Association of Partners in Christian Education

PREPARING FOR ADVENT APCE ROUNDTABLE
2022-10-03 19:30 - 20:30 (America/New_York)
Join your APCE colleagues to discuss ideas and strategies for making Advent meaningful for your congregation, especially curriculums and more resources that are available.
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/…/tZAsceugqDIrEtGFSjIO4sfkrbdsC…
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Blue Christmas Roundtable
2022-11-10 14:00 - 15:00
Join others in Christian Formation on doing a Blue Christmas because Christmas holiday times is not always the happiest time of the year for everyone. The meeting will be led by the Rev. Dr. Francis Shelton, co-creator of Faith and Grief Ministries, an organization that seeks to provide meaningful opportunities of comfort and hope to those experiencing loss. Dr. Shelton will provide a wealth of resources for Blue Christmas services as well as any number of other gatherings around grief and loss!
You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
When: Nov 10, 2022 02:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZckdu6trDgvGtevOOl3uy_kLgKVzsPwxvk9
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

APCE Annual Event 2023 Online Sneak Peek
2022-11-13 19:00 - 20:00
Join us as we get behind the scenes with a sneak peek of what will be going on during APCE’S Online Annual Event.
Hi there,
You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
When: Nov 13, 2022 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkf-yoqjsiG9I6hoWb9bp8-NrfrcpnpjKN
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Contemplative Scripture: 30 Minutes of Soul Care for Educators
2022-12-19 13:00 - 13:30
You’re attending to everyone else’s spiritual life this Advent season, but what about your own? Join fellow educators for 30 minutes of contemplative Advent scripture. Just bring your Bible!
Register

Listening Circle
2023-01-19 12:30 - 14:00 | online
Listening Circle
Thursday, January 19, 12:30 – 2:00 EST
Free
Join members of APCE’s Diversity Task Force for a time of sitting with and listening to one another as we engage the contents of the Task Force’s Final Report. We’ll explore its implications for APCE and our own contexts, wrestle with how we move from nice words to meaningful action, and think about how acknowledging the ways we have fallen short can lead to transformation.
Led by members of the APCE Diversity Task Force – women and men, persons of color and persons of white, of many ages, geographies, and denominations.
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUscOCtqzwvHdwxKog5Jg47_Zphnvn444ED

Post Annual Event Round Table
2023-02-07 15:00 - 16:00

Zoom Round Table: Opening Doors to Discipleship
2023-02-16 19:30 - 20:30

Choosing Curriculum Roundtable
2023-07-25 14:00 - 15:00 | online
Join with fellow educators as Tori Smit, Regional Minister for Faith Formation Synod of Central, Northeastern Ontario and Bermuda, offers tips, insights and tools on choosing curriculum fitting for your time and space in your ministry! You will leave this roundtable with definitive tools and resources to move into the new program year! Tori has done the Opening Doors to Discipleship’s Evaluating Curriculum Evaluating Curriculum | Opening Doors to Discipleship (ODTD)
Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82703032536

Retired Educators' Connection Zoom
2023-08-10 12:00 - 13:00 | online
APCE Retired Educators’ Connection Dates. Join for a time to connect and grow together in the season of life of being retired. Email info@apcenet.org for zoom link and more info.

APCE Enneagram Journey
2023-09-05 15:30 - 2023-10-17 16:45 | online
Announcing a New Class: APCE Enneagram Journey begins this Fall on Zoom!

12 session class on the Enneagram – Tuesdays September 5 – November 28 (skipping November 21 for Thanksgiving)
Meets weekly 2:30 – 3:45 pm (Central)
Retired APCE Member Fees: $10 Three-month Vimeo Subscription** + $20 Participant Guide + $15 Leadership= $45
APCE Member Fees:
$10 Three-month Vimeo Subscription** + $20 Participant Guide + $30 Leadership = $60 Total
Non-Member Fees:
$10 Three-month Vimeo Subscription** + $20 Participant Guide + $50 Leadership = $80 Total
**DO NOT PURCHASE A VIMEO SUBSCRIPTION NOW-the subscription is only good for 3 months!
Register here by Wednesday, August 16.
Zoom information will be emailed at a later date to all registered participants.

The Enneagram Journey – a group experience for exploration, growth, and transformation led by Jenna Campbell (2023 APCE Enrich Educator of the Year)

The Enneagram is a powerful ancient tool for learning more about ourselves – why we do the things we do (and don’t do), how we can become more aware of the workings of our personalities, and how we can grow and seek transformation for greater balance and wholeness.

