Keeping us Connected

April 2026

What’s in a name?

Plenty, it turns out. The Interim Unified Agency is now known as Presbyterian Life & Witness.

LOUISVILLE — Goodbye, Interim Unified Agency.

Hello, Presbyterian Life & Witness.

On Thursday, the Unification Commission affirmed the new name, which takes effect immediately. The new moniker also comes with a tagline, “Serving God’s Mission in the World.”

“There was a lot of work done thinking about values and purpose and getting clarity,” the Rev. Jihyun Oh, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly and Executive Director of Presbyterian Life & Witness, explained to the UC. A committee evaluated a number of suggested new names and wrote a report about its work. Senior leaders “felt it was almost there but not quite,” Oh said.

A PC(USA) network for innovators

LOUISVILLE — “Innovation Network,” a new online gathering designed for innovators offered by the Office of Innovation, launched its initial installment last week with the Rev. Trey Hegar, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, sharing that congregation’s innovative approach to ministry.

The Rev. DeEtte Decker of the Office of Innovation is hosting the gatherings, which are scheduled for 2 p.m. Eastern Time on the third Wednesday of each month. She said it's designed to “help mid council and congregational leaders think differently about the challenges you’re facing and develop the skills and capacity to lead faithful innovation.”

Hegar, who was called to First Presbyterian Church 11 years ago, called Mount Pleasant, a community in southeastern Iowa, “Norman Rockwell-ish.” Read More

Marvelous Mary Conklin

Mary Conklin, beloved 103-year-old organist of First Presbyterian Church, Winnebago, Minn., was featured on KARE 11 News. A crew recently traveled to Winnebago on Palm Sunday to film and interview Mary, capturing her remarkable story and enduring dedication to music and ministry.

Click here for the KARE 11 story.

Contributed photo.

On the Road to GA

News of the 227th General Assembly (2026) coming to the Presbytery of Milwaukee this summer.

Click here for the latest newsletter, important dates and deadlines, and much more.

Co-Moderators announce the names of committee leaders for General Assembly

‘We were moved by the quality and depth of the applications we received’ says the Rev. CeCe Armstrong

LOUISVILLE — The Rev. Tony Larson and the Rev. CeCe Armstrong, Co-Moderators of the 226 th General Assembly (2024), have announced the names of committee moderators and vice-moderators for the 227 th General Assembly, which will be held June 22-July 2 online and in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Read More

New Community Day Planned for this year's General Assembly

The Rev. Jihyun Oh talks about what she's most looking forward to about this summer's General Assembly in Milwaukee.

Listen to her description of the new Community Day that has been planned for Saturday, June 27, prior to the start of the plenary sessions. Planners hope the day will be a space for gathering and doing action together as a witness of God's love and justice in the world. Oh also says she looks forward to communal worship during the Assembly as well as the work itself.

A strategic plan for the work of the Administrative Services Group

A Corporation Board gets an initial look at the top areas for concentrated efforts throughout 2026

LOUISVILLE — During the first of their two days of meetings at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Kentucky, members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation Board got a look at a proposed 2026 Strategic Plan for the Administrative Services Group, which performs a number of back-office services for Presbyterian Life & Witness (PL&W) as well as for mid councils and congregations across the country.

Click here to read more, including an update from the Stated Clerk/Executive Director and plans for General Assembly.

Iranian-American author makes a timely appearance on ‘A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast’

Dr. John Ghazvinian traces the roots of Presbyterian mission in Iran and places current hostilities in their historical context

LOUISVILLE — As the Trump administration was threatening Iran with the destruction of its power plants and bridges this week, Dr. John Ghazvinian, an Iranian-American author, historian and former journalist, was the most recent guest on “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast.” Listen to his 65-minute conversation with hosts Simon Doong and the Rev. Lee Catoe here.

Ghazvinian is the author of the 2021 book “America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present.”

Who ordains ruling elders — and why is the PC(USA) revisiting it now?

A once-quiet question is resurfacing across the denomination. According to Christian Boyd, it could shape how the church calls and equips leaders in the years ahead.

In presbyteries across the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a longstanding but often overlooked polity question is resurfacing: Who should ordain deacons and ruling elders?

Read the full article by Rev. Dr. Christian Dominic Boyd in The Presbyterian Outlook.

RSVP Here

Synod School

Need a reason to attend? We have a few:

Arriving early? Attend worship at Lakeside Presbyterian Church
Great Speakers & Guest Leaders
Daily Worship
Programs for children & youth
Scholarship help available
Carmel Roll Day is a thing
Plenty of evening activites to choose from
Tie-Dyeing
Reepicheep, the unofficial mascot of Synod School, may make an appearance. (Subject to🐈schedule)
ICE CREAM!

July 26-31, 2026, at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa

Visit the Synod School webpage. Help us fill "BoxAnne" one of our mission projects.

