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Education
for Clergy & Laity West Virginia - Western Maryland Synod (23 April 2025) |
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ELCA Clergy and congregational leaders should note
denominational encouragement for clergy (and even
requirements for certain classes of clergy) to participate
in continuing education. If you are ELCA clergy or a
congregational leader, please review the general introduction for clergy
continuing education on our Education for Clergy
page. The education
event matrix below is a quick way to skim our
offerings. Click on the linked text to learn about each.
Check back periodically to find out what new thing is
being offered. Some educational events are recorded and available for
viewing at a later date. Beneath the education event
matrix, you find the archives matrix. Be sure to take a look at the offerings from our colleagues across Region 8. Those are posted separately on Facebook (click here for more info). Matrices
Don't forget to check out the offerings from the other synods of Region 8
Clergy Continuing EdAll the clergy-specific education information has been
moved to its own page. Visit our Education
for Clergy page where you will find information on
Region 8 OfferingsSynods across Region 8 hold continuing education events, and, on occasion, Region 8 sponsors an event jointly. It is often, though not always, possible to join another synod for its event. Be sure to check with the appropriate sponsor. If, however, the event is listed on the Region 8 Facebook Page, you may assume that it is open to clergy from across the Region. Laity might also find offerings posted there. Be sure to read the description of the event.
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Digital versions may be secured at Internet Archive,
and don't forget your local library.
To register for this book study (in order to receive the
zoom links), click here.
We also have a Facebook group (Kierkegaard Reading Group) that you
are invited to join.
This Christian ecumenical class is facilitated by The
Rev. Marti Steiner Unger, RCP, and The Rev. Dr. John R.
Unger II, RCP, on various dates and places throughout the
synod, all sessions beginning at 9:00 a.m. and concluding
at 4:00 p.m.
The class is free, but each participant will need to purchase and bring the textbook, “Listening with Love: Foundations of Pastoral Care,” prior to class from Amazon for $10—https://a.co/d/dgvCT99. You will receive a certificate upon completion of the class.
"Listening with Love" is designed to equip faith leaders (both lay and clergy) with practical skills and perspectives to provide Christ centered, compassionate, effective pastoral care with those in congregations and communities who are struggling: from trauma, health issues, mental illness, loss, financial issues, addiction, etc.
Jesus himself modeled the utmost compassion for the brokenhearted, the outcast, and the afflicted. He listened without judgment, offered hope and healing, and always pointed people to God’s unfailing love. As his disciples, we too must learn to listen with love—with genuine empathy, patience, and grace.
Imagine the transformation in your church and community
as you and your ministry leaders gain competence and
confidence in providing pastoral care. Envision the unique
opportunity to embody the compassionate and restorative
love of Christ, The Good Shepherd, by providing hope and
support for healing and transformation of individuals and
communities.
As we look to the future of ministry in the WV-WMD Synod,
we’re called to embrace a powerful truth: The church is
not a building—it is the people. Together, we have an
extraordinary opportunity to reimagine how we nurture
faith, care for one another, and serve our communities
with even greater creativity and compassion.
The Listening with Love workshops are the first step in a
transformative journey to equip our congregations with
tools that honor the gifts of every member. By training
and empowering lay leaders to form strong Pastoral Care
Teams, we’re not just preparing for change—we’re building
a foundation for ministry to thrive in bold new ways.
This opportunity isn't only for the Lutheran church. Many
of our Ecumenical partners and other faith communities
have the opportunity to reimagine how they care for each
other in compassionate, Christ-centered ways. Please share
the registration link and attached flyer with them. Also,
feel free to download the flyer to share with
others.
REGISTRATION LINK: https://forms.gle/YnCg75T1Q8QLzS1w8
If you aren't able to attend this workshop, one will be
offered at Grace Lutheran Church in Petersburg on July 19.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to DEM
Sherri Schafer. Additional sessions are planned for
Preachers today carry the weight of proclaiming the Gospel and helping their communities navigate through deeply divisive times. They need resources, wisdom, and support to serve as agents of healing and reconciliation. The 2025 Festival of Homiletics, meeting under the theme "Preaching to Heal the Divide," aims to provide exactly that—practical tools, theological frameworks, and spiritual nourishment for the vital work of bridge-building through preaching.
The 2025 Festival of Homiletics will meet in Atlanta, GA,
12-15 May 2025. There is an early bird registration for
those registering by the end of November. While no
scholarships are available this year, there is a reduced
rate for seminarians. There is a digital option. More
information and link to registration can be had at the Festival of Homiletics
website.
The Festival of Homiletics began in 1992 with a gathering
of 400 pastors from around the country for the purpose of
learning and conversing about preaching in a contemporary
context. The Rev. David Howell, an ordained minister in
the Presbyterian Church, created the festival as an
extension of his preaching journal Lectionary Homiletics.
