John Dally

This workshop will examine the four gospels as missional documents expressing what each community believed Jesus was sent to be and do and therefore what they themselves were sent to be and do. Partcipants will reflect on their congregations to see which of these patterns of mission most closely resembles their own sense of identity and mission. The wager of the workshop is that life is strengthened when mission and identity move from the generic to the specific. The gospels are superlative blueprints for that journey.

John Dally is visiting associate professor of preaching and missional leadership at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

John Dally

This workshop will be offered in early 2012

This experiential workshop for clergy, musicians and interested laity will introduce participants to the unique shape of Holy Week in Lectionary Year B. Mark's tension-filled landscape of the possessed and the dispossessed challenges the renewal of our baptismal covenant in starkly real and contemporary terms. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the Markan passion that will help form choices for preaching, music, liturgy and adult education and enrich the entire parish's celebration of Easter.

John Dally is visiting associate professor of preaching and missional leadership at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.

Ellen Wondra

How we view God and our relationship to God in our daily lives provides a big part of the framework of how we understand what's going on around us--for good and ill. Not all our images of God may be as truthful or as helpful as we might like. In this workshop, all participants will have a chance to reflect on our own views of God over time. We'll also share our views with others in small groups and as a whole, and explore views of God somewhat different from our own. Overall, the workshop will give all of us, personally and corporately, a better sense of who we think God is, what God is up to, and what our parts in God's work may be. We'll also develop our ability to engage others in theological conversation.

Ellen Wondra is professor of theology and ethics and academic dean at Seabury

Ellen Wondra

We recite at least one of the creeds almost every Sunday in church, whether or not we agree with or even understand every statement. This workshop will explore some of the big questions and issues the creeds raise: What is sin, and is it original? Was Jesus really sinless? Why does Mary's virginity matter? What body is resurrected? Clergy and laity alike will learn more about the issues the creeds address and why they matter, and will be better able to talk with others about them. We'll have general and group discussions, and we'll deal with as many of the Big Questions as we can and become more conversant with a variety of answers.

Ellen Wondra is professor of theology and ethics and academic dean at Seabury

Ellen Wondra

Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do good things happen to good people? And what is God's role in our suffering? These are perennial questions that are hard to answer in the midst of great suffering, and sometimes they seem to challenge the very basis of our faith. In this workshop, we'll consider some of the answers that have been given to the question of suffering and even find meaning in it. By doing theology "on the ground" around this topic, we'll also become more confident in our faith and more able to give an account to others of what we believe.

Ellen Wondra is professor of theology and ethics and academic dean at Seabury

John Denson

About 86 percent of Americans say they believe in God, but only 39 percent attend religious services. This disconnect is especially prevalent among younger generations, meaning that even thriving congregations must prepare for a time when attracting and retaining new members will be increasingly difficult. But in this challenge is born an opportunity for parishes brave enough to seize it.

This workshop is for clergy and lay leaders in established congregations seeking new ways to live authentically and faithfully in a changing world. Whether you are in a successful congregation or one that is struggling to reinvent itself you will find something helpful here, a focus on congregational practices--how we do things with intentionality--that lead to new life, vitality and mission.

John Denson is the rector of Christ Church in Exeter, New Hampshire.

Bonnie Perry

Eighteen years ago, when Bonnie Perry was called to All Saints' Chicago, the church was on the verge of closing. Average Sunday attendance was 35 people and the four buildings were peeling, leaking and sagging. Today at All Saints', more than than 600 people pass through the doors each week. Some 240 attend Sunday morning worship, and another 60 volunteer at the weekly community kitchen and food pantry.

How did All Saints' turn around? According to Perry, "We decided to stop fixating on ourselves...on how we were going to pay the electric bill, heat the building, or fix the roof. Instead, we elected to embody the Gospel and reach out to our neighbors: our neighbors in need and our neighbors of means." In this workshop, Perry explores what All Saints' learned by developing its liturgy and mission.

Bonnie Perry is rector of All Saints' Episcopal Church in Chicago.