44TH ANNUAL VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
OCTOBER 29-31, 2024
renewed and strengthened
Equipping and Supporting Leaders in Times of Transition
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WORKSHOPS
Tuesday, October 29
4:25 to 5:45 PM Eastern
Managing Emotions, Restoring Hope - Judy Joseph McSween & Rev. Dr. David Shelor
Global research (Six Seconds State of the Heart Report 2024 – Global Emotional Intelligence Recession) reveals that there has been an overall decline in Emotional Intelligence over the last 4 years, characterized by burnout and low well-being. This translates to an overall decline in people’s self-awareness, self-management, and clarity of purpose. These findings have implications for our interpersonal relationships and our spirituality and, by extension, for how we engage self and others in transitional leadership and interim ministry. Increasingly, the transitions that need to be managed are the result of serious decline and existential threat to existing systems and methods, resulting in fear, high anxiety, loss of hope, and non-optimal decision-making. This experiential workshop transports participants through the research data, its implications, and how in developing and applying our own emotional intelligence competencies we can rebuild hope, develop resilience, and renew and strengthen self and others to fulfill the purpose for which we have been created and called.
Judy Joseph Mc Sween, Time Out Specialist is an Organisation Development Consultant and Certified Coach and Trainer in the areas of Emotional Intelligence, Conversational and Spiritual Intelligence. Her practice focuses on creating organisation wellness, through the healing and building of trusted intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships in faith based and corporate organisations. Her approach includes individual and group coaching, customised experiential workshops and retreats. Her experience spans twenty (20) years in corporate leadership and fifteen (15) years of facilitating the ongoing formation of the lay and clergy in faith based organisations corporate leadership training. The beneficiaries of her insightful approach include ordained and lay at all levels of ministry and supervisory managerial and executive leaders In 2016, Judy spearheaded the introduction of EQHR training in the Caribbean and subsequently became a board member and trainer the US based Center for Emotional Intelligence and Human Relations for Faith Based Organisations (EQHR Center), she has collaborated with Antilles Episcopal Conference of Bishops and Anglican Bishops in the Caribbean Region and various denominations in the USA, to deliver a series of interventions, all ultimately focused on developing emotional intelligence, deepening spirituality and bringing best self to ministry. She is a member the World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM) and of the Leadership Team for the Caribbean area. This group is actively engaged in the introduction of Christian Meditation to educational institutions, prisons, drug rehabilitation centers, parish communities and the business sector. On the personal side, Judy is an avid collector of photos of lighthouses has one daughter Hannah whose vocation is working with persons with disabilities.
Rev. Dr. David K. Shelor, MDiv, MSOD, DMin – Organization and Leadership Consultant, and pastor. A native of the mountains of Western North Carolina, USA, Rev. Dr. David K. Shelor has been a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) for over 25 years. In that time, he has served the Church in Ghana, West Africa, Georgia and Florida. He currently serves as the pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Dunedin on Florida’s central Gulf Coast. In addition to degrees from Columbia (Decatur, Georgia) and McCormick (Chicago) Theological Seminaries, David earned a Master of Science in Positive Organizational Development from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case-Western University (Cleveland) and holds certifications in Nonprofit Management (University of South Florida), Executive Coaching (Case-Western), Appreciative Inquiry (Case-Western) and as a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator facilitator. David began his journey with the EQHR Center, first as a participant in the HR Workshop in 2012, served as a board member, and delights in every opportunity to nurture his own growth and learning as a trainer. David is married to Dr. Merry Lynn Morris, a dance professor at the University of South Florida. He has two children, Graham, a recent college graduate, and Lillie, a college senior
Welcoming the Artist – Creativity and Leadership - Rev. Cynthia Vermillion-Foster
In The Creative Call, Janise Elsheimer says: “We will find the artist God intends us to be when we empty ourselves of self and become open to his plan and to the inspiration of his Holy Spirit.”
