Cumberland Presbyterian Magazine

10/01/2026

Seventy-Five Years of the Cumberland Presbyterian Center

Two Memphis locations, generations of staff, and a changing denominational ministry – 1951 to 2026.

Read the full article: https://cpcmc.org/seventy-five-years-of-the-cumberland-presbyterian-center/

On October 1, 1951, the Cumberland Presbyterian Center opened at 1978 Union Avenue in Memphis. Seventy-five years later, the Center remains at the heart of the denomination’s shared work. From printing presses and a bustling bookstore to today’s offices and archives at Traditional Place, its story is one of people, change and continuing ministry.

09/28/2026

Bethel University to Induct 2026 Athletic Hall of Fame Class

C P news: https://cpcmc.org/category/cmt/cp-news/

Bethel University will induct four former athletes and one distinguished contributor into its Athletic Hall of Fame during the university’s Hall of Fame and Alumni Banquet on Friday, October 16, 2026.

The 2026 class includes Karlene Ellis, women’s soccer; Teena Carter Pitts, women’s basketball; Larry Geraldi, baseball and longtime softball and golf coach; Deseray Washington Melton, women’s track and field; and Darrell Smith, distinguished contributor.

The group will become the 45th class inducted since the Bethel University Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1980. Following this year’s ceremony, the hall will include six teams and 124 individuals.

The banquet will begin at 6 p.m. in the Boardroom of the Vera Low Center for Student Enrichment’s Crisp Wing. Reservations are required by October 9, 2026.

09/28/2026

Peak Fall Foliage at Cumberland Presbyterian Birthplace Shrine

C P news: https://cpcmc.org/category/cmt/cp-news/

Tennessee State Parks predicts that the most vibrant fall colors will be visible at Montgomery Bell State Park and, therefore, the Cumberland Presbyterian Birthplace Shrine, the week of November 2, 2026. Montgomery Bell State Park is located 40 minutes west of Nashville in Burns, Tennessee.

09/28/2026

Chocolate-Dipped Key Lime Pie

C P News: https://cpcmc.org/category/cmt/cp-news/

Highland Cumberland Presbyterian Church (Covenant Presbytery) in Paducah, Kentucky, continued a sweet tradition at the 32nd annual BBQ on the River festival September 24-26, 2026, serving its distinctive chocolate-dipped key lime pie. Highland CPC has participated in the festival for more than fifteen years. Melissa Dumas said volunteers freeze the pie before dipping pieces in a chocolate coating similar to that used on dipped ice cream cones. What began with about 500 pieces of pie has grown considerably. This year, about 25 volunteers prepared 1,776 pieces, completing in less than five hours a process that once took about nine. Dumas said the church participates not only to raise funds but also to be visible and involved in the community. Proceeds benefit charitable causes.

09/21/2026

Beth-El Farmworker Ministry Celebrates 50 Years

C P News: https://cpcmc.org/category/cmt/cp-news/

Beth-El Farmworker Ministry marked 50 years of ministry with an anniversary celebration Saturday, September 19, at its 27-acre campus in Wimauma, Florida, south of Tampa.

Beth-El traces its beginnings to 1976, when a small group of Cumberland Presbyterians rented a tiny house in Ruskin, Florida, and began holding Spanish-language worship services for migrant farmworkers. As families gathered for worship, their other needs became increasingly apparent, and the ministry grew in response.

Over the next half-century, Beth-El developed into a nonprofit ministry serving farmworker families and others in need through hunger relief, education, health and wellness programs, spiritual development and other ministries. Its mission is to feed the “mind, spirit, and body” of the farmworking community and its neighbors in need.

Today, Beth-El operates under a covenant among the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Tampa Bay and Peace River presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church (USA). It also continues to provide opportunities for Cumberland Presbyterian congregations and mission teams to serve alongside the farmworker community. Nuevo Camino (New Path) provides a worshipping community as part of Beth-El’s spiritual ministry.

The 50th anniversary celebration provided an opportunity for reflection, storytelling and fellowship while honoring the resilience and contributions of generations of farmworker families. Executive Director Teresita Matos-Post has emphasized that Beth-El’s half-century milestone is also a renewed commitment to the ministry’s future.

“The need continues, and so does our work,” Beth-El said in announcing the anniversary.

As part of its anniversary year, Beth-El also launched a new website and is continuing a series of activities celebrating five decades of what it describes as “faith in action.”

https://beth-el.org/pages/50th-anniversary

09/21/2026

Open Position: Executive Director of Theological Education and Lay Ministry

The Board of Theological Education and Lay Ministry (BTELM) of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church is accepting applications for a full-time Executive Director of Theological Education and Lay Ministry, based in Memphis, Tennessee.

The executive director will serve as the chief administrative and operational leader of BTELM, providing strategic leadership for theological education, ministerial formation and lay leadership development. The position will work closely with the board, denominational leadership, presbyteries, educational institutions and ministry partners to develop and strengthen diverse, innovative, global and multicultural pathways for ministry formation rooted in the Cumberland Presbyterian tradition.

