2025 Presbytery Assembly Theme: Courageously Conspiring Together
đź’¬ Conspiring to Create Courageous Relationships
Moving from Certainty to Curiosity
This gathering will be a sacred space to reflect, dream, and conspire together as we seek God’s guidance for our shared journey. Let us come with open hearts and courageous spirits as we explore what it means to lean into transformative relationships and faithful curiosity.
2025 Presbytery Assembly Theme: Courageously Conspiring Together
For 2025, Denver Presbytery gathers around the bold and unifying theme: Courageously Conspiring Together. At its heart, “to conspire” means to breathe together—an invitation into partnership, shared purpose, and Spirit-filled trust.
This May, our Assembly will focus on one vital expression of that theme: Caring Relationships. What does it mean to truly care for one another in our congregations, communities, and ministries? How do we build courageous relationships rooted in compassion, trust, accountability, and grace?
To conspire for caring relationships is to move forward not in isolation, but in deep connection—with empathy, presence, and vulnerability. It’s the work of building bridges, bearing witness to each other’s stories, and becoming a people who reflect Christ’s love in tangible, transformational ways.
This theme reflects one of the Seven Marks of Vital Congregations from the PC(USA), and is a core part of how we imagine God’s Kin-dom taking shape among us in Denver Presbytery.
As we prepare to gather on May 20 at St. James Presbyterian Church, we invite you to breathe with us—to listen, to learn, and to conspire for connection and care in all corners of our shared ministry.
🕊️ Together, may we courageously conspire for relationships that heal, restore, and inspire.
SCHEDULE | Tuesday, May 20, 2025
5 pm | In person check in, registration, fellowship and dinner begin
5:50 pm | Dinner ends, online checkin begins
6 pm | Assembly Gathering and Worship Begins
To Pastors and Commissioners from the April Presbytery Assembly
(Pastors, please share this with your April presbytery commissioners)
At our last presbytery gathering, we engaged in a creative and meaningful activity—you may remember we planted terrariums! As we worked with soil and plants, we also dug into deeper questions around spiritual formation and transformation—two vital marks of a thriving congregation. (You can revisit those guiding questions here.)
Each group also selected a “terrarium caretaker” to tend their creation until the next assembly. If that was you—thank you!
As we prepare for our May gathering, we’d love for you to share a picture of your terrarium in its current state, whether it’s flourishing or not. Growth of all kinds—thriving, struggling, or even failing—can offer spiritual insight.
We also invite you to reflect on this experience:
What did you notice during this month of care?
What have these living things taught you about spiritual growth and nurturing in your own faith community?
How might tending to life in small, intentional ways shape our understanding of transformation?
Your reflections will help nourish the wider presbytery community. And please, keep the terrarium as a thank-you for your care and presence on this journey.
With gratitude,
Rev. Dr. Dee Cooper
Lead Presbyter
MEET OUR GUEST PREACHER
Rev. Laurie J. Ferguson, Ph.D., PCC
Dr. Laurie Ferguson brings a unique blend of pastoral experience and psychological expertise to her work as an Executive and Leadership Coach. Having served as a parish pastor for over twenty years before pursuing her doctorate in psychology, she understands firsthand the challenges and opportunities of church leadership.
Dr. Ferguson specializes in helping individuals and organizations develop resilience skills and achieve their goals through faithful courage. Her coaching approach is informed by her training in clinical psychology, Jungian and transpersonal psychology, life cycles, human development, and organizational development.
With degrees from Smith College, Princeton Seminary, and Adelphi University, Dr. Ferguson holds both a Ph.D. in psychology and a Master of Divinity. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and a Professional Certified Coach (PCC).
She resides in the Hudson River Valley in New York. For more information about her, visit her website: lauriejferguson.com
