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Courses and Faculty Our focus will be primarily on the Form of Government section of the Book of Order with an emphasis on practical concerns for congregations and sessions. Students will have an opportunity to work through concrete situations, discovering how the Form of Government regulates our common life. -Mike Herrin has been a student of Church polity since studying the subject at Reformed Theological Seminary under Dr. Al Freundt. He was a member of the polity committee at the 215th General Assembly, and has written detailed critiques of the proposed form of government. He currently serves as the presbytery’s Stated Clerk and pastor of Port Gibson Presbyterian Church - Port Gibson, Ms A2 Our God is an Awesome God - Philip Williams Only four books in length, the Book of Ruth can be read in a mere ten minutes or less. Yet, it is timeless: God is at work when times seem bleak. He is working His purposes out. The Book of Ruth is a powerful testimony to the truth that Our God is an Awesome God. Come find out what a tremendous God we serve! Rev Philip Williams pastors the Vernal Presbyterian Church in Lucedale, MS. He attended the University of Florida and is an avid Gator fan. He graduated from Columbia Theological Seminary in 1980 and has served pastorates in Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, and North Carolina. He has been married to the love of his life, Susan for nearly 28 years and they have three children: Dorothy, Amanda, and Matthew. A3 Conquering Conflict (Part 1) -Greg Goodwiller We encounter conflict in many arenas of our lives: at home, at work, and even in the church! Come and learn a sample process that can turn destructive interactions into opportunities for personal growth and cooperation. Greg Goodwiller-An ordained PC(USA) minister, Greg is Executive Presbyter and Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of St. Andrew (north Mississippi). Prior to his current call, he served pastorates in North Carolina and Mississippi - where he was the pastor of Trinity Church in Laurel, and then First-Trinity. He works regularly as a consultant in strategic planning and conflict management, is currently Clerk of the General Assembly's Permanent Judicial Commission, and is a Registered Parliamentarian. A4 Thinking Outside the Sanctuary: The Arts and Worship Banners, check. Stained glass windows, check. Carpet matching the hymnals, check. We are becoming more used to thinking about the arts in the worship that happens in our sanctuaries, but what about elsewhere? This workshop will focus on two often overlooked avenues of incorporating the arts into our corporate worship. Both are outside the sanctuary. Put on your thinking caps of what those avenues might be and come be part of the discussion. The Rev. Dr. Lynn Miller is an ecclesiastical artist/art historian and Minister of Word and Sacrament in the PCUSA. She has conducted arts-related workshops for congregations, presbyteries and synods from Florida to New York and Virginia to Texas. She has served as Conference Artist for the Montreat Worship Conferences (NC), Westminster Worship Conferences (PA) and Mo-Ranch Worship Conferences (TX). Her written work has been published in Presbyterians Today and Horizons, and her curriculum pieces have been published by the PCUSA. Lynn will lead a workshop titled "Blessings and Promises: The Beatitudes and Art" at the 2011 AL-MS Women's Conference. She lives in Jackson, MS, but is rarely there on a Sunday. A5 Christian Finances: How do I manage to tithe in these times? - Clark Remsburg Clark Remsburg is pastor of Canton Presbyterian Church - Canton, Ms. A6 In God’s Presence: Encountering, Experiencing and Embracing the Holy in Worship - George Bendall Provocative Alban Institute author and speaker, Graham Standish, argues that vibrant worship services are those in which the congregation obviously asks questions such as: Does our worship help people experience God? Does our worship open people to the presence of Christ? Does our worship encourage people to become available to the Holy Spirit? “Unfortunately,” he observes, “too many worship services are perfunctory, suggesting that many churches don’t think much about how to connect people with God.” In this course, we will make the case that congregations can and must restore intentionality and authenticity to worship in a way that will open people up to the Holy. Intentionality reflects a deep understanding of what tradition has attempted to do, what contemporary people are hungry for, what is going on in our culture, and how to connect the three. Course participants will be invited to consider what Standish calls an “integrated” approach to worship, one that maintains the distinctiveness of each element of worship as a counterpoint to other elements. We will explore the problem of worship in the current church, spend some time looking at ways to re-conceive worship with an emphasis on restoring the Holy, and finally, evaluate some ways of leading a congregation as they consider new patterns of worship. Hopefully, when our time together has expired, you will have learned how to open people to an encounter with the Holy in worship, how to follow God in this pursuit, and how to lead those who have no interest in the Holy at all! Pastor Bendall - spent fourteen years in retailing before pursuing the call to ministry. He is a graduate of Michigan State University and Louisville Seminary. Born in Alexandria, VA, he spent twenty-six years in Michigan shoveling snow before accepting his first call as an Associate Pastor in Columbus, OH, then Head of Staff in Teays Valley, WV, and finally Gulfport, MS. George is the pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church and has served this congregation since June 2007. He and Joyce have been married thirty-three years and they have a son, Matthew, who is a freshman at the University of Mississippi. A7 Outreach Foundation - Jeff Ritchie Jeff Ritchie is assistant Director of the Outreach Foundation. Jeff and his family were missionaries to Korea in the 1980s, and immediately prior to joining The Outreach Foundation, he served eight years as Coordinator in the PC(USA) Office of International Evangelism. He is a graduate of Davidson College, Fuller Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and San Francisco Theological Seminary (D.Min.). He served the First Presbyterian Church at Caldwell, New Jersey, from 1976-1980 as youth minister. Jeff was instrumental in the formation of the relationship with north East Brazil. He and his wife currently reside in Smyrna, Tn. Youth - Kennon Singley Kennon Singley is the Camps and Retreats Director for the Presbytery of Mississippi. He was the Director of Youth and College Ministries at Memorial Presbyterian Church in St. Augustine, FL from 2005-2007. He and his wife, Meredith, reside in McComb, MS and are members of J.J. White Memorial Presbyterian Church, where he is the volunteer Youth Director. |