The Festival’s ownership, leadership, and planning efforts
have resided with Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota
since 2012. Howell continues to consult in the Festival
planning and production process along with a creative team
committed to bringing together the finest preaching and
the finest cutting-edge thinking about preaching,
homiletics, worship, church, and culture.
Hosted by The Living Church and St. Francis in the Fields
Episcopal Church, this conference offers refreshment in
thinking and planning theologically, realistically, and
hopefully about church growth and health in the Episcopal
Church (though there is enough affinity to make it
potentially valuable to Lutherans). Speakers will include
top thinkers and pastoral voices in leadership, mentoring,
evangelism, and spiritual nurture. Topics will include
growth and decline, leadership development, global
perspectives, and agrarian and monastic wisdom on work,
place, and community. The conference will be held
in-person only, 5-7 June 2025, in Louisville, KY, but
select portions of the talks will be available
post-conference through online content. For details, click here.
National Lutheran Association on Scouting is holding an
event 6-12 July 2025 for anyone who would like to learn
more about scouting and how to connect it to the life of
Lutherans and their congregations. Click here for
more.
A three-day gathering in Gettysburg for congregational
youthworkers (staff and volunteer) is being offered 7-9
August 2025. Details the synod's Youth
page.
The National Workshop on Christian Unity will hold its
annual meeting at the Lutheran Center in Chicago, IL, 8-11
September 2025. This year's program will be the second of
a series on networking and practical ecumenism with an
intentional emphasis on dialogue.
The National Workshop on Christian Unity has advanced
unity and reconciliation among various Christian
communities for more than 50 years. The Workshop continues
to be the only gathering of its kind at a national level
in the world. The annual event brings together ecumenical
representatives, ecumenists, and interested members from
all churches who share one faith, one baptism in Jesus
Christ. Learn more about the history of the National
Workshop on Christian Unity, past workshops, partners in
church unity, inter-religious relations, and more by
browsing our website (https://www.nwcu.org).
Choice! That's one of things that makes religion in
America so fascinating and challenging. Choice means that
no one has to be Lutheran. Choice also means that no
congregation has to be Lutheran. So, why be Lutheran when
there are other options? Among all the possible criteria
by which a person might choose a religious
community—location, time, social class, familial
relations, programming, etc.—is doctrine. What
does a particular religious community teach and believe?
Truth is: It is much more common that a person will not
know the official teachings of a particular religious
community than one might expect. Doctrine is rarely taught
in detail from either pulpit or podium. Many also don't
consider doctrine all that important.
To dig into Lutheran doctrine, Bishop Riegel offers an introduction to the catechisms of Martin Luther. Luther wrote the Small Catechism as the basic instruction in the faith for the laity. The Large Catechism was written as something of a teacher's edition for the pastors. If you would like this for your congregation, contact +Riegel. If you would like to get a head start with the catechisms, you can find the Small Catechism in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (the nu-cranberry hymnal). You can find an app for your smartphone at your phone's app source. You can also find both the Small Catechism and the Large Catechism at BookofConcord.org.
Not sure what the congregation council is supposed to do
or how it is supposed to operate? Maybe we can answer your
questions with our "Polity for Councils" workshop. First
offered at in the Eastern Pandhandle on 16 April 2023, we
are happy to reprise this in any conference or cluster of
the synod. The course page has been uploaded under the
title, "Polity for Councils: A Crash
Course for Congregational Councilors." If you would
like to see this offered in your area, contact +Riegel.
Lessons from Dietrich Bonhoeffer in a House Divided and a World on Fire is a curriculum developed by Dr. Lori Brandt Hale, president of the International Bonhoeffer Society/English Language Section. Designed for congregational use, the curriculum includes facilitator’s guide, participant workbook, and accompanying slides for each week can be found below. There is also an accompanying midweek liturgy and prayers available. Click here to access this resource.
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Aging Grace-fully |
Sacred Places Transition Seminar |
Stewardship: Consecrating
the Ordinary |
Fall
Training Events for Rostered Leaders (Professional
Boundaries, Cultural Competency, Racial Justice) |
United Lutheran Seminary holds several educational events each year for clergy and for laity, many of them under the "Kindling Faith" umbrella of the Center for Sabbath Rest and Formation. There is way more than can be posted on this page, so we refer you to the seminary's website. Some of these events are held in person, some by Zoom. Some events are for just an hour or two while others run multiple days.
United Lutheran Seminary will offer an eight-part author series examining "how to age with grace and live fully, with the physical, mental and social challenges that are often difficult to navigate and accept. These events will be offered in-person and by Zoom. Registration is required, and there is a registration fee. For details, click here.
