Engaging in Spiritual Practices with Children
Children are spiritual beings with minds open to wonder. In this workshop we will share practices and events that can tap into that wonder and engage them at that level.
The Rev. Sandra Curtis is the Lower School chaplain at Episcopal Collegiate School and also serves as the dean of the Iona Collaborative in Arkansas for the Diocese. The Iona Collaborative is three year training program for deacons and local priests through the Seminary of the Southwest to support congregations in Arkansas.
Youth Ministry for the “Why” Generation
In a culture which increasingly identifies as “spiritual but not religious” and where Sundays have become prime real estate for sports and other activities, it can feel like the role of youth ministry has been placed on the back burner. Giving teens a place to ask hard questions and explore their faith takes them from tourists to travelers on their faith journeys. Whether you have five youth or 50, together we will explore how to make youth ministry in a modern context meaningful and WHY we do youth ministry in the first place.
Ashley Haggard is the youth minister at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. She is also the co-coordinator of Arkansas Happening and a graduate of the Forma Certificate in Youth Ministry program. In her decade of youth ministry, she has worked with all sizes of congregations and diocesan groups. Ashley believes that it takes a village to raise young people in their faith and facilitates opportunities for young people to experience the love of God in their everyday experiences.
Jesus Was a Young Adult
A conversation on forming followers of Jesus’ way — who also happen to fall between the ages of 18–35. Authentic engagement by your congregation or community is the key to building relationships with young adults. Together we will begin to put together an idea of what formation for, by, and with young adults might look like in your context.
Samantha Haycock is the Episcopal chaplain to the University of Arkansas and minister to young adults at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She also serves on the Forma board, is the Province 7 Coordinator for Campus Ministry, and a student with Bexley Seabury Seminary. Samantha has a passion for spreading Jesus’ call for social justice and she helps people to make connections between their daily and spiritual lives so that they can bring their whole and authentic selves to the world.
Ministry with Older Adults
Ministry with older adults is potentially quite exciting and multi-faceted. When we consider the time of "older adulthood" as a series of developmental stages rather than one static time of life, the door to imaginative and engaging formation open wide. During this workshop we will explore the terrains of "young old", "mid-old", and "old-old" and wrap our minds around the opportunities for spiritual growth and development during these times. We will quickly look at how life stages previous to older age prepare us for aging. Implications for intergenerational formation will be explored.
The Rev. Marna Franson is vicar-in-charge at St. Nicholas' Episcopal Church in Maumelle where a majority of her congregation are "of a certain age." To this ministry in Maumelle and to the presentation today she brings a background in formation and mission. Her area of concentration for her Masters in Theology was Mission and Evangelism. She worked for nine years at St. Michaels', Little Rock, as the Assistant to Families and Children. Most recently she completed a year of Anglican Studies at Virginia Theological Seminary. Marna enjoys experiential and embedded learning. She strives to create formation opportunities that coincide with the congregation she is presently serving.
Forming Hearts and Minds for Social Justice
Engaging social justice issues through Christian formation is central to living out the call of the Gospel. Come learn about some of the ways Episcopalians are doing this good work and leave equipped with tools and resources to engage your congregation or community in striving for justice and peace among all people, with God’s help.
Samantha Haycock is the Episcopal chaplain to the University of Arkansas and minister to young adults at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She also serves on the Forma board, is the Province 7 Coordinator for Campus Ministry, and a student with Bexley Seabury Seminary. Samantha has a passion for spreading Jesus’ call for social justice and she helps people to make connections between their daily and spiritual lives so that they can bring their whole and authentic selves to the world.
Intentional Home Group Formation:
Forming Disciples and Eradicating Aloneness
for All Ages
According to a recent study by Cigna, loneliness and lack of meaningful connection is one of the fastest growing health concerns in our country, a concern that stretches across our congregations. For many of our church members, finding meaningful relational connections in the midst of a busy modern life can be overwhelming. This is true for families, young adults, and our oldest parishioners, and a passing hello during the peace does not suffice as a meaningful interaction. In addition to the problem of connection, we as a church are also facing a crisis of formation - a crisis that is impacting the sustainability of congregations across the board. What if there was a way to address both of these needs at once? What if there was a way to begin to eradicate loneliness, while forming disciples? Would you try it? If so, then come and learn about the Ministry of Intentional Home Groups for all ages.
Jerusalem Jackson Greer, serves as the minister of formation and Connection at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Conway. She also works on The Way of Love team for The Episcopal Church, is the Project Evangelist for Baptized for Life: An Episcopal Discipleship Initiative from VTS and has contributed to Episcopal Relief and Development's Abundant Life Garden Project, and Forma's Faith-at-Home resource. She and her family life in rural Arkansas and is the author of At Home in this Life: Finding Peace at the Crossroads of Unraveled Dreams and Beautiful Surprises, and A Homemade Year: The Blessings of Cooking, Crafting and Coming Together. As a family they are attempting to live a slower version of the modern life. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't She writes about all of this and more at jerusalemgreer.com
