Current Challenges in Congregational Care

Presenter: Robert J. Suderman, Ph.D.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
CEU: .4

Jack Suderman inspires church leaders. His biblical wisdom, ability to ask probing questions and 42 years’ experience as a pastor, teacher, missionary and administrator make him an exceptional resource for pastors and other leaders dealing with contentious issues.

As General Secretary of Mennonite Church Canada 2005-2010, Jack’s leadership engendered trust among a diverse and far-flung constituency.  His 2009 paper, “Being a Faithful Church: Testing the Spirits in the Midst of Hermeneutical Ferment” gave delegates of Mennonite Church Canada an important tool for faithful discernment around difficult issues. In 2010 he was invited by Mennonite Church USA Executive Director Ervin Stutzman to speak at Mennonite Church USA’s first Leaders Forum, with 200 leaders of boards, commissions, and constituent groups.

This one-day seminar will explore the vocation of discernment in congregational life. It will focus on discernment as a normal and necessary part of being a Christian community. Paul’s letter to the Philippians will serve as one of the sources of wisdom as Jack leads us in understanding the dynamics of agreement and disagreement in the life of the congregation.

This event examines how preaching, teaching and congregational practices can support marriage covenants in intentional, ongoing ways. It will look at how pastors and congregations can avoid waiting to talk about marriage until troubles emerge and instead take the initiative to help grow healthy marriages. This daylong workshop will pay special attention to theological reflection on the issues, appropriate pastoral behaviors, effects on congregational dynamics and related available resources.

Presenter: Irma Fast Dueck , Th.D., is assistant professor of practical theology at Canadian Mennonite University, Winnipeg, Manitoba, where she has taught since 1991, and regularly teaches “Marriage and Family in Christian Perspective.”

This daylong workshop is designed for people who provide pastoral care and support to family members of people who face chronic mental illness. It pays special attention to theological reflection on mental illness, appropriate pastoral responses, effects of mental illness on congregational dynamics, and related available resources.

Presenter: Gayle Gerber Koontz , Ph.D., is professor of theology and ethics at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary. She joined the AMBS faculty in 1982 and served as dean from 1990 to 1995. She has served on the Mennonite Central Committee Peace Section Task Force on Women in Church and Society, on the Higher Education Council of the General Conference Mennonite Church, on the ethics committee for a long-term healthcare facility and is a member of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

This daylong event explored the task of pastoring adults and children who have experienced the divorce of their parents. The presenter paid special attention to spiritual and psychological realities associated with parental divorce, appropriate pastoral responses and related available resources.

Presenter: Elizabeth Marquardt, M.Div., M.A., is the author of Between Two Worlds: The Inner Lives of Children of Divorce (Crown 2005). Based on the first nationally-representative study of grown children of divorce, this book challenges the idea of the "good divorce," exploring how even an amicable divorce dramatically shapes the inner lives of children.

This daylong seminar is designed for people who provide pastoral care to people experiencing financial crisis. It will identify challenges and opportunities for a faithful response to the current economic crisis. Beyond survival, how ought the church to respond? What do generosity, stewardship and solidarity look like in the midst of crisis, as opposed to abundance? This workshop will pay special attention to theological reflection on the issue, effects of financial crisis on congregational dynamics, appropriate pastoral responses, and related available resources.

Presenter: Lynn A. Miller, Stewardship Consultant. Lynn was the Stewardship Theologian for Mennonite Mutual Aid of Goshen, Ind., and he continues to represent them as a Stewardship Investing Consultant. Among other things, Lynn has served with Mennonite Central Committee and has been a pastor and a pioneer in the development of “firstfruits” stewardship theology. He is the author of four books on the application of stewardship to a life of faith, and he speaks on these topics in congregational and conference settings.

Troubled marriages are the source of much pain in congregations. Husbands, wives, children, friends, extended family and the congregation as a whole experience significant stress when marriages go awry. How can a pastor care wisely for the couple? How can a pastor minister well to all those within the congregation affected by a marriage in trouble? This daylong workshop will look at how pastors can best respond to couples and congregations in the midst of a marriage crisis. It will pay special attention to psychological understandings and theological reflection on the issue, and to appropriate pastoral response. Resources for ministry in the midst of broken marriages will be shared.