Partners for Sacred Places is the only national
non-sectarian, non-profit organization devoted to helping
congregations and their communities sustain and actively
use older and historic sacred places. Partners helps
congregations and others with a stake in older religious
properties make the most of them as civic assets in ways
that benefit people of all faiths. The seminar will be
held 24-26 April 2025. Click here
for details.
This year's Spring Convo at Gettysburg Seminary will
focus on stewardship. One of the main principles of the
Stewardship of Life Institute at ULS is the idea that
stewardship is part of our day-to-day decisions. It’s so
much more than simply increasing the sum total of our
monetary offerings (though this is a direct result of a
person’s stewardship philosophy). Stewardship relates to
understanding our place in the world and God’s call for us
to be caretakers of it from how we choose to spend our
time to how we cultivate relationships with other people.
Join us for a day of discovering how to consecrate the
ordinary moments. This one-day event will be held on the
Gettsyburg Seminary campus and by Zoom on 30 April 2025. Click here
for details.
In collaboration with the Lower Susquehanna Synod, United Lutheran Seminary offers training for those rostered leaders who wish to learn more about racial justice, professional boundaries, and cultural competency. Register here for both in-person and online opportunities.
Living the Resurrection offers a variety of resources
(free and for purchase) and consultation services to
congregations considering their future and interested in
change. Their website states,
LtR workshops are for congregations that know they need to change, but don’t know how. We help people walk through their fears, and into new life. The philosophy of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) provides the foundational theory that encourages people to change. The four phases of the AI strategy (Initiate—Inquire—Imagine—Innovate) structure the process.
To learn more an explore LtR offerings, click here.
Living the Resurrection is offering a workbook for the
development of a communications strategy for the
congregation. Here's the lead on their promo material:
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” George Bernard Shaw said that a long time ago, and it’s still true. Congregational leaders communicate with members through newsletters and bulletins, but they still hear folks say: “How come I didn’t hear about that?” Bet you've heard that too.
Communication is about so much more than advertising, however. Abraham Maslow, motivational psychologist and pioneer in understanding human needs, established that people have a strong need to belong. Part of that need is the desire to contribute to the life of the group. When someone feels excluded, it threatens their need for belonging.
Beyond the Bulletin is a workbook that will help you guide your congregational leaders to communicate with their members in a way that demonstrates they are a valued part of the congregation.
The workbook is set up in three 90-minute sessions. Total
cost is $95. For more information including sample pages,
click here.
Select
Learning provides access to quality theological
learning experiences for personal, congregational and
professional learning. Using outstanding seminary and
college instructors and ministry practitioners, Select
Learning combines high quality DVD-based video courses,
customized study materials, proven textbooks,and online
learning to create effective and flexible theological
exploration opportunities. Select Learning is a member of
the Lay School for Ministry Network of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
We started posting AARs (After Action Reports) during the
pandemic as a way to let folks know what we have been
doing. Well, that started cluttering up the Education for
Laity & Clergy page, suggesting that those AARs needed
a page of their own. Explore our Past
Cont. Ed Events page to get a taste of what we've
done for education offerings in WV-WMD.
There are, however, some items we want to continue to
hold on this page because they have continuing relevance
and can be accessed in recorded form.
A webinar was recently hosted by the ELCA Stewardship
Team under the title, "Talking about Economics in
Uncertain Times". It featured a speaker from the Lake
Institute on Faith & Giving. It may be viewed at
this link: https://vimeo.com/857657315/e2ad1f5a4c.
The West Virginia Council of Churches held a webinar on Dementia-Friendly Worshiping communities on 8 December 2021 with The Rev. Kathy Fogg Berry. Berry wrote the book When Words Fail: Practical Ministry to People with Dementia and Their Caregivers and co-authored, Dementia Friendly Worship: A Multifaith Handbook for Chaplains, Clergy, and Faith Communities.
The Rev. Kathy Fogg Berry received a Masters of Religious
Education from Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky,
and a Masters in Patient Counseling and a postgraduate
certificate in aging studies from Virginia Commonwealth
University in Richmond, Virginia. During Kathy’s tenure at
Westminster Canterbury Richmond, she provided spiritual
care for residents with dementia diagnoses, their
families, and the staff who care for them. For the last
five years, Rev. Berry has offered the “When Words Fail”
seminar for clergy and lay leaders throughout Virginia and
she speaks regionally and nationally about spirituality
and dementia.
A recording of the webinar can be watched on the WVCC Facebook page.
Barb Keller offered a webinar for clergy on anger for
ELCA clergy, via Zoom, on 30 November 2021. A recording is
available. Contact the bishop or the D.E.M.
for access.