Class Format
Each of the 12 sessions includes:

Video (45-60 minutes long, accessible on Vimeo.com) – participants will watch the videos on their own time, whenever it works for you. The videos, hosted on Vimeo, cost $10 for a 3-month access to all 12 videos. The link to access and pay for the videos will be sent to registered participants before the class begins.
Zoom class – an hour and fifteen minutes for participants to debrief the video, discuss the session’s topic together, and work through the Participant Guide.
Participant Guide – guides us through our class. There will be a small amount of “homework” for each session.

Participant Guides are $20 each and are available in a print or digital version. A link to order a Guide on your own will be included in your registration confirmation.

About the Enneagram:
The Enneagram is an ancient system that identifies nine personality types. The objective of Enneagram work is self-understanding and maturing beyond the limits of personality, but it can also be used for understanding others, improving relationships, building teams, and for spiritual growth. The origins and history of the Enneagram are somewhat mysterious, but we know that the Sufis and the Christian desert fathers and mothers defined the nine personality types hundreds of years ago, and used the system for spiritual direction and growth.
The Enneagram has the power to transform relationships (marriage, parenting, work relationships) and how you see and respond to the world. People of all ages will benefit from this experience.
About the Enneagram Journey class:
The purpose of this curriculum is not just to teach an intellectual understanding of the Enneagram, although you will get a good grounding in its basic concepts. Knowing your Enneagram Number and learning about the Enneagram are not enough to help you work with your personality and promote spiritual growth. Transformation and growth take place as a community of people experiences the Enneagram together. The Enneagram Journey class is a shared experience designed to help you connect with other members of your group and learn with and from each other.
Note: there are several Enneagram tests online. We (and the curriculum author) recommend that you do NOT take an online test or quiz to determine your Enneagram number. We will discover your Enneagram number through the course of our class time together.
Find out more about the Enneagram:
Check out a short video about self-awareness and the Enneagram by the curriculum’s author, Suzanne Stabile, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dHfhvQnvD8

If you’re interested in reading more about the Enneagram before the class begins, we recommend the book The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile. It’s an easy read!

Have any questions? Contact info@apcenet.org

Contemplative Scripture: 30 Minutes of Care for the Educator's Soul
2023-12-14 13:00 - 13:30
You’re attending to everyone else’s spiritual life this Advent season, but what about your own? Join fellow educators for 30 minutes of contemplative Advent scripture. Just bring your Bible!
Register Here.

30 Minute Contemplative Bible Study for Educators
2024-02-07 12:00 - 12:30 | online
30 Minute Contemplative Study for Educators
Wednesday, February 7th at 12 pm EST.
Join us for a moment of quiet reflection before the Lenten season begins.
Register

Retired Educators' Connections
2024-02-15 12:00 - 13:00
Join other retired educators for connection and fellowship. If you would like to participate, please email info@apcenet.org for the zoom link.

LBGTQIA+ Youth Ministry Class 2024
2024-03-05 15:30 - 16:45
LGBTQIA+ Youth Ministry
A four-week course offered by APCE, in partnership with the Covenant Network of Presbyterians
Tuesday afternoons, March 5-26, 2024, 2:30 to 3:45 p.m. CST, on Zoom
Cost:

