ADVOCATE
Abundant Grace Dinner Church
By: Kristie Webb Finley Abundant Grace Dinner Church in Plainsboro/West Windsor, New Jersey, has a vision: In the abundant grace of God, guided by the example of Christ's love, inspired by the Holy Spirit, we gather together around the table to worship, feeding the...
Claiming Sacred Space at the Bar
By: Danny Trapp Holding a worship service in a bar or restaurant is not a new concept. Google “church at a bar” and you’ll find examples across the country—in Missouri, Virginia, Georgia, and Texas to name a few. Something is happening in Charlotte, North Carolina, at...
If They Ask, They Will Come
By: Carol Wehrheim After teaching the sixth-grade church school class for a number of years, I retired. A few months later, the phone rang. "Carol, I think I have a project that will interest you," began the director for children's and family ministries. I listened...
Puzzle Centers
By: Priscilla Andre-Colton Last summer I was working on organizing the curriculum and support materials for our two youngest Sunday school classes. The curriculum recommended setting up a puzzle center. So I started looking for puzzles that coordinated with the topics...
Looking Ahead . . . Lent
By: Sandy Safford Looking for some new ideas for the coming church season? This edition of Looking Ahead to includes ideas you can use or adapt to create a program for Holy Week. WALKING WITH JESUS “Walking with Jesus” is a stations-of-the-cross program designed for...
Educator of the Year for 2016: Beth Hayes
By: APCE Phoebe Elizabeth Abrams Hayes (Beth) grew up in a PCUSA church that played a very significant role in her early life. Her early involvement with that church family inspired her to major in religious education at Converse College in Spartanburg, South...
Resources to Explore: God’s New Things
By: Mary E. Speedy Check out resources from Annual Event speakers and others who will open your eyes to God's new things. When "Spiritual but Not Religious" Is Not Enough: Seeing God in Surprising Places, Even the Church, Lillian Daniel. Jericho, 2013. Playing off the...
The Four Types of Nones
By: Lillian Daniel You probably heard about it in the news. It was called the Pew Study on Religious Participation in America. Some experts went out and surveyed all kinds of people to find out what exactly we are doing with ourselves in this country religiously. The...
Worship at Home and On the Way
By: Luke Hyder The summer breeze was sending ripples cascading across the surface of the lake in front of me. Shafts of sunlight pierced the canopy of tall cedars above my head. And while my fingers were plucking simple chords on a guitar, my body resonated with the...
Having an Open Spirit
By: Nanette Sawyer Recently as I was sitting with my Spiritual Director, I raised my hands in the air and spoke exuberantly to God. I said, “Look at me, God!” I meant it in the sense of “look at all the great things about me!” Does that sound arrogant? When I think...