2016 Ohio Conference Annual Gathering
Inspiring Stories
Registration deadline:  Thursday, May 26

                     

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Friday Afternoon Workshops

Session 1:  1:00 - 2:30 pm
Session 2:  3:00 - 4:30 pm
Both workshops will be presented at both sessions. 

Faith Formation that Transforms Your Church
Leaders: Rev. Ivy Beckwith, Faith Formation Team Leader, United Church of Christ
Rev. Nicole Havelka; Minister for Resourcing, Networking and Creativity; Ohio Conference UCC

You might remember fondly youth groups, engaging Sunday school classes, mission trips and confirmation. Now, you might be confronted with dwindling energy for and numbers in these “traditional” programs. The good news is that researchers and writers have been contemplating these challenge for decades and have landed on an even older guiding principle —  the relationships young people form with other adults and parents are far more important than program design and curriculum.

In this workshop, Ivy Beckwith and Nicole Havelka will give you some basic principles by which to create faith formation practices in your church that transform not only your ministry with children, youth and families, but help to transform your whole church into fertile soil for growing a lifelong faith for all ages.
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The Rev. Dr. Ivy Beckwith is the Faith Formation Minister and Team Leader for the national setting of the United Church of Christ. She is an internationally known speaker and writer on the topic of faith formation.  Rev. Beckwith has served churches on the East Coast and in the Midwest and spent some time in curriculum and book publishing. She lives in Westlake, Ohio with her Cairn Terrier, Lola, and her cat, Maris. 

 

The Rev. Nicole Havelka comes to the Ohio Conference with a history of making space for creativity and innovation in the wider church. She served first as the Associate Conference Minister for Youth and Young Adult Ministries in the Iowa Conference UCC. Most recently she served as an Area Minister in the Michi-gan Conference. While in that role, she also worked as a coach and trainer specializing in youth ministry for the Center for Progressive Renewal, as an associate consultant with Vibrant Faith Ministries and as the Minister for Digital Programs with Extravagance UCC (an online ministry based in the Ohio Conference).

In her “spare time,” Nicole does yoga, cooks for friends and watches as many Oscar-nominated movies as possible. She recently took up the hobby of training for and competing in triathlons.

Practicing Discernment Together
Leader:  Rev. Kathy Clark; Minister for Members in Discernment; Ministerial Excellence, Support and Authorization (MESA) Ministry Team; Local Church Ministries, United Church of Christ

Discernment is a way of living life thoughtfully and faithfully — the Christian practice of seeking God’s call in the midst of decisions that mark an individual’s or community’s life. This practice of discernment can be used in so many ways in the life of a local church or specialized ministry. In this workshop, we will explore tools to help us practice discernment together as we listen for and respond to God’s call in our lives. Whether we are in the meeting room, experiencing formal worship, out serving the community, sitting with someone who is ill or when we are alone in prayer or meditation, discernment empowers us our decisions to be rested in and guided by the Spirit. 

This workshop is for anyone — either lay or authorized — who seeks to employ discernment practices in local churches or specialized ministries. These practices will be especially resonant with the work of local church leaders who serve on members of discernment committees, Committee on Ministry members, Members in Discernment, authorized ministers, and mentors/advisors.

The Rev. Kathy Clark is the Minister for Members in Discernment on the Ministerial Excellence, Support and Authorization (MESA) Ministry Team of the United Church of Christ. In her position, Kathy resources Committees on Ministry for work with Members in Discernment; engages partners in researching, developing and disseminating resources on call, discernment, educational and spiritual formation for ministry; develops and oversees policies regarding authorization in the United Church of Christ; and, generally, fosters a “Culture of Call” within the UCC. Prior to joining the MESA team, Kathy was an Associate Conference Minister with the Southeast Conference, the Director of Theology Among the People, and the founder of PATHWAYS: Transformative Theological Education for a Changing World. She was also involved on the national level with authoring and implementing the 2005 General Synod Pronouncement, “Ministry Issues: Forming and Preparing Pastoral Leaders for God’s Church.” Kathy holds master degrees in Adult Education from the University of Georgia and in Divinity from the Candler School of Theology of Emory University. She is the mother of four grown children and grandmother of nine “amazing” grandchildren. Kathy resides in Cleveland, where she enjoys spending quality time in local coffee shops and book stores. 

 

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