In “Transforming Congregational Conflict” you’ll hear from lay leaders – and a clergyperson – who explore ways to navigate through conflict. Both Biblical and practical options are shared, as well as immediate and longer-term approaches for dealing with congregational conflict. No church is alone in journeying through difficult times, learn more about how God can use conflict to deepen and strengthen a faith community. “Transforming Congregational Conflict” is produced by Metropolitan Community Church of the Lehigh Valley in Bethlehem, PA USA.
Dealing Effectively with Antagonists in Your Church (Metropolitan Community Churches)
Dealing effectively with antagonists requires knowledge and courage. This webinar will provide the knowledge and help you grow in your understanding of how to prevail over antagonism. You will learn how to identify and eliminate antagonism in your church, and how to recognize the difference between healthy and destructive conflict.
This webinar is led by Rev. Dr. Lea Brown and Sarah-Helen Land. Ordained in 1996, Lea has served as a pastor in MCC for the past 12 years and has been the Senior Pastor at MCC of the Palm Beaches since 2011. Sarah-Helen Land is a voice teacher and performer who also has 10 years of experience in social work with severely emotionally disturbed individuals. After eight years as a clergy family together in MCC, they have learned the hard way that knowledge and understanding of antagonism is essential for survival, effectiveness and joy in ministry.
Recommended reading: Antagonists in the Church, by Kenneth C. Haugk
MCC Board Training Manual (Metropolitan Community Churches)
This free webinar will provide an overview of the manual, some suggestions for using the manual, and testimonies from pastors who have utilized parts of the manual in Board Training.
Watch the video here
Leading Innovation for Congregational Leaders: Innovative and Adaptive Leadership (Metropolitan Community Churches)
In order to help equip and resource MCC’s LEAD participants, and other leaders, the Office of Formation and Leadership Development partnered with the Office of Church and Ministry Development to present a webinar to listen and learn together about how to support innovative and adaptive leadership for our congregations. In this on-demand webinar you can explore questions related to:
- What is innovation and why might it be important in our ministries?
- What kinds of innovators are there and which are we?
- What does it mean for us if we take a risk and fail?
- How can we find spiritual support and support from one another in innovation?
The webinar was held on September 19, 2017 and was presented by Rev. Pressley Sutherland, Rev. Lisa Heilig, and Rev. Dr. Kharma Amos.
Protecting Your Church from Fraud in a Digital World (Metropolitan Community Churches)
Watch the “Protecting Your Church from Fraud in a Digital World” webinar!
Sex, Bodies, Spirit (Metropolitan Community Churches) – Sacred, Not Secret (Part 4): Non-Monogamy
This is part of an ongoing informational and discussion series by Metropolitan Community Churches that advance this topic among clergy and churches from any denomination. All are invited to attend!
Rev. Dr. Robin Gorsline and Malachi Grennell are the authors of an exciting blog about sex, bodies, and spirit (sexbodiessspirit.net), and they are bringing their passion and expertise to a monthly gathering on Adobe Connect that will address issues of sex and spirit, in order to further advance this concern and educate all of us around the ongoing need for our churches.
Watch Sacred, Not Secret (Part 4): Non-Monogamy
MCC Pastoral Search Process (Metropolitan Community Churches)
Clergy Renewal/Sabbatical Webinar (Metropolitan Community Churches)
This on-demand webinar discussed renewal leaves that are both self- or church- funded, as well as the Clergy Renewal Grant program through the Lilly Foundation. Questions were received and responded to during the webinar.
PANEL:
Convener: (Rev. Joe Cobb)
Reverend Joe Cobb is Pastor of MCC of the Blue Ridge in Roanoke, Virginia, having served since 2009. In anticipation of my fifth year in ministry we began exploring options for a sabbatical and decided to apply for the Clergy Renewal Grant through the Lilly Foundation. We were awarded this grant on our second application, and it allowed for funds to underwrite my renewal leave and the church’s renewal activities while I was away. My adventure took me to the Camino Frances’ (The Way of St. James or Santiago de Compostela), to Italy (for explorations in the heart of St. Peter’s Square, a week of cooking Italian food, and Northern Italy where we spent time in Assisi), and to Taos (an enchanted and deeply spiritual place for soul-centering.)