Presbyterian Advocacy Hour

The Presbyterian Advocacy Hour brings together committed people of faith every fourth Wednesday of the month to recharge your spirit and empower your advocacy with:

Spiritual grounding
In-depth analysis of pressing justice issues
Practical tools for faithful action

Each session concludes with an optional 30-minute breakout for:

Networking · Movement-building · Community connection

Click here to register for Advocacy Hour or catch up with past conversations and resources.

Watch the recording of Courage in the Face of Authoritarianism: Historical Roots and Modern Responses

John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award ®

The people of the Twin Cities of Minnesota will be honored with a John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award® for risking their lives to protect their neighbors and immigrant community members from an unprecedented federal law enforcement operation, peacefully defending the human rights and values that serve as the foundation of our Constitutional democracy. Read More

Calling All Youth Groups

Lock-In Registration Form

ConNext Summit

Early-bird registration closes May 31.

Faith leaders strive to create places of deep belonging. We long to branch out beyond belonging to bring into the center children, youth, and adults forced to the margins so that together, we can build a more beautiful community in which all God's beloveds flourish.

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How can we develop more emotionally- and systemically-aware mentors - adults and peers - capable of more joyful and meaningful welcome for children and youth whose identities place them on the margins and increasingly in danger?

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In the face of Christian Nationalism and other radicalizing ideologies, how do we create communities in which vulnerability, compassion, and gracious conversation are norms that shape open, compassionate, gracious children, youth, and families?

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Faith leaders working with all ages and in all contexts (geographic and ecumenical) are invited to ConNext Summit: Beyond Belonging - Branching Out - Bringing In - Building Together, October 11-13, 2026, at Clearwater Forest Camp and Retreat Center.

Learn more and register here .

LeaderWise offers many leadership development programs and workshops. Many are open to the public. Here are continuing and upcoming workshops & programs:

Weekly Contemplative Centering

Guided practice and reflection

Tuesdays through April 28, noon CT, 15 minutes - Find out more.

3Practices Circle

For the first six months of 2026, emilie boggis, LeaderWise consultant and trained 3Practices referee, will lead a monthly 3Practices Circle for our community to give us space to practice staying in the room with difference. Rather than reaching agreement, the goal is to gain greater clarity about one another.

Beginning April 17, 12 noon CT - Find out more.

How Do We Share and Distribute Power?

Let’s get some clarity on power. In this 60-minute session, Rev. Dr. Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi will present the major concepts of power (start here), alongside time for small group engagement and Q&A. You’ll gain a healthier relationship with power and some tools for sharing it well.

Beginning April 30, noon CT - Find out more.

New Campus Ministry Fellowship

The University of Dubuque and University of Dubuque Theological Seminary is excited to share details of a new fellowship program that will provide graduate students the unique opportunity to pursue life together in collegiate ministry while obtaining a master’s degree.

The Donald Bloesch Fellowship will place those accepted into a UD/UDTS master’s degree program at the center of Campus Ministry, assisting in the areas of relational, worship, and discipleship ministries. Bloesch Fellows’ responsibilities may include overseeing small groups, providing musical leadership for chapels, helping to coordinate worship services, preaching, developing a team of students to support chapel webpages and social media, and more. Bloesch Fellows will serve Campus Ministry for the 2026-2027 academic year, with the potential for renewal in subsequent years. Click here for more information.

Residential internships for next generation learners

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is offering two internship tracks this summer. If you are an undergraduate student or a high school junior, senior, or recent precollege graduate and are asking "What's Next?" these internships may be for you.

Undergraduate Fellows are analogous to camp counselors who serve as resident assistants in the dormitory and teaching assistants in the Exploratorys. And since they are both participants and staff for the summer, we provide a $6,000.00 (US) stipend. Learn more here.

The Neighborhood Scholars program empowers high school students to grow personally, spiritually, and intellectually through civic engagement, leadership development, and vocational discernment. Neighborhood Scholars receive a stipend of $1,000.00 (US). Learn more here.

Deeper in Faith: A Journey of Spiritual Formation

Seven-Week Worship Series Now Available.

This worship series invites congregations into a rich, accessible exploration of how faith grows over a lifetime. Each of the seven weeks — Spiritual Formation and Discernment, Spirituality for the Here and Now, Values and Practices, Where is God?, Nature, Sabbath, and Rest, Spiritual Discernment, and Synergos: Co-Laborers in Faith — is grounded in scripture, church history, and centuries of Christian practice- from the wisdom of the Desert Fathers and Mothers to the theology of the Reformation and the rhythms of Sabbath rest.

Deeper in Faith is designed to meet congregations where they are and draw them further in. As one of the authors writes, "The invitation of spiritual formation is not to arrive but to continue — to let the practices of learning, discernment, and lived faith draw you further into the life God has for you." Another reflects, "It is in community with one another that we can see and experience faith reflected back at us."

Each week's materials — including a complete bulletin, hymn suggestions, fully editable slides, an adaptable sermon manuscript, a children's message, a ritual action, and a personal journal entry — are fully customizable for your congregation's context and voice. We would love for this series to find a home in your community. Click this link to access your free copy of Deeper In Faith.