Forma 2021 Conference Schedule
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Conference Home Institutional Packages Pre-Conference Sessions Register Now | |||
| Sunday, January 24, 2021 | |||
| Times listed in Eastern Time Zone | |||
| Title | Description | Presenter(s) | Track |
| 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm | |||
| Preconference: Prepare for the Fullness of Life | How to prepare your body, heart and mind to authentically experience God’s love and presence at the Embodying Spiritual Practices conference. In this time of anxiety, tension and Zoom fatigue, how do we create space to maximize the impact of the Embodying Spiritual Practice conference and genuinely refill our tanks? As spiritual leaders, you spend a lot of your energy caring for the needs of others. As you undoubtedly know, you can excel at caring for others and also struggle to create space to authentically care for yourself. Too often, we, as spiritual leaders, do not experience the “fullness of life” that Jesus of Nazareth said would characterize the spirit and ministry of those who followed in his footsteps. We, at Second Breath, believe that great outer work arises from great inner work. Through spiritual practice, we create space to cultivate a vibrant inward spirituality and a meaningful life of impact and joy. In this pre-conference workshop, we will explore spiritual practices that ground our bodies, open our hearts, and clear our minds. Practices that create space for the Holy Spirit to transform us from the inside out and prepare us to receive all that God can’t wait to lavish on us in the conference. This transformation is not for your benefit alone, but ripples out from your life to heal and transform the world. | Greg Farrand | |
| Tuesday, January 26, 2021 | |||
| Times listed in Eastern Time Zone | |||
| 1:30 pm - 2:15 pm | |||
| Welcome and Opening Meditation | |||
| 2:15 pm - 3:45 pm | |||
| Opening Plenary: A Vision for Family and Community Thriving | Today, families and churches face many competing demands and challenges. What’s needed is an intentional approach to family and community life that is creative, soulful and globally aware. Whatever the make up of your household or community, it can be a place of BELONGING and BECOMING, where each person feels safe, cared for and loved and supported to develop who they are for the good of the world. | Mark and Lisa Scandrette | |
| 4:15 pm - 4:55 pm | |||
| Small Group Response #1a | Small Group Response time is offered later in the day for our friends closer to the west coast (a), and earlier the next day for our friends closer to the east coast (b). These times are available for local gatherings to meet in small groups or for individuals to join small groups via Zoom for discussion. Question for discussion are provided but by no means, required. | ||
| Diocese of West Texas Small Group Gathering | |||
| Diocese of Washington Small Group Gathering | |||
| 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm | |||
| CPI Gathering | |||
| 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm | |||
| Forma21 After Dark: Social Hour, sponsored by the Diocese of Long Island | Join us for good tunes and friendly faces! We have DJ Costa Rica providing the music, and we can connect with friends new and old in the chat. Take a stroll down memory lane remembering the Dances from the Decades as we enjoy many genres of music. Let the music power some rockin' dance moves or the background ambiance to your happy hour! | ||
| Wednesday, January 27, 2021 | |||
| Times listed in Eastern Time Zone | |||
| 9:00 am - 9:50 am | |||
| Forma21 Morning Coffee: Introducing "My Way of Love" | |||
| 10:00 am - 10:40 am | |||
| Small Group Response #1b | Small Group Response time is offered later in the day for our friends closer to the west coast (a), and earlier the next day for our friends closer to the east coast (b). These times are available for local gatherings to meet in small groups or for individuals to join small groups via Zoom for discussion. Question for discussion are provided but by no means, required. | ||
| Diocese of Southern Virginia Small Group Gathering | |||
| Diocese of North Carolina Small Group Gathering | |||
| Diocese of Atlanta Small Group Gathering | |||
| Province III Morning Brew | Network with others from Province 3 and start the morning with some laughter, prayer, and positive vibes. | ||
| 10:45 am - 11:00 am | |||
| Opening Meditation | Aaron Niequist | ||
| 11:00 am - 12:00 pm | |||
| The Path of Discipleship for Episcopalians | What is a path of discipleship and why have one? This session will present the process by which the Diocese of Washington created a path of discipleship for its congregations that identifies key practices that deepen faith and attends to the needs of people along a lifelong journey of faith. Participants will leave with tools to build a path for their community. | Jenifer Gamber | Turn |
| The Power of Practice: Cultivating an Authentic and Dynamic Experience of God's Love and Presence | We are immersed in divine love and presence. As the apostle Paul said to the philosophers in Athens, in God, “we live, and move and have our being.” This is the language of saturation and immersion! But if God is truly within us, why do we often feel alone? Why do we struggle to experience God’s love for us and God’s compassionate presence among us? When the Bible talks about “Sin” (capital S), it's describing a consciousness of separation where we are blinded to our already existing connection with God, one another and all of creation. But Jesus rescues us from the delusion of separation and reveals that we are intimately and radically connected. But an intellectual or mere doctrinal understanding of this truth not transform us. Through Spiritual Practice we create space for the Holy Spirit to allow the reality of our already existing connection to shift from an intellectual concept to a transformational inner experience of God's love and presence. The more we metabolize and embody this connection through spiritual practice, the more we are transformed, and the power of the Gospel ripples out from our lives to heal the world. | Greg Farrand | Turn |
