The Power of Forgiveness
Monday, March 26, Indianapolis
Over the last 20 years forgiveness has come into its own as an area of academic study. Researchers are examining the psychological and physical effects of forgiveness on individuals and within relationships under a wide variety of conditions, ranging from petty insults to sexual assault. Clinicians have developed interventions that guide people through a process that allows them to forgive transgressions and get on with their lives. Many congregations seek to support members in their practice of forgiveness.
The Indianapolis Center for Congregations presents a special screening of The Power of Forgiveness produced by Journey Films at 7 p.m. Monday, March 26, at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 W. 86th St. The screening includes a panel-guided conversation with the film’s director Martin Doblmeier.
The Power of Forgiveness features character-driven stories of transgressions, allowing us to examine the role that forgiveness can play an alleviating anger and grief and the physical, mental and spiritual benefits that come with forgiveness. The film also looks at what many of the world's religions teach about forgiveness.
The Center for Congregations presents this viewing of The Power of Forgiveness as a way to introduce this unique resource to area congregations. This film may be of special interest to clergy, pastoral counselors, family life ministers, and lay leaders interested in religious education and theological reflection.
Journey Films was founded in 1983, by Doblmeier, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, as a television and film production company specializing in spirituality, history and social issues. Journey's documentaries have won numerous awards and have aired on PBS, ABC, NBC, the BBC, The History Channel and other networks in the United States and abroad. Journey's first theatrical release, Bonhoeffer, opened in cities across the US and internationally to wide critical acclaim.
This viewing is free and open to the public. No registration is necessary. If you have questions, please contact the Center at 317-237-7799 or Tim Shapiro at tshapiro@centerforcongregations.org.
Children and Prayer
T. Wyatt Watkins
Thursday, March 29, Fort Wayne
We can learn a lot about prayer from our children. From thanksgiving to wild wonder to observations and utterances of social conscience, kids’ prayer is different from adult prayer. Wyatt Watkins will lead participants in exploring how parents and congregations can become more effective “stewards of the spirit” with their children. Watkins will discuss strategies for congregations, parents, and anyone engaged with children and youth in spiritual practice, along with opportunities for reflection and conversation.
Participants will look at prayer as conversation; inviting imagination and wonder; settings for prayer; the body language of prayer; the practice of silence; spiritual disciplines with older youth; and a “child’s theology” of prayer.
Wyatt Watkins is an author, musician and pastor of Cumberland First Baptist Church. He wrote for the Baptist Center for Ethics and has published three books, What Our Kids Teach Us About Prayer; Gospel, Grits, and Grace: Encountering the Holy in the Ridiculous, Sublime, and Unexpected; and How Sweet the Sound: Stories Inspired by the Hymns We Love.
Children and Prayer is 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday, March 29, at First Christian Church, 4800 S. Calhoun St., Fort Wayne. The cost is $15, which includes lunch and a copy of Watkins' book What Our Kids Teach Us About Prayer. To register, click below or call the Center at 260-435-1880. Registrations made by March 23 guarantee lunch and a copy of Watkins' book.
Faith, Money, and Giving
William Enright
Mondays, April 30, May 7, 14 & 21, Indianapolis
As stewardship and finance issues continue to be areas of interest to congregations, the Center offers opportunities to explore these topics. Congregations are invited to a workshop series this Spring and Fall to discuss faith, money, and giving.
Clergy will meet 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Mondays from April 30 to May 21 to look at a wide range of issues, including current trends in religious giving, the history of financing religion in America and rituals of giving. While the workshop touches on topics directly related to fundraising techniques and stewardship drives, the conversations will go much deeper, revealing the multifaceted dynamics of faith and giving. In the Fall, teams of lay leaders from these congregations will meet on three consecutive Monday evenings to investigate these same issues.
William Enright leads the workshop series. He is executive director of the Lake Family Institute on Faith and Giving at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University and former senior pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis. He has authored several books, and he lectures at numerous colleges, universities and theological institutions.
Faith, Money, and Giving is 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Mondays, April 30 and May 7, 14, and 21, at the Indianapolis Center for Congregations, 303 N. Alabama St. The workshop series is free. Registration is required. The workshop is limited to 10 congregations. To inquire or register, contact Tim Shapiro at tshapiro@centerforcongregations.org or 317-237-7799.
Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times
Peter Steinke
Thursday, May 3, Jeffersonville
Friday, May 4, Fort Wayne
Congregational leaders today need to be both calm and courageous. Because they have more influence than any other group over the path a congregation takes, leaders must have command of their own anxiety and must not let others’ anxieties contaminate them.
