Blog Post by the Rev. Dr. Craig Howard Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy Transitional Leader choward@glpby.org In the midst of reading several books a month, I’ve been reading the same book for over a year! I’m simply taking my time reading The Fifties, by David Halberstam. I’m somewhere on page 800 or so. It is such a good read! I began…
Blog Post by the Rev. Dr. Craig Howard Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy Transitional Leader choward@glpby.org From left, Rev. Craig Howard, Mayor Hal Patton, and Rev. John Hembruch. Interwoven Roots I spent Sunday with the Edwardsville, First Presbyterian church family as they broke ground for their new church building. As the crowd huddled together on this bright sunny and windy day, the…
Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy Rev. Dr. Craig Howard, Transitional Leader choward@glpby.org Casting A Vision April 9th marked my first 90 days as your Transitional Presbytery Leader. I am pleased with the progress I’ve made in getting the office up to speed with staffing, coordinating our budget with our structure, getting our finances in order, building relationships with presbytery teams, pastors,…
Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy Rev. Dr. Craig Howard, Transitional Leader choward@glpby.org 68 Cents on the Dollar Princeton Theological Seminary finds themselves in a bind. In March they awarded the Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Witness to Rev. Dr. Tim Keller. Keller is the founder of a 4,000 member mega-church in New York city. He is part of the…
Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy Rev. Dr. Craig Howard, Transitional Leader choward@glpby.org A Kind Word When it comes to hearing a kind word, our congregations are just like people. They can always use a compliment too! Our congregations can use a word of hope and inspiration to lift their spirits and encourage them to go forward. Steven Burt and Hazel…
Guest Blog by Rev. Dr. Susan Andrews Interim Pastor at Second Presbyterian Church, St. Louis REMEMBERING FOR LIFE I have always had a hard time remembering. When I think back 35 years, I try to remember what my daughter looked like as a baby, and what Halloween costume my son wore in first grade, and which parishioner gave me the…
Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy Rev. Dr. Craig Howard, Transitional Leader choward@glpby.org In-N-Out I spent the weekend in California visiting Marilyn. We spent our time enjoying the wonderful weather and the local eateries. One of my favorite haunts is the “In-N-Out” burger joint. This west coast chain opened in 1945 as a drive through only burger restaurant. Today, In-N-Out can…
Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy Rev. Dr. Craig Howard, Transitional Leader choward@glpby.org Two weeks ago, the Dismantling Racism and Privilege team (DRAP) sponsored a drama performance entitled, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.” The performance was at Cote Brillante, an African American Presbyterian church located on the Northside of St. Louis. The attendance was outstanding! There was a good mix of…
Dear Friends in Giddings-Lovejoy, Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your Presbytery Leader during the past two years. Though I was called and installed as the Presbytery Leader with the gifts and passion for assisting congregational leaders in reaching out to their neighbors, inviting discipleship and transforming churches, I have found myself in many ways completing interim ministry…
From the Presbytery Leader Part of my training for the New Beginnings Program, was performing an assessment with a congregation. The assessor reviews congregational statistics, examines financial reports, looks at church records, scrutinizes the building, counts spaces in the parking lot, looks at the online presence of the church, drives around the neighborhood, and tries to find out as much…