presbyterian Church in Clive, Iowa. He has also pastored churches in Oklahoma and Wisconsin. Thornburg has been profoundly formed by these communities and their struggles and joys in faith, in addition to experiences with Christians in other countries, such as Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Taiwan, and, most recently, Palestine.
Ted V. Foote Jr. serves as the Zbinden Chair Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Leadership at Austin Presbyterian Seminary. He has pastored Presbyterian churches in Texas and Oklahoma and authored several books, including Being Presbyterian in the Bible Belt (with coauthor P. Alex Thornburg) and Being Disciples of Jesus in a Dot.Com World.
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Presbyterian Women is forming a delegation to attend the 70th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which will be held in person and online March 9–20, 2026.
Minimum participation for delegates is Monday, March 9–Friday, March 13, 2026; ideal participation is between Monday, March 9–Friday, March 20. Delegates are encouraged to attend as many events in person as possible. Attending some events online is also an option. The deadline for application is December 8, 2025.
For more information & application click here.
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Stewardship in small churches doesn’t have to be difficult
It’s ‘is how we live as God’s people’
Maggie Harmon began her workshop at Stewardship Kaleidoscope with a simple aim: to guide participants in creating a stewardship plan.
But the conversation quickly turned into something more. The audience leaned in with ideas, questions, and stories of their own, so much so that the workshop became a shared exploration of what stewardship really means in congregational life. And Harmon, a ruling elder at First Presbyterian Church in Oakland, California, was happy to let it happen.
“The big thing I want you to take away,” Harmon told the group, “is that it doesn’t have to be that hard, and it doesn’t have to be perfect.”
Redefining stewardship
Harmon reminded participants that many people immediately associate stewardship with money. “When you say we’re going to talk about stewardship, they grab their wallets,” she said with a smile. “They think you’re coming for their money.”
But scripture paints a broader picture. Drawing from Genesis 2:15, she noted that stewardship is tending, caring, and helping something grow. Read more
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What Can Faith Communities Do about Loneliness?
By Mary Kay DuChene
Do you remember the before times? Before the Pandemic, that is? It was 2018 and the LeaderWise staff were in a staff meeting. We asked the question, What patterns are you noticing with your clients? To a person, whether therapist, assessment psychologist, or consultant, staff members talked about the sense of loneliness they were seeing with their clients.
It caused us to pause and wonder. And then take action. We created a survey with the help of our own research psychologist; we held focus groups; we offered a small group experience on the topic of loneliness, we read the research that existed at the time; and my colleague Mark Sundby and I got to work writing a book (A Path to Belonging: Overcoming Clergy Loneliness) and speaking on the topic. As you can imagine, the pandemic only exacerbated the sense of loneliness and isolation people in our country are feeling, and even today there seems to be an ever-increasing conversation about the topic since we first began our research over 5 years ago. Read more
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Christian nationalism's flip side is nationalist Christianity
Jon Mathieu, community engagement editor of The Christian Century discusses Christian nationalism's flip side with Mac Loftin, theologian, author, and online columnist for the Century.
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From the Presbyterians for Disability Concerns Network
Crip My Theology:
A multidenominational podcast at the intersection of theology and disability, this is a space for disabled folks of faith wrestling with their faith to engage with scripture. This is a place where non-disabled folks can find ways to be more inclusive in their leadership and in their worship.
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From the Office of Public Witness
"Gun Violence and Christian Ethics" is a new adult educational video series presented by the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Office of Public Witness. It brings together leading Christian academics from around the United States to think about how Christians might think about the uniquely American problem of gun violence as people of faith. What might our faith might say about gun violence? How might it counter the cultures of fear, civil distrust, and alienation that make guns attractive? And how it might move us to engage in ministries of prophetic advocacy and tender reconciliation that help to end gun violence in the United States?
Click here for all the videos in the series
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On the Road to GA, Issue 4
The 227th General Assembly (2026) will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Click here to read the latest issue.
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Presbyterian Women
in the Synod of Lakes and Prairies builds community and affirms women’s calls to leadership and spiritual growth.
Visit our webpage to find out about our book studies and Sit & Sip discussion group. Be sure to connect with us on Facebook.
Check out our newsletter for more about PW across the synod.
| | Partner Organization Links | | In mid October the synod staff managed to get away from the office for a short retreat at Mount Olivet Conference Center. We enjoyed a meditative nature walk led by Mt. Olivet staff, spent time in conversation, played games, participated in smudging*, completed a puzzle, got some rest, and visited an apple orchard (where some may or may not have used the apple cannon). | | |
Synod staff left to right, Elona, Amy, Deb, Gretchen, Jim, and Pam posing with completed puzzle of painting 'Harriet Tubman', by William H. Johnson.
*A simple explanation of Smudging.
Smudging is a traditional ceremony to cleanse the mind and spirit.
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