In reading these words, I remember my years as a ballet dancer, knowing that the magic happened when I let go, when I emptied myself, and allowed the dance to dance me – allowed Spirit to move me. I also think about the communities I serve during this liminal time. Oftentimes I find them hanging on to what was, trying valiantly to return to the “glory days.” But those days are gone. Spirit is calling them to something new, something they can’t yet see. I look at them, wondering how I can get them to loosen up, step outside the box, and welcome their individual and collective artists. This, I believe, is essential as we navigate this time together.
This interactive webinar is an opportunity to play together, to loosen up and explore our creativity together, and to consider how we can nurture the creativity in those we serve.
Rev. Cynthia Vermillion-Foster creates spaces for individuals and communities to discover and unleash their full potential. An ordained Unity minister of 25 years, Cynthia served as the Director of Member Services for Unity Worldwide Ministries for 5 years. Prior to this, she served as the Regional Consultant and Regional Representative for Canada for 10 years. In these roles, Cynthia had the privilege of supporting, coaching and consulting with ministries throughout the US and Canada. Cynthia also served on the UWM’s Ethics Review Team for 10 years including 2 years as Chair of the team. With her husband, Rev. Don Foster, Cynthia served ministries in Chantilly, VA and Hamilton, ON. She is the 2016 recipient of Unity Worldwide Ministries’ Myrtle Fillmore Award and Unity Canada’s 2017 Northern Lights Award. [email protected]
One Person Can Make a Difference! Building Community, Trust, and Effectiveness in Groups - Rev. Kimberly Secrist Ashby
In transitional ministry, the health and effectiveness of a key group or groups within the church can have a big impact on the growth and development of the rest of the church! In this workshop you’ll learn how to assess the health of groups within your congregation. Looking through different lenses, you’ll gain skills to help groups in your church build better community, deeper trust, and healthy interactions, despite their differences.
Rev. Kimberly Secrist Ashby is a Presbyterian pastor, mother, and facilitator/leader from the former Center for Emotional Intelligence and Human Relations Skills. Kimberly has been serving the church for more than 20 years, as an Associate Pastor focusing in Christian Education, as a Solo Pastor, and as an Interim Pastor. She loves to travel, especially to Spain, and speaks Spanish well. She also enjoys a lot of creative things on the side – cooking, baking, mosaics, reading, and more. Her older daughter is studying abroad in Spain this summer, and her younger daughter is deep into photography. Kimberly is currently pastoring a church outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan. [email protected].
Vital Congregations in Partnership: Considering Shared Ministry - Rev. Dr. Ruth Shaver
What do you do if your congregation cannot justly and equitably support a full-time pastor but it knows what community members say when asked, “What would be missing if the church were to close?” and the answers give hope and vision? One answer: Two or more vital congregations sharing financial resources to support pastoral leadership in a discerned and carefully developed partnership to sustain and expand their ministries as individual churches in cooperation with each other to do together what cannot be done separately. In this workshop we will consider factors that make Shared Ministry a viable alternative for the sustainable ministry of local congregations. The new and ongoing experience of Lakeville United Church of Christ and North Congregational Church UCC will serve as a case study. While not a new model, its implementation in 21st century congregations is substantially different from the shared ministries that developed as two-point or even multi-point charges over the past 100+ years.
Rev. Dr. Ruth E. Shaver is the Bridge Interim Pastor of Lakeville United Church of Christ in Lakeville, Massachusetts, and North Congregational Church United Church of Christ in Middleborough, Massachusetts and the Moderator of the Old Colony Association. She is the Academic Dean of PATHWAYS Theological Education, Inc.; an apprentice faculty member of the Interim Ministry Network; an Interim Consultant in the Southeast Region of the Southern New England Conference; and a member of the Manual on Local Church rollout team for the United Church of Christ. She is a past Fellow of Sinai and Synapses (2017-2019 cohort). She holds a Doctor of Ministry (I Wonder: Scientific Exploration and Experimentation as a Practice of Christian Faith) from Lancaster Theological Seminary, a Masters of Divinity from Boston University School of Theology, and a Bachelor of Arts in Soviet and East European Studies from Boston University College of Liberal Arts. Shaver resides in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where she roots for Boston sports teams, cooks, reads, and enjoys every opportunity to visit museums and go kayaking with friends. [email protected]
Everyone Loves a Non-Anxious Presence: Calm Down, Grow Up, and Live Your Best Life - Rev. Jack Shitama
People are hard to deal with. If you’re tired of struggling to figure out how to be your best, then this workshop is for you. It will help you:
- Avoid reacting defensively or aggressively in anxious situations.
