ROSTERED MINISTERS GATHERING
Each fall, the ministers of our synod retreat to Antiochian Village in the Laurel Highlands for education, spiritual renewal, rest, fellowship… and cornhole.
Registration is Now Closed
For questions about registration, please contract the registrar: Pastor Joel Benson at trinityalivepb@gmail.com or 724-544-3996.
Guest Speaker
Dr. Leanna K. Fuller
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Joan Marshall Associate Professor of Pastoral Care
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Leanna K. Fuller serves as the Joan Marshall Associate Professor of Pastoral Care at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, where she has taught since 2013. She holds a Ph.D. in Religion, Psychology, & Culture from Vanderbilt University, where her dissertation research focused on congregational conflict. Dr. Fuller is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and has professional experience in both chaplaincy and parish ministry. Dr. Fuller’s family includes her spouse Scott (also a UCC minister), their son Simon, and a beagle named Copper.
“Caring for Stories, Caring for Systems:
Navigating Transition in Our Common Life”
Like so many other places in our nation and our world, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod is experiencing a season of significant transition. Through the lenses of "stories" and systems," these teaching and learning sessions will equip pastoral leaders with resources for navigating change during such challenging times. The first half of our time together will engage themes of loss and grief within transition, with a focus on specific practices of listening and honoring differences as keys to coping effectively with change. The second half will take a bigger picture view, exploring what happens in systems during periods of transition, and how leaders can be most helpfully attentive to these dynamics - both within themselves and in the communities they serve.
Agenda
Monday
1- 2:15 PM : Check-In
2:30 PM: Bishop’s Address
Report from the Council of Bishops
Conversation about living into the role of bishop as an aid in discernment for our pastors
5:30 PM Dinner
6:45 Dialogue with Bishop Kuserow
8:15 PM Holy Eucharist
9 PM Fellowship
Tuesday
8 AM Morning Prayer
8:30 AM Breakfast
9:30 AM First Keynote
11:45 AM Worship
12 PM Lunch
1 PM Second Keynote
3:15 PM Free Time
Cornhole Tournament
Guided walk with Pastors Martin and Margarethe Galbraith
Indoor Board Games
Counseling and Consultation will be an available option during Free Time. Pastor David Matthews, retired Director of Counseling Services at The Lutheran Services Society and Glade Run, will be available. This provides support if you are facing a personal, family or parish issue that would benefit with reflection from another point of view. Consultation on the counseling that you are providing to parishioners is also available. Place an X by a time slot on the Sign Up sheet at the registration desk and come to the room number designated. If time at the Convo does not work for you, Pastor Matthews is available, free of charge, for short-term Counseling and Consultation at Berkeley Hills Lutheran Church in the north hills. Phone him at 412 848-2165
6 PM Appreciation Banquet
7 PM Cookies & Chorale
BYO Hymnal. Honor Bishop Kusserow’s final Convo in song.
8:30 PM Fellowship
Wednesday
8 AM Morning Prayer
8:30 AM Breakfast
9 AM Ask the Bishop
10 AM Holy Eucharist
11 AM Concludes