Unique opportunity for professional and lay leaders to learn 

Large Church Leadership Skills with UU Faculty of Distinction 

"The opportunity to be in the presence of those ministers is not to be missed!"
--Eric Kaminetzky, current student and participant in 2007 Large Church course

April 28, 2008

M373/573INT:  The Large Church: Praxis, Problems, and Promise
July 7 through 11, 2008
UU Church of Arlington; Arlington, Virginia
Syllabus • Register • Housing Information

Learn to create and lead institutions capable of sustaining the complex ministries and operations of large churches. Participants will discover the critical alignments and distinct roles of members, ministers and staff found in healthy institutions.  This class is designed for lay leaders, ordained ministers, seminarians and church staff.

The course is taught by a group of religious and lay leaders with experience in some of the largest Unitarian Universalist churches, including:

• Lee Barker, President of Meadville Lombard Theological School.  With more than 25 years of Parish Ministry, Lee has held pulpits in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Most recently, he served as senior minister of Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church in Pasadena, California. Each of his ministries has contributed to a surge in institutional growth, a renewed commitment to social justice and the adoption of a far ranging religious and spiritual vision.
• Laurel Hallman, Senior Minister, First Unitarian Church of Dallas, Dallas, TX.  Laurel has seved First Unitarian Church of Dallas since 1987 and before that served as the minister at the UU Church of Bloomington, Indiana.
• Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister, All Souls Universalist Church of Tulsa, OK.  Marlin grew up as a Unitarian in Illinois. He majored in Sociology at Tulane, and graduated from Harvard Divinity School. All Souls called him in 2000 at age 32, making him the youngest senior minister of a major congregation in the denomination. Marlin began his religious life in the North Shore Unitarian Church in Deerfield, Illinois.
• Linda Olson Peebles, Minister of Religious Education, UU Church of Arlington, VA.  Linda has served as a Trustee on the UUA Board and has been a liaison to Journey to Wholeness Transformation Committee.
• John Tolley, Associate Professor of Ministry and the Arts, Meadville Lombard. John teaches arts of ministry in religious art and aesthetics. Before coming to Meadville Lombard he served congregations for twenty-two years in Indiana, Tennessee, New Jersey, and Connecticut. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Theatre from New York University and has taught in that discipline at NYU, City University of New York, and Goshen College in Indiana.
• Lyssa Jenkens, Chief Economist and Vice President of Business Information & Research with the Greater Dallas Chamber, Member of First Unitarian Church of Dallas, & Board of Trustees Member, Meadville Lombard. Dr. Jenkens is a graduate of the University of Texas at Dallas, with a PHD and Masters of Arts in Political Economy as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.

This is a great course for large or expanding churches to send leadership teams, as they explore:

• The parameters of a theology of religious leadership, defined by integrity (ethical behavior), vision (capacity for enterprise), and devotion (service).
• Skills in building effective leadership and teams to support the diverse ministries of large congregations.
• How a theology of leadership is applied to worship, education and public witness in the large church setting.
• A theory of change that leads to “best practices” in church management.

The course can be taken for credit (1 unit) for $1500.00 or audited for $750.00. Groups of five from the same church who choose to audit the course, get the discounted group rate of $2,500.00.

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Contact:
Tina Porter tporter@meadville.edu
(773) 256-3000 ext. 236