- Avoid giving in without saying what you need to say.
- Be your best as a non-anxious presence.
Based on the book by the same name, the workshop covers the principles of Bowen family systems theory in a way that you can understand and apply.
Rev. Jack Shitama is an author, teacher, speaker and coach. His family systems approach to leadership helps congregational and nonprofit leaders achieve their best spiritually, physically and professionally. He is an avid learner with a passion for taking the most recent secular learnings and applying them to spiritual leadership.
Jack is an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church and currently serves as the Executive Director at Pecometh Camp & Retreat Ministries in Centreville, MD. He is also the Director for the Center for Vital Leadership. He was President of the International Association of Conference Center Administrators from 2003-2007 and served on the United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries Association Board from 2007-2015, including as Vice-Chair (2011-2013) and Chair (2013-2015).
Jack is the author of Anxious Church, Anxious People: How to Lead Change in an Age of Anxiety, One New Habit, One Big Goal: Change Your Life in 10 Weeks, If You Met My Family You’d Understand: A Family Systems Primer, and Everyone Loves a Non-Anxious Presence: Calm Down, Grow Up, and Live Your Best Life.
Jack and his wife of 42 years, Jodi, have four adult children and five grandchildren. Jack is an avid runner and has completed the Baltimore Marathon three times. He plays guitar and bass in the Jacob’s Well Band, his church’s worship band. He enjoys all kinds of sports, cooking, reading, traveling and, most of all, seeing people experience spiritual growth. [email protected]
Thursday, October 31
12:45 to 2:00 PM Eastern
Is Numerical Growth Possible During an Interim? Rev. Janet Peterman
Conventional wisdom has said that numerical growth during the interim time is neither likely nor core to the work. This workshop invites a collegial conversation to re-examine these assumptions, led by a seasoned re-development pastor who is also an intentional interim minister. Resisting the temptation to look at best practices from then, participants will be invited to reconsider where we and the culture stand now, and what all of this may mean for the possibility of growth in the interim time. Topics for discussion include cultural indicators for this new day, taking stock of how visitors interact with your congregational system, creating a ministry for caring for first time visitors, and the purpose of inviting.
Janet S. Peterman is an inner-city ELCA (Lutheran) pastor living with her family in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the eastern US. She has served the last 16 years of her ministry in seven (7) intentional ministry settings in 3 synods. She has reached the Professional Transition Specialist (PTS) level of accreditation through the Interim Ministry Network (IMN). When not in active ministry, she gardens, bikes, hikes and takes joy in friends, family and photography.
Circles of Trust: Transitioning Ministry Outreach, Personal Spiritual Practice - Rev. Dr. Barbara Coeyman
“Circles of Trust” is a small group ministry which explores the inner teacher in each of us and builds compassionate relationships with others. Through personal reflection, deep listening, open and honest questions, and clearness committees, we build trust in our authentic selves and in one another. “Circles of Trust” draws from the spiritual writing of Quaker Parker Palmer.
This workshop is an introduction to some “Circle of Trust” practices, including exploration of the Touchstones, the covenantal foundation of the program; developing habits of deep listening; and discernment of readings which explore the theme of “transitioning.” The practice expands our toolbox for transitional leadership while also building interpersonal connections among participants in the Circle. For more about “Circles of Trust,” see Parker Palmer, A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward An Undivided Life.
