Of special interest to clergy
Church Finance Reminders (from Canon Julie Price)
The deadline for annual church audits was September 1, 2006. Please remember that there were two parts to this year’s audit requirements: 1) an audit by a CPA.or an audit committee, and 2) an internal audit of church property and insurance.
Please contact Julie Price (803.771.7800, ext. 23) with questions or requests for audit forms.
Episcopal pledges for the 2007 operating year were due on December 1, 2006. If your church’s pledge is delayed, please contact Julie Price (803.771.7800, ext. 23).
Attention clergy spouses, not retired—It’s retreat planning time!
It is time to plan for the yearly retreat for “clergy spouses, not retired” . . . fun, food, food, stories (true and fabricated), laughing, and more food! We will go to Kanuga for a mountaintop experience, January 19–21. Kanuga has agreed to allow us to come on Thursday, January 18, if we wish. (The extra night fee is our responsibility.) We will have two Hendersonville massage therapists available Friday and Saturday ($55.00 for a 45-minute massage).
This year the diocese is able to help us with the cost. As soon as we have a headcount we will know the cost per person. Please send your $25.00 deposit to hold space to: Betsy Biega, 3923 DuBose Drive, Columbia, SC 29204. Make checks payable to EDUSC “for Clergy Spouse Retreat.” Please call Betsy Biega with questions: (w) 803.787.0392 or (h) 803.787.7730.
Sewanee D. Min program begins 33rd year
The Doctor of Ministry Program of the University of the South begins its 33rd year this summer. The Doctor of Ministry program is one of the few in the U.S. which operates only during the summer months. This means that clergy can participate in the program without a major interruption in their parish responsibilities. It affords an opportunity for students to study in an Episcopal seminary in a university setting.
The program stresses the relationship between the practice of ministry, and biblical, historical, and theological knowledge. A Master of Sacred Theology program focusing on research skills is also available. The program usually takes three or four summers to complete.
The D. Min. program consists of 30 semester hours. Students are required to complete a major project, which is a study of some dimension of one’s ministry or the ministry of the Church. Financial aid is available.
Anglican Heritage Tour course will be offered May 31-June 11, 2007. Instructor will be Dr. Susanna Metz. Inquiries about the Anglican Tour course should be addressed to the Programs Center, School of Theology, 335 Tennessee Avenue, Sewanee, TN, 37383-0001.
The dates for the advanced degree summer course of 2004 are June 20-July 11. Financial aid is available for the June 20-July 11 courses.
Courses offered this summer in the Advanced Degrees program will be “Ministry Seminar” by Dr. Donald Armentrout; “The Rhetoric of Jesus and the Rhetoric of Preaching” by Dr. William Brosend; “The Use of the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL)” by Dr. Reginald Fuller; and “Hymnody of the Christian Church” by Dr. Marion Hatchett..
Inquiries about the Advanced Degrees summer courses should be addressed to Don S. Armentrout, Advanced Degrees Program, School of Theology, 335 Tennessee Avenue, Sewanee, TN, 37383-0001. Telephone: 800.722.1974 for all of the above courses. The e-mail address is advdeg@sewanee.edu, and the Web site is http://theology.sewanee.edu.
Lombard Mennonite Peace Center to present workshop in Columbia
"Leadership and Anxiety in the Church” coming April 20, 2007.
The Lombard Mennonite Peace Center (LMPC) will conduct a seminar entitled “Leadership and Anxiety in the Church: A Family Systems Perspective” on April 20, 2007, at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Columbia. The seminar will be led by Richard Blackburn, LMPC executive director.
Since the publication of Dr. Edwin Friedman’s Generation to Generation, many pastors and other church leaders have become aware of Bowen family systems theory as a way of understanding congregational dynamics. Family systems theory identifies differentiation of self and anxiety as two key variables impacting human functioning. The seminar on Leadership and Anxiety in the Church looks at the challenge presented by the rising levels of anxiety being experienced in churches today, as well as the role that self-differentiated leadership can play in calming such anxiety.
The seminar is comprised of a series of PowerPoint presentations originally conceived for LMPC’s Advanced Clergy Clinic in Family Emotional Process. Works of art illustrating biblical themes from the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque eras are integrated at various points to facilitate theological reflection on the themes being presented.
Topics include The Road to Damascus: The Church and Change in an Age of Anxiety; “They Know Not What They Do”: The Scapegoat Mechanism and Church Conflict; The Importance of Not Being Ernest: Reversals, Playfulness, and Paradox; The Road to Damascus: Lessons for Leadership in Anxious Times.
The cost for this event is $79 for those who register by April 9, 2007, $99 for those who register after that date or at the door. Congregational group discounts are available. For more information and for registration brochures contact LMPC at 101 W. 22nd Avenue, Suite b 206, Lombard, Illinois, 60148, or call 630-627-0507, or send to Admin@LMPeaceCenter.org. Also, be sure to visit the Web site: www.LMPeaceCenter.org.