Workshops

Workshops are listed first by track and by time.

We are excited to offer workshop tracks that align with MCC’s Strategic Plan to help you more easily tailor your workshop experience.

Track 1, Global Growth, aligns with Breakthrough Objective #1 (global growth) and is being sponsored by the Office of Emerging Ministries.

Track 2, Justice, aligns with Breakthrough Objective #2 (justice) and is sponsored by the Office of the Moderator and the Global Justice Institute.

Track 3, Healthy Churches, aligns with Breakthrough Objectives #3 (churches) and #5 (finances) and is sponsored by the Office of Church Life and Health and the Operations Office.

Track 4, Worship aligns with Breakthrough Objective #3 (churches) and is sponsored by the Office of Church Life and Health and the General Conference Worship Team.

Track 5, Leadership aligns with Breakthrough Objective #4 (people) and is sponsored by the Office of Formation and Leadership Development and the Operations Office.

Continuing Education Credit:

All workshops are certified for CEU for clergy. Clergy need to keep track of which ones they take and list them by name on their relicensure form at the end of the year.

***Please note that workshop sessions are still tentative and may change.

WORKSHOPS BY TRACK

1: Global Growth     

Beyond Inclusion: Creating Trans* and GNC Celebratory Congregations in MCC
Time/Location: Thursday, 2:00 – 3:30 PM – Saanich 1
Track: Global Growth
Presenters: Rev. Norma Gann, Rev. Miller Hoffman, Rev. Jake Kopmeier Rev. Aaron Miller, and Stacy Sandberg

How can we ensure that Trans* and Gender Non-Conforming people will feel welcome, safe, and cherished in our congregations?  Join us as we explore what it means to be Trans*/gender variant and how to help our congregations invite and celebrate such differences as part of God’s beloved community.

Emerging Church Development
Time/Location: Thursday, 4:00 – 5:30 PM – Sidney
Track: Global Growth
Presenter: Rev. Rachelle Brown

Discover where a new generation of MCC churches are now forming!  This workshop will introduce the MCC Global Emerging Churches Program, describe new ways and places that MCC Emerging Churches are appearing, and participants will also meet a few of the emerging Ministry Leaders.  Bring your questions to this interactive and International workshop.

HIV / AIDS and MCC Today
Time/Location: Friday, 3:30 – 5:00 PM – Colwood 1
Track: Global Growth
Presenter: Dr. David Williams

Refresh and expand your HIV knowledge base.  This workshop will cover: modes of transmission, prevention methods and HIV prevention science 2.0, treatment of HIV and AIDS, latest medical updates and recommended vaccinations for the general public and at risk populations. We will also explore HIV and its stigma. We will learn the definition of stigma and its ramifications in regard to HIV/AIDS, address the question, “Does HIVE stigma exist in MCC?”, examine how stigma influences and is woven into our daily lives and how those attitudes are exhibited in our churches, explore ways we can combat HIV stigma in MCC, and review a case study and testimony of how a MCC church responded to HIV/AIDS.

Oasis Communities
Time/Location: Friday, 1:30 – 3:00 PM – Saanich
Track: Global Growth
Presenter: Rev. Aaron Miller

Can you imagine MCC beyond church walls to connect individuals, small groups, and spiritual communities as MCC in new and exciting ways?   We are creating a global MCC community, from New York to New Delhi; Capetown to Bejing and beyond. We invite you to open the door and explore MCC Oasis, “A spiritual respite in a hectic and ever-changing world.”  A place where all are welcome…to learn, be inspired, seek justice, and feed their spirit; on-line, in gatherings, and in many different ways. Are you curious about this new way to BE MCC; without walls or borders? If so, come and see…

Toward a More Just and Inclusive MCC
Time/Location: Friday, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – West Coast
Track: Global Growth

Presenters: Rev. Elijah Nealy and Rev. Robin Gorsline

Knowing that dismantling systemic racism requires the initiative and responsibility of people of European descent, the newly appointed Racial Reconciliation Working Group is charged to equip people of European descent to develop relationships of greater mutuality with peoples of colors, to increase awareness of the scope and power of white privilege within U.S. culture as well as its ongoing impact around the globe, and to develop attitudes and practices within MCC that facilitate the full inclusion of peoples of colors. Intended to be a conversation among people of European descent, this workshop is designed to begin engaging this work so essential to our emerging future.

2: Justice

Remaining “United” Methodists?
Time/Location: Thursday 2:00 – 3:30 – Colwood 2
Track: Justice
Presenter: Rev. Jane Nelson, Alleghany College

Black Lives Matter
Time/Location: Thursday, 4:00 – 5:30 PM – Colwood 1
Track: Justice
Presenter: Rev. Danny Givens

Rev. Danny Givens has been an activist with the Black Lives Matter movement from its inception. He will address capacity building and sustainability in the ongoing battle for human rights and equality.