Presenters: J. Andrew Stoner, D.Min., has been a licensed marriage and family therapist for more than 15 years and was a pastor for more than 20 years. Currently he serves as Ohio Conference Regional Pastor for the western part of Ohio. Daniel S. Schipani, Ph.D., Psy.D., is professor of pastoral care and counseling at AMBS. In addition to teaching, he serves as a pastoral counselor at a health clinic and writes and edits extensively on issues of pastoral care. A recent book is The Way of Wisdom in Pastoral Counseling ( Institute of Mennonite Studies, 2003)

How does a pastor provide pastoral care in the context of addictions? How does one provide appropriate care both to those exhibiting addictive behaviors and to others in the congregation affected by these addictions?

Presenter: Brice H. Balmer, D. Min., is Chaplaincy Director at House of Friendship in Kitchener, Ontario, and teaches occasionally at AMBS. In his chaplaincy role he developed and oversees a program of spiritual discovery groups for clients of House of Friendship, a non-profit agency specializing in addiction, community and family services. Brice earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Toronto School of Theology, where a significant focus of his work was male sexuality and spirituality, with a special emphasis on addiction.

Life transitions sometimes spark crises for individuals and congregational systems, leaving destructive behaviors in their wake. This daylong workshop explores how pastors can walk with members and congregations who are in transition in ways that are healthy and transformative. Presenters will pay special attention to psychological understandings of “transitions,” theological reflection on the issue, appropriate pastoral responses, effects of transitions on congregational dynamics, and related available resources.

Presenters: Nancy Kauffmann, D. Min., Conference Regional Minister, Indiana-Michigan Conference; Lloyd Miller, M.Div./Pastoral Care and Counseling, Director of Denominational Relations, MutualAid eXchange; Daniel Schipani, Ph.D., Psy.D., Professor of Pastoral Care, AMBS

This event examined how pastors can provide pastoral care to co-habiting couples in the church while simultaneously addressing the ethical questions and complex congregational dynamics generated by these situations. This daylong workshop paid special attention to theological reflection on the issue, appropriate pastoral responses, effects on congregational dynamics and related available resources.

Presenter: Irma Fast Dueck, Th.D., is assistant professor of practical theology at Canadian Mennonite University, Winnipeg, Man., where she has taught since 1991. Prior to beginning her teaching career at CMU, she served as a university chaplain and a pastor.

This daylong workshop is designed for pastors who work with congregational members and attenders who use pornography. It will pay special attention to theological reflection on the issue, effects of pornography on congregational dynamics, appropriate pastoral response, and related available resources.

Presenters: Keith Graber Miller, Ph.D., is a professor in the department of Bible, religion and philosophy at Goshen College, Formerly a congregational pastor and campus minister, Keith Graber Miller now chairs the Bible, Religion and Philosophy Department at Goshen College. While his primary academic areas are theology, ethics and religious history, he also teaches two sexuality courses and speaks frequently in congregational and church-wide settings about healthy sexuality. Mary Lehman Yoder, M.Div., is pastor at Assembly Mennonite Church in Goshen, Ind . Mary Lehman Yoder has pastored at Assembly Mennonite for the past 15 years. In addition to her work in worship and pastoral care, she has facilitated adult electives on a variety of "hot topics," seeking both to provide information and a safe place for people to speak about difficult issues.

How does a pastor do pastoral care in the context of congregational members who are persistently disruptive? How does one care for such people, as well as for oneself while pastoring them? How does a pastor determine when dissent is pathological, as opposed to healthy—even loyal—opposition? This day-long workshop will pay special attention to psychological understandings of “thorny personalities,” theological reflection on the issue, appropriate pastoral responses, effects of such personalities on congregational dynamics, and related available resources.

Presenter: John Hershberger, Ph.D., has been a pastoral counselor at Oaklawn, Elkhart, Ind., since 1981, where he sees adults in individual and couples therapy. John holds a Ph.D. in Religion and Personality and is an ordained minister in the Mennonite Church. He was a member of the AMBS adjunct faculty and taught in the area of pastoral counseling.

This daylong workshop will pay special attention to psychological understandings of dysfunctional family systems, theological reflection on the issue, appropriate pastoral responses, effects of such systems on congregational dynamics, and related available resources.

Presenter: Terri J. Plank Brenneman, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist who until recently had a private practice in Pasadena, California, and served as an adjunct faculty in pastoral counseling at Fuller Theological Seminary.