| Fasting on the Word: Exploring Our Least Favorite Spiritual Discipline | How can we make use of fasting and other ascetic spiritual disciplines without causing or perpetuating harmful narratives? Can fasting be life-giving instead of soul-crushing? And how has our understanding of fasting been affected by the pandemic and the ways it has forced us to go without things we enjoy? | Ian Lasch | Turn |
| When the Church Cracked Open | Sometimes it takes disruption and loss to break us open and turn us back to God. Faced with global pandemic, racial reckoning and systemic decline, Episcopalians have the chance to tell our own truths about racism, empire and privilege and then to reimagine our common life with Jesus at the center. Riffing on her upcoming book, The Church Cracked Open: Disruption, Decline and New Hope for Beloved Community, Canon Stephanie Spellers will help participants to do truth-telling and reckoning in their contexts and to discern what God will do next with our cracked-open church. | Stephanie Spellers | Turn |
| A Right-Sized Life - With Time, Money, and Stuff | We were made to flourish and do good in a world of abundance. Yet, so many of us feel crunched for time, stressed in our finances or perplexed about what makes life meaningful. In this workshop we will explore practical strategies for aligning time and money with what matters most. This journey invites us to adopt soul practices like gratitude, trust, contentment and generosity and practical skills like time management, goal setting and living by a spending plan. | Mark Allen Scandrette | Turn |
| 12:15 pm - 12:45 pm | |||
| Worship Experience | Guided meditation on The Lord's Prayer | Aaron Niequist | |
| 12:45 pm - 1:15 pm | |||
| Break | |||
| 1:15 pm - 2:15 pm | |||
| Engaging Faith through the Imagination | Join StoryMakers Founder and discover how deeper formation can happen at home by capturing the imaginations of children and grown-ups. The session will cover how to foster deeper spiritual connections when grown-ups make the shift from instructor to guide. We will cover how to use visual language, play, and art to spark meaningful understanding of the big stories in the Bible. If you are seeking practical ways to encourage formation at home, equip volunteers, and enjoy the process along the way join Mel to discover how faith can come alive through the imagination. | Melina Smith | Learn |
| Faith in Film: Spirituality Through Culture and Media | In this presentation, we will look at clips and examples (movies, TV shows, commercials, songs and more) to help faith leaders and formation educators engage with the unexpected - modern forms of entertainment and pop culture, which can be windows into deeper belief and reflection in our own lives. | Ayana Grady; Greg Millikin | Learn |
| Teaching Cultural Compassion: Using Secular Children's Books for Better Representation in Christian Education | Children of color are still grossly underrepresented in children’s picture books. So how do we show kids that God loves them--that God loves ALL of them? In this workshop, Rev. Tura Foster Gillespie, Founder of TeachingCulturalCompassion.com will outline ways to connect secular picture books with good representation to the faith formation of our youngest disciples. | Tura Foster Gillespie | Learn |
| Evangelism Through Ministry | This session will focus on how ministry work can evangelize for you. When church becomes the center of the community the work of the ministry will become the evangelistic voice to spread the good news. | Barry Randolph | Learn |
| Cultivating Spiritual Practices at Home | The limitations of the COVID 19 are opening many families to the tremendous opportunities to practice faith together at home. Parents have the greatest impact on their child’s faith formation. Yet many parents wonder if they’re qualified to guide their child’s understanding of God’s story. In this workshop we will explore simple and creative ways families can engage in faith practices together at home and how church leaders can resource and support those efforts. | Mark and Lisa Scandrette | Learn |
| 2:15 pm - 2:45 pm | |||
| Break | |||
| 2:45 pm - 3:45 pm | |||
| Learning and Telling Bible Stories as a Spiritual Discipline | Storytelling the Word: A Practice for the Spiritual Journey - Includes a series of exercises for Getting Deeper into the Word/Scripture and Getting the Word/Scripture Deeper into Us | Kathy Culmer | Pray |
| Building Your Trellis: Ancient Practices for a Better Life | Introduction to building a personalized “Rule of Life” based on Benedictine Spiritual Practices of Prayer, Scripture, Service, Wonder and Virtue. A practical guide for traveling deeper into the heart of God and one’s own essence in ways that are life-giving rather than overwhelming. Sessions adaptable for older youth and adults. | Sarah Hollar | Pray |
| Living the Spiritual Practices of The Beauty Way | The Sacred Hozhó is to live in harmony with God and creation and to walk the Beauty Way. Together, we will develop new ways to know God in Jesus through the tapestries of the sacred spiritual life of the Diné. | Cornelia Eaton | Pray |
| Bioregional Discipleship: ‘Re-Placing Christian Formation and Learning to Lament’ | An invitation to re-place and re-member ourselves within creation through lament. How to help folks of all ages encounter the sacred stories of Christianity, in their ecosystems; from seeing, to loving, to lamenting, to turning towards faithful kinship. | Emily Ulmer | Pray |
| 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm | |||
| How Rediscovering God in the Wild is Essential to the Future of the Church | Have we often wondered why watching the wildlife in our backyards or tending our gardens is not more encouraged as a form of spiritual practice? Are we curious enough about the connection between the extreme climate shifts in nature and the lack of young people in our pews? By reawakening our senses to the wonder and awe of the natural world, we begin to fall back in love with all that God created. By reconnecting ourselves to the soil, our watersheds, the oak trees, the caterpillars, we live into our original vocation of living in right relationship with God. We will learn more about how UP Wild aims to foster this connection as we take a virtual nature walk through the snowy wilderness of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. | Lanni Lantto | Worship |