Climate Change and the Queer Community
Time/Location: Friday, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Lecture Theatre
Track: Justice
Presenters: Rev. Aaron Miller, Rev. Nancy Wilson, and Rev. Rich Hendricks

Join Rev. Nancy Wilson and Rev. Aaron Miller as they present an overview of MCC’s work on climate justice globally and offer practical policy evaluations.

Equipping the Saints for Social Justice Work
Time/Location: Thursday, 2:00 – 3:30 PM – Colwood 1
Track: Justice
Presenters: Members of MCC’s Public Policy Team

A practical guide for action locally and globally.

Global Justice Institute Overview
Time/Location: Friday, 3:30 – 5:00 PM – West Coast Room
Track: Justice

Presenters: Rev. Elder Hector Gutierrez, Rev. Elder Margarita Sanchez De Leon, Rev. Jim Merritt, Rev. Brent Hawkes, Rev. Michael Kimindu, Florin Buhaceanu, and Rev. Elder Pat Bumgardner.

Activists working with the GJI will offer updates on our movement and projects in Asia, Latin and Central America, the United States, the Caribbean, Canada and Africa, making connections with other human rights movements on the ground and providing opportunities for involvement. Learn how you and your Church can be involved in supporting those who are transforming the world in their own contexts.

Brave Spaces, Holy Diversity and Sacred Justice
Time/Location: Friday, 1:30 – 3:00 PM -Lecture Theatre
Track: Justice
Presenter: Rev. MacArthur Flournoy, Human Rights Campaign

This workshop will feature a 32 minute documentary that explores the evolution of the modern day African-American civil rights movement to engender LGBTQ equality as a key social justice issue. Subsequent to the screening of “BRAVE SPACES”, this workshop will engage in a robust and dynamic conversation on the moral imperative of the LGBTQ movement embracing racial justice, as an essential principle in our individual and collective efforts. Together, we will embrace and model the requisite courage necessary to listen and learn from each other ways to address racism and xenophobia within the LGBTQ movement towards becoming the beloved community as called for by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. All people and voices are welcomed with radical hospitality and deep respect.

Marriage Equality, Adoption and other Relational Movements around the Globe
Time/Location: Thursday, 4:00 – 5:30 PM – West Coast
Track: Justice
Presenters: Rev. Jim Merritt and Rev. Jorge Rivas Delgado

Rev. Jim Merritt and Rev. Jorge Rivas Delgado will be joined by other activists from around the globe, offering regional updates and strategies for dealing with opposition, the religious exemption movement, and the religious right.

3: Healthy Churches

Brand Recognition: MCC in the Spotlight, Past and Present
Time/Location: Friday, 3:30-5:00PM – Lecture Theatre
Track: Healthy Churches
Presenters: Linda Brenner, Barb Crabtree and Rev. Ann Craig

MCC has been known as “The Gay Church,” “The Church With AIDS,” and “The Human Rights Church.” How are you known in your community?  What is your brand and tag line?  This workshop will look at the range of MCC brand images in our denomination.  We will look at the MCC Brand resources that are available to all MCC pastors/leaders and explore how using common brand materials helps everyone.

Safeguarding Church Finances in an Online World
Time/Location: Friday, 1:30 – 3:00 PM – Oak Bay 1
Track: Healthy Churches
Presenters: Barbara Crabtree and Sarah-Jane Ramage

Like many of our own personal finances, church funds are more and more frequently managed online.  We have squares and triangles, iPads and Paypal accounts, and direct bank transfers into and out from our accounts.  Our time-tested safeguards like requiring two signatures on checks, and making sure that at least two people count the offering, are no longer adequate to protect our church funds from theft.  If you are a board member, pastor, or part of the administrative team at your church, this workshop is for you. 

Let’s Go to the (Stewardship) Fair
Time/Location: Thursday 2- 3:30pm – Barnard
Track: Healthy Churches
Presenters: Multiple Churches

Stewardship is about more than money; it is about how we use all of our resources to respond generously to the goodness of God. One of the wonderful resources we have in MCC is a number of churches of different sizes and different places who have worked extremely well on their stewardship. As excellent stewards, these congregations will generously share what has worked for them and lessons they have learned along the way. This workshop will provide take-home resources appropriate for any church member, but especially for lay leaders, boards, and pastors.

Surviving an Active Shooter Event and Church Security
Time/Location: Friday, 11:00am – 12:30pm, Saanich
Track: Healthy Churches
Presenters: Commander Steve Torrence

Get advice from Florida police officer on how to keep your congregation safe, understand what to do with threats, and how to create emergency protocol for your church or community.

MCC Leadership and Programming for the Future
Time/Location: Thursday, 2:00 – 3:30 PM – Sidney 
Track: Healthy Churches, Leadership
Presenters: Rev. Wes Mullins, Rev. Katie Hotze-Wilton, Rev. Lillie Brock

Do you wish your congregation would be more involved in their spiritual lives?  Do you offer programs people say they want but then don’t attend?  Are you stretched so thin you can’t see a way to offer additional programs?  Do you need more entry points to your church?  Do you want to see your congregants become more involved in ministry to others and spiritual growth for themselves? Do you want a church leadership model that is not top down?  If you answered yes to any of these, this workshop is for you!  We promise to offer you substantive information, usable and duplicable tools, along with practical experience. These will be your take-aways:

• A new model for programming in your church
• A systematic way to define and build more vibrant ministry (programming)
• Guidelines for working together as a team to increase people’s participation in their own spiritual life beyond worship (All of us is smarter than one of us)
• Tried and true ways to create interest in and commitment to spiritual growth and increasing depth.
• Access to high quality resources already prepared and written by MCCers to get you started.