Candidates should have appropriate graduate-level theological or administrative education, ministry and leadership experience, strong administrative and organizational skills, and an understanding and appreciation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Experience with theological education, the Program of Alternate Studies and denominational structures is particularly important.

The position carries a minimum annual salary of $75,000, commensurate with qualifications and experience, plus a comprehensive benefits package. The anticipated start date is Jan. 1, 2027, or as soon thereafter as mutually agreed upon.

Application deadline: Nov. 30, 2026.

READ THE FULL JOB DESCRIPTION:https://www.cumberland.org/btelm/BTELMJobDesc.pdf

DOWNLOAD THE APPLICATION:https://www.cumberland.org/btelm/BTELMApplication.pdf

Applicants should submit a completed application, letter of interest and current résumé, along with the additional materials specified in the application, to [email protected].

Questions may be directed to the Rev. Dr. Pam Phillips-Burk at [email protected] or 901-276-4572, ext. 211.

09/21/2026

Cumberland Presbyterian Women’s Ministry Conducting Needs Assessment

Cumberland Presbyterian Women’s Ministry is inviting women throughout the denomination to participate in a Women’s Ministry Needs Assessment designed to help guide the future direction of the ministry.

The survey is open through Oct. 31, 2026, and is available to all women of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church who are high school age or older. The survey takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

The assessment seeks input about the needs, interests, challenges and ministry priorities of women across the denomination. Information gathered will be used to help Women’s Ministry develop resources, programs and opportunities that better equip, encourage, connect and support women in Cumberland Presbyterian congregations.

Women’s Ministry leaders are asking pastors, church leaders, presbyteries and local women’s ministry groups to help distribute the survey and encourage broad participation.

“Every voice matters,” organizers said. “The broader the participation, the clearer the picture we will have of how Women’s Ministry can faithfully equip, encourage, connect and support women throughout the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.”

The survey may be completed online through the Women’s Ministry Needs Assessment form.

Complete the Women’s Ministry Needs Assessment: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScrZSyWRGYsKiF5fC3IN0whmuHKIh3wNO64X2K4M0kxsWdIMg/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=100418490474521219042

09/18/2026

CP Student Wins Hong Kong Design Competition

C P news: https://cpcmc.org/category/cmt/cp-news/

Cai Jia-jun, a Form 6 student at Cumberland Presbyterian Church Yao Dao Secondary School in Hong Kong, was named a champion in Huatai International’s inaugural 2026 Youth Vehicle Body Design Competition. His winning design has been reproduced on a Hong Kong tram as part of the company’s annual Mid-Autumn Festival free-ride celebration.

The territory-wide competition attracted 461 secondary school students representing at least 150 schools. Cai was one of two champions selected, along with Form 3 student Lee Yin-long of TWGHs Sun Hoi Directors’ College, whose design was applied to a Light Rail vehicle. The specially decorated vehicles debuted during launch ceremonies September 13, 2026.

The trams and Light Rail vehicles will be part of the sixth annual “Huatai Light Rail Ding Ding Fun Mid-Autumn Free Ride Day” September 25, 2026, when Hong Kong residents and visitors may ride Light Rail and passenger tram services free throughout the day.

09/16/2026

Joyce Beasley Warnick McConnell

C P News: https://cpcmc.org/category/cmt/cp-news/

Joyce Beasley Warnick McConnell, 93, of Knoxville, Tennessee, former Cumberland Presbyterian Resource Center assistant manager, died September 14, 2026. Born December 23, 1932, in West Tennessee to Marvin and Bethel Burkman Beasley, Joyce grew up on the family’s small farm in Henry County and graduated from McKenzie High School in 1950. She met Tommy Vernon (TV) Warnick, a Bethel College ministerial student, at the Dixie Coffee Cup in McKenzie. Tommy persuaded “the girl with the smile” to go on a date, and the two were married August 23, 1954.

Tommy graduated from Bethel in 1956 and from the Cumberland Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 1959. Joyce and Tom had two children, Bruce Dan and Marta Lynn. With Joyce by his side, Tom pastored Shady Grove and Wingo Cumberland Presbyterian Churches in Kentucky, and Bradford, Oliver’s Chapel, Oak Ridge, and Murfreesboro Cumberland Presbyterian Churches in Tennessee. Joyce was active in church life wherever the family lived. She taught many children’s Sunday school classes through the years. Tom served as the General Assembly’s Engrossing Clerk beginning in 1966 and as Assistant Stated Clark in 1968.

In 1975, after Tom was elected Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, the family moved to Memphis. For more than a decade (1985-1996), Joyce served as assistant manager of the Cumberland Presbyterian Resource Center, the denomination’s bookstore, under managers Patty J. Owen and Patricia P. White.

After 42 years of marriage, Tom died in 1996. Joyce moved to Knoxville to be closer to family. In 1999, she married retired US Army chaplain Lt. Col. Don McConnell, a widower. Don died in 2021. Joyce remained in Knoxville until her death at age 93.

09/15/2026