This workshop will help leaders to maintain the course, unearth secrets, resist sabotage, overcome timidity and doubts and withstand fury. Peter Steinke’s insights, illustrations, and provocations will carry leaders through difficult times, provide clarity when life becomes confusing, and uplift them in joyous moments. Anxious times hold not only the potential for destruction but also for creation, important learning and changes that will strengthen the congregation. Steinke draws on his own unique understanding of the Bowen Theory -- an understanding of what happens when people come together and interact, how they mutually influence behaviors, how change in one person affects another, and how they create something larger than themselves. This workshop includes various methods of interaction with participants, including video and discussion.
Steinke is an internationally respected congregational systems consultant. He has also served as a parish pastor, an educator and a therapist for clergy. Steinke is the author of the best-selling books How Your Church Family Works, Healthy Congregations and Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times.
This workshop is 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday, May 3, at First Christian Church, 3209 Middle Road in Jeffersonville, and Friday, May 4, at Northeast Christian Church, 4900 Stellhorn Road, Fort Wayne. The cost is $30 ($25 per person for teams of five or more), which includes lunch and a copy of Steinke’s book Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times. To register, click below or contact the Center at info@centerforcongregations.org . If you are in the Fort Wayne area, call 260-435-1880. Central Indiana congregations can call the Indianapolis office at 317-237-7799. Southern Indiana congregations can call 866-307-2381. Registrations made by April 27 guarantee lunch and a copy of Steinke’s book.
Jeffersonville workshop!
Fort Wayne workshop!
Building a Neighborhood Together
Hedda Sharapan
Tuesday & Wednesday, May 8 & 9, Indianapolis
On May 8 and 9, Hedda Sharapan leads Building a Neighborhood Together. Glue, paint and cardboard boxes can facilitate sharing, conversation and caring as participants work together to create the ideal neighborhood. Sharapan, associate producer with Family Communications and “ambassador” for Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, leads participants through the rich and varied process of being good neighbors.
The workshop is 6:00-9:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 8, and 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 9, at Faith Presbyterian Church, 8170 Hague Road. Tuesday evening’s workshop session focuses on Building a Neighborhood—Inside Out. Sharapan will share Fred Rogers’ background and philosophy and discuss the challenges and inspiration found in the concept of “loving your neighbor as yourself.”
On Wednesday, Sharapan will teach participants how to facilitate their own Neighborhood Build, including organization, conversation, materials, introduction activities, publicity and different versions of the Neighborhood Build. This session is a hands-on Neighborhood Build activity — participants will work together to create the ideal neighborhood out of boxes, ribbons, glue, paint and other materials.
The cost of the workshop is $35 for both sessions; $10 for the Tuesday evening session only; $30 for the Wednesday session only. Dinner on Tuesday, lunch on Wednesday and workshop materials are included. Registrations should be made by May 1. This event is particularly helpful to educators and those responsible for leading family ministries in congregations. To register, click below or contact the Center at 317-237-7799 or info@centerforcongregations.org.
Raising the Roof
Alice Mann
Wednesday & Thursday, September 19 & 20, Fort Wayne
While leading your congregation from pastoral size to program size can be challenging, it is also a joyful opportunity for learning and for taking positive steps forward. Senior Alban Institute consultant Alice Mann addresses the complexities of size transition and offers processes and resources for moving ahead.
Mann conceptualized and developed the size transition process for congregations moving through the most challenging of transitions – from pastoral (congregations of about 50-150 attendees with programs and care largely the responsibility of the pastor) to program (congregations of 150-400 with a large variety of programs operated by key leaders). This workshop will focus on all issues related to this demanding size transition, such as preparing the board and members, selecting the person to guide the learning process, recruiting the learning team, and creating and celebrating a plan for congregational learning and action.
Before joining the staff of the Alban Institute, Mann served for two decades in the dual roles of local pastor and nationally recognized consultant-trainer in the field of parish development. She frequently assists congregations with self-assessment, long-range planning, and the development of context-sensitive strategies for growth. In training workshops and planning retreats, Mann engages large and small groups in practical learning and candid conversation about the choices congregational leaders face today. She is the author of Raising the Roof: The Pastoral-to-Program Size Transition.
Raising the Roof is 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, September 19-20, in Fort Wayne. Location information will be available soon. The cost is $40 a person ($35 for congregational teams of five or more). This includes meals and workshop materials, including Mann’s book, Raising the Roof. To register, click below or contact the Center at 260-435-1880.
