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Education
for Clergy & Laity West Virginia - Western Maryland Synod Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (18 September 2023) |
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We've moved all the continuing education to this new page
because continuing education is not just for clergy. Both
laity and clergy will find offerings here. Some are for
laity only. Some are for clergy only. Some are for both.
That said, there is denominational encouragement for
clergy (and even requirements for certain classes of
clergy). If you are clergy (or a congregational mutual
ministry committee member), please review the general introduction for clergy
continuing education. The education
event matrix below is a quick way to skim our
offerings. Click on the linked text to learn about each.
Check beck 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. We've had a lot of events that are now behind us and have begun work on the next series. Check back again and do 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 Ed
In General
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Synod
Clergy Cont. Ed Events Team Pr. Sherri Schafer (UOVC), Chair Pr. Ben Erzkus (MVMC) Pr. Darick Biondi (OKVC) Pr. Daniel Collins (PC) |
At the Winter 2018 Synod Clergy Cont. Education Event, the presbyteral college elected to establish a committee for the design, planning, and management of synod sponsored clergy continuing education with one representative from each of the four conferences. Synod Clergy Cont. Ed, as we currently have it configured, provides approximately 12-17 per year, assuming attendance at both events.
Serving on the the Continuing Ed Committee we have Sherri
Schafer (UOVC), and Ben Erzkus (MVMC), Darick Biondi
(OKVC), and Daniel Collins (PC), with Bp. Riegel as an
advisory member. Synod clergy should feel free to talk to
their conference's team about ideas and concerns related
to continuing ed.
Thanks are owed to The Revs. Christine Olson (past
chair), Paul Schafer, Casey Linemann, Ryan Heycock, Ruth
Bullwinkle, Kevin Mackey, Randy Richardson, and Sally
Bartling for their now concluded service on the team.
We welcome The Rev. Dr. Mark Vitalis Hoffman as lecturer
for our next continuing ed event will be held 3-5 October
2023 at Blackwater Falls State Park. MVH, as
he is affectionately known by his students, will be
lecturing on the Gospel of Mark.
This event is open to clergy, seminarians, and lay
preachers (licensed and in training) leaders. Spouses are
welcome to join in as well. You may share this event with
your colleagues in other synods.
Blackwater Falls SP is a beautiful venue. To learn more
about the recreational opportunities at the park, click here. You may want to bring
your family and even come a day or two early or linger to
enjoy the park.
You may follow the event on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/events/6515763551803379)
The schedule for the continuing education event has been
set. We will be at Blackwater Falls during their peak
foliage. It should be a beautiful time to hike, sleep, or
vegetate. The team designed the agenda with plenty of free
time so you can recharge your batteries. Should it decide
to rain during the time of the event, the schedule may be
adjusted.
The synod will be charging a $100 per person (clergy or
lay leader) fee for registration fee for this event.
Please bring a check to the event made out to "WV-WMD
Synod." If your family will be with you but not
participating in the continuing education, there is not a
registration fee for them. If, however, they are attending
the lectures, they must register and pay the tuition. Room
& board is not included in the registration fee.
Please register online (https://forms.office.com/r/Chuq4jditU)
so that we can make appropriate arrangements for the
lecture hall (and other items) and also so that we can
contact you should there be any change in plans (i.e., the
presenter coming down with COVID).
WV-WMDers, if you need help covering the costs of the event, please reach out to Bishop Riegel or DEM Pastor Sherri.
The reserved bloc of rooms being held at Blackwater Falls
Lodge was released 2 September 2023. It may still be
possible to get a room at the lodge or even a cabin, but
it is color season. No guarantees at this point.
One can also find lodging at
Meals will be on your own. There is a restaurant in the
Blackwater Falls Lodge. There are some dining
establishments in Davis, Thomas, and Canaan Valley, but
check on hours before venturing out.
The Rev. Harold "Jake" Jacobson joined as 15-17 February 2023 at North Bend State Park, Cairo, WV, presenting under the theme, "Walking with God Today: What Now?" Sessions looked at critical issues facing the church today and provided some directions and tools for the future.
Peruse our past
events and get a sense of what we do.
The LARCUM 2023 is behind us, having convened under the
theme, "Evangelism?" and planning has begun for LARCUM
2024. We will anticipate convening at the John XXIII
Pastoral Center in Charleston in May 2024. The topic, in
general terms, will be Holy Communion. Learn more about
LARCUM on the LARCUM page.
The Symposium for Central Appalachian Lutheran
Dogmatics (SCALD) is designed as a day of
theological discussion, employing the symposium model.
