91短视频

The Reverend Meredith McNabb is director of the United Methodist Church Virginia Conference鈥檚 Center for Clergy Excellence, and she isn鈥檛 afraid to poke a little fun at the grandiose-ness of that title.

This she did, gently and to knowing laughter, during her keynote address last week at Eastern Mennonite Seminary鈥檚 annual . The gathered included some 160 clergy and faith leaders representing 10 denominations and coming from 13 states.

Yet it was clear to all that McNabb had considerable experience helping to prepare both prospective clergy for the path of ordination and supporting those currently serving. In her hour-long address, McNabb suggested that there is a temptation to ignore 鈥渦nhealed wounds in unhealed places.鈥�

鈥淲e don鈥檛 stay in Good Friday, we keep moving and we are Easter people,鈥� she said.

Taking as her theme the Japanese art form kintsugi, McNabb shared that the goal of excellence in ministry cannot be truly attempted unless one considers 鈥� deeply 鈥� one鈥檚 own 鈥渂roken places.鈥�

鈥淚n kintsugi, broken ceramic pieces are mended together with gold and silver, filling in the cracks with craftsmanship, value, care and beauty,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is what God does, pouring in the gold and working it in finely 鈥� it is critical that we be models of how the broken places can be mended.鈥�

Iris de Le贸n-Hartshorn, director of transformative peacemaking for Mennonite Church USA, offered the first keynote address on Monday evening. She shared the story of her journey in leadership, 鈥渇rom Catholic to Presbyterian to Southern Baptist to Mennonite,鈥� and invited listeners to 鈥渇ace into brokenness as an integral aspect of finding one鈥檚 place as a leader.鈥�

Networking a highlight

One goal of the event was for those attending 鈥渢o come to grips with the reality that 鈥榖rokenness鈥� and 鈥榯hriving鈥� are not mutually exclusive realities,鈥� said EMS Director of Admissions Les Horning. 鈥淪everal participants noted that the speakers and workshops challenged them to rethink the categories of wholeness and brokenness.鈥�

鈥淗ow is wholeness defined? How is brokenness defined? And who gets to write the definitions?鈥� asked one participant.

Time to connect and network was woven into the schedule, which Horning said was the highlight for many participants. 鈥淚 think the more we encounter brokenness in us and around us, the more we need each other.鈥�

鈥淛ust being with other pastors is wonderful,鈥� wrote one participant in an evaluation. 鈥淕uest speakers are icing on the cake. I like how all the emotions and brain waves get validated and voiced.鈥�

Practical skills

In breakout sessions throughout the three-day conference, seminars focused on practical skills related to the complexities of congregational leadership.

Professor , an expert in congregational change, brought a sociologist鈥檚 perspective to current polarization on political and cultural issues in the United States, then presented with 91短视频 President Emeritus Loren Swartzendruber a case study of how the university moved through a long listening process on the way to making the decision to change their same-sex policy for employees.

Brittany Caine-Conley, an EMS alumna and ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, shared about her leadership and involvement in the clergy response to recent white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia.

While many in the audience knew the popular narrative provided by the media, Caine-Conley shared a more nuanced and detailed narrative: of how she became involved in area activism at the behest of an anarchist group for people of color; how as a layperson, she persuaded area clergy to become involved; and how her leadership among various groups sometimes forced her to make decisions she later regretted. She spoke openly about the challenges of making decisions in fear-filled situations and mediating between citizens鈥� groups with disparate and conflicting views.

鈥淎llowing our bodies to be bruised and our spirits broken for the gospel is not new but it is necessary in today鈥檚 world,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e follow an agitator who was executed by the state.聽 If you enter into this ministry, you鈥檙e called to do this thing that doesn鈥檛 make any sense, to put your body on the line to spread the good news that is countercultural to everything our society values. Jesus put his body on the line to absorb violence at the hands of the emperor so that others didn鈥檛 have to. If I am to follow this Jesus, I need to do that as well.鈥