Rev. Dr. Barbara Coeyman is an Accredited Interim Minister in the Unitarian Universalist Association. She is also a credentialed Facilitator with the Center for Courage and Renewal (CCR), the sponsoring institution of “Circles of Trust.” A member of IMN for the past decades, she has led several workshops during annual IMN conferences. She is completing a two-year interim at the UU Church of Muncie Indiana, her eighth transitioning ministry position. For more on CCR, see www.couragerenewal.org. [email protected]
Reframing Competing Needs as Complementary: Using Polarities in Transitional Ministry - Jan Gartner
Polarity Thinking TM, developed by Barry Johnson, is a powerful framework for addressing thorny problems and transforming conflict. A polarity is an interdependent pair of needs or values. Although the poles seem to be in tension with each other, both are good and true – and they need each other over time. Polarity Thinking can be applied to congregational life, as well as to our own personal and professional lives. We’ll explore this model together, with a focus on polarities that often present themselves during transitional times. Once you learn the basics, you’ll see polarities everywhere, giving you new insights into how to work through practical and philosophical dilemmas. (A note about language: “polarities” are anything but polarizing!)
Jan Gartner (she/her) serves as Compensation and Staffing Practices Manager at the Unitarian Universalist Association, equipping congregations for excellence as employers in accordance with UU values. Jan oversees the UUA’s congregational compensation program and helps leaders with a variety of personnel-related matters; she works closely with the UUA Transitions Office. Special interests include robust staff teams, staffing sustainably, and emerging staffing models. A former Director of Religious Education, Jan strives to bring all of the skills and sensibilities of an educator to her role. Jan lives near Rochester, NY, with her husband. She is an avid walker, a lover of word and number puzzles, and an enthusiastic soprano in the First Unitarian Church of Rochester choir. [email protected]
Finding Courage to Deal with Conflict NOW - Rev. Dr. John Beck
Research is clear that the lag time between when a difficulty is noticed and when it is addressed (in a way that helps a conversation move forward) is the key dynamic in healthy organizations. For over 30 years Joseph Grenny and the team at Crucial Learning have been documenting and offering approaches to this significant communication challenge when there are differing opinions, high stakes, and high emotionality. Crucial Conversations (3rd ed) is the newest iteration of their work. In this workshop we will drill down into their conceptual framework and the practicalities of the steps they have identified that make all the difference.
John Beck is a student of congregational and leadership dynamics and an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) pastor. He works to strengthen relational and spiritual vitality, especially when conflict has disrupted mission. In addition to 30-plus years of parish experience, John has served as a chaplain, counselor, and seminary professor. He is an Associate of the Kaleidoscope Institute and is a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). His MA in journalism strengthens his communication skills; his PhD in Marital and Family Therapy helps his understanding of family systems; his experiences teaching in several seminaries broadens his appreciation for a diversity of theological perspectives. He is finishing his certification as a trainer with the Stanford Forgiveness Project and is currently an apprentice member of IMN’s faculty.
Faithful Endings: Leading Congregational Closure or Consolidation - Rev. Diane Kenaston
Is your congregation approaching closure or consolidation? Move from crisis to calling. Learn how you can lead faithful endings for a whole congregation – a challenge that increasingly falls to interim/transitional ministers. This workshop will focus on planning and leading final ministry, including logistics (e.g., assets, physical space, legal procedures, etc), programming (i.e., ending each ministry well), pastoral care, and worship. You can face the future with courage and clarity. Your congregation can experience spiritual growth even as they conclude existing ministry.
Workshop leader Rev. Diane Kenaston (she/her) co-founded the Good Friday Collaborative to support congregations concluding ministry. Together we can change the story of church closure from failure to faithfulness.
Rev. Diane Kenaston (she/her) is a United Methodist elder with ten years of experience pastoring churches in West Virginia and Missouri in the United States. She is now a clergy coach based out of Cambridge, United Kingdom, and a founding member of the Good Friday Collaborative, a ministry supporting congregational leaders whose churches are faithfully concluding existing ministry. [email protected]