2021 President Elect Announcement

 

We are pleased to announce that Renda Brinson has been elected by the APCE Leadership Council to serve as APCE’s next President-Elect.  Here is a little bit about Renda:

Renda Brinson is a Certified Christian Education who has served in the Presbytery of Charlotte for over 20 years.  She currently serves as the Director of Christian Education at First Presbyterian Church in Monroe, NC and in a joint position as the Director of Christian Education Resource Center for the Presbytery of Charlotte and Union Presbyterian Seminary.  She is a member of POINT – Presbyterians Organized in Nurture and Teaching and has served APCE in the past as the Moderator of the Advocacy Ministry Team and as a member of the Coordinating Council.  Renda has served on numerous presbytery committees including the Committee on Ministry and Leadership Development and is currently serving on the Ministry Resource Committee. She is the Education Certification Advisor for her presbytery and a Commissioner from the Presbytery of Charlotte to this year’s General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA).  Renda lives in Matthews, NC, with her husband, Earl, and their rescue dog, Daisy. They have four adult sons and six grandchildren.

Here is some of what colleagues have said about Renda’s leadership:

  • Renda has a wise voice and a calming presence whose competence puts people at ease.”
  • She is a consummate Christian Educator: faithful, creative, caring, and organized. She is welcoming and outgoing and dedicated to her tasks. She is a life-long learner and skilled at creating spaces for learners of all ages. She is highly organized, non-anxious, a problem solver, and a positive thinker. APCE would be well served by Renda’s leadership.
  • Her passion for advocating for educators in the church is amazing. Renda is creative, energetic, caring, and a good friend. She has terrific instincts and problem-solving skills. Her gifts for hospitality were a wonder to behold.
  • Renda is calm in stressful situations, kind when things are hard, knowledgeable but not a know-it-all, funny when it’s appropriate, loyal to those she loves, open to those she meets, and a hard worker at all times. Renda would serve as President to shine the spotlight on APCE and not to seek recognition for herself.

Renda will be installed as President-Elect at the 2021 Corporation Meeting. We give thanks to God for and look forward to Renda’s leadership among us.

Yours in faith formation,
The APCE Governance Ministry Team

A MESSAGE FROM RENDA BRINSON

It is with great joy and humility that I am writing as the newly elected President Elect-Elect of the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators.  I was deeply honored to have been nominated and that the Leadership Council feels I am worthy of such an important part of the leadership team of APCE. As I discerned God’s calling in this process, my fears quieted knowing what a phenomenal group of people I would be working with. 

Since I began my journey into the ministry of Christian Education, Certification and service in the Church, APCE has been a part of what I do and who I am, through its support and the wonderful colleagues in Christian Education. When I was asked to consider this position, it was not a hard decision.  The call to be able to serve and give back to this organization a small portion of what I have received in my 20+ years in APCE is indeed a privilege.

I am excited to be a part of the leadership of APCE as we prepare to begin our second fifty years.  APCE is strong and I want to work with others to build on our strengths and make APCE the place that all people look to for the best practices and resources in Christian formation, nurturing and education. APCE is in a great position to help our member denominations and others to learn how to be the church in new ways that are being called for in this time. Our future will be both challenging and exciting, and I look forward to being a part of it.

Thank you for the honor of serving APCE.

Sincerely,
Renda R. Brinson