Scouting: New Opportunities
Time/Location: Friday, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Langford
Track: Healthy Churches
Presenter: Justin Wilson

For far too long, openly LGBTQ youth and adults were banned from the Boy Scouts of America. Over the past several years, Scouts for Equality led a public campaign to end that policy. With that era of discrimination having come to a close, we have a unique window of opportunity to bring an inclusive Scouting program to a new generation of youth. Participants will learn details of the past policies that weren’t shared publicly, gain a greater understanding of why Scouting in America has yet to become gender-integrated, and learn how their congregations can join other MCC congregations in starting inclusive Scouting programs.

The Relational Church: Covenants, Calling, and Communication
Time/Location: Friday, 3:30 – 5:00 PM – Esquimalt
Track: Healthy Churches
Presenter: Rev. Dr. Jim Burns

Does it ever seem that just when your church is making progress, something happens that sidetracks the momentum? Many churches fail to fulfill their mission because they are mired in unhealthy patterns-interpersonal relationships, lay/clergy roles, and/or communication styles. Drawing from experience in churches from 30 people to 300, let’s talk about establishing shared agreements (the easier part) and actually changing behavior long-term (the harder part).

Shift Happens! Supporting Pastoral Transitions
Time/Location: Thursday, 2:00 – 3:30 PM – Oak Bay
Track: Healthy Churches
Presenters: Rev. Pressley Sutherland

From the time of the earliest church to now, the clerical vocation remains itinerant. Clergy serve a community for a season and will be called to leave someday in order for the church and pastor to find fresh possibilities for mission. This session will allow lay and clergy alike to explore the dynamics of pastoral transition and the denominational support available. Come join the staff, faculty and mentors of OCLH transition support programs to learn more about this in-between period with its practical and archetypal value for spiritual transformation and community renewal.

The Turnaround-Comeback-Revitalized Church
Time/Location: Friday, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Esquimalt
Track: Healthy Churches
Presenter: Rev. Pressley Sutherland

The scenario: Two historically inclusive progressive churches on the same street, with the same core values, are having vastly different experiences. One is in decline and the other is thriving. What is going on? In this workshop we will keep it real and learn how the Spirit in Christ is turning around inclusive ministries and churches with inspiration, innovation and reignited missional imagination. Balancing the practical and gloriously impractical, we will explore current revitalization movements and ancient spiritual wisdom to become once again “the Repairers of Broken Walls and Restorers of Streets with Dwellings.” (Isaiah 58:12b)

4: Worship

How to Bring General Conference Worship Home
Time/Location: Friday, 4:30-5:00pm- Carson Hall
Track: Worship
Presenters: The General Conference Worship Planning Team

Learn the techniques the General Conference Worship Team used to create and implement Worship. This session will cover: planning techniques, how to create multi-sensory worship, writing liturgy, how to create diversity in worship and offer some resources for all church sizes to use.

Intentionally Multicultural Worship

Time/Location: Friday, 1:30 – 3:00 PM – West Coast Room
Track: Worship
Presenters: Rev. Gina Durbin, Rev. Tory Topjian, and Rev. Emily Worman

MCCers come from many walks of life… From different countries and regions within those countries, speaking many languages, of varied races, ethnicities, abilities, ages, and church experiences (or no church experience at all), with diverse identifications of gender and sexuality… And yet, we are all called to worship the One who created us all in all our beautiful diversity. Together, we will explore and experience some ways, even without big budgets or multiple staff, that we might approach worship to be intentionally multicultural and radically inclusive, to more fully embody the Beloved Community that is God’s dream. This workshop is for anyone who participates in, plans, and/or leads worship

Recruiting and Training for the Worship Team

Time/Location: Friday, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Saanich
Track: Worship
Presenter: Dr. Marcia McFee

Would you like to develop a worship team that consistently produces vital and passionate worship – without getting burned out?  Dr. Marcia McFee worked with the General Conference Worship Team to plan the incredible conference worship experiences.  Come learn how to recruit and train worship arts teams to create inspirational, meaningful, and memorable worship. 

Singer-Songwriter Workshop
Time/Location: Tuesday, 3:00 – 5:00 PM – Oak Bay
Track: Worship
Presenter: Bobby Jo Valentine

Interested in exploring various aspects of the art of the songwriter?  Join Bobby Jo Valentine for some thoughts on the craft of songwriting, crafting songs from your story through a redemptive light, and general thoughts on supporting creative art in your community. A combination of lecture, storytelling, and Q and A.