Presenters give papers with discussion of those papers
open to all participants. It is about providing an
intellectually engaging and profitable opportunity for
rank and file pastors and lay theologians (amateur and
professional) to test their all too often private
ruminations among those capable of being critical and
convivial at the same time.
SCALD III will be held 9 November 2023 in
Morgantown, WV. For details, including registration and
paper proposals, visit the SCALD
page.
The Task Force on Government and Civic Engagement has
released A Study Curriculum on Civic Life and Faith. This
study may be used by groups and individuals. For more
information and access to the curriculum, click here.
The 19th Biennial Conference of the American Cusanus Society and the International Seminar on Pre-Reformation Theology will be hosting a conference at Gettysburg Seminary under the title, "War and Peace in the Late Middle Ages." The event will be held both in-person on the campus and virtually, Sept. 28 - Oct. 1, 2023.
Plenary lectures
Banquet program: Cormorants Fancy, Irish-Scottish Band
This event is open to anyone who is interested. It is one
of the best high-powered scholarly conferences in the
region.
For registration information and other details, contact
+Riegel (bishop@wv-wmd.org or text 304-363-4030).
An invitation to its October intensive has been extended by Wartburg Seminary's CTLM. Led by Ruben Duran, Senior Director, Multi-Ethnic Ministries and Leadership Development Christian Community and Leadership Home Area, the intensive will focus on Latine Ministry.
Sessions will be held by Zoom:
You are invited to join a group of learners and practitioners wanting to enhance their cultural and ministry competency to help start or strengthen Latine and bilingual worshiping communities. This 9-hour workshop will explore basic principles, various ministry models and best practices in the development of ministry among the diversity of Latine audiences: new immigrants, established people, and new emerging generations.
Experienced practitioners will assist participants to
identify key moments or benchmarks in the journey from
being a new start to becoming an organized congregation in
the ELCA. In addition, participants will also learn about
helpful strategies and dynamics at play in the creation
and sustainability of “bilingual churches”, also called a
“One Church – Two Expressions” model.
Cost: Individual $250 or Congregation $600. Register online at www.wartburgseminary.edu/CTLM. Zoom link provided after registration.
To be held 26-27 October 2023 at Gettysburg Seminary, a Rural Rostered Leaders Retreat under
the theme, "Bold Humility: A Model of Accompaniment for
Appalachian Ministry," will explore...well, how about we
just refer you to the seminary's event page from which you can
download the event brochure. This event is for rostered
leaders. Among the presenters are number The Rev. Scherri
Schafer and The Revs. Felici.
The Sixteenth Century Society will be in Baltimore for
its annual conference 26-29 October 2023. For those with a
passion in all things early modern, and we mean all
things, you will want to attend. Click here
for details. +Riegel has been to two of these (giving a
paper at one of them), and he will tell you that it is his
favorite conference.
The Lutheran Historical Conference is held biennially,
and the next LHC will be held 10-12 October 2024 in
Baltimore, easy striking distance for many folks from
WV-WMD. The LHC is a traditional academic conference with
papers being delivered along the line of the theme for the
specific conference. As this is pretty far out, the LHC
has not yet posted details, but we want you to at least
know when and where it will be held so that you can save
the date. In the meantime, you can visit the LHC homepage:
https://www.luthhistcon.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.
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.
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.
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Bishop Riegel offered his first Zoom-based book study in
Lent 2021 with an examination of Johann Arndt's True
Christianity. In 2022, he jumped forward a a few
centuries and invited Grant Eckhart to lead us through Action
in Waiting by Christoph Blumhardt. Deciding to build
upon this, an autumnal study of Melanchthon's Loci
communes (1521) was tackled. For each of these book
studies a Facebook group was created to allow folks to
engage the topic outside of the formal sessions. Those
Facebook groups are still up and operating. It's never too
late to join the conversation. Scroll through our Past Cont. Ed Events page for
the links.
The worm of discontent that rotted Herod's soul and threatens ours is the lust to throw away the constraints of humanhood and become God—not, mind you, "godly" or godlike," but God. — Kerry Walters
For 2023, we arrived at the most recent cusp of the centuries with Kerry Walter's Godlust: Facing the Demonic, Embracing the Divine (1999).
Employing the image of consumption, Walters takes us from the eating by our first parents to our own eating of truth, beauty, and the good. The elenchtical Law is delivered thoughtfully and unflinchingly. For those interested in reading Godlust or any of Walters other works, visit the Kerry Walters' Godlust Reading Group on Facebook..
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.