Advocate Ministry Team members reached out to a selection of Annual Event 2023 Workshop Leaders and asked them to tell us more about what they are looking forward to offering in their workshops.
In November and December, the Advocate will highlight both online and in person workshops.
Creative Worship Practices
Online (Workshop A) and In person (Workshop C)
This workshop will explore creative worship practices for the commissioned pastor and/or small church leader. It will examine incorporating visual arts into your space and order of worship, dressing the Lord’s Table, and using prayer practices and interactive hands-on practices. Participants will learn to create generative practices into their worship experiences.
We asked workshop leaders Sandy Safford and Cindy Moorman to tell us more about what to expect during their workshop. Read on to find out what they are eager to share with participants at the Annual Event in 2023.
In addition to the descriptive paragraph included in the AE registration, what excites you about the workshop you are presenting?
So many worship participants are visual learners. When we are creative with how we present the Word along with themes in worship, we engage many of the senses in the worship experience. The creative side of dressing the Lord’s Table, creating banners, creating liturgy & pieces for the bulletin, adding objects every Sunday to build upon the Bible story or theme are fun and energy giving. Providing visuals enhances the worship experience and brings God’s Word alive.
We’re also excited that this workshop is available to participants attending the Annual Event in person as well as in an online workshop. Doing so means that leadership in small churches, Commissioned Pastors, and others who may not be able to attend the Annual Event in person will still be able to glean fresh ideas for engaging creativity and the senses in the worship experience.
With leaders who serve as both educator and pastor in small churches, this workshop is an opportunity to offer generative experiences that are inclusive of the senses and learning abilities of your congregation.
What do you hope people who attend your workshop will leave with?
Simple tips to engage the senses with visuals for worship:
- what you can do with pieces of cloth, candles, or a few objects to engage a congregation in the worship experience.
- what easy things you can use to enhance a Worship Bulletin as well as the worship experience.
- ideas that stimulate participants to share what they have done, as well as dream of doing, in adding creativity to their worship space and experience.
- ways to present prayer stations and easy hands-on practices for various themes and seasons that engage worship participants.
For those who cannot attend AE, how can a person learn more about your topic/workshop? What books, articles, other resources can you point people toward?
Since this workshop is presented both in-person and online, our hope is that many folks will have the opportunity to participate and glean resources. Our generative worship experiences include lots of visuals that will be shared that really aren’t books, articles and such. However www.pinterest.com is an amazing tool to see what others are doing and to find written liturgies. Anything from Wild Goose Publications is great, www.ionabooks.com
Trauma-Informed Faith Formation
Offered In person (Workshop A)
Being aware of how trauma affects all our lives is greatly beneficial to general ministry and personal mental health. This is a crash course about the effects of trauma in our world and how we can develop practices of resiliency in our ministries.
We are intrigued by this timely topic! We invited workshop leader Christy Miller White to share more details about what participants might expect. Read on to learn more about this workshop.
In addition to the descriptive paragraph included in the AE registration, what excites you about the workshop you are presenting?
In better understanding Trauma Informed Ministry, we have the opportunity to bring healing and empower wholeness in those we serve in the church. We can better understand ourselves and how our ministry can have a better impact in our communities.
What do you hope people who attend your workshop will leave with?
A practical understanding of how trauma affects each of us and what that awareness can bring to ministry.
For those who cannot attend AE, how can a person learn more about your topic/workshop? What books, articles, or other resources can you point people toward?
I would encourage anyone interested in Trauma-Informed Ministry to look into community resources around Trauma-Informed Educational Practices.