Monthly Archives: October 2014

Energizing Creation Care

From Hoosier Inter-Faith Power and Light:

Check out the entire H-IPL October Newsletter.

Join us for our H-IPL statewide celebration on Saturday, October 25!

2014 has been a great year for Hoosier Interfaith Power and Light.  We have new regional affiliates, new staff members, a huge advocacy victory in Indianapolis, and more congregations and more people of faith involved than ever before.  We are truly uniting Hoosiers to care for God’s creation.

And that is why we want to invite you to our statewide celebration happening on Saturday, October 25, at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis.  The celebration starts at 1:00 PM and ends at 5:00 PM. The afternoon will be packed full with interfaith worship, networking, creation care workshops, and fun.

You can RSVP here  (though you can register in person also).

Here are some of the celebration highlights:

  • Music From H-IPL board member Wyatt Watkins and some of  his Irish Airs bandmates
  • Creation Care Theology conversation led by biblical scholar, author, and H-IPL staffer Trisha Tull
  • Words from H-IPL Executive Director Larry Kleiman
  • Plenty of time and opportunity to network with others from across Indiana
  • Introductory workshops about advocacy, growing the creation care movement, and energy efficiency efforts

Planning ahead towards an impactful 2015 and beyond

We hope you can join us!

Synod CRE Continuing Ed Class

Synod of Lincoln Trails

CRE Continuing Education

November 8, 2014 

All Beautiful the March of Days

We need respite, renewal and refreshment. This workshop is designed to nurture and nourish all ruling elders who have completed training to be commissioned within the contexts of their present service.

Framed in the exploration of scriptures and resources provided for the upcoming season in the church year, participants also engage in wide ranging discussions covering ministry challenges, new resources for strengthening leadership skills in themselves and others, as well as current denominational events.

Participants may use the workshop to meet their COM continuing education requirements.

Leadership is provided by the Rev. Dr. Laura Reason in Philo, IL, located just east of Champaign-Urbana at the heart of the Synod. To accommodate time zone differences, the final course in this series will begin at 9:00 Central, and conclude at 1:30 on Saturday, November 8, 2014. The course title is “Preparing for Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Year B”

Click here to register. Forms can be sent either by email, mail or fax to Kristi Miller (kristi@lincolntrails.org).

CTS Offers Pastoral Excellence Program

The Center for Lifelong Learning at CTS Initiates New Programs to Boost Pastoral Excellence

Decatur, GA—The Center for Lifelong Learning (CLL) at Columbia Theological Seminary offers a new initiative in pastoral excellence. The Pastoral Excellence Programs builds on the successes of the Center for Lifelong Learning in clergy leadership formation and development. The new initiative begins in 2014 with two program facets: (1) the Leadership in Ministry Workshops, and (2) the Colloquy for Mid-Career Clergy. While each program is designed to meet the needs of different audiences, each builds on the best practices of clergy professional and personal development and learning. A key pedagogy for both programs is the peer-learning model.

The Leadership in Ministry Workshops is an on-going twice-a-year peer-based clergy leadership development program meeting at the Center for Lifelong Learning in Decatur, GA, on the campus of Columbia Theological Seminary. This program’s goals are to: (1) provide a peer-learning forum for clergy to explore the issues particular to their congregational contexts; (2) help participants develop a theoretical framework for interpreting practice and context using Bowen Systems Theory; (3) help clergy accurately identify and name the particular challenges of ministry in their context; (4) provide clergy with a safe and stimulating peer group experience for renewal and challenge.

The Colloquy for Mid-Career Clergy is for mid-career clergy (ten to twenty years into full time ministry) who are seeking to participate in a professional formative conversation or to reflect on their vocational experience, and assess their ability to meet the leadership demands/needs of their organization. Attention will be given to addressing common experiences and issues of mid-career clergy: facing either a normative or unanticipated career transition, standing at a vocational crossroads of some sort, engaging in reflective self-assessment and finding support among peers.

Clergy in mid-career face challenges, both personal and professional, that are unique to their stage in life and vocational trajectory. They have accumulated experience, know-how, and a certain amount of confidence. Not quite novices, many are still not “experts.” In fact, one of the paradoxes of clergy in mid-career is serving in increasingly complex contexts that continue to challenge their competencies, to the extent they are no longer able to solve certain problems for the systems they serve.

The goals of this colloquy experience include: (1) to provide a forum for mid-career clergy to explore the issues particular to congregational leaders at the mid-career point of their vocational trajectory; (2) to help clergy re-define and re-envision their calling and vocation; (3) to help clergy identify and name the challenges of ministry as a mid-career clergy; (4) to provide mid-career clergy with a safe and stimulating peer group experience for renewal and challenge.

Each year, more than 1300 people take courses or attend special events offered by Columbia’s Center for Lifelong Learning. Both pastors and lay persons are drawn to the center’s calendar of vibrant learning and cohort opportunities specifically created to build and enhance skills in church leadership, Christian education and formation, spiritual formation and spiritual direction.

For information on the Center for Lifelong Learning’s upcoming courses, including Leadership in Ministry and Colloquy for Mid-Career Clergy, visit www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-courses-and-events

Church Finance Workshops for October – Update

Transforming Church Finances – Enhancing Financial Health

  • Friday, October 17, 1 p.m.-7:30 p.m. – First Presbyterian Church, Seymour

To register at Seymour, click here.

  • Saturday, October 25, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. – Westminster Presbyterian, Washington

To register at Washington, click here.

If you serve the church as teaching/ruling elder, treasurer, clerk of session, business administrator, finance or stewardship committee member – we invite you to invest the time for this workshop.

There is no fee for attendance. Workshop materials, meals, snacks, and beverages will be provided. These events are sponsored by the Ministerial Excellence Fund.

Workshop presenters include Rev. Alan Griffin, Rev. Terri Thorn, and Elder Eric Herzog.

Why Should We Care?  Financial FAQ’s, Best Practices and Resources  Properly implemented and resourced, the church financial and administrative ministry can operate efficiently in the background – providing accurate information that is both timely and transparent – in support of our mission today and into the future.  In this interactive session we will share questions, experiences and practical solutions that seek to “demystify” this critical aspect of our work together.

Mission Focused Stewardship: 10 Ways to Increase Giving To Your Church
This workshop explores spiritual components of stewardship development and offers 10 immediately do-able and transformative steps.  The conversation will also include discussions of narrative budgets, year-round stewardship education, the roles of pastors and sessions in stewardship, the Biblical basis of healthy stewardship and the theology of abundance in a world focused on scarcity.

Church Guide to Tax-Advantaged Health Reimbursement Plans
There are a myriad of changes and new requirements to healthcare coverage and related qualified reimbursable expenses.  This workshop discusses the impact of 2015 changes in the (PCUSA) Board of Pensions plan and reviews tax-advantaged benefit plans that can allow both church employees and employers to save on the cost of healthcare.