| Curating Sacred Space: Creating Experiential Worship both On Line and In Person | How do we worship if we cannot sing together? How do we move from “sit and watch” to actually participating and engaging God? Experiential worship is interactive, multi-sensory, and engaging for all ages. We will learn together the basics of experiential worship and actually participate in it. | Lilly Lewin | Worship |
| Choosing Community: Stories from Episcopal Service Corps Communities | Building community in your context, be it family, neighborhood, small group, or institution, is part of answering the call to love one another. Drawing from the Desert Mothers and Fathers, modern practitioners of intentional Christian community, and the experiences of the Beloved in the Desert Episcopal Service Corps Program, this workshop will offer practices that invite commitment to the work of community that range from prayer practices to pitfalls. | Taylor Devine | Worship |
| Godly Play in New Ways | Worship | ||
| Practicing the Way of Jesus | So many of us want to live in the way of Jesus-- pursuing a life that is deeply soulful, connected to our real needs and good news to our world. Yet too often our methods for growth are individualistic, information driven or disconnected from the details of every day life. How can we close the gap between how we want to live and how we actually live? Perhaps what we need is a Jesus Dojo, a shared spaces of practice that are more like a karate studio than a college lecture hall. In this workshop we will explore how we can rediscover a sense of immediacy and action in our spiritual lives and create worship and learning spaces that facilitate this for others. | Mark Scandrette | Worship |
| 5:15 pm - 5:55 pm | |||
| Small Group Response #2a | Small Group Response time is offered later in the day for our friends closer to the west coast (a), and earlier the next day for our friends closer to the east coast (b). These times are available for local gatherings to meet in small groups or for individuals to join small groups via Zoom for discussion. Question for discussion are provided but by no means, required. | ||
| VTS Small Group Gathering | Are you a VTS alum or current student? Join Lifelong Learning at VTS for a small group gathering and let us know how you are enjoying the conference and how we can best assist you in realizing what you are learning or dreaming about. | ||
| Diocese of Olympia Small Group Gathering | |||
| Diocese of Texas Small Group Gathering | |||
| 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm | |||
| Forma21 After Dark | |||
| Exploring the Intersection of Evangelism and Racial Justice, hosted by Episcopal Evangelism Socieity | What will it take for society to view the church as justice-focused, as centered in Jesus' Way of Love? How might church leaders, lay and ordained, engage church members in this witness? And what's the role of formation in realizing this dream? Join the Episcopal Evangelism Society Executive Director Day Smith Pritchartt and EES Board members the Rev. Zack Nyein and the Rev. Dr. Tommie Watkins, Jr. to explore these ideas of 21st Century evangelism. Bring your own stories - and dreams! | ||
| Thursday, January 28, 2021 | |||
| Times listed in Eastern Time Zone | |||
| 9:00 am - 9:50 am | |||
| Morning Coffee with Lifelong Learning at VTS | Join Building Faith editors and Lifelong Learning staff in practical discussion about implementing brilliant ideas from FORMA21 in your context! | ||
| 10:00 am - 10:40 am | |||
| Small Group Response #2b | Small Group Response time is offered later in the day for our friends closer to the west coast (a), and earlier the next day for our friends closer to the east coast (b). These times are available for local gatherings to meet in small groups or for individuals to join small groups via Zoom for discussion. Question for discussion are provided but by no means, required. | ||
| Diocese of Rio Grande Small Group Gathering | |||
| Diocese of Washington Small Group Gathering | |||
| Diocese of West Texas Small Group Gathering | |||
| Diocese of Atlanta Small Group Gathering | |||
| Diocese of Upper South Carolina Small Group Gathering | |||
| Diocese of Oklahoma Check-In | |||
| (Province III) Trail 2 Truth 2021 - Racial Reconciliation Pilgrimage | Hear about Province 3's 2019 Trail 2 Truth Pilgrimage and updates for the second one scheduled for this October. | ||
| 10:45 am - 11:00 am | |||
| Opening Meditation | Guided Examen | Aaron Niequist | |
| 11:00 am - 12:30 pm | |||
| Plenary: Skills and Practices for Thriving Relationships | Family is where we get our first impression of what God is like, and where we first know love. Our family and community experiences put us on the journey and search for true parent and true home. What does it look like to walk in the way of love as a household or community? In this session we will explore skills and practices for staying connected, addressing personal growth challenges, and pursuing the greater good together. | Mark and Lisa Scandrette | |
| 12:30 pm - 1:15 pm | |||
| Meditation Opportunity | |||
| 1:15 pm - 2:15 pm | |||
| #BLESSED? Transforming culture and changing lives by building a culture of blessing | Practices of blessing-giving can heal individuals and transform congregations. We’ll explore practices for doing progressive Christian theology in order to develop a life-giving culture of blessing. We’ll look at real-life examples of transforming rituals and deepen an understanding of what it means to be blessed and to be a blessing. | Amelia Richardson Dress | Bless |
| Faith Expression: Jesus + Young People + Social Media | Faith expression and social media go hand in hand. In a world where young people express themselves through social media platforms, how do we equip them to use these mediums as a tool for faith expression and evangelism? It may even lead to a vital spiritual practice. In this workshop, we talk about this question and some practical how-to in the social media landscape with young people. | Easton Davis | Bless |
| Leveraging Music Programs for Formation | There are some straightforward and easy techniques for engaging new or pre-existing music programs to move beyond preparing music for worship into the work of forming disciples of Jesus, and calling others to that work. This session will explore philosophies and techniques of music programs that practice this work, as well as how to effectively engage musicians in partnership. | Michael Smith | Bless |
| #Latinx o Qué?
