Baptism and the Transformation of Youths' Vocational Imaginations
This session explored, first, the relationship between Baptismal theology and vocation, and second, a variety of pedagogies designed to invite youth to imagine faithfully their unfolding futures with God.
Spiritual Formation in Worship-Centered Congregations
Differing circumstances call forth different liturgical, theological and formational questions and inspire different congregational conversations about what we do in worship and why we do it. The workshop began with a PowerPoint presentation on the history of Christian worship and its relationship to spiritual formation in congregational life, concluding with 'where we are now.' Practices for spiritual formation were described in relation to the congregation's worship life.
Creating a Child-Friendly Culture in Your Church
To help children grow in faith we want our churches to be places where they are nurtured and where they feel that they have a place. We will look at things that churches can do to become more child friendly and encourage faith-nurturing adult-child relationships.
Planning Worship for the Global Village
21st-century worship planners are faced with unique exciting challenges as the church answers the Spirit's call to be a place where all nations and cultures are invited to join in praise.
Panel Discussion on Church Art Galleries
There continues to be a growing interest in church visual art galleries, exhibitions, and educational opportunities related to art within our churches.
Intergenerational Worship: Is It Reasonable? Is It Possible?
In this presentation, several contributors to the recent book The Church of All Ages: Generations Worshiping Together explored the issues involved, highlighted some of the findings, and stimulated further reflection.
Seeing Your Congregation with Expert Eyes: Culture, Race, Ethnicity
In an update from their Symposium session in 2007, five Calvin College social scientists describe what they've learned through in-depth analysis of congregational and worship life.
Talking About Worship: How to Start and Sustain Faithful Conversations
This session will begin with a brief introduction to anthropological categories for talking about worship--liturgical time, space, environment, action, persons, music, language, etc. Participants will then engage in small group conversations about worship, using a process devised especially for facilitating conversations in congregations.
How Race Works in Multiracial Churches
This workshop was given for those who want a deeper understanding of racial dynamics in today?s churches. Stories and examples from real congregations showed how race within churches is becoming complicated?and creatively reconstructed?through the post-1965 waves of immigration. Most important, we show how various good-intentioned priorities and programs work --and often don?t work-- in racially diverse churches.
Praying with the Early Church: Crucial Lessons about Intercessory Prayer
This session reviewed several prayer texts from the third to the fifth century, and then probed the very practical ways they might challenge us to pray more deeply in worship today.
Finding Themselves at the Table: Youth Practicing Eucharistic Living in the World
This session explored an ecology of practices designed to deepen youths' participation in the Lord's Supper/Eucharist and to form them to interpret and act in the world eucharistically. Participants learned creative pedagogies for teaching youth about the Eucharist; how youth may be engaged in ministry at the Table; the importance of creating a broad ecology of liturgical and extra-liturgical Eucharistic practices through which youth may be formed; and the means to invite youths? personal and theological reflections on Eucharistic life.
The Cultural Context of American Worship
In this presentation, religion journalist Richard Ostling analyzed trends in American faith and culture that worship leaders, pastors and ordinary worshipers need to be aware of.