{"id":1417,"date":"2019-01-29T11:10:08","date_gmt":"2019-01-29T16:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.charlottesvillemennonite.org\/?p=1417"},"modified":"2019-01-29T11:10:59","modified_gmt":"2019-01-29T16:10:59","slug":"1417-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.charlottesvillemennonite.org\/?p=1417","title":{"rendered":"Among \u2018stormy seas of change,\u2019 School for Leadership Training celebrates 50 years of supporting ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Approximately 200 pastors, ministers and laity attended the 50th annual School for Leadership Training<\/a> Jan. 14-16 at Eastern Mennonite Seminary. Funded by the seminary\u2019s Lilly Foundation \u201cThriving in Ministry\u201d grant<\/a>, the three-day event included workshops, seminars, worship and fellowship opportunities focused on serving in challenging times of \u201cpolitical upheaval and national divisions\u201d in the country and \u201ctheological debates in our denominations, congregations and families,\u201d said Brenda Martin Hurst<\/strong>, Lilly Grant director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participants came from 13 states and two countries, and represented nine denominations, including Mennonite, Quaker, Church of the Brethren, Disciples of Christ, Church of God of Christ, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian and United Church of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hurst and the planning committee selected Mark 4:35-41 as the guiding scripture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNavigating these times as followers of Jesus and church leaders does feel like charting unknown waters in a choppy and stormy sea,\u201d Hurst said in her welcome. \u201cThe biblical story found in Mark 4 of the disciples crossing the story sea with Jesus seemed appropriate for our repeated hearing and reflection over these days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maren Tyedmers Hange<\/strong>, co-pastor of Charlottesville Mennonite Church, painted a special piece of art, featuring an empty boat floating in storm-swept seas, for contemplation. The boat is \u201cintentionally empty as a invitation to join Jesus there,\u201d said Veva Mumaw<\/strong>, seminary admissions director and member of the planning committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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John Pavlovitz, a keynote speaker during 2019 SLT, addresses attendees in Martin Chapel. (Photo by Andrew Strack)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Expanded worship opportunities throughout the three days led the gathered through interpretation and reflection on the scripture passage. Keynote addresses were provided by David Evans,<\/strong> associate professor of history and intercultural studies and the director of cross cultural programs at Eastern Mennonite Seminary; Sue Park-Hur<\/strong>, denominational minister for leadership development and transformative peacemaking for Mennonite Church USA; and John Pavlovitz<\/strong>, author and Methodist pastor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pavlovitz provided three keynotes, addressing parts of the scripture each day. A pastor for two decades, writer and activist from Wake Forest, North Carolina, Pavlovitz blogs about Stuff That Needs To Be Said<\/a>. His books include A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community<\/em> (Westminster John Knox Press, 2017) and HOPE and Other Superpowers: A Life-Affirming, Love-Defending, Butt-Kicking, World-Saving Manifesto<\/em> (Simon & Schuster, 2018).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an \u201cupsidedown world\u201d that corrodes hope and faith, followers of Christ \u2013 seeking to embody the compassion modeled by Jesus, \u201cto intercede on the behalf of people in need\u201d \u2013 often feel anger and disillusionment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have the eyes of Jesus and the heart of Jesus that moves you towards people who no one else knows, who everyone else avoids, who no one else hears,\u201d Pavlovitz said. The \u201ccollateral damage\u201d of moving with empathy towards those has to be acknowledged, but at the same time, the movement is the heart of the Gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMuslim bans, health care repeals, ICE raids, Nazis in the street, debating the value of a black life,\u201d he said, \u201cI feel completely inverted spiritually. I feel profoundly disoriented as a Christian\u2026but disorientation means your faculties are intact, your mind is right, your heart is working properly, and your soul is keeping you human in profoundly inhuman times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Victor Gomez, superintendent of the Harrisonburg District of the United Methodist Church, presents a workshop during SLT. (Photo by Andrew Strack)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pavlovitz suggested that the challenge for ministers and people of faith is \u201chow to take that natural anger and channel it in to something redemptive and constructive \u2026 Can we find a transcendent Jesus? \u2026 Can we create a community where the full Jesus can be on display? I think we can. We have to embrace the activist, compassionate heart of Jesus with people who we would not otherwise be with, in places we would not think to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acknowledgements<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In addition to Brenda Martin Hurst <\/strong>and Veva Mumaw<\/strong>, the planning committee included Dale Detweiler<\/strong>, pastor, Birch Grove Mennonite Church, Port Allegany, Pennsylvania; Peggy Packard<\/strong>, pastor of Weyers Cave United Methodist Church, Weyers Cave, Virginia; Dawn Ranck-Hower<\/strong>, pastor of New Holland Mennonite Church, of New Holland, Pennsylvania; and Danilo Sanchez<\/strong>, co-pastor, Ripple-Allentown, and associate pastor, Whitehall Mennonite Church, Allentown, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The worship planning team included Perry Blosser, Maren Tyedmers Hange, Matthew Hunsberger, Robert Michalides, Veva Mumaw<\/strong> and Ryan Scarberry<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Approximately 200 pastors, ministers and laity attended the 50th annual School for Leadership Training Jan. 14-16 at Eastern Mennonite Seminary. Funded by the seminary\u2019s Lilly Foundation \u201cThriving in Ministry\u201d grant, the three-day event included workshops, seminars, worship and fellowship opportunities focused on serving in challenging times of \u201cpolitical upheaval and national divisions\u201d in the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.charlottesvillemennonite.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.charlottesvillemennonite.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.charlottesvillemennonite.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.charlottesvillemennonite.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.charlottesvillemennonite.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1417"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.charlottesvillemennonite.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1421,"href":"https:\/\/www.charlottesvillemennonite.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1417\/revisions\/1421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.charlottesvillemennonite.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.charlottesvillemennonite.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.charlottesvillemennonite.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}