Ministry in a predominantly white church | We will explore ideas on the following issues: Inculturation and Latino identity from a Latino perspective; the challenges of being Episcopal and Latino in a culturally exclusive environment; proposals to understand and extend the Latino ministry in the Episcopal Church. | Hipolito Fernandez Reina | Bless |
| The Ninefold Path of Jesus | Sign of haunting are all around us. The gap widens between the poor and the rich. Conflict rages between groups and nations. And due to our actions, even the future of the planet is threatened. If we aren't disturbed then we haven't been paying attention. What if the Beatitudes contain the keys to our liberation? In this workshop we will explore the revolutionary message of the Beatitudes and effective ways to put the teachings of the sermon on the Mount into practice in small group settings | Mark Scandrette | Bless |
| 2:15 pm - 2:45 pm | |||
| Break | |||
| 2:45 pm - 3:45 pm | |||
| A Hybrid Camino: Making Pilgrimage in a Time of Pandemic | Pilgrimage provides a way to cultivate our prayer life, process life experiences, give thanks to God, and much more. Learn how a six-week time of guided, group preparation and two-weeks of pilgrimage, walking from home, progressing virtually along the Camino de Santiago helps us find thin places in our own back yards. | Elizabeth Cervasio | Go |
| Called Together for Action: Community Organizing as a Spiritual Practice | As we move into this time of multiple pandemics, racism, COVID-19, economic injustice, ecological devastation, and gender inequities, what is the role of God’s people? We know intellectually that we have been called to Do Justice, Love Mercy and Walk Humbly with our God, but how that is lived on the ground varies given our context. Our panel will explore the various ways that congregations can engage around issues of justice and spiritual formation/practice. We will also converse about the ways community organizing universals can help guide our ministries so that we can be active participants in helping to create the world as God has envisioned. | Glenna Huber; Francisco Garcia | Go |
| Working for Justice While Being in the Tragic Gap | We will share and develop spiritual practices to allow us to sustain the work that goes with our mandate to “Do Justice”. Some of the guiding questions for our time together will include: How do we live into the call to do justice and the demands that such makes on our heads, our hearts, and our souls? How do we do this hard and necessary work? What spiritual practices help us to live a life that is called to do justice? | Morgan Lee | Go |
| Go Big and Go Home: From Performance to Practice of Evangelism | In the Episcopal Church, there is a sad phenomenon of 'performance evangelism,’ which is a spiritual shallowness that practices or invites people to practice 'evangelism' that is merely or mostly emotionalism or extroversion. Tragically, 'performance evangelism,' though often sincere or passionate, suffers from all the frailties that come with lack of formation: exhaustion, confusion, tribalism, conceit, colonialism, lack of vocation or hopelessness. This workshop aims to lay out a framework for leaders to move their faith communities from performances of evangelism to practices of evangelism. We will GO BIG by connecting our imaginations with epic examples of sacramental living and mission (in Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Harry Potter) and we will GO HOME as we dig deep into our ancient, monastic, medieval, modern and post-colonial Anglican theologies of mission. | Tricia Lyons | Go |
| Caring for Creation Together - Theology and An Episcopal Church Online Program | The workshop will feature an introduction to care of creation theology and the possibilities and imperative for action now, followed by an introduction to an online program customized for the Episcopal Church that empowers household and community action to address climate change. | Sheila Moore Andrus; Marc Andrus | Go |
| 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm | |||
| The Blessing of Wonder | Abraham Heschel says “Awareness of the divine begins with wonder” He grasped a reality few of us acknowledge: the wonder of God’s presence is everywhere. Here we will explore its power to inspire and bless us bringing joy, peace, stress relief and healing. We will discuss the impact expressions of wonder, like walks, laughter, and play, have in renewing and transforming us. Bring your journal and colored pencils. Be prepared to stir your imagination and begin to create your own wonder pathway. | Christine Sine | Rest |
| Neuroscience: The Holy Spirit Moving Within | For anyone interested in neuroscience resources for teaching, preaching, or personal devotion, this session will explore the divinely designed relationship between neuroscience and the fruit of the Spirit. The session will include small group time to connect you with the Holy Spirit's work in and through you and will direct you to influential Christian neuroscience authors, videos, and websites. | Bryan Spoon | Rest |
| Sabbathkeeping: Playing and Resting as Discipleship | Imagine a God who invites us to cease to work and delights when we rest and play. The Prophets tell us that keeping Sabbath is a sign of the Messiah's presence and how Jesus kept Sabbath got him into trouble with the religious authorities. As followers of The Messiah, we will have a conversation about how we can play and rest--with God's blessing. | Beth Fain | Rest |
| Baking Bread as a Spiritual Practice | Bread is simple, made up of just flour, water, salt, and yeast. And yet, much like the spiritual life, even a lifetime of baking allows continued revelation of its complexities. In this workshop, Kendall Vanderslice—founder of Edible Theology and Companion Bread Share—will teach a basic bread recipe while probing the layers of spiritual metaphors woven into the process of making bread. | Kendall Vanderslice | Rest |
