Sacred Space Conference Presenters
The Sacred Space Conference will feature workshops led by theologians, architects, strategic planners, historical preservationists, and many more. Featured presenters include:
Ed Bahler
Ed Bahler is president and CEO of the Aspen Group. Bahler has a passion to impact lives. He believes that we are called to multiply our talents in building the Kingdom. A graduate of Purdue University’s engineering school, he is involved at a national level to develop tools and resources to deliver planning, leadership, finance, architectural and construction expertise to churches.
Glen Bell
Glen Bell is the pastor of Faith Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, which completed a new worship space four years ago. A native of North Carolina, Bell received his Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in Virginia and his Doctor of Ministry from McCormick Theological Seminary. He has served churches both rural and suburban during his seventeen years of ministry, and in his free time enjoys reading, writing, and racquetball.
Keith Crouch
Keith Crouch is the director of the Church Facilities Center of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. He has conducted more than 2,000 individualized church architecture consultations. Crouch has nine years of experience with commercial architectural firms, specializing in religious architecture. A graduate of University of Texas in achitecture and environmental design, Crouch is a lecturer, workshop leader, teacher, and consultant.
Nancy DeMott
Dr. Nancy DeMott manages the resource discovery process for the Indianapolis Center, serves on the Congregational Resource Guide Team, and is a resource consultant to congregations. DeMott is an American Baptist Christian educator and pastor. For 15 years she served two Indiana churches as director of Christian Education. She was the founding director of the Jubilee Resource Center, an ecumenical ministry, in the Lafayette area. DeMott graduated from Eastern College and Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary and received a doctorate in instructional research and development from Purdue University.
Gary Duncan
Rev. Gary Duncan serves as minister of worship and arts and is art director of the Center for Spirituality and the Arts at Saint Andrew Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Olathe, Kansas. He is also a graphic designer at the Kansas City Star. Rev. Duncan received a B.S.B.A. from Missouri Western State College, a Master of Divinity degree from St. Paul School of Theology and is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He has created worship spaces in school gymnasiums for St. Andrew and has led workshops on sacred space and served as a consultant with other churches in the mid-west regarding their worship spaces.
Kevin Ford
Kevin Ford is the chief visionary officer and managing partner and a co-founder of the consulting organization TAG. His expertise includes strategic planning, organizational development, market research, public speaking, and leadership development. Recently, Ford received the National Leadership Award (awarded by a U.S. congressional committee) and he served as the Honorary Chairman of the Business Advisory Council for Virginia in 2002. He is the co-author of The Thing in the Bushes… Turning Organizational Blind Spots into Competitive Advantage.
Tuomi Forrest
Tuomi Forrest is associate director of Partners for Sacred Places. He oversees all of the company’s programming efforts. Previously, Forrest worked at the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia and as an architectural photographer. He received an M.A. in American Studies from the University of Virginia and a B.A. in Political Science from Haverford College.
Robert Jaeger
Robert Jaeger serves as the executive director of the Philadelphia based Partners for Sacred Places. He holds a Master's degree in preservation planning from Cornell University and an MBA from the University of Michigan. Before co-founding Partners for Sacred Places in 1989, Jaeger worked with the Philadelphia Historic Preservation Corporation as senior vice president for the Historic Religious Properties Program. He is the co-author of Sacred Places at Risk and Strategies for Stewardship and Active Use of Older and Historic Religious Properties, author of Sacred Places in Transition, and editor (from 1985 to 1989) of Inspired, a bi-monthly magazine with news and technical articles on religious property preservation.
Wanda King
Wanda King is in business development at GM Construction, Inc. She studied graphic design at Miami University of Ohio, and architectural engineering at ITT Technical Institute. With a rich background in marketing and business development, King works to develop new projects and maintain current clients for GM Construction, Inc. by identifying newly emerging market trends and potential future market sectors within the construction industry. As a distinguished public speaker, she has served as club president and public relations vice president for Toastmasters International.
