Lifespan Religious Educational Conference – Where Family and Spirituality Meet

HEALTHY WHOLE INSPIRED

Faith Development Week

Join us as we explore this year's theme: Living Your Faith!

WHEN

JULY 18-24 2021

WHERE

STAR ISLANDIsles of Shoals, NH

On Island Faith Dev. Registration

Covid 19 Island Policies

Virtual Faith Development Registration

Scholarships & Financial Grants

Dear Star Island Friends,

Summer is fast approaching and the Faith Development Team is finalizing plans for this year’s conference. As you can imagine, planning has been challenging and as a result we have decided to keep it simple this summer by streamlining our workshops.

We have decided to offer one morning workshop led by Rev. Tandi Rogers with breakout sessions in the afternoon (workshop description is below). This workshop will be presented virtually whether you choose to be on island or stay home. Given all the uncertainties and safety protocols it was hard for us to imagine running multiple workshops and activities safely, and while we think being on island is a fantastic place to retreat and participate in Tandi’s workshop, we wanted to make sure that our programming was accessible to everyone regardless of their ability to travel.

If you are on Star, you breakout sessions will be with your fellow Shoalers in accordance with Star’s Covid protocols. If you are virtual you will be connected via zoom in the afternoons.

Additional activities will be added both virtually and on island, but they will be more social in nature. We would love to brainstorm some ideas with you about things that you would find meaningful this summer.

Announcing our 2021 Theme Speaker, Rev. Tandi Rogers!

Religious Education as a Tool for (Adaptive) Change.

Led by Rev. Tandi Rogers

Change can be dynamic fuel for growth, an overwhelmingly oppressive and reactive force, and everything in-between.

This workshop (audaciously during a pandemic) attempts to normalize change for you as an individual and for the organizations you serve. This class will cover change theory in real-time analysis, introduce you to a wide variety of religious education tools (particularly for adults), cover some human development (enough for a strategic plan) and culminate in a Strategic Faith Formation Plan developed from a case study.

What to expect:

Before:

pre-class interview (think virtual tea) with another religious professional
pre-class reflection and picture collecting
reading Emergent strategy: shaping change, changing worlds by adrienne maree brown (2017), articles, podcasts and videos (which will be posted in a closed class website)

During:

two hours together (hybrid: some folks are virtual and some folks are there on island) in the morning,
some time apart (however you don’t need to tell your people that– you can tell your people that you have class all day and then use that time in between for napping or joy reading. Like seriously.)
two hours in the afternoon together and then
45-60 minutes in your learning group.

Themes:

Monday: kinds and nature of change, insight from the pre-assignment interviews

Tuesday: characteristics of effective change leaders, power of a scope and sequence

Wednesday: change and conflict, communication

Thursday: resource overview, case studies

Friday: class presentations of small group Strategic Faith Formation Plan

Seminar Outcomes:

Participants will be able to:

· Normalize change in their own lives and that of ministerial contexts.

· Normalize conflict in their own lives and that of ministerial contexts.

· Analyze religious communities using various change models and frameworks.

· Create a scope and sequence of faith formation tools to support the development of desired shifts in values, skills, and orientations.

· Identify useful evaluation tools for change.

In Class Methods:

Worship

Storytelling

Analogies

Interviews

Discussions in small group

Populi Reflection Questions Journaling

Case studies

Frameworks

Video

Podcasts

Articles

Small group workshopping

Class presentation

A note from Tandi: This seminar is based on a 3- credit course I taught at Meadville-Lombard Theological School. It counts toward continuing education for ministers. So here’s an idea… What if ministers and DREs took this class together? Maybe added a member of their Committee on Ministry? That’s how revolutions start. It’s been shown over and over that if you want ideas to stick, don’t send just one person to a training, but a team of people.

This weeklong seminar is based on a class Rev. Rogers taught at Meadville Lombard Theological School.

Rev. Tandi Rogers is a multi-vocational minister: affiliate faculty at Meadville Lombard Theological School, adjunct faculty at Seattle University’s School of Theology & Ministry, a Learning Strategist for the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Congregational Life Conflict Engagement effort, and a Spiritual Director in private practice .

Tandi has been serving the UUA in many roles since 2002:

Pacific Western Region Congregational Life team (2016-2020)
Innovation & Network Specialist (2014-2016)
Growth Strategist (2011-2014)
Interim Director of the Youth & Young Adult Office (2010-2011)
Pacific Northwest Districts’ Program Specialist (2002-2011)

Prior to the UUA, she served Associated Ministries of Pierce County as their Development Officer and was a teacher and grants officer at the Muckleshoot Tribal School .

Tandi is married to Rev. Sue Phillips , and they have five children (ages 12, 24, 24, 26 and 26.) Tacoma, WA is her home.

2020 Speakers

Listen, Learn, Get inspired.

Vandy Leigh

Soul Collage

Rev. Evin Carvill Ziemer

Towards A Trauma Informed Family Ministry

Rev Karen Hutt

"Revisiting Our Stories for The First Time"

Laura Beth Brown

"The Need to Balance Doing With Being!

Rev. Ashley Horan

Living Your Faith in the World

Rev. Shari Halliday-Quan

Minister of The Week

Venue Information

A unique and beautiful setting

Location

The conference takes place on Star Island - one of the nine Isles of Shoals located seven miles off the coast of New Hampshire and Maine.

Transportation

Please arrive at 315 Market Street, Portsmouth, NH by 12:30pm on July 14, 2018 for ferry service to the conference by Isles of Shoals Steamship Company.

Lodging

Lodging is available in the main hotel and cottages. Rooms are simply furnished. Meals are hearty and served family-style in the dining room.