Rev. Terri Echelbarger
Rev. Terri Echelbarger is the Founding Pastor of Many Journeys MCC in San Mateo, CA. The Board of Directors implemented a sabbatical plan with their first budget and her first contract. She’ll reflect on how that sabbatical time has enriched not just her ministry but the church as a whole.
Rev. Tom Emmett
Originally from Colorado, Pastor Tom Emmett has been with MCC Omaha for over 10 years and is preparing for his second sabbatical. He loves the mountains, traveling to central Mexico, the Spanish language, isolating retreats, books, history and playing the cello. (All of these interests are integrated in his sabbaticals.) Having both written a successful grant to the Lilly Endowment as well as working with his Congregation to fund his upcoming sabbatical, Tom is pleased to share his insights about the sabbatical experience. A good sabbatical offers possibilities not only for clergy, but for the Congregation. Intensive and intuitive planning are critical as is the integration of experiences and learnings.
Rev. Lori Hatch-Rivera
Rev. Lori Hatch-Rivera has been the Senior Pastor of MCC of the Spirit in Harrisburg, PA for 6 years. Prior, she served as the Associate Pastor of Administration at SunCoast Cathedral MCC in Venice, Florida for 6 ½ years. She currently attends Lancaster Theological Seminary where she is working on a DMIN degree, the project focused on Pastoral Care in our own voice for the LGBTQ community.
View this on-demand recording at https://vimeo.com/mccchurch/review/223826934/f3b0522854
Sex, Bodies, Spirit (Metropolitan Community Churches) – Sacred, Not Secret (Part 3): Beyond the Norm (Kink/BDSM)
This is part of an ongoing informational and discussion series by Metropolitan Community Churches that advance this topic among clergy and churches from any denomination. All are invited to attend!
Rev. Dr. Robin Gorsline and Malachi Grennell are the authors of an exciting blog about sex, bodies, and spirit (sexbodiessspirit.net), and they are bringing their passion and expertise to a monthly gathering on Adobe Connect that will address issues of sex and spirit, in order to further advance this concern and educate all of us around the ongoing need for our churches.
Watch Sacred, Not Secret (Part 3): Beyond the Norm (Kink/BDSM)
The Moral Imperative of Climate Change (Metropolitan Community Church)
The study of climate change is developing very quickly. Significant new information is coming out—literally—every day. This on-demand webinar explains the basics, but it also mixes in some new information to help to provide viewers with an understanding of the world and our future.
Watch this on-demand webinar now!
Presenter: Dr. Stephen Mitchell Wagener
Dr. Mitch Wagener teaches climate ecology, entomology, and related courses at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury. His research interests include the impact of historical events—such as the Industrial Revolution—on the environment.
Mitch began life in the Midwest, growing up a barefoot boy in the Ozarks and attending high school in Branson, Missouri—before it became so famous. After graduating from the University of Missouri with a degree in Fisheries and Wildlife, he moved to Fairbanks, Alaska to attend graduate school. Mitch received a masters degree in Stream Ecology and a doctorate in Soil Ecology during his 13 years in Alaska. There, too, he met the lovely Rita Kabali, a native of Uganda, East Africa, to whom he has now been married 33 years. They have two lively daughters, Rohanna 27 (a history teacher in an inner-city middle school) and Danika 19 (a student at Ithaca College). Mitch enjoys—among other things—watching his daughter play lacrosse and explaining climate change to the public.
Ph.D. Soil Ecology. August 1995. University of Alaska Fairbanks.
M.S. Stream Ecology. December, 1984. University of Alaska Fairbanks.
B.S. cum laude. Fisheries and Wildlife. May, 1981. University of Missouri, Columbia.