Story-Telling Workshop
Time/Location: Thursday, 4:00 – 5:30 PM – Lecture Theatre
Track: Worship
Presenter: Jade Estrada

5: Leadership

Being the Missional Church
Time/Location: Thursday, 4:00 – 5:30 PM – Oak Bay
Track: Leadership
Presenters:  Rev. Lisa Heilig, Pressley Sutherland and Rev. Elder Tony Freeman

So often, we think that if we could just get a great building, great staff, great programs, we could get people to “come and see” what church is about and join us. Those are all wonderful things, but what if we got out of our buildings, if all of our members were involved, if we moved out into the world around us to “go and be” the church and join God where the Spirit is already moving? That’s what it means to be a missional church, and it is not just another program, but a total transformation from the inside out, embodying here and now where God calls us to go and be as a church. This workshop is for anyone who wants a different way to think about and to be church together in our 21st century world.

Creating Space for Virtual Education
Time/Location: Thursday, 2:00 – 3:30 PM – Esquimalt
Track: Leadership
Presenter: Rev. Duane Romberger

Virtual technology has made it possible for people to connect as well as deepen their learning and spirituality.  This workshop will explore philosophical and pedagogical approaches to on-line learning as well as present some practical tools for using on-line technology.

Discovering a Way to Work Your Passion
Time/Location: Friday, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Colwood
Track: Leadership
Presenters: Rev. Elder Dr. Mona West and Rev. Dr. Kharma Amos

This is a discernment workshop—a workshop that helps participants listen to the God of their understanding through their own life experience and knowledge of their gifts. It also helps them identify what they are most passionate about.  When people are able to work their passion, their work lives are much more enjoyable and meaningful, and their work is more effective because it is infused with Spirit. Understanding one’s work as sacred calling can also strengthen and increase one’s sense of purpose, resourcefulness, and capacity for creating lasting change.

A Holy Conversation on Leadership Transition
Time/Location: Friday, 1:30 – 3:00 PM – Colwood
Track: Leadership
Presenter: Members of MCC’s Theologies Team

As MCC prepares to welcome a new Moderator, this workshop will provide opportunities for participants to have a Holy Conversation about leadership transitions, using the format developed by MCC Theologies Team.

HOOKING UP: Frank Talk about Sex and Spirit
Time/Location: Thursday, 4:00 – 5:30 PM – Saanich
Track: Leadership
Presenters: Rev. Dr. Kharma Amos and Rev. Dr. Tom Bohache

This session, inspired by the recent online symposium sponsored by the Office of Formation and Leadership Development, seeks to advance MCC’s ongoing commitment to integrating sexuality and spirituality, by offering an opportunity to speak honestly about how we might tangibly address this issue in our congregations. The gathering will begin with a panel of diverse MCCers who will each speak to an issue embracing sex and spirit, followed by group discussion that will both respond to and go beyond our panelists’ remarks.

MCC Leadership and Programming for the Future
Time/Location: Thursday, 2:00 – 3:30 PM – Sidney
Track: Healthy Churches, Leadership
Presenters: Rev. Wes Mullins, Rev. Katie Hotze-Wilton, Rev. Lillie Brock

Do you wish your congregation would be more involved in their spiritual lives?  Do you offer programs people say they want but then don’t attend?  Are you stretched so thin you can’t see a way to offer additional programs?  Do you need more entry points to your church?  Do you want to see your congregants become more involved in ministry to others and spiritual growth for themselves? Do you want a church leadership model that is not top down?  If you answered yes to any of these, this workshop is for you!  We promise to offer you substantive information, usable and duplicable tools, along with practical experience. These will be your take-aways:

• A new model for programming in your church
• A systematic way to define and build more vibrant ministry (programming)
• Guidelines for working together as a team to increase people’s participation in their own spiritual life beyond worship (All of us is smarter than one of us)
• Tried and true ways to create interest in and commitment to spiritual growth and increasing depth.
• Access to high quality resources already prepared and written by MCCers to get you started.

Mentoring Matters
Time/Location: Friday, 1:30 – 3:00 PM – Esquimalt
Track: Leadership
Presenter: Rev. Lisa Heilig

In our rapidly changing world, how can leaders in MCC prepare others to move with God’s Spirit into the future? Mentoring is essential for leaders of teams, in congregations, in organizations, in movements, to help new and emerging leaders learn and grow. In mentoring others, leaders establish a relationship of trust by sharing lived experiences and wisdom. In so doing, those mentored can be encouraged and empowered to live and lead authentically and the mentors themselves are enriched as leaders. This workshop is for leaders of all kinds who want to develop their own leadership as they develop new and emerging leaders. In this interactive workshop, we will explore together the origins of mentoring, examine some examples of mentoring, and gain understanding of some of the best practices of mentoring.

