Our theme for this issue is Recovery, Restoration and Rebirth. Our synod has been buffeted by natural disasters from hurricanes to floods to 100-year snow falls and 100-year heat waves. Stories of recovery and rebirth are not limited to these disasters however. We all find ourselves in changing times in which old ways and structures …
Rev. Greg Goodwiller The Synod of Living Waters held its annual meeting on January 27, 2025. It was our first fully “in-person” gathering since January, 2020, just before the pandemic outbreak that changed all of our lives forever. It was exceedingly good to be back together, even with the recognition that because of various other …
Dear Ones! We have just finished an amazing meeting of the Synod of Living Waters in Franklin, Tennessee, complete with 22 Commissioners, 26 Corresponding members, and 7 visitors. We began with worship, led. By Rev. Wayne Steele, Mr. Doug Marshall, Mr. Michael Snoddy, and Rev. Dr. Victor Aloyo, President of Columbia Theological Seminary. After two …
Elder Carol Copeland, Synod Moderator Carol Raby Copeland was born in Athens, Alabama where she now resides with her husband of 60 years, Steve. She is the mother of one son Matthew and Gigi to two grandsons. Her hobbies include cooking, flower arranging, boating on Elk River, reading and listening to Americana music. Upon graduating …
By Rev. Alexandra Hutson Growing up in the Presbyterian (U.S.A.) church, I have always appreciated the connectional nature of it. Attending Montreat Youth Conferences and Sheppards and Lapsley Presbytery Retreats is where I witnessed it most often as a youth. In a big world, it felt a little bit smaller when I came together and …
By Susan Sumrall, Stated Clerk, Presbytery of Mississippi March 24, 2023 – It was a dark and stormy night… NO, it wasn’t; the high school prom was that night. People had gathered for Friday night dinner at Chuck’s Dairy Bar. It was life as usual until about 8:00 P.M. when the heavens opened and the …
By Hardie Frankel, Winward Committee Member Today I received the 2025 Presbyterian Women Birthday Offering brochure. One of the annual recipients is the Presbyterian Disaster (PDA) Volunteer Host Site, Windward, the housing facility at the Leland Presbyterian Church in Leland, Mississippi. This project almost didn’t get funded, but God had other plans. You see, Windward …
By Rev. Karen Russell The initial panic of having a hurricane come to the Appalachian Mountains has subsided a bit. Since the arrival of Helene in our midst, Holston Presbytery, with the generous help from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), churches and presbyteries within the Synod of Living Waters, and individuals and churches from around the …
By Rev. Joshua Henry Narcisse, Idlewild Presbyterian Church One year ago, I was given the privilege of publicly sharing my thoughts about Memphis, faith and how I see God at work in this city by writing this monthly column. A terror lingers concerning what folks will think about the thoughts I share. Indeed, at times …
The Office of Theology and Worship By Rev. Karen Russell The law of unintended consequences seems absolute. The recent unification of the Office of General Assembly and the Presbyterian Mission Agency has, like most things, both positive and negative consequences. One of the losses in the unification process is the Office of Theology and Worship …
