Workshops
Friday, June 9 – 3:15 to 4:30 P.M
The Local Church as a Spiritual Center
Rev. Lou Kavar
Are you spiritual or religious? That’s the question often asked today. It’s based on an inaccurate understanding of both spirituality and religion. Yet, it’s a distinction that’s widely accepted in society today. In this seminar, Dr. Lou Kavar will engage in a conversation of the ways spirituality is the foundation of congregational life. The discussion will focus on the spiritual foundation of a church’s life as a community and faith. Ways to re-vision the local church as a spiritual center rather than as a religious institution will be explored, including an assessment of spirituality and the congregation.
Clergy Community of Practice
Rev. Michelle Holtmann & Rev. John Gill
To support and nurture these clergy groups:
- Transitioning into ministry from student through ordination and the first few years of ministry
- Experienced clergy across the conference especially those in isolated settings
- Clergy serving as chaplains.
Come to our informational worship to learn and experience a Clergy Community of Practice group
Exploring Social Justice in Churches
Rev. Trish Greeves
“Private Faith and Public Practice: Living our Faith in Every Area of our Lives”
So which is it: “When you pray go into your room and shut the door” or “Don’t hide your lamp under a basket, put it out there for everyone to see.” Should the church be involved in politics or should it limit its concerns to explicitly “spiritual” matters? This is a deeply divided time in the life of our country. It is important for the church to be clear about why, when and how to engage in today’s social, religious, political, and cultural issues from the unique perspectives of Christian faith. Based on her recently published Prophetic Faith: Exploring Social Justice Advocacy as a Congregation, Rev. Dr. Trish Greeves will present a model for personal and communal holistic faith practices in private and public settings.
Protecting our People, Property and others Assets & Liabilities
Rev. Chris Goss
We recognize our assets in the church which is our people, our property and our community. The physical property is in the billions of dollars. The human capital is in the hundreds of trillions of dollars. How do we leverage our assets against our liabilities?
Saturday June 9, 2017 – 10:45 to 12 noon
Panel Discussion — Welcoming the Immigrant
Rev. Glenna Shephard, Cathy Davies, and Rev. Tom Hagood
We live in a world of people on the move. According to the United Nations, there are over 59.5 million forcibly displaced people in the world. The Bible is full of stories about God’s people being forced to leave their countries, Adam and Eve, Noah, Sarah and Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Naomi, Esther, Jeremiah, Jesus, Mary and Joseph to name some. We, in the United Church of Christ, find our grounding in God’s Word about how we are to treat the stranger in our midst. We believe we are called to offer an “extravagant welcome.”
Not Your Mother’s Youth Ministry: How 60 LGBTQ Teens Became a Youth Group
Rev. Ellen Sims and Justin Litaker
This workshop will explain why and how a small, new church chose as their focal community ministry the creation of a weekly support group for LGBTQ teens. Presenters will share 1) the method of group discernment used by the congregation to determine their signature ministry, 2) the means of finding partners and resources to create a safe space for LGBT teens, and 3) the successes and challenges of a nontraditional model for youth ministry in which the church ministers to youth in the community context, not within the ministries of the church.
Let’s Get Started!
by Rev. Michelle Holtmann & Rev. John Gill
This session is an extension of Clergy Community of Practice and will be a time to start to form groups and leaders. It will go into more details of the nuts and bolts of a group. During this session we can develop the types of groups needed and their descriptions. It will also be a time to begin to develop covenants for your group.
Local Church as a Spiritual Center
Dr. Lou Kavar
Are you spiritual or religious? That’s the question often asked today. It’s based on an inaccurate understanding of both spirituality and religion. Yet, it’s a distinction that’s widely accepted in society today. In this seminar, Dr. Lou Kavar will engage in a conversation of the ways spirituality is the foundation of congregational life. The discussion will focus on the spiritual foundation of a church’s life as a community and faith. Ways to re-vision the local church as a spiritual center rather than as a religious institution will be explored, including an assessment of spirituality and the congregation.
The Local Church and the MID Process
Rev. Valerie Coe-Lowder
The local church is where the call to ministry is first articulated and cultivated. This session will discuss how the local church can support your Member in Discernment throughout the process. If you have a MID in your congregation or someone feeling the pull in to authorized ministry this session is for you. We will also provide documents and resources to help along the way.
James F. Mellichamp is the thirteenth President of Piedmont College. His career at Piedmont began in 1982 as a member of the music faculty. He advanced to become the Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences, then Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost before being elected as President in 2012.