FROM CALLING TO CLARITY:
Keeping your Compass when Challenged by your Clock

The Rev. Dr. William Carl Thomas

April 28, 2026
11-12:30 pm Eastern

CULTIVATING A “NON-ANXIOUS PRESENCE:”
IT’S NOT ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL

Rabbi Dennis Ross, MSW

May 7, 2026
1-2:30 pm Eastern

Rabbi Dennis Ross, MSW, is a member of the IMN Faculty and has served on the IMN Board. His forthcoming book, Pastor to the Body of a Congregation: A Companion Guide for Congregational Clergy, will be released Spring, 2026. His most recent book, A Year with Martin Buber, was named a Top Ten Book of the Year by the Academy of Parish Clergy. 

TRANSITION AND RECOVERY
Dealing with a Damaged Spiritual Community

The Rev. John R. Throop, D.Min.

May 14, 2026
1-2:30 pm Eastern

GRIEF RECOVERY AND THE TRANSITION PROCESS

Rev. Sarah Shirley

June 30, 2026
1-2:30 pm Eastern 

The Grief Recovery Method (The Grief Recovery Handbook, John James and Russell Friedman) understands grief to be a normal and natural human response to a change in a familiar pattern of behavior. Transition follows and brings many changes, some welcome, others not, and most understood and experienced in varying ways by the people who participate in the congregational system.

This webinar introduces a variety of ways employing the Grief Recovery Method in the transition process can support the work of the congregation as well as offering a potential lay-led grief ministry.

The Rev. Sarah Shirley is a retired priest from the Episcopal Diocese of Washington currently serving as Rector of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Riberas del Pilar, Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico. Sarah leverages her experience and training as spiritual director and coach to support clergy in personal and professional transition. She is a certified Grief Recovery Outreach Specialist and Master Financial Coach, is trained in Gallup Strengths Coaching, Professional Coaching (University of Miami), and interim ministry (Interim Ministry Network). She is founder of Military Saves/Veterans Saves (www.militarysaves.org, www.veteransaves.org), social marketing campaigns to encourage personal financial savings.

Chaplain Sarah served 20 years in the Air Force, retiring at the end of 2019 as Senior Chaplain of the Florida Air National Guard. She spent 15 of those 20 years on active duty in Texas, Florida, Maryland, Oman, and Afghanistan. She serves as volunteer  chaplain for the The Episcopal Church its the USA as chaplain to the Office of the Bishop Suffragan for Armed Forces and Federal Ministries (AFFM). Sarah has been active with AFFM since 1998 when she was first endorsed for military chaplaincy. She also serves as chaplain and board member for American Legion Post 7 in Chapala, and or Whistleblowers of America, headquartered in Pensacola, Florida, United States. Before entering holy orders, Sarah managed non-profit organizations and local political campaigns in Illinois and Minnesota, and taught marketing, world religions and hospitality management at colleges in the United States and Europe.

Faith-filled Governance
Creating a culture where every voice matters.

Rev. Cynthia Vemillion Foster

August 11, 2026
1-2:30 pm Eastern 

In our spiritual communities, we tend to focus on… well, the spiritual. This is, after all, why we exist. And yet, we are also entrusted with many practical concerns. Buildings must be maintained, finances stewarded, staff supported, and decisions made with clarity and care. Governance is not separate from our spiritual work—it is one of the most meaningful expressions of it.

Faith Filled Governance invites us to see board leadership not as a sacred calling. Rather than choosing between spirit and structure, we are invited into a dynamic dance in which God’s purpose partners with wise and thoughtful practices. In this space, discernment informs decision-making, transparency builds trust, and accountability becomes an act of love.

Participants will be invited to imagine governance not as something that pulls us away from our spiritual mission, but as something that protects, sustains, and strengthens it. When we lead with both faith and skill, we create communities where vision is clear, resources are honored, and ministry can flourish with confidence and joy.

Ultimately, Faith Filled Governance is about alignment—allowing our practices to reflect our deepest beliefs, so that what we build with our hands is guided by what we know in our hearts.

Stories and Lessons of Transitional Leadership Part 1: “Entering With Curiosity”

The Rev. Dr. Keith Copeland

2026
1-2:30 pm Eastern 

Entering and exiting are two of the most important parts of Transitional (Interim) Leadership. Entering sets the table for all the other work that is done. This webinar will focus on the first Process Task of entering with curiosity. Using stories and lessons from the presenter and the participants, we will focus on: 

• Understanding that not all questions asked are the real question.
• Digging down deeper to find out what is really going on.
• Entering Relationships with Curiosity
• Developing an Agreement that is more than simply a document

This will be an engaging webinar to share collective wisdom that can be helpful in entering a system with curiosity. It will also be Part 1, with hopes to engage all of the 5 process tasks over time. Come and join as we explore this important process task of Entering.

Dr. Keith Copeland was born in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from the University of South Florida with a B.A. in Finance. After graduating from college he worked in management with Eckerd Drugs before answering the call to ministry. He graduated from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in 1992 and has served three congregations as the settled pastor and 15 congregations as interim in three different denominations. Trained as an interim pastor in the Presbyterian Church, he received his D Min from Hood Theological Seminary with special focus on church renewal. Since then, he has been developing processes and tools for congregational renewal during times of transition between an installed pastor. Dr. Copeland has the Professional Transition Specialist designation and is a Faculty Apprentice with IMN. Currently he serves as Transitional Senior Pastor of Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Southern Pines, NC.  Keith is active on several IMN teams and projects including as Faculty. He is also the Board Chair of the ELCA’s Interim Ministry Association.

LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS FOR MINISTRY: A PRACTICAL DEMONSTRATION

Rev. Dr. Michelle Collins

November 18, 2025
1-2:30 pm Eastern

Rev. Dr.  Michelle Collins is a Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) minister and has served a variety of congregations as an interim, contract, senior minister, associate minister, and briefly as a settled minister. She has extensive experience with Soul Matters curriculum development and regional UUA work. Her previous work experience includes being a hospital chaplain and an elementary school teacher. Michelle is committed to anti-oppression work, social justice and social action. She also has training in trauma response, grief recovery, conflict meditation, and serves on her denomination’s trauma response ministry and is a researcher for a monthly theme-based resource service.