| 5:30 pm - 6:15 pm | |||
| Sending Worship | |||
Preconference: Prepare for the Fullness of Life
Presenter(s): Greg Farrand
Description: How to prepare your body, heart and mind to authentically experience God’s love and presence at the Embodying Spiritual Practices conference. In this time of anxiety, tension and Zoom fatigue, how do we create space to maximize the impact of the Embodying Spiritual Practice conference and genuinely refill our tanks? As spiritual leaders, you spend a lot of your energy caring for the needs of others. As you undoubtedly know, you can excel at caring for others and also struggle to create space to authentically care for yourself. Too often, we, as spiritual leaders, do not experience the “fullness of life” that Jesus of Nazareth said would characterize the spirit and ministry of those who followed in his footsteps. We, at Second Breath, believe that great outer work arises from great inner work. Through spiritual practice, we create space to cultivate a vibrant inward spirituality and a meaningful life of impact and joy. In this pre-conference workshop, we will explore spiritual practices that ground our bodies, open our hearts, and clear our minds. Practices that create space for the Holy Spirit to transform us from the inside out and prepare us to receive all that God can’t wait to lavish on us in the conference. This transformation is not for your benefit alone, but ripples out from your life to heal and transform the world.
Welcome and Opening Meditation
Opening Plenary: A Vision for Family and Community Thriving
Presenter(s): Mark and Lisa Scandrette
Description: Today, families and churches face many competing demands and challenges. What’s needed is an intentional approach to family and community life that is creative, soulful and globally aware. Whatever the make up of your household or community, it can be a place of BELONGING and BECOMING, where each person feels safe, cared for and loved and supported to develop who they are for the good of the world.
Small Group Response #1a
Description: Small Group Response time is offered later in the day for our friends closer to the west coast (a), and earlier the next day for our friends closer to the east coast (b). These times are available for local gatherings to meet in small groups or for individuals to join small groups via Zoom for discussion. Question for discussion are provided but by no means, required.
Diocese of West Texas Small Group Gathering
Diocese of Washington Small Group Gathering
CPI Gathering
Forma21 After Dark: Social Hour, sponsored by the Diocese of Long Island
Description: Join us for good tunes and friendly faces! We have DJ Costa Rica providing the music, and we can connect with friends new and old in the chat. Take a stroll down memory lane remembering the Dances from the Decades as we enjoy many genres of music. Let the music power some rockin' dance moves or the background ambiance to your happy hour!
Forma21 Morning Coffee: Introducing "My Way of Love"
Small Group Response #1b
Description: Small Group Response time is offered later in the day for our friends closer to the west coast (a), and earlier the next day for our friends closer to the east coast (b). These times are available for local gatherings to meet in small groups or for individuals to join small groups via Zoom for discussion. Question for discussion are provided but by no means, required.
Diocese of Southern Virginia Small Group Gathering
Diocese of North Carolina Small Group Gathering
Diocese of Atlanta Small Group Gathering
Province III Morning Brew
Description: Network with others from Province 3 and start the morning with some laughter, prayer, and positive vibes.
Opening Meditation
Presenter(s): Aaron Niequist
The Path of Discipleship for Episcopalians
Presenter(s): Jenifer Gamber
Description: What is a path of discipleship and why have one? This session will present the process by which the Diocese of Washington created a path of discipleship for its congregations that identifies key practices that deepen faith and attends to the needs of people along a lifelong journey of faith. Participants will leave with tools to build a path for their community.
Track: Turn
The Power of Practice: Cultivating an Authentic and Dynamic Experience of God's Love and Presence
Presenter(s): Greg Farrand
Description: We are immersed in divine love and presence. As the apostle Paul said to the philosophers in Athens, in God, “we live, and move and have our being.” This is the language of saturation and immersion! But if God is truly within us, why do we often feel alone? Why do we struggle to experience God’s love for us and God’s compassionate presence among us? When the Bible talks about “Sin” (capital S), it's describing a consciousness of separation where we are blinded to our already existing connection with God, one another and all of creation. But Jesus rescues us from the delusion of separation and reveals that we are intimately and radically connected. But an intellectual or mere doctrinal understanding of this truth not transform us. Through Spiritual Practice we create space for the Holy Spirit to allow the reality of our already existing connection to shift from an intellectual concept to a transformational inner experience of God's love and presence. The more we metabolize and embody this connection through spiritual practice, the more we are transformed, and the power of the Gospel ripples out from our lives to heal the world.
Track: Turn
Fasting on the Word: Exploring Our Least Favorite Spiritual Discipline
Presenter(s): Ian Lasch
Description: How can we make use of fasting and other ascetic spiritual disciplines without causing or perpetuating harmful narratives? Can fasting be life-giving instead of soul-crushing? And how has our understanding of fasting been affected by the pandemic and the ways it has forced us to go without things we enjoy?
