The gospels base their stories of Jesus’ nativity on Jewish ideas: Matthew’s Jesus is a new Moses; Luke’s Mary is a new Hannah; John’s “In the beginning was the Word” draws on Jewish theology; the “virgin birth” tradition begins with the Greek translation of Isaiah. How did the Christian Church adapt its Jewish roots, and how can Christians avoid the antisemitic teachings that occur when those roots are forgotten? 

Tuesday October 15
The United Nations and the Future of People of African Descent with Michael McEachrane

Tuesday October 22
Bold Discipleship: Reflections from the United Church in Saskatchewan with SunDo Hyun, Bernon Lee, Becca Whitlaw

Tuesday October 29
Race Talks from GenZs with Spring water Hester-Meawassige, Emo Yango

Tuesday November 5
Fighting Anti-Palestinian Racism in Canada with a panel of key leaders

Tuesday November 12
Continuing Our Stories: Indigenous Identities in the Christian Church with Leaders from the Anglican Church of Canada and The United Church of Canada

Tuesday November 19
The Texts of Advent: Finding Good News and Avoiding Antisemitism with Amy-Jill Levine

Tuesday November 26
What Will We Sing When We Need to Sing a New Song? with Then Let Us Sing! Committee

"The success of an intervention depends on the interior condition of the intervener." (William O’Brien) Is this true? If it is, it could be read to say, “The success of a church depends on the interior condition of its leadership.” How are we as leaders (whether paid or lay)

- attending to our interior journeys of faith, healing and transformation?

- mindfully support the congregations we are serving?

This workshop will explore the theme of the leader's interior condition and will consider four foundational spiritual disciplines for healthy church leadership: Meditation; Lectio Divina, the Gift of Paying Attention, and Acceptance Prayers.

Frequently we hear that people resist change. Does this have to be true? Could we find ways of engaging change, transformation and renewal that energizes the church while allowing the church to live more fully into the future to which God calling forth? This workshop explores the dynamics of leading change as well as drawing from both the congregational life cycle and the rhythms of the journey of renewal.

How many times have you sat through a poorly run meeting, knowing that if the session were being better facilitated, you would be accomplishing twice as much in half the time?

Discover the skills, knowledge, and behaviours to help you effectively facilitate in a wide range of situations. This 2-day, 14-hour workshop will introduce you to the core competencies of facilitation, modelled through the use of multiple engaging facilitation techniques grounded in adult learning.

You will gain a greater understanding of your own personal facilitation style and learn how to use your strengths to maximize your effectiveness as a facilitator.

This retreat gives men a chance to understand the nature of the problem with masculinity, to experience an alternative, and to learn some ways of improving relationships and meaning in their life.

We will do all of this as a small but temporary community. Key words: chill, not touchy feely. Come and enjoy a few drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) drinks, as we figure out how we can live meaningful lives that are in deep relationship with people.

Four days of conversations with the Convergence Digital Ministry Senior Fellows and leaders from across the country about the current state and future of digital ministry in the church.

In northern climates, the vibrant colours and cooler temperatures of Autumn are followed by closely by the “bleak midwinter,” a time of growing cold and darkness. The natural world seems to die, but under the surface, it is slowing down, turning inward, digging deep, and storing up energy for regrowth. The same can be true for us. Now is the time to tend to dig deep and to tend to our whole heart.

This retreat is an invitation to slow down, turn inward and cultivate our hearts toward the wholeness, healing and spaciousness we desire.

Oct. 10: The Dual Function of Genealogy and Family Lore in Cases of Race Shifting (bilingual event)
Oct. 17: Exploring Anti-Racist and Decolonial Theologies
Oct. 24: Raising Anti-Racist Children
Nov. 7: A History of Violence: The Legacy of Environmental Racism in Canada
Nov. 14: Countering Antisemitism Today
Nov. 21: Intersecting Identities: Intergenerational Asian Voices
Nov. 28: Copyright Justice and Musical Misappropriation (bilingual event)

This three-part online workshop series is designed for church leaders thinking about, in the very beginning stages of, or shifting toward intergenerational worship with their congregation. We will begin by discussing the big picture, such as the definition of “intergenerational,” and then we will move into specific practices that can be implemented, and finally, how to apply these practices to the upcoming seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. These hour-long Wednesday workshops will be highly participatory and tailored to individual contexts in order to be most helpful.

A continuing education event for clergy. The Lester Randall Preaching Fellowship consists of a mix of workshops, lectures, private and public preaching events, networking and fellowship, led by keynote speakers and other well-known clergy and professors of preaching from across North America.

The Climate Crisis & Empowering Hope: 2023 Hybrid Conference

September 20-23, 2023