Alice Mann
Alice Mann is a senior consultant, seminar leader, and author with the Alban Institute. She served for two decades in the dual roles of local pastor and nationally recognized consultant-trainer in the field of parish development, with emphasis on incorporating new members; redeveloping struggling congregations; defining judicatory roles in growth and revitalization; breaking through size plateaus; and deepening parish spirituality. Mann frequently assists churches with self-assessment, long-range planning, and the development of context-sensitive strategies for growth.
Micah Marty
Micah Marty is a photographer specializing in the depiction of sacred spaces. He has photographed in hundreds of churches, chapels, and cathedrals in the U.S. and abroad and has published four books of photographs, including two that specifically feature sacred spaces, Our Hope for Years to Come and When True Simplicity Is Gained. His photographs of sacred spaces have also appeared in books on religion and culture, books on historic American churches, and in a hymnal. Marty’s photography continues to focus on the relationship between built structures, nature, and the sacred. He is currently working on a project exploring desert spirituality and on a long-term architectural study of European churches.
Richard Mouw
Dr. Richard J. Mouw has served as president of Fuller Theological Seminary since 1993. A philosopher, scholar, and author, Mouw joined the faculty of Fuller Theological Seminary as professor of Christian philosophy and ethics in September 1985. An author, editor and graduate of Houghton College, Mouw studied at Western Theological Seminary and earned a master’s degree in philosophy at the University of Alberta. His PhD in philosophy is from the University of Chicago.
Craig Mullins
Craig Mullins is president and CEO of Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf Architects. A graduate of Ball State University, Mullins has practiced in several offices in Indiana and Connecticut, as well as serving as professor of architecture at Ball State for two years after graduation. His leadership extends from serving as president and CEO of the firm to project leadership, and to director of the overall marketing strategy for the company.
Susan Nienaber
Susan Nienaber is a senior consultant with the Alban Institute. As a parish pastor, hospital chaplain, marriage and family therapist, and mediator, she has walked with hundreds of people through the most difficult moments of their lives. As a congregational consultant, she also has traveled difficult journeys with congregations in conflict, helped them find ways to manage that conflict and move toward places of health and hope.
Jon Pahl
Dr. Jon Pahl is a professor at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. He joined the staff in Fall, 2000, after serving for 12 years on the faculty of the Theology Department at Valparaiso University. He teaches the introductory courses in "American Religions" and "Lutherans in America," along with courses on "Violence and Religion and Sacred Places." His most recent book is Youth Ministry in Modern America: 1930-the Present.
Tim Shapiro
Tim Shapiro is the Indianapolis Center's president. He comes to the Center after 18 years in pastoral ministry. For 14 years, Tim served Westminster Presbyterian Church in Xenia, Ohio. He's an Indianapolis native and North Central High School graduate. He holds degrees from Purdue University and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Tim has served as Alumni-in-Residence at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, a commissioner at the Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly, and studied family systems theory under Edwin Friedman.
Richard Vosko
Dr. Richard Stephen Vosko is a priest and a consultant whose renovations and new church projects are continually recognized for liturgical and design excellence. He is a speaker and author and an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects. In 2003 he received the Georgetown Center for Liturgy Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Liturgical Life of the American Church.
Lee White
Lee White is the vice president at Mainscape, a national landscape management company headquartered in Fishers, Indiana. A native Hoosier, White is a member of Barnes United Methodist Church, where he serves as the Building Committee chair. He is happily married with 3 kids. White and the members of Barnes UMC Building Committee are currently in the final stages of planning for a $1.5 million dollar Family Life Center expansion. The congregation at Barnes is still celebrating their selection as a sacred space grant recipient from the Center for Congregations.
Ron Wolfson
Dr. Ron Wolfson is a visionary educator and pioneer in the field of Jewish family education. Ron authored The Art of Jewish Living series of books and was the founding director of the Whizin Institute for Jewish Family Education at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. Over the years, he has visited hundreds of synagogues across North America as a consultant, teacher, and scholar in residence widely recognized for his passionate, insightful and often humorous presentations. His enthusiasm for bringing faith alive in homes and synagogues has shaped his work in the community.