eFormation New England Bootcamp

e-Formation is a learning community for ministry in a digital world. After four years of gathering at Virginia Theological Seminary, eformation is moving to regional locations. Next month we will be in New England - at Boston University School of Theology - March 10-11, 2017.

Co-sponsored by the Episcopal Province of New England, the Center for the Ministry of Teaching at Virginia Theological Seminary and the Boston University School of Theology, we have a great collection of digital evangelists willing to share their wisdom and offer you practical tools for you ministry.

Come for Friday, Saturday or the two-day event. On Friday, The Rev. Keith Anderson introduces "Networked Ministry in a Wireless World." Stay for light refreshments and conversations with digital natives and digital immigrants. Saturday offers three sets of workshops designed to teach useful techniques you can immediately put into practice. Parking is limited. Please use public parking or purchase a BU parking pass for a nearby BU lot.      

FRIDAY KEYNOTE
The Digital Cathedral: Networked Ministry in a Wireless World

The American religious landscape has changed dramatically over the last twenty-five years. Rapid advances in digital technologies have and continue to rewire the way we connect, experience community, live out our faith, and share the Gospel. Over that same time, there has also been a dramatic rise of the number of the religious unaffiliated (the Nones). The church no longer has a central or privileged place in our culture—and patterns of attendance, membership, and giving among even our most faithful members are changing. Learn about ways ministry leaders can respond to form faith, build community, serve others, and share the Gospel in this new context. The Rev Keith Anderson will offer a theological and ecclesiological framework for ministry today, share stories and wisdom from ministry leaders from around the church, and offer practical examples of how we can share the Gospel and meaningfully God and others in both local and digital gathering spaces where we live our lives today.

SATURDAY WORKSHOPS
CHOOSE ONE FROM EACH OF THE THREE SETS (A, B, C)          

A02: Social Media: what it is doing to our brains and to our hearts
Discuss the Implications for Ministers and Ministry. Expect videos, reflection, and lively discussion. Sr. Kathryn James Hermes, FSP is a Daughter of St. Paul. She has an M.T.S. in Theological Studies from Weston Jesuit School of Theology and manages the digital and digital marketing department of Pauline Books & Media, the publishing house of the Daughters of St. Paul. 

A03: Tips, Tools, and Tactics for Building a Community and a Movement in the Digital Age 
Using the All Our Children National Network as a Case Study, I will talk about how we use Twitter, Facebook (Pages, Groups, and Ads), MailChimp Automation, and Webinars to grow the All Our Children network. Mary-Liz Murray is Communications Director, All Our Children National Network & owner, Streamix Consulting.

A04: Faith Formation 4.0 – Understanding the Context of Our Ministries
Media create environments that affect how we educate and form new initiates and lifelong faith community members. Learn the characteristics of each of the four eras of human communications (oral, written, mass mediated, and interactive) and their impact on our efforts to proclaim the gospel and prepare disciples. Julie Lytle, MDiv, PhD is Executive Director of the Episcopal Province of New England and CEO of M^3: Message, Method, then Media.

B01: Podcasting: Listening, Curating, Creating
Podcasts are like radio shows that, instead of going out on the airwaves, get sent to listeners’ computers and mobile devices. This new format is revolutionizing audio programming, and the faith community is getting in on the action.  

B02: Share Your Story with the World
Learn how to share your own perspective on the world, the church, and ministry to a wider community through blogging.  Derived from a mash-up of the words “web” and “log,” blogs are platforms for sharing written content, videos (vlogs) and photos. Explore how Wordpress, Blogger, Typepad, Weebly, and Tumblr work and how you can create your own content in this form of digital ministry including posting, photos, comments, tagging and linking to your Twitter and Facebook accounts. Sharon Ely Pearson is an author, editor, and the Christian Formation Specialist with Church Publishing Incorporated with a specialty in curriculum and resources.

B03: Teaching and Learning in Online Spaces
How can we use various devices to support learning in fun and creative ways? Using inquiry-based learning, participants will engage in varied creative activities alone and/or in small groups. These will then be shared with the whole group in such a way as to produce a multi-dimensional picture of the problem in question. Participants will be provided with tools for launching rich conversation into the topic using the group’s creativity as a springboard. Bring a device!! Eileen Daily, JD, PhD is Director of the new Doctor of Ministry degree in Transformational Leadership at BU's School of Theology. She is especially interested in how technology can (and should) mediate theological and religious education.

B04: Text Messages and Graffiti on the Walls: Using Visuals for Formation, Information and Interaction
Sarah will share some best practices when it comes to creating visuals, resources, and some other things to consider implementing within your church. Come armed with examples of flyers, inserts to change as well as your favorite resources. PC, Mac, and tablet friendly! Sarah Stonesifer is the Digital Missioner at the Center for the Ministry of Teaching at Virginia Theological Seminary. She focuses on digital outreach, resources and training for thoughtful, innovative Christian formation for all ages. 

C01: Best Practices for Hybrid Faith Formation 
Kyle Oliver will introduce hybrid faith formation and share case studies and best practices from the CMT’s Hybrid Faith Formation learning cohorts. If you’re looking to “flip” your faith formation classroom or otherwise combine in-person gatherings with online/at-home faith practices, this is the workshop for you.

C02: Fundamentals of Digital Video: Telling the Story in 3 Minutes or Less
Using digital video on parish websites, social media feeds and the Episcopal Asset Map, is integral to evangelism in the 21^st century. Congregations with a “welcome” video, or short videos highlighting prayer, service and community, often motivate seekers to visit with just the click of a button. This workshop will help you make choices about video/sound equipment and platforms for editing and storage. We will review editing “best practices” and see examples of videos that successfully tell the story. If you’re new at this or if you’ve got skills to share, we will all learn something new together! Victoria Ix is the Communications Director/Missioner for the Diocese of Western Massachusetts.

C03: Go From Surviving to Thriving as a Digital Ministry Leader
Today's ministers, techies or not, spend much of their lives and ministry using digital tools and technologies, all which provide remarkable opportunities and unique challenges. Boundaries are hard to maintain in an always-on digital culture. Digital ministry raises important questions about our sense of call and identity: How do I remain authentically me in ministry online and face-to-face? Who are souls that are in my care—just my congregation or my online followers and friends as well? Does learning how to do video editing count as continuing ed? How should we balance and blend our day jobs and our digital projects that sometimes seem more fun? How do we communicate the purpose and value of our digital work to our congregational leaders?  And how do we keep up with it all? The Rev. Keith Anderson has been juggling his full-time parish ministry with blogging, writing, YouTubing, and digitally collaborating with colleagues near and far for the past ten years and offera insights and practical suggestions he has gained for surviving and thriving in these digital times.

Register Now! REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS MARCH 1, 2017.