Saturday Morning:

1M.Vocational Resilience for Lay and Ordained Leaders – Building on the keynote address, the workshop will explore on a personal level what is needed in order to lead in a post-Christian world. The focus will be vocational resilience for lay and ordained leaders. Led by The Rev. Gay Jennings.

2M. Building Connections - Adult Spiritual Formation – Being connected to God and others is a basic human urge and need.  How can the adult spiritual formation offerings of the local parish help to build connections between people, between people and God, and between people and the stories of scripture and tradition?  This workshop will explore the theme of connections and how the church can help adults mature in their faith formation.  Each person will write a case statement for their church's adult programs and design some classes to support that vision. Led by our Convocation Guest Presenter Carolyn Moomaw Chilton.

3M. Can These Bones Live? - Worshiping with Song and Spirit– Explore ways to fully engage the creative spirit and song of your congregation. Offering ideas and methods that can be used in every congregation, Dent Davidson will help us imagine and learn an approach for helping to breathe new life into liturgy for any Sunday. Especially for musicians, choir directors and members, clergy, and others who are looking for inspiration and ideas for Sunday morning music. Led by Dent Davidson, Associate for Liturgy and the Arts in the Diocese of Chicago, and our convocation Worship Leader and musician.

Saturday Afternoon:

1A. Vestry 101— Led by our bishop, The Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth, this workshop will look at the specific role of the vestry as congregational leaders. Intended for new and current vestry members, Bishop Hollingsworth will lead discussion about how to balance the responsibilities of effectively managing the church while also working in partnership with clergy to develop and communicate vision, mission, and developing faith.

2A. A Spirituality of Time – How do you understand time? As something to be managed? As something that we don't have enough of? What if we could see it more often as a gift from our loving Creator that is to be received and not managed? This workshop will look at the gift of time, its rhythms and how it can be a source of energy in our lives. A concept of personal time management will be presented based on the Rule of St. Benedict. Led by our Convocation Guest Presenter Carolyn Moomaw Chilton.

3A. Breathing Fresh Life into Morning Prayer Liturgy and Music – Led by Dent Davidson, our convocation Worship Leader and musician, this will be an experiential workshop much like his morning workshop but specifically focused on Sunday services of Morning Prayer. If you plan, lead, or simply enjoy corporate Morning Prayer in your church, this workshop will offer fresh ideas, music, and resources to help you do that more creatively without losing the essential nature of the service.

4A. Five Essential Elements of Congregational Renewal – Not a quick-fix or a one-size-fits-all approach, this workshop will examine and discuss five essential aspects of sustainable congregational renewal and growth. Led by The Rev. Brad Purdom, Canon for Congregations, participants will take a spiritual and practical look at each element and how they work together to create a culture that supports vibrancy and renewal. You will leave with a full set of notes and a list of recommended resources you can use to take this discussion back into your congregation.    

5A. Healthy People, Healthy Church –Too often in leadership and in life, we are focused on what needs to be done, and do not take the time to ensure that we are balanced in body mind and spirit. This workshop will explore how to recognize when we are out of balance, how to implement a plan for ourselves, and how to mentor others. Presented by our guest from the Diocese of Chicago, Maryfran Crist APN, FCN; Family Nurse Practitioner/ Faith Community Nurse; and Episcopal Church Province V Representative for Health Ministry.

6A.Leading a Successful Renovation in a Smaller Church – With average attendance in the mid-70’s, New Life Church/Uniontown felt called to a significant building renovation project. This is a chance to hear and discuss what they did, how they did it, what benefit it is having, and what they learned in the process. The workshop will be led by lay leaders of New Life and their rector, The Rev. Pat Hanen.

7A. Intentional Community – The Rise of New Monasticism in the Church – Particularly among young adults, there is a movement in the church to live in Intentional Community: a communal living arrangement of people seeking to live in ways totally committed to God. There are two such communities right here in our own diocese and increasing numbers of others around the world. In this workshop members of the Episcopal Service Corps will discuss the spirituality of Intentional Community, their experiences of this kind of living, and why they believe it is growing as a Christian movement.

8A.A Small Congregation with a Big Outreach – Come hear from Christ Church/Geneva: a congregation averaging 43 each Sunday with several significant outreach programs including a VBS that attracts more than 100 children every year. Find out how they do some of their ministries (esp. VBS) and also how a congregation of that size with very part time clergy keeps the ministries going year after year.

9A. Make Planned Giving Work for Your Congregation - This workshop will help parishes Inspire generosity and build stronger futures through ongoing bequests and planned giving programs. Each participating parish will receive a notebook of planned giving materials to use and reproduce as needed. Additionally participants may purchase for $15, Funding Future Ministry, a comprehensive planned giving publication by the Episcopal Church Foundation. Led by Lael Carter, diocesan Development Officer.

10A.Using Camp and Retreat Ministry to help Develop Parish Ministries - Our vision for camp and retreat ministry includes developing and enhancing our parishes' own ministries. It especially should connect spiritual growth with mission-based ministry development. This workshop will explain in more detail the concept plan presented at Diocesan Convention, as well as explore various programs that might build these ministries. In turn, we want to learn more from you about the type of programming that you would like to experience, using that feedback to enhance the design of a new center. Led by Katie Ong-Landini, Consultant for Camp and Retreat Ministry.

11A.Stewardship 101 – The three ingredients to a successful stewardship campaign are: basic mechanics, sound theology, and good peer support. Come join The Rev. Alan James, Canon to the Ordinary, and the Rev. Evelyn Mansell, chair of the Parochial Stewardship Network to set your parish on the course for a deeper, stronger, and more fruitful stewardship ministry.

12A Fearless Finances – Led by Sue Leishman, Chief Financial Officer for the diocese, this is a “Best Practices” workshop especially for parish treasurers and others working in parish finances. Sue will work through a number of important areas but will also have time for your questions.

14A. Commission for Global and Domestic Mission - Things are a happening – come hear stories about recent diocesan trips to our mission partners in Belize and Tanzania and the plans for summer exchanges in both countries. Come envision with us about how we can strengthen our churches through empowering these mission relationships.  The Commission for Global and Domestic Mission would also like to hear about mission work in your parish, and how CGDM can help

15A. Is there an app for creating Racial Understanding in our Church? - Members of the Commission for Racial Understanding. Do the people in your parish’s pews look like the folks who live in your church’s immediate neighborhood?  If not, how can we more effectively share  our story—God’s story—with those who do not resemble us? Are you in an geographic context where only racial majority folks live? What might your parish have to say about God’s abundant diversity? Join members of the Commission for Racial Understanding as we unpack some of the complexities of race, privilege, and what we as the Episcopal Church in Northern Ohio might do to deal honestly and prayerfully with our situation, and respond to God’s invitation to work for a more just society.