Track: Turn
When the Church Cracked Open
Presenter(s): Stephanie Spellers
Description: Sometimes it takes disruption and loss to break us open and turn us back to God. Faced with global pandemic, racial reckoning and systemic decline, Episcopalians have the chance to tell our own truths about racism, empire and privilege and then to reimagine our common life with Jesus at the center. Riffing on her upcoming book, The Church Cracked Open: Disruption, Decline and New Hope for Beloved Community, Canon Stephanie Spellers will help participants to do truth-telling and reckoning in their contexts and to discern what God will do next with our cracked-open church.
Track: Turn
A Right-Sized Life - With Time, Money, and Stuff
Presenter(s): Mark Allen Scandrette
Description: We were made to flourish and do good in a world of abundance. Yet, so many of us feel crunched for time, stressed in our finances or perplexed about what makes life meaningful. In this workshop we will explore practical strategies for aligning time and money with what matters most. This journey invites us to adopt soul practices like gratitude, trust, contentment and generosity and practical skills like time management, goal setting and living by a spending plan.
Track: Turn
Worship Experience
Presenter(s): Aaron Niequist
Description: Guided meditation on The Lord's Prayer
Break
Engaging Faith through the Imagination
Presenter(s): Melina Smith
Description: Join StoryMakers Founder and discover how deeper formation can happen at home by capturing the imaginations of children and grown-ups. The session will cover how to foster deeper spiritual connections when grown-ups make the shift from instructor to guide. We will cover how to use visual language, play, and art to spark meaningful understanding of the big stories in the Bible. If you are seeking practical ways to encourage formation at home, equip volunteers, and enjoy the process along the way join Mel to discover how faith can come alive through the imagination.
Track: Learn
Faith in Film: Spirituality Through Culture and Media
Presenter(s): Ayana Grady; Greg Millikin
Description: In this presentation, we will look at clips and examples (movies, TV shows, commercials, songs and more) to help faith leaders and formation educators engage with the unexpected - modern forms of entertainment and pop culture, which can be windows into deeper belief and reflection in our own lives.
Track: Learn
Teaching Cultural Compassion: Using Secular Children's Books for Better Representation in Christian Education
Presenter(s): Tura Foster Gillespie
Description: Children of color are still grossly underrepresented in children’s picture books. So how do we show kids that God loves them--that God loves ALL of them? In this workshop, Rev. Tura Foster Gillespie, Founder of TeachingCulturalCompassion.com will outline ways to connect secular picture books with good representation to the faith formation of our youngest disciples.
Track: Learn
Evangelism Through Ministry
Presenter(s): Barry Randolph
Description: This session will focus on how ministry work can evangelize for you. When church becomes the center of the community the work of the ministry will become the evangelistic voice to spread the good news.
Track: Learn
Cultivating Spiritual Practices at Home
Presenter(s): Mark and Lisa Scandrette
Description: The limitations of the COVID 19 are opening many families to the tremendous opportunities to practice faith together at home. Parents have the greatest impact on their child’s faith formation. Yet many parents wonder if they’re qualified to guide their child’s understanding of God’s story. In this workshop we will explore simple and creative ways families can engage in faith practices together at home and how church leaders can resource and support those efforts.
Track: Learn
Break
Learning and Telling Bible Stories as a Spiritual Discipline
Presenter(s): Kathy Culmer
Description: Storytelling the Word:
A Practice for the Spiritual Journey -
Includes a series of exercises for Getting Deeper into the Word/Scripture and Getting the Word/Scripture Deeper into Us
Track: Pray
Building Your Trellis: Ancient Practices for a Better Life
Presenter(s): Sarah Hollar
Description: Introduction to building a personalized “Rule of Life” based on Benedictine Spiritual Practices of Prayer, Scripture, Service, Wonder and Virtue. A practical guide for traveling deeper into the heart of God and one’s own essence in ways that are life-giving rather than overwhelming. Sessions adaptable for older youth and adults.
Track: Pray
Living the Spiritual Practices of The Beauty Way
Presenter(s): Cornelia Eaton
Description: The Sacred Hozhó is to live in harmony with God and creation and to walk the Beauty Way. Together, we will develop new ways to know God in Jesus through the tapestries of the sacred spiritual life of the Diné.
Track: Pray
Bioregional Discipleship: ‘Re-Placing Christian Formation and Learning to Lament’
Presenter(s): Emily Ulmer
Description: An invitation to re-place and re-member ourselves within creation through lament. How to help folks of all ages encounter the sacred stories of Christianity, in their ecosystems; from seeing, to loving, to lamenting, to turning towards faithful kinship.
Track: Pray
How Rediscovering God in the Wild is Essential to the Future of the Church
Presenter(s): Lanni Lantto
Description: Have we often wondered why watching the wildlife in our backyards or tending our gardens is not more encouraged as a form of spiritual practice? Are we curious enough about the connection between the extreme climate shifts in nature and the lack of young people in our pews? By reawakening our senses to the wonder and awe of the natural world, we begin to fall back in love with all that God created. By reconnecting ourselves to the soil, our watersheds, the oak trees, the caterpillars, we live into our original vocation of living in right relationship with God. We will learn more about how UP Wild aims to foster this connection as we take a virtual nature walk through the snowy wilderness of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Track: Worship
Curating Sacred Space: Creating Experiential Worship both On Line and In Person
Presenter(s): Lilly Lewin
Description: How do we worship if we cannot sing together? How do we move from “sit and watch” to actually participating and engaging God? Experiential worship is interactive, multi-sensory, and engaging for all ages. We will learn together the basics of experiential worship and actually participate in it.