More Than General Conference: The Role of the Lay Delegate
Time/Location: Thursday, 4:00 – 5:30 PM – Esquimalt
Track: Leadership
Presenters: Elder Professor Nancy Maxwell and Robert Pope

This workshop will explore the role of the Lay Delegate beyond the responsibilities of General Conference.  The Lay Delegate serves as the liaison between the local church and the denomination. Being elected by the local congregation to represent the local church offers many opportunities to be a servant leader who helps to identify the connection between the local community and the worldwide movement of MCC. Effective strategies for strengthening the role of the Lay Delegate in the local congregation, the Network and the denomination will be discussed.

Sexual Orientation Beyond Binaries: Paying Attention to the “B” in LGBTQ

Time/Location: Friday, 3:30 – 5:00 PM – Saanich 1
Track: Leadership
Presenter: Marie Alford-Harkey

Are our MCC congregations welcoming to the “B’s” in the LGBTQ acronym? At this interactive workshop, participants will engage in activities to examine their own attitudes about bisexuality and assess their community’s welcome of bisexual people. Participants will learn about research on bisexuality, discuss a new model of sexual orientation that invites complexity, and leave with concrete strategies for making congregations safer and more welcoming to people who identify as bisexual. This workshop will be presented in a train-the-trainer format so that participants can share information with their own boards, network gatherings, and other gatherings of MCC clergy and congregations.

WORKSHOPS BY DATE/TIME

Tuesday, 5 July 2016 – 3:00 – 5:00 PM

Singer-Songwriter Workshop
Time/Location: Tuesday, 3:00 – 5:00 PM – Oak Bay
Track: Worship
Presenter: Bobby Jo Valentine

Interested in exploring various aspects of the art of the songwriter?  Join Bobby Jo Valentine for some thoughts on the craft of songwriting, crafting songs from your story through a redemptive light, and general thoughts on supporting creative art in your community. A combination of lecture, storytelling, and Q and A.

Thursday, 7 July 2016 – 2:00 – 3:30 PM

Beyond Inclusion: Creating Trans* and GNC Celebratory Congregations in MCC
Time/Location: Thursday, 2:00 – 3:30 PM – Saanich 1
Track: Global Growth
Presenters: Trans* Advisory Council

How can we ensure that Trans* and Gender Non-Conforming people will feel welcome, safe, and cherished in our congregations?  Join us as we explore what it means to be Trans*/gender variant and how to help our congregations invite and celebrate such differences as part of God’s beloved community.

Creating Space for Virtual Education
Time/Location: Thursday, 2:00 – 3:30 PM – Esquimalt
Track: Leadership
Presenter: Rev. Duane Romberger

Virtual technology has made it possible for people to connect as well as deepen their learning and spirituality.  This workshop will explore philosophical and pedagogical approaches to on-line learning as well as present some practical tools for using on-line technology.

Equipping the Saints for Social Justice Work
Time/Location: Thursday, 2:00 – 3:30 PM – Colwood 1 
Track: Justice
Presenters: Members of MCC’s Public Policy Team

A practical guide for action locally and globally.

Let’s Go to the (Stewardship) Fair
Time/Location: Thursday, 2 – 3:30 – Barnard
Track: Healthy Churches
Presenters: Multiple Churches

Stewardship is about more than money; it is about how we use all of our resources to respond generously to the goodness of God. One of the wonderful resources we have in MCC is a number of churches of different sizes and different places who have worked extremely well on their stewardship. As excellent stewards, these congregations will generously share what has worked for them and lessons they have learned along the way. This workshop will provide take-home resources appropriate for any church member, but especially for lay leaders, boards, and pastors.

MCC Leadership and Programming for the Future
Time/Location: Thursday, 2:00 – 3:30 PM – Sidney
Track: Healthy Churches
Presenters: Rev. Wes Mullins, Rev. Katie Hotze-Wilton, Rev. Lillie Brock

Do you wish your congregation would be more involved in their spiritual lives?  Do you offer programs people say they want but then don’t attend?  Are you stretched so thin you can’t see a way to offer additional programs?  Do you need more entry points to your church?  Do you want to see your congregants become more involved in ministry to others and spiritual growth for themselves? Do you want a church leadership model that is not top down?  If you answered yes to any of these, this workshop is for you!  We promise to offer you substantive information, usable and duplicable tools, along with practical experience. These will be your take-aways:

• A new model for programming in your church
• A systematic way to define and build more vibrant ministry (programming)
• Guidelines for working together as a team to increase people’s participation in their own spiritual life beyond worship (All of us is smarter than one of us)
• Tried and true ways to create interest in and commitment to spiritual growth and increasing depth.
• Access to high quality resources already prepared and written by MCCers to get you started.

Remaining “United” Methodists?
Time/Location: Thursday 2:00 – 3:30 – Colwood 2
Track: Justice
Presenter: Rev. Jane Nelson, Alleghany College

Shift Happens! Supporting Pastoral Transitions
Time/Location: Thursday, 2:00 – 3:30 PM – Oak Bay
Track: Healthy Churches
Presenters: Rev. Pressley Sutherland

From the time of the earliest church to now, the clerical vocation remains itinerant. Clergy serve a community for a season and will be called to leave someday in order for the church and pastor to find fresh possibilities for mission. This session will allow lay and clergy alike to explore the dynamics of pastoral transition and the denominational support available. Come join the staff, faculty and mentors of OCLH transition support programs to learn more about this in-between period with its practical and archetypal value for spiritual transformation and community renewal.

