APCE Alert February 2020

February 2020

THREE WORDS Part 1 - HOSPITALITY Julia A. Boyce 2020 APCE President   APCE’s 2020 Annual Event is in the books and it is alive and well in all the hearts of those who attended. If you were unable to be with us – you were indeed missed. Event highlights included an amazing presentation by Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine, as she recounted her difficult days making history as one of the first black students at Central High in Little Rock. The plenaries and worship led by Rev. Theresa Cho, Rev. Lisa Sharon Harper, David LaMotte and Zach Light-Wells gave us much spiritual nourishment and food for thought as well as actions for moving forward into the future. The hard work of the annual event team and all who contributed to this event is appreciated beyond what words can express. In my brief speech at the installation portion of the Corporation meeting, I shared three words with you all as challenges and the first word was HOSPITALITY. The quote from Pocahontas, “If you walk in the footsteps of strangers, you will learn things you never knew you never knew.” Our challenge is to reach out to the stranger, the new educator in your area, the pastor or the volunteer who needs some encouragement. Bring them with you to a regional event, forward to them information about APCE with an invitation to learn more about us and in general extend the gift of hospitality. By doing so, perhaps just perhaps, we will learn something that we never knew we never knew. We grow by the very act of reaching out to those who need our encouragement and bringing them alongside us to walk together OPENING DOORS TO DISCIPLESHIP PROJECT APPLICATION A few months ago, a group of educators and leaders met to vision about what a training website for educational ministries could look like. APCE has been given the site, Opening Doors to Discipleship http://odtd.net/ as the partnership that began the site is dissolving. This site has been used by those going through the certification process, Sunday school teachers, educators and other volunteers/staff learning about the basics of teaching and reformed theology. We are excited about the plans we now have for the site that includes new content that will be applicable to staff and volunteers serving in Christian formation ministries in the reformed family of churches including the APCE partner denominations. Emily Hill from the Presbyterian Church in Canada and Stephanie Fritz with the Presbyterian Mission Agency are working together to facilitate this project on behalf of APCE. We are looking for a group to come together over a 5-day period to collaborate and write the new content for the site. The 2 areas that we will be focusing on are Our Shared Stories (reformed theology) and Leadership in Educational and Faith Formation Ministries. If you are excited about these topics and have passion for working collaboratively with a small group, we need you! Should you be invited to participate, your expenses will be covered and there will be a stipend for your time and work. We are looking for diversity in our group. Extensive writing experience is not necessary for everyone but a willingness and ability to work in a group is crucial. https://apcenet.org/opening-doors-to-discipleship/ Dates for writing summit: April 21-25 with travel days on the 21st and 25th. Location: Union Presbyterian Seminary at Richmond, Virginia. Fill out the following application no later than February 28th. Questions? Email stephanie.fritz@pcusa.org   News about the Reformed Theology Webinar Featuring Rev. Dr. Cynthia Rigby, Reformed Theology Professor, Austin Seminary February 20, 2020 The great news is that the webinar registration was filled within a very short time of the publication of its date and time. The even better news for those who may have missed signing up for this special time with Dr. Rigby is that the entire webinar will be made available on the APCE website in the near future. Please watch for details about its availability on the APCE site and until then - all you lucky ones who get to sit at the feet of Rev. Dr. Cynthia Rigby, our own Reformed Theology expert, enjoy this blessing of riches.   APCE 2020 Annual Event – Evaluation Did you forget to do something? Have you taken 5 minutes to fill out the online APCE 2020 annual event evaluation? Your input is always important and is a valuable part of planning future events. https://apcenet.org/2020-ae-evaluation/   Organizational Memberships Your congregation or local governing body can support APCE with an organizational membership ($200) which gives you annual event registration discounts for two people in your organization. More information here.   Use Amazon SMILE for your Online Shopping Go to Amazon Smile and designate the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators as your charity and APCE will get a (small, but useful) portion of your purchase to support its work. Then go to smile.amazon.com when you shop! Donate to Support the Work of APCE Make a donation to the General (Annual) Fund, Endowment Fund, or Scholarship Fund. Change your address, phone, email Use our membership portal to update your personal information. Follow us on Social Media Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Periscope (@apcenet) | YouTube (APCE)

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