2020 Faith Leadership Conference
The Faith Leadership Conference is an annual event exploring the challenges and possibilities faced by leaders of faith communities. Each year the conference has a specific focus, and includes presentations on Bowen theory, case studies, and discussion.
The Hidden Life of Congregations and Their Leaders
Sections
Overview
Date: February 14, 2019
Time: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM, At-door registration begins at 8:30 AM
Location: The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family, 4400 MacArthur Blvd. NW Suite #103, Washington, DC 20007
Attend in-person or online.
In The Hidden Life of Trees, author Peter Wohlleben’s observations about the underground system with which trees use to communicate offer valuable insights into how human groups – such as congregations – function. Like the hidden life of trees, the connections in congregations are deep, with many relationships, associations, and loyalties operating under the surface. A congregation acts as an organism with developing and changing interconnections. Clergy leaders are often transplanted into the ongoing life of congregations. Usually there is a predecessor, a known and unknown history, alongside forces at work within and without. How is one to live and lead with these unseen influences at work?
This conference day will explore the ministry leaders and the life of congregations through the lens of Bowen theory. We will look at the lives of congregations over time, the functioning of the ministry leader, and finally the functioning of the congregation and clergy as an emotional system. The trees are more than metaphor.
Schedule
Time |
Session Title |
Description |
Presenter |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30 | Registration | |||
| 9:00 | Welcome | Anne S. McKnight, EdD, LCSW Director, The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family |
||
| 9:05 | Overview of Day & Speaker Introductions | Kenton T. Derstine, MDiv, DMin | ||
| 9:10 | Hidden and Revealed: Making the Case for Forests, Families and Faith | We live and lead in a time when dynamics in our environment, our relationships and our beliefs are challenged. Observing life, death and regeneration in nature and theology will be explored alongside the hidden and revealed aspects of Bowen theory. | Emlyn Ott, DMin | |
| 10:15 | Coffee Break | |||
| 10:45 | The Hidden Lives of Congregations | Leaders new to faith communities quickly discover that “what you see is not exactly what you get!” Once they step into the role of faith leader, they often get much more than they previously anticipated. Much of the unforeseen events or encounters can arise from the presence of the past in congregations – past leaders, families, challenges, and strengths. | Carol P. Jeunnette, MDiv, PhD | |
| 12:00 | Lunch Break | |||
| 1:15 | The Hidden Life of Pastors | Ministry issues and initiatives will illustrate ways in which the past lives on in the present. | Edward J. Henley, MDiv | |
| 2:45 | Break | |||
| 3:00 | Dialogue and Discourse: Presenters, Colleagues and Participants | |||
| 4:00 | Adjournment |
Speakers
Carol P. Jeunnette MDiv, PhD
Carol Jeunnette, a retired Lutheran pastor, has spent her career in ministry, study, and in the connection between Bowen theory and congruent theological perspectives. Currently, her focus is on writing, presenting, consulting, and expanding opportunities for clergy and faith leaders to connect to Bowen theory.
Edward J. Henley, MDiv
Edward Henley’s clergy experience includes interim service in nine congregations, as well as a pastorate of sixteen years. This service included the merger of two congregations, sale of properties, and the building of a new campus. He continues his service in the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida.
Emlyn Ott, DMin
The Rev. Dr. Emlyn Ott is an ELCA pastor and serves as the Director of Healthy Congregations, Inc., a Bowen based resource organization working with faith communities. She is the Director of Doctor of Ministry Programs and Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Leadership at Bexley Seabury Seminary Federation in Chicago and Affiliated Faculty at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio. A native of Rochester, NY, she grew up in a family manufacturing business and is planning a trip to Europe this summer connecting with the extended family of her German grandparents.
Resources
Email Newsletters About the Faith Leadership Conference
CEU/CEs
The Georgetown Family Center is approved as an independent provider of continuing education credit by the Maryland State Board of Social Work Examiners and the District of Columbia Board of Social Work.
Georgetown Family Center/Bowen Center for the Study of the Family has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6225. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Georgetown Family Center/Bowen Center for the Study of the Family is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
The conference day provides a maximum of 5 hours of Category I continuing education credit for social workers and for counselors.
If you plan to participate in the CEU/CE process, it is necessary to:
Pay the CEU/CE fee of $15
Sign CEU/CE registration form the day of conference
Prepare to stay for the entire conference
Submit a completed evaluation at day’s end
Georgetown Family Center, Inc.
Faith Leadership Conference
ACEP No. 6225