Retired Members of APCE $15
Members of APCE $20
Non-Members of APCE $35

This four-week course is for any youth ministry professional or volunteer, Christian educator or pastor who is seeking to create safe, welcoming and effective ministry spaces for LGBTQIA+ students, their families, and the congregations and communities who love and support them. The course will provide a foundation for understanding the concepts and vocabulary of sexual orientation and gender identity; offer practical help with expectation-setting, policy-writing and event planning; and provide the opportunity for questions and idea-sharing to address particular questions. Every week will have presentations followed by moderated opportunities for questions and discussion. Brian Ellison, executive director of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians will serve as moderator of the four-week course, teaching the opening and closing classes and facilitating questions and discussion for the other two weeks. Participants will be invited to offer input on topics and questions they want to see covered along the way.
Four-week Class Schedule
Week One
LGBTQIA+ 101: An Overview of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Teacher: Brian Ellison
What do all those letters stand for again? This class offers an introduction and overview on the vocabulary and concepts that describe diverse gender identities and sexual orientation. We discuss evolving words and self-understandings, and what they might mean for how we think and talk about identity in our faith communities.
Week Two
Trans, Non-Binary, Fluid, Genderqueer: The Landscape of Gender, Identity and Adolescence
Teacher: Slats Toole
In classrooms, doctor’s offices, legislatures and school board meetings, the lives and gender identities of young people have been under scrutiny. How can the church and our youth ministry best serve youth of all gender identities in this turbulent time? This class will address key issues and offer practical help accommodating, serving and celebrating young people at all points on the gender identity spectrum with sensitivity, understanding and creativity.
Week Three
Making Sure Camp is Fun for ALL: Creating inclusive camps, conferences and retreats—and
building the policies and practices that make them work.
Teacher: Pepa Paniagua
This class will offer insight and practical help in providing students, youth leaders and parents/guardians, the assurance that the LBGTQIA+ welcoming ministry offered in youth gatherings will be rich with meaning, intentionality around the unique realities of serving LBGTQIA+ youth and will be transparent about seeking to be a safe and healthy space for all. The class will provide real-life examples of activities, community agreements and event plans,
as well as guidance in developing policies regarding sleeping arrangements, restrooms and more.
Week Four
Putting it Together: A Theology and Practice of Welcoming LGBTQIA+ Youth
Teacher: Brian Ellison
In this final week of the course, we bring together the learnings from the previous three weeks and ground them in a way of thinking theologically about the work we do: How does the community we create, with intentional inclusion of LGBTQIA+ youth, reflect the fullness of the gospel? How do we explain this significance in the context of the rest of the church’s ministry? This final class will also offer ample opportunity to cover questions not answered previously, deepen particular topics, and share participants’ own experiences that can benefit others.
Bios for Course Leaders
The Rev. Pepa Paniagua (she/her) is a pastor, facilitator, educator, innovator, writer, advocate and ally, and she is passionate about thinking outside the box and gently leading others through the challenging conversations about the vast expanse of God’s love. Growing up between the Redwoods and the Pacific, Pepa believes that as much can be learned by placing your bare feet in the sand and listening, as can be learned from any book. Pepa loves a good story, good food, and good coffee. As a graduate of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and longtime member of Grace Presbytery, Pepa has learned to faithfully follow God’s leadership as she has now lived more than 18 years in Texas, which is approximately 18 more years than she ever planned. Pepa is the founder of kin-dom community, a fully affirming New Worshiping Community of the PCUSA, co-founder of kin-dom camp, and she is currently serves as the Coordinator for Innovation of New Ministry Development at Grace Presbytery. Pepa and her wife, Kelli, live in North Texas with their two dogs, Juneaux and Opie.
Slats Toole (they/them) is a writer, musician, preacher and theater professional currently based in Minneapolis, MN. Slats’ Lenten poetry series has been compiled in the collection Queering Lent, and their work has also been published in places like Call to Worship, The Presbyterian Outlook and Sacramental Life. Slats has led workshops on expansive language and queer theology (with a particular emphasis on gender identity) throughout the United States and Canada, and is proud to serve as co-moderator of the Covenant Network Board of Directors.
The Rev. Brian Ellison (he/him) has served as executive director of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians since 2012, preaching, teaching and providing overall strategic leadership in implementing the organization’s mission. Brian also serves as stated clerk of the Synod of Mid-America. He has served previously as pastor of Parkville Presbyterian Church (near Kansas City, Missouri) and is host/contributor at KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR affiliate. He and his partner, Troy Lillebo, live in Kansas City with their two dog daughters, the recalcitrant Willoughby and the dopey Sage.

Register at https://apcenet.org/lbgtqia-youth-ministry-class-2024/

Writing for the Soul
2024-04-15 14:00 - 15:30
Writing for the Soul: an APCE Spiritual Practice Workshop
Mondays April 15, 22, 29
2-3:30 pm Eastern
Cost:
Retired APCE Members: $15
APCE Members: $20
Non-members: $35
Come spend some time with fellow APCE members using writing as a spiritual practice. With inspiration and prompts from poetry, images, objects, and more, we’ll explore our memories and imagination. We’ll pay attention to our words, to God, and to one another as we play and pray on the page. In this online Eastertide experience designed to help you fill your well again, we’ll write a lot, and read and share a little. No writing experience is necessary, and grammar and spelling don’t count.
Bio: Rev. Julie Hester is a pastor and writer living in North Carolina, and a grateful APCE member. She leads in-person and online writing workshops for faith and community groups, specializing in writing for healing and writing as a spiritual practice. You can subscribe to her free weekly writing prompts at https://writingincompany.substack.com/
Register here: https://apcenet.org/writing-for-the-soul-class/