Track: Worship
Choosing Community: Stories from Episcopal Service Corps Communities
Presenter(s): Taylor Devine
Description: Building community in your context, be it family, neighborhood, small group, or institution, is part of answering the call to love one another. Drawing from the Desert Mothers and Fathers, modern practitioners of intentional Christian community, and the experiences of the Beloved in the Desert Episcopal Service Corps Program, this workshop will offer practices that invite commitment to the work of community that range from prayer practices to pitfalls.
Track: Worship
Godly Play in New Ways
Track: Worship
Practicing the Way of Jesus
Presenter(s): Mark Scandrette
Description: So many of us want to live in the way of Jesus-- pursuing a life that is deeply soulful, connected to our real needs and good news to our world. Yet too often our methods for growth are individualistic, information driven or disconnected from the details of every day life. How can we close the gap between how we want to live and how we actually live? Perhaps what we need is a Jesus Dojo, a shared spaces of practice that are more like a karate studio than a college lecture hall. In this workshop we will explore how we can rediscover a sense of immediacy and action in our spiritual lives and create worship and learning spaces that facilitate this for others.
Track: Worship
Small Group Response #2a
Description: Small Group Response time is offered later in the day for our friends closer to the west coast (a), and earlier the next day for our friends closer to the east coast (b). These times are available for local gatherings to meet in small groups or for individuals to join small groups via Zoom for discussion. Question for discussion are provided but by no means, required.
VTS Small Group Gathering
Description: Are you a VTS alum or current student? Join Lifelong Learning at VTS for a small group gathering and let us know how you are enjoying the conference and how we can best assist you in realizing what you are learning or dreaming about.
Diocese of Olympia Small Group Gathering
Diocese of Texas Small Group Gathering
Forma21 After Dark
Exploring the Intersection of Evangelism and Racial Justice, hosted by Episcopal Evangelism Socieity
Description: What will it take for society to view the church as justice-focused, as centered in Jesus' Way of Love? How might church leaders, lay and ordained, engage church members in this witness? And what's the role of formation in realizing this dream? Join the Episcopal Evangelism Society Executive Director Day Smith Pritchartt and EES Board members the Rev. Zack Nyein and the Rev. Dr. Tommie Watkins, Jr. to explore these ideas of 21st Century evangelism. Bring your own stories - and dreams!
Morning Coffee with Lifelong Learning at VTS
Description: Join Building Faith editors and Lifelong Learning staff in practical discussion about implementing brilliant ideas from FORMA21 in your context!
Small Group Response #2b
Description: Small Group Response time is offered later in the day for our friends closer to the west coast (a), and earlier the next day for our friends closer to the east coast (b). These times are available for local gatherings to meet in small groups or for individuals to join small groups via Zoom for discussion. Question for discussion are provided but by no means, required.
Diocese of Rio Grande Small Group Gathering
Diocese of Washington Small Group Gathering
Diocese of West Texas Small Group Gathering
Diocese of Atlanta Small Group Gathering
Diocese of Upper South Carolina Small Group Gathering
Diocese of Oklahoma Check-In
(Province III) Trail 2 Truth 2021 - Racial Reconciliation Pilgrimage
Description: Hear about Province 3's 2019 Trail 2 Truth Pilgrimage and updates for the second one scheduled for this October.
Opening Meditation
Presenter(s): Aaron Niequist
Description: Guided Examen
Plenary: Skills and Practices for Thriving Relationships
Presenter(s): Mark and Lisa Scandrette
Description: Family is where we get our first impression of what God is like, and where we first know love. Our family and community experiences put us on the journey and search for true parent and true home. What does it look like to walk in the way of love as a household or community? In this session we will explore skills and practices for staying connected, addressing personal growth challenges, and pursuing the greater good together.
Meditation Opportunity
#BLESSED? Transforming culture and changing lives by building a culture of blessing
Presenter(s): Amelia Richardson Dress
Description: Practices of blessing-giving can heal individuals and transform congregations. We’ll explore practices for doing progressive Christian theology in order to develop a life-giving culture of blessing. We’ll look at real-life examples of transforming rituals and deepen an understanding of what it means to be blessed and to be a blessing.
Track: Bless
Faith Expression: Jesus + Young People + Social Media
Presenter(s): Easton Davis
Description: Faith expression and social media go hand in hand. In a world where young people express themselves through social media platforms, how do we equip them to use these mediums as a tool for faith expression and evangelism? It may even lead to a vital spiritual practice. In this workshop, we talk about this question and some practical how-to in the social media landscape with young people.
Track: Bless
Leveraging Music Programs for Formation
Presenter(s): Michael Smith
Description: There are some straightforward and easy techniques for engaging new or pre-existing music programs to move beyond preparing music for worship into the work of forming disciples of Jesus, and calling others to that work. This session will explore philosophies and techniques of music programs that practice this work, as well as how to effectively engage musicians in partnership.