Thursday, 7 July 2016 – 4:00 – 5:30 PM

Being the Missional Church
Time/Location: Thursday, 4:00 – 5:30 PM – Oak Bay
Track: Leadership
Presenters:  Rev. Lisa Heilig, Rev. Pressley Sutherland and Rev. Elder Tony Freeman

So often, we think that if we could just get a great building, great staff, great programs, we could get people to “come and see” what church is about and join us. Those are all wonderful things, but what if we got out of our buildings, if all of our members were involved, if we moved out into the world around us to “go and be” the church and join God where the Spirit is already moving? That’s what it means to be a missional church, and it is not just another program, but a total transformation from the inside out, embodying here and now where God calls us to go and be as a church. This workshop is for anyone who wants a different way to think about and to be church together in our 21st century world.

Black Lives Matter
Time/Location: Thursday, 4:00 – 5:30 PM – Colwood 1
Track: Justice
Presenters: Rev. Danny Givens

Rev. Danny Givens has been an activist with the Black Lives Matter movement from its inception. He will address capacity building and sustainability in the ongoing battle for human rights and equality.

Emerging Church Development
Time/Location: Thursday, 4:00 – 5:30 PM – Sidney
Track: Global Growth
Presenter: Rev. Rachelle Brown

Discover where a new generation of MCC churches are now forming!  This workshop will introduce the MCC Global Emerging Churches Program, describe new ways and places that MCC Emerging Churches are appearing, and participants will also meet a few of the emerging Ministry Leaders.  Bring your questions to this interactive and International workshop.

HOOKING UP: Frank Talk about Sex and Spirit
Time/Location: Thursday, 4:00 – 5:30 PM – Saanich
Track: Leadership
Presenters: Rev. Dr. Kharma Amos and Rev. Dr. Tom Bohache

This session, inspired by the recent online symposium sponsored by the Office of Formation and Leadership Development, seeks to advance MCC’s ongoing commitment to integrating sexuality and spirituality, by offering an opportunity to speak honestly about how we might tangibly address this issue in our congregations. The gathering will begin with a panel of diverse MCCers who will each speak to an issue embracing sex and spirit, followed by group discussion that will both respond to and go beyond our panelists’ remarks.

More Than General Conference: The Role of the Lay Delegate
Time/Location: Thursday, 4:00 – 5:30 PM – Esquimalt
Track: Leadership
Presenters: Elder Professor Nancy Maxwell and Robert Pope

This workshop will explore the role of the Lay Delegate beyond the responsibilities of General Conference.  The Lay Delegate serves as the liaison between the local church and the denomination. Being elected by the local congregation to represent the local church offers many opportunities to be a servant leader who helps to identify the connection between the local community and the worldwide movement of MCC. Effective strategies for strengthening the role of the Lay Delegate in the local congregation, the Network and the denomination will be discussed.

Marriage Equality, Adoption and other Relational Movements around the Globe
Time/Location: Thursday, 4:00 – 5:30 PM – West Coast
Track: Justice
Presenters: Rev. Jim Merritt and Rev. Jorge Rivas Delgado

Rev. Jim Merritt and Rev. Jorge Rivas Delgado will be joined by other activists from around the globe, offering regional updates and strategies for dealing with opposition, the religious exemption movement, and the religious right.

Story-Telling Workshop
Time/Location: Thursday, 4:00 – 5:30 PM – Lecture Theatre
Track: Worship
Presenter: Jade Estrada

Friday, 8 July 2016 – 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Climate Change and the Queer Community
Time/Location: Friday, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Lecture Theatre
Track: Justice
Presenters: Rev. Aaron Miller, Rev. Nancy Wilson, and Rev. Rich Hendricks

Join Rev. Nancy Wilson and Rev. Aaron Miller as they present an overview of MCC’s work on climate justice globally and offer practical policy evaluations.

Discovering a Way to Work Your Passion
Time/Location: Friday, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Colwood
Track: Leadership
Presenters: Rev. Elder Dr. Mona West and Rev. Dr. Kharma Amos

This is a discernment workshop—a workshop that helps participants listen to the God of their understanding through their own life experience and knowledge of their gifts. It also helps them identify what they are most passionate about.  When people are able to work their passion, their work lives are much more enjoyable and meaningful, and their work is more effective because it is infused with Spirit. Understanding one’s work as sacred calling can also strengthen and increase one’s sense of purpose, resourcefulness, and capacity for creating lasting change.

Recruiting and Training for the Worship Team

Time/Location: Friday, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Saanich
Track: Worship
Presenter: Dr. Marcia McFee

Would you like to develop a worship team that consistently produces vital and passionate worship – without getting burned out?  Dr. Marcia McFee worked with the General Conference Worship Team to plan the incredible conference worship experiences.  Come learn how to recruit and train worship arts teams to create inspirational, meaningful, and memorable worship.

