04059
February 3, 2004

Presence of God is APCE theme

Conference helps educators stay up to date,
re-charge batteries

by Evan Silverstein

NORFOLK, VA — Cindy Herweg was looking over some of the hundreds of religious books and other educational resources available in the cavernous Market Place during last week’s conference of the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE).

“I’m very lucky that my staff and my congregation send me here year after year,” said Herweg, the director of Christian Education at San Marino Community Church in suburban Los Angeles. “They believe in the value of this event, and in what I bring back to them from it.”

The market is always a popular feature of the annual APCE gathering, which this year brought together more than 1,000 people dedicated to the educational ministries of Presbyterian and other Reformed denominations in the United States and Canada.

The bustling market, managed by Cokesbury, the bookseller, also had exotic, hand-crafted international gifts and tabletop displays featuring the latest tools of the education trade. Herweg, who was attending for the eighth time, said it helps make the APCE experience an indispensable part of her Christian-education ministry.

She said the meetings enable her to stay current in her field, through networking, workshops and informative speakers.

“Sometimes a workshop ... will provide me with food for thought, ways to think about doing ministry in new and exciting ways,” Herweg said. “Other times, there are resources that I take back and put right into play.

Rev. Elizabeth Francis Caldwell. Photos by Evan Silverstein

Herweg had already huddled with other representatives of presbyteries in her synod, networking and talking about planning a summer camp. And she had pored over new summer curriculum materials that were unveiled during the four-day conference that ended on Jan. 31.

“I would just encourage churches and presbyteries to encourage their educators to come to events like these,” she said, “because educators are such a vital part of a church’s work and a church’s ministry. Supporting them by helping them grow in their jobs by sending them to an APCE event will only bring ... positive benefits.”

The conference also included worship services, community-building exercises, a spirituality center, an address by a humorist, and a history lesson from a Virginia man impersonating the Rev. Francis Makemie, the Irishman who is said to have brought Presbyterianism to America, establishing the first presbytery in North America in 1706.

The conference theme, God is in Our Midst, challenged participants not only to acknowledge God’s presence, but also to recognize where and how God is present. The theme, from the Old Testament Book of Psalms, was chosen a month after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, noted the Rev. Carl Horton, the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s coordinator for Church Leader Support and the denomination’s liaison to APCE.

“It was pretty clear that we would be looking at ... a world in the midst of a lot of tragedy and fear,” Horton said. “I think we’ve been really challenged well, in preaching and in workshops, to deal with people’s fears.”

The Rev. Cynthia Rigby, a theology professor at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Texas, called God “our refuge and our strength” in her sermon during the opening communion service and the closing commissioning service.

As we become more aware of the meaning of God in our midst, she said, “we will not fear, but will boldly conceive of the ways we are called to bear God to the world.”

“We recognize that God, our very present help, challenges us not to become complacent or smug about God’s presence with us,” Rigby added. “God does not sign off on our agendas. Rather, we are called fully to participate in the sovereign plans of God. The work of the Kingdom then is both all God’s and also ours.”

Rev. Cynthia Rigby

APCE honored the Rev. Elizabeth Francis Caldwell of McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago as its 2004 Educator of the Year. She urged her colleagues to keep in mind what it means to be part of a church.

“The focus is of course not on the building, windows or walls, but rather on people,” said Caldwell, a professor of pastoral theology and a former APCE president. “We are more than any one church, we are a community of believers.”

APCE, a professional ecumenical organization, serves the educational ministries of the Reformed family of churches in association with the PC(USA), the Presbyterian Church in Canada, the Reformed Church in America (RCA) and the Christian Reformed Church (CRC).

“I always find it helpful, because there’s new ideas and great resources and the conversations are very helpful,” said Jerilyn Lueders, a member of the RCA and a Christian-education consultant for one of the denomination’s synods in Iowa. “... This is one of the best places I can come to get new and high-quality resources to put in our library.”

This year’s conference attracted nearly 1,200 people, up from 1,050 who attended last year’s event in Denver. Next year’s conference will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia.

“I find it very supportive and uplifting spiritually,” said Linda Edvar, director of Christian Education at Campbell Memorial Presbyterian Church in Weems, VA. “It helps me with resources and creative ideas for teaching. ... It helps me get in touch with the denomination and what’s happening there, as well as what we can be doing on the local level to help our congregations feel a part of the denomination and grow in their faith through learning.”