COLUMBIA, S.C. — “Moving Back Into the Neighborhood” is a one-and-a-half-day workshop sponsored by four presbyteries in South Carolina: Foothills, New Harmony, Providence and Trinity. The Sept. 20-21 event is open to all people across the four presbyteries. It will be led by Alan Roxburgh of the Missional Network. Click here to learn more about the event. It will be held at Forest Lake Presbyterian Church in Columbia starting at 6 p.m. Sept. 20 and continuing 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sept. 21.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Division of Education and Nurture of Trinity Presbytery will host a seminar on Christian marriage Sept. 29 at Lake Murray Presbyterian Church in Chapin, S.C.

This panel discussion will be led by the Rev. Tom Currie of Union Seminary and the Rev. Peter Hobbie, professor of religion at Presbyterian College.

This event will be a faithful discussion engaging challenging questions concerning Christian marriage and its future. It will be videotaped and DVDs made for use by all of Trinity Presbytery’s churches to facilitate their own discussions per the General Assembly’s request for two years of “serious study and discernment” regarding Christian marriage. 

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Presbytery of East Iowa’s Presbyterian Older Adult Ministry and Older Wiser Livelier Saints (OWLS) will host a celebration and conference Sept. 17-18 at Calvin Crest Camp Conference and Retreat Center in Fremont, Neb.

Keynote speaker will be the Rev. Gary Neal Hansen, assistant professor of church history and chair of the history and theological division at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary.

In the conference brochure, Hansen said he believes that church history “puts Christian faith and theological education in context. Learning the stories of saints and sinners, of the faithful and foolish things done in Christ’s name, one can gain wisdom and strength for life and ministry.”

The conference is designed for people 50 and older. All facilities at Calvin Crest are handicap accessible. To register, visit www.calvincrest.org/media/REGISTRATION_FORM_2013.pdf. To learn more, phone Calvin Crest at 877-795-7635 or email calvincrest@calvincrest.org.

CLEVELAND — African American pastors and members in the Synod of the Covenant are invited to attend the Black Theology and Pastoral Care Retreat Oct. 20-23 at Quaker Hill Retreat in Richmond, Ind.

The event will focus on gun violence in our neighborhoods and will offer thinking and prayer guided by people who have something to say about the effects theology and sociology have on the issue.

Email Irv Moxley at irvmox@sbcglobal.net  or Janet Fehlen at j.fehlen@synodofthecovenant.org. 

CLEVELAND — The Presbytery of the Western Reserve Presbyterian Women’s Fall Gathering is Oct. 19 at First Presbyterian Church in Willoughby, Ohio.

Workshops will focus on prayer, immigration and hunger in Cleveland. The gathering will collect canned goods.

MINNEAPOLIS — The Kwanzaa Taskforce of the Mission and Witness Committee invites the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area to a second critical conversation on sex trafficking and child prostitution Sept. 26 at Presbyterian Church of the Way in Shoreview.

MINNEAPOLIS — Teaching elders in the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area are invited to attend the second annual Teaching Elder Retreat, Sept. 30-Oct. 1 at Cragun’s resort on Gull Lake. The event is designed as a chance to relax, spend a couple of days away from the church office and get to know colleagues in ministry. Featured Speaker is the Rev. Alika Galloway of the Northside Women’s Space.

EAGAN, Minn. — The Synod of Lakes and Prairies will hold a discussion on the future of mid-councils at its meeting Sept. 29-Oct. 2.

Helivao Poget, an international peacemaker from Madagascar, and Doug Tilton, the PC(USA)’s World Mission regional liaison for Southern Africa, will lead an educational presentation Sept. 30. Christine Hong, associate for theology and interfaith relations in the Office of Theology and Worship of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, will lead an educational presentation Oct. 1. The synod will meet at Mount Olivet Retreat Center, Farmington, Minn. 

TUCSON, Ariz. — The Synod of the Southwest will meet in Grand Canyon Presbytery Oct. 25-26. Click here for details.

LOUISVILLE — A ministry that began with nine people meeting in a mobile home has grown into more than 40 people meeting in three different homes a week for worship, prayer, Bible study and fellowship.

The ministry, led by the Rev. Elmer Zavala, is funded by Mid-Kentucky Presbytery’s Hispanic/Latino Commission.

Meeting in the homes has been transforming for this community. People feel free to share their experiences. We have celebrated life achievements, prayed together, laughed together and enjoyed beautiful fellowship with one another.  We also have cried together when a member of the community has suffered a setback such the loss of a job, seeing a relative deported or an illness. The community rallies around this person to meet needs with their own meager resources.

As pastor, Zavala networks with social agencies, attorneys, the Hispanic/Latino Commission of the Presbytery and other churches to solve the situation. As a result, the self-esteem of those who have been marginalized by their immigration status is lifted up and their dignity is restored. They feel empowered by God’s grace and their ability to do something for others.

We invite all who God has blessed with stability in their lives to join us in this effort, to have a spirit of solidarity with the oppressed, and use their privileged status to help those who are helpless.