Surviving an Active Shooter Event and Church Security
Time/Location: Friday, 11:00am – 12:30pm, Saanich
Track: Healthy Churches
Presenters: Commander Steve Torrence

Get advice from Florida police officer on how to keep your congregation safe, understand what to do with threats, and how to create emergency protocol for your church or community.

Scouting: New Opportunities
Time/Location: Friday, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Langford
Track: Healthy Churches
Presenter: Justin Wilson

For far too long, openly LGBTQ youth and adults were banned from the Boy Scouts of America. Over the past several years, Scouts for Equality led a public campaign to end that policy. With that era of discrimination having come to a close, we have a unique window of opportunity to bring an inclusive Scouting program to a new generation of youth. Participants will learn details of the past policies that weren’t shared publicly, gain a greater understanding of why Scouting in America has yet to become gender-integrated, and learn how their congregations can join other MCC congregations in starting inclusive Scouting programs.

Toward a More Just and Inclusive MCC
Time/Location: Friday, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – West Coast
Track: Global Growth
Presenters: Rev. Elijah Nealy and Rev. Robin Gorsline

Knowing that dismantling systemic racism requires the initiative and responsibility of people of European descent, the newly appointed Racial Reconciliation Working Group is charged to equip people of European descent to develop relationships of greater mutuality with peoples of colors, to increase awareness of the scope and power of white privilege within U.S. culture as well as its ongoing impact around the globe, and to develop attitudes and practices within MCC that facilitate the full inclusion of peoples of colors. Intended to be a conversation among people of European descent, this workshop is designed to begin engaging this work so essential to our emerging future.

The Turnaround-Comeback-Revitalized Church
Time/Location: Friday, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Esquimalt
Track: Healthy Churches
Presenter: Rev. Pressley Sutherland

The scenario: Two historically inclusive progressive churches on the same street, with the same core values, are having vastly different experiences. One is in decline and the other is thriving. What is going on? In this workshop we will keep it real and learn how the Spirit in Christ is turning around inclusive ministries and churches with inspiration, innovation and reignited missional imagination. Balancing the practical and gloriously impractical, we will explore current revitalization movements and ancient spiritual wisdom to become once again “the Repairers of Broken Walls and Restorers of Streets with Dwellings.” (Isaiah 58:12b)

Friday, 8 July 2016 – 1:30 – 3:00 PM

A Holy Conversation on Leadership Transition
Time/Location: Friday, 1:30 – 3:00 PM – Colwood
Track: Leadership
Presenter: Members of MCC’s Theologies Team

As MCC prepares to welcome a new Moderator, this workshop will provide opportunities for participants to have a Holy Conversation about leadership transitions, using the format developed by MCC Theologies Team.

Safeguarding Church Finances in an Online World
Time/Location: Friday, 1:30 – 3:00 PM – Oak Bay 1
Track: Healthy Churches
Presenters: Barbara Crabtree and Sarah-Jane Ramage

Like many of our own personal finances, church funds are more and more frequently managed online.  We have squares and triangles, iPads and Paypal accounts, and direct bank transfers into and out from our accounts.  Our time-tested safeguards like requiring two signatures on checks, and making sure that at least two people count the offering, are no longer adequate to protect our church funds from theft.  If you are a board member, pastor, or part of the administrative team at your church, this workshop is for you. 

Intentionally Multicultural Worship
Time/Location: Friday, 1:30 – 3:00 PM – West Coast Room
Track: Worship
Presenters: Revs. Gina Durbin, Tory Topjian, and Emily Worman

MCCers come from many walks of life… From different countries and regions within those countries, speaking many languages, of varied races, ethnicities, abilities, ages, and church experiences (or no church experience at all), with diverse identifications of gender and sexuality… And yet, we are all called to worship the One who created us all in all our beautiful diversity. Together, we will explore and experience some ways, even without big budgets or multiple staff, that we might approach worship to be intentionally multicultural and radically inclusive, to more fully embody the Beloved Community that is God’s dream. This workshop is for anyone who participates in, plans, and/or leads worship

Brave Spaces, Holy Diversity and Sacred Justice
Time/Location: Friday, 1:30 – 3:00 PM -Lecture Theatre
Track: Justice
Presenter: Rev. MacArthur Flournoy

This workshop will feature a 32 minute documentary that explores the evolution of the modern day African-American civil rights movement to engender LGBTQ equality as a key social justice issue. Subsequent to the screening of “BRAVE SPACES”, this workshop will engage in a robust and dynamic conversation on the moral imperative of the LGBTQ movement embracing racial justice, as an essential principle in our individual and collective efforts. Together, we will embrace and model the requisite courage necessary to listen and learn from each other ways to address racism and xenophobia within the LGBTQ movement towards becoming the beloved community as called for by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. All people and voices are welcomed with radical hospitality and deep respect.

