LARCUM 2023

Theme: Evangelism?

LARCUM 2023 gathered 8-10 May 2023, at John XXIII Pastoral Center, Charleston, WV, under the title, "Evangelism?" the title telegraphing that it would no typical evangelism conference. Rather than focusing on the how of evangelism—there are plenty of other conferences and events that do that—we LARCUM focused on the why of evangelism. Evangelism was selected as the theme for LARCUM 2022 by the attendees of LARCUM 2019. It took us 3½ years to finally address the topic, the pandemic militating against gathering.

Presenters

Lutheran

David Hahn has been serving the Northwest Washington Synod since 2015. He brings a unique intersection of practical parish ministry experience (MDiv 1997) alongside deep theological reflection, primarily curated through his PhD work as a missiologist (Luther Seminary, 2014). He has served as an adjunct professor at Luther Seminary, Wartburg Seminary, Seattle University, and Rochester University teaching MDiv/DMin courses in missional church, leadership, organizational change and complexity.

He is most excited about developing the LiVE Project alongside a faithful team of synod leaders. Living into Vocational Engagement, LiVE, is the synod’s newest initiative focused on partnering with lay leaders to deepen their own exploration and discovery of God’s passion for their lives and communities. For more information see our LiVE page.

David deeply appreciates the interdisciplinary nature of his work and how it continues to inform congregational life and growth to share in God’s mission already moving among us in our world. Such areas of continued study and interest include the intersectionality of race and gender studies, whiteness and the influence/impact of patriarchal structures operative in the church’s life and mission, as well as organizational change and complexity.

Roman Catholic

Daniel Maul hails from South Holland, Illinois, a southern suburb of Chicago. In the winter of 2020, right before COVID hit, he moved from Hammond, Indiana, with his wife (Amanda) and two small children (Daniela and Abram), to become the Director of the Department of Faith Formation and Mission for the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. In June of 2020, that department took on additional diocesan responsibilities for youth, young-adult, and campus ministries, and was renamed the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis. He is currently its director. Daniel has a Bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Saint Norbert College, and a Master’s degree in Theology from Catholic Theological Union, in Chicago. He did years of doctoral work in Theology at Loyola University Chicago, before finally giving up and ending as an ABD. He’s been a parish youth minister, a DRE, a high school theology teacher, and a part-time, adjunct, theology professor. He lives with his family in the Warwood neighborhood of Wheeling, WV, where they belong to Corpus Christi Parish. He feels the love of God intensely and wishes nothing more than to share the Good News message of Jesus Christ with others.

United Methodist

Heather Lear is the Vice President for Grant Administration at The Foundation for Evangelism, a pan-Wesleyan foundation focusing on raising up Gospel leaders, engaging the laity, and equipping the local church. Prior to joining the FFE staff, Heather served for 6 years as the Director of Evangelism at the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church, where she spent her time training leaders, creating resources, teaching at seminaries, and building ecumenical partnerships. Her work on the intersection of evangelism, discipleship, and mission was featured at several World Council of Churches gatherings across the globe, including the 2018 Conference on World Mission and Evangelism. She is an elder in the North Carolina Annual Conference and pastored three congregations over 12 years.

Heather holds degrees from Boston University, Duke Divinity School, and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. In her spare time, you can find Heather at the baseball field cheering on her teenage son, coaching youth basketball, or spending time with her husband of over 20 years.

LARCUM 2023 on Social Media

Yes, we do have a social media presence. Check out out "WV LARCUM" Facebook page—follow and/or like us while you are there. Lutherans can even join Team Wittenberg, a subgoup attached to the page—if you are jealous, convince your tradition's planner to set up a tradition-specific group. We also create Facebook events for specific conferences, e.g., "LARCUM 2023." Since we have a social media presence, don't be shy about sharing.

LARCUM 2019

LARCUM 2019, held under the "Christianity & Civil Government: History, Theology, Implications (for Citizens, Pastors, and Institutions)," was very well attended with 49 registered. In a rare move, a common presenter, Dr. John Taylor, was invited in addition to the presenters from the four traditions. Taylor, the Jackson Kelly Professor at the WVU College of Law, provided a brilliant outline of the history of church & state issues in American jusiprudence. Dr. Philip Michelback of the Department of Political Science, WVU, and The Rt. Rev. Matthew Riegel, bishop of the WV-WMD Synod, Evangelical Lutehran Church in America, presented for the Lutherans. Michelbach lectured on Luther's influence upon the development of modern democratic thought in the west. Riegel tackeled questions of church & state relations as they might be informed by Augustana XXVIII and the doctrine of vocation within the three estates. The Rev. Dr. Jason Fout, Professor of Anglican Theology at Bexley Seabury, traced notable anglican voices with respect to civic engagement. The Rev. Dr. Clayton Childers of the UMC Board for Church and Society discussed UMC practrice and theory related to church-state relations and civic engagement. Fr. Brian O'Donnell, S.J., presented on Roman Catholic teaching regarding the state and the its relationship to the church. If you would like to check out some pics and posts from LARCUM 2019, click here.

Questions?

If you have any questions or would like to speak to someone about LARCUM, call West Virginia-Western Maryland HQ at 304-363-4030 or email Bishop@WV-WMD.org.