Pastors and Leaders 2021 Workshops

This workshop will focus on successfully introducing and using Voices Together in congregations. The presenters will provide concrete tips for adoption, including ideas on teaching new songs, book studies and Sunday School curricula, resources for hymn sings and dedication services, and ways to connect with other communities that are also adopting the hymnal.

Katie Graber is an ethnomusicologist who studies race and ethnicity in a variety of contexts including Mennonite music, American music, and European opera. She has taught classes on Western music history and world music, and she accompanies recitals and school choirs when there isn't a pandemic. She served as the Intercultural Worship editor for the Voices Together project, co-directs the Anabaptist Worship Network, and is a song leader at Columbus Mennonite Church in Ohio. 

Anneli Loepp Thiessen is a PhD student at the University of Ottawa, where she researches gender representation and the worship music industry. In addition to her work as a Voices Together committee member and the co-chair of the Popular Idioms subcommittee, she is one of the directors of the Anabaptist Worship Network and serves as the director for Ontario Mennonite Music Camp. A graduate of the music ministry program at Canadian Mennonite University (2018), Anneli cares about equity and diversity in worship and pedagogical practices, and is passionate about resourcing the breadth of Anabaptist worship.

Sometimes we feel like our computers when we have too many programs open at once, or too many people on the home internet, slowing everything to a crawl – it takes so long to get anything accomplished. It's sometimes hard to know how to recharge ourselves, especially when our old tools don't seem to work like they used to. You are invited to experience a guided meditation for about 10 minutes and hear about how you might use this spiritual practice in your own ministry.

Laura Funk lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where she has had a private practice in spiritual direction, Butterfly Journeys, since 2012. She is licensed for this ministry through Mennonite Church Manitoba. She has also worked in pastoral ministry in an ecumenical congregation and served as a chaplain in a personal care home. Laura holds an MA in Christian Ministry, including coursework from AMBS. She is currently working on publishing a collection of guided meditations and Biblical midrash.

We are happiest when we understand ourselves and are able to live into the best of who we can be; this is true in our financial lives, as well. In this seminar, we will explore how we’re naturally geared to handle our resources, (Hospitality, Discipline, Beauty, Connection, Endurance, Humility or Leadership), in order to embrace who we are and learn where we need to grow.

Marlene Kroeker is a Stewardship Consultant at Everence Financial Services in Goshen, Indiana, and a lay leader at Belmont Mennonite Church in Elkhart, Indiana, where she has served on the Ministry and Vision Team, Worship Commission, as worship leader, occasional preacher, Sunday school teacher, and mentor. She holds an MDiv from AMBS and currently serves on the boards of Thurston Woods Village and the Mennonite Creation Care Network.

Dame Julian of Norwich lived her life during a pandemic in the 14th century, sheltering in place for years as an anchoress in Norwich, England where she wrote “The Showings” (also known as “The Revelation of Divine Love”). After a brief introduction to Julian, we will use some of her writings to breathe with, walk with, dance with and write with — all as ways of soaking in the deep wisdom she offers for our time.

Gwen Gustafson-Zook has served as a pastor, campus pastor, and service leader in several locations. She is currently a student at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, where she is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Direction. Gwen holds an MDiv from Iliff School of Theology, Denver, CO, including coursework at AMBS.

During Nazi occupation of France, the small, farming village of Le Chambon contributed to the rescue operation of as many as 5,000 refugees, including 3,500 Jewish refugees. This workshop will examine Pastor André Trocmé’s role in helping to mobilize and inspire these efforts and what pastors in Anabaptist congregations today, particularly in rural areas, can learn from Trocmé.

Matthew Peterson brings his lived experience as husband, father, market farmer, low-income community educator in Washington, DC, and volunteer educator in West Africa to his service as pastor at Midway Mennonite Church in Columbiana, Ohio, where he has been since September 2017. Matthew is an MDiv Connect student at AMBS and he and Christiana, his wife, have four young children.

Nurturing a sensitive and curious openness to the God-soaked beauty around us, we will use this workshop to explore the process of “receiving” visual images (photos) as gifts from the Holy One. We will then reflect on these gifts contemplatively using the structure of Haiku poetry to give voice to our pondering.

Gwen Gustafson-Zook has served as a pastor, campus pastor, and service leader in several locations. She is currently a student at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, where she is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Direction. Gwen holds an MDiv from Iliff School of Theology, Denver, CO, including coursework at AMBS.

In this workshop, Keller Park Church co-pastors will share about their experiences converting their sanctuary into a food distribution center to respond to food insecurities in the church's neighborhood that were exacerbated by the pandemic. Participants will be challenged to consider how their churches can seek the peace of their neighborhoods or communities by identifying tangible needs and organizing to meet them.

Carrie Badertscher is community pastor at Keller Park Church in South Bend, Indiana, and founder of Keller Park Ministries. She received her BA in youth ministry and adolescent studies from Bethel College (now University) in Mishawaka, Indiana, and previously served as director of Prairie Camp in Elkhart, Indiana. 

David Cramer is teaching pastor at Keller Park Church in South Bend, Indiana, and managing editor of the Institute of Mennonite Studies at AMBS. He received his PhD in theology and ethics from Baylor University in Waco, Texas; MA in philosophy of religion and MDiv in cross-cultural ministry from Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois.

Particularly in this time of disconnection and heightened race relations, it becomes important to foster communities that are trauma-informed. This workshop will explore the causes and types of trauma that may be present within the congregation, as well as aid pastors in being proactive about creating trauma-informed communities that attend to dynamics of safety, choice, collaboration, trustworthiness and empowerment within the community.

Leah R. Thomas is Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care and Contextual Education at AMBS where she teaches courses in pastoral care, contextual education, and spirituality. She was previously the Visiting Professor of Pastoral Theology at Lancaster Theological Seminary. She received her PhD in Pastoral Care from Drew University, and has experience as a chaplain and a bi-vocational pastor. Leah is the author of Just Care: Ethical Anti-Racist Pastoral Care with Women with Mental Illness (Lexington/Fortress, 2019). Her research areas include anti-racist and intercultural pastoral care, trauma, culture, and the role of embodiment in caregiving and Christian spiritual practices.