Mentoring Matters
Time/Location: Friday, 1:30 – 3:00 PM – Esquimalt
Track: Leadership
Presenter: Rev. Lisa Heilig

In our rapidly changing world, how can leaders in MCC prepare others to move with God’s Spirit into the future? Mentoring is essential for leaders of teams, in congregations, in organizations, in movements, to help new and emerging leaders learn and grow. In mentoring others, leaders establish a relationship of trust by sharing lived experiences and wisdom. In so doing, those mentored can be encouraged and empowered to live and lead authentically and the mentors themselves are enriched as leaders. This workshop is for leaders of all kinds who want to develop their own leadership as they develop new and emerging leaders. In this interactive workshop, we will explore together the origins of mentoring, examine some examples of mentoring, and gain understanding of some of the best practices of mentoring.

Oasis Communities
Time/Location: Friday, 1:30 – 3:00 PM – Saanich
Track: Global Growth
Presenter: Rev. Aaron Miller

Can you imagine MCC beyond church walls to connect individuals, small groups, and spiritual communities as MCC in new and exciting ways?   We are creating a global MCC community, from New York to New Delhi; Capetown to Bejing and beyond. We invite you to open the door and explore MCC Oasis, “A spiritual respite in a hectic and ever-changing world.”  A place where all are welcome…to learn, be inspired, seek justice, and feed their spirit; on-line, in gatherings, and in many different ways. Are you curious about this new way to BE MCC; without walls or borders? If so, come and see…

Friday, 8 July 2016 – 3:30 – 5:00 PM

Brand Recognition: MCC in the Spotlight, Past and Present
Time/Location: Friday, 3:30 – 3:00 PM – Lecture Theatre 
Track: Healthy Churches
Presenters: Linda Brenner, Barb Crabtree and Rev. Ann Craig

MCC has been known as “The Gay Church,” “The Church With AIDS,” and “The Human Rights Church.” How are you known in your community?  What is your brand and tag line?  This workshop will look at the range of MCC brand images in our denomination.  We will look at the MCC Brand resources that are available to all MCC pastors/leaders and explore how using common brand materials helps everyone.

How to Bring General Conference Worship Home
Time/Location: Friday, 4:30-5:00pm- Carson Hall
Track: Worship
Presenters: The General Conference Worship Planning Team

Learn the techniques the General Conference Worship Team used to create and implement Worship.

Global Justice Institute Overview
Time/Location: Friday, 3:30 – 5:00 PM – West Coast Room
Track: Justice
Presenters: Rev. Elder Hector Gutierrez, Rev. Elder Margarita Sanchez De Leon, Rev. Jim Merritt, Rev. Brent Hawkes, Rev. Michael Kimindu, Florin Buhaceanu, and Rev. Elder Pat Bumgardner.

Activists working with the GJI will offer updates on our movement and projects in Asia, Latin and Central America, the United States, the Caribbean, Canada and Africa, making connections with other human rights movements on the ground and providing opportunities for involvement. Learn how you and your Church can be involved in supporting those who are transforming the world in their own contexts.

HIV / AIDS and MCC Today
Time/Location: Friday, 3:30 – 5:00 PM – Colwood 1
Track: Global Growth
Presenter: Dr. David Williams

Refresh and expand your HIV knowledge base.  This workshop will cover: modes of transmission, prevention methods and HIV prevention science 2.0, treatment of HIV and AIDS, latest medical updates and recommended vaccinations for the general public and at risk populations

We will also explore HIV and its stigma. We will learn the definition of stigma and its ramifications in regard to HIV/AIDS, address the question, “Does HIVE stigma exist in MCC?”, examine how stigma influences and is woven into our daily lives and how those attitudes are exhibited in our churches, explore ways we can combat HIV stigma in MCC, and review a case study and testimony of how a MCC church responded to HIV/AIDS.

The Relational Church: Covenants, Calling, and Communication
Time/Location: Friday, 3:30 – 5:00 PM – Esquimalt
Track: Healthy Churches
Presenter: Rev. Dr. Jim Burns

Does it ever seem that just when your church is making progress, something happens that sidetracks the momentum? Many churches fail to fulfill their mission because they are mired in unhealthy patterns-interpersonal relationships, lay/clergy roles, and/or communication styles. Drawing from experience in churches from 30 people to 300, let’s talk about establishing shared agreements (the easier part) and actually changing behavior long-term (the harder part).

Sexual Orientation Beyond Binaries: Paying Attention to the “B” in LGBTQ
Time/Location: Friday, 3:30 – 5:00 PM – Saanich 1 
Track: Leadership
Presenter: Marie Alford-Harkey

Are our MCC congregations welcoming to the “B’s” in the LGBTQ acronym? At this interactive workshop, participants will engage in activities to examine their own attitudes about bisexuality and assess their community’s welcome of bisexual people. Participants will learn about research on bisexuality, discuss a new model of sexual orientation that invites complexity, and leave with concrete strategies for making congregations safer and more welcoming to people who identify as bisexual. This workshop will be presented in a train-the-trainer format so that participants can share information with their own boards, network gatherings, and other gatherings of MCC clergy and congregations.