You might have noticed my name at the back of the bulletin: “Connie Knapp, CRE for Educational Ministries” and you may have wondered what I have been doing.
Shortly after my commissioning on October 22 I had rotator cuff surgery and was basically “out of commission” (no pun intended) for the next six months. Now that I’m back, I’ll be writing a short column in each issue of The Disciple. I thought I’d start by explaining the Presbytery’s CRE program.
A CRE, Commissioned Ruling Elder, is a Ruling Elder who has been through an educational program and has been certified ready to receive a commission to “limited pastoral service” by the CRE Committee for a three-year term, renewable at the end of the term. The Book of Order leaves the preparation and training of the CRE in the hands of the Presbytery, requiring that the training include boundary training, sexual misconduct training, and child abuse prevention training, recertified every three years. My preparation has included all of these.
The Hudson River Presbytery requires coursework in the following areas:
- Old Testament
- New Testament
- Reformed Theology
- Reformed Worship and the Sacraments
- Preaching
- Pastoral Care
- Educational Ministry of the Church
- Presbyterian Polity
I began taking courses online at Dubuque Theological Seminary in 2013 and completed the coursework in 2019. I was elected as Moderator-Elect of the Hudson River Presbytery that year and served first as Moderator-Elect, then as Moderator (2020), and finally as Moderator of Council (2021).
Usually, a CRE candidate completes fieldwork under the supervision of a Minister of Word and Sacrament and is commissioned to a church other than her home church. I was encouraged to request waivers based on my service to the Presbytery. Both of my waiver requests were granted and in October 2023 I was commissioned to Educational Ministries here at Yorktown, serving ten volunteer hours a week in this commission.
What will I do as a CRE here? I will continue my work with Faith4Life and our Cross Gen ministry, and preach and lead worship four to six times a year. I also plan to explore other opportunities for intergenerational ministry and help organize events and workshops focused on second-half-of-life issues and concerns.
I’ll use this column to share what I’m learning and doing — feel free to stop me during church, or to email me at Connie@fpcyorktown.org with any questions, suggestions or just to chat!