Track: Bless
#Latinx o Qué? Ministry in a predominantly white church
Presenter(s): Hipolito Fernandez Reina
Description: We will explore ideas on the following issues: Inculturation and Latino identity from a Latino perspective; the challenges of being Episcopal and Latino in a culturally exclusive environment; proposals to understand and extend the Latino ministry in the Episcopal Church.
Track: Bless
The Ninefold Path of Jesus
Presenter(s): Mark Scandrette
Description: Sign of haunting are all around us. The gap widens between the poor and the rich. Conflict rages between groups and nations. And due to our actions, even the future of the planet is threatened. If we aren't disturbed then we haven't been paying attention. What if the Beatitudes contain the keys to our liberation? In this workshop we will explore the revolutionary message of the Beatitudes and effective ways to put the teachings of the sermon on the Mount into practice in small group settings
Track: Bless
Break
A Hybrid Camino: Making Pilgrimage in a Time of Pandemic
Presenter(s): Elizabeth Cervasio
Description: Pilgrimage provides a way to cultivate our prayer life, process life experiences, give thanks to God, and much more. Learn how a six-week time of guided, group preparation and two-weeks of pilgrimage, walking from home, progressing virtually along the Camino de Santiago helps us find thin places in our own back yards.
Track: Go
Called Together for Action: Community Organizing as a Spiritual Practice
Presenter(s): Glenna Huber; Francisco Garcia
Description: As we move into this time of multiple pandemics, racism, COVID-19, economic injustice, ecological devastation, and gender inequities, what is the role of God’s people? We know intellectually that we have been called to Do Justice, Love Mercy and Walk Humbly with our God, but how that is lived on the ground varies given our context. Our panel will explore the various ways that congregations can engage around issues of justice and spiritual formation/practice. We will also converse about the ways community organizing universals can help guide our ministries so that we can be active participants in helping to create the world as God has envisioned.
Track: Go
Working for Justice While Being in the Tragic Gap
Presenter(s): Morgan Lee
Description: We will share and develop spiritual practices to allow us to sustain the work that goes with our mandate to “Do Justice”. Some of the guiding questions for our time together will include: How do we live into the call to do justice and the demands that such makes on our heads, our hearts, and our souls? How do we do this hard and necessary work? What spiritual practices help us to live a life that is called to do justice?
Track: Go
Go Big and Go Home: From Performance to Practice of Evangelism
Presenter(s): Tricia Lyons
Description: In the Episcopal Church, there is a sad phenomenon of 'performance evangelism,’ which is a spiritual shallowness that practices or invites people to practice 'evangelism' that is merely or mostly emotionalism or extroversion. Tragically, 'performance evangelism,' though often sincere or passionate, suffers from all the frailties that come with lack of formation: exhaustion, confusion, tribalism, conceit, colonialism, lack of vocation or hopelessness. This workshop aims to lay out a framework for leaders to move their faith communities from performances of evangelism to practices of evangelism. We will GO BIG by connecting our imaginations with epic examples of sacramental living and mission (in Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Harry Potter) and we will GO HOME as we dig deep into our ancient, monastic, medieval, modern and post-colonial Anglican theologies of mission.
Track: Go
Caring for Creation Together - Theology and An Episcopal Church Online Program
Presenter(s): Sheila Moore Andrus; Marc Andrus
Description: The workshop will feature an introduction to care of creation theology and the possibilities and imperative for action now, followed by an introduction to an online program customized for the Episcopal Church that empowers household and community action to address climate change.
Track: Go
The Blessing of Wonder
Presenter(s): Christine Sine
Description: Abraham Heschel says “Awareness of the divine begins with wonder” He grasped a reality few of us acknowledge: the wonder of God’s presence is everywhere. Here we will explore its power to inspire and bless us bringing joy, peace, stress relief and healing. We will discuss the impact expressions of wonder, like walks, laughter, and play, have in renewing and transforming us.
Bring your journal and colored pencils. Be prepared to stir your imagination and begin to create your own wonder pathway.
Track: Rest
Neuroscience: The Holy Spirit Moving Within
Presenter(s): Bryan Spoon
Description: For anyone interested in neuroscience resources for teaching, preaching, or personal devotion, this session will explore the divinely designed relationship between neuroscience and the fruit of the Spirit. The session will include small group time to connect you with the Holy Spirit's work in and through you and will direct you to influential Christian neuroscience authors, videos, and websites.
Track: Rest
Sabbathkeeping: Playing and Resting as Discipleship
Presenter(s): Beth Fain
Description: Imagine a God who invites us to cease to work and delights when we rest and play.
The Prophets tell us that keeping Sabbath is a sign of the Messiah's presence and how Jesus kept Sabbath got him into trouble with the religious authorities. As followers of The Messiah, we will have a conversation about how we can play and rest--with God's blessing.
Track: Rest
Baking Bread as a Spiritual Practice
Presenter(s): Kendall Vanderslice
Description: Bread is simple, made up of just flour, water, salt, and yeast. And yet, much like the spiritual life, even a lifetime of baking allows continued revelation of its complexities. In this workshop, Kendall Vanderslice—founder of Edible Theology and Companion Bread Share—will teach a basic bread recipe while probing the layers of spiritual metaphors woven into the process of making bread.
Track: Rest
Sending Worship
