Pre-Event: Educator Certification Course – Worship and Sacraments
Dates and Times: Monday, January 27, 1:00pm – 6:00pm; Tuesday, January 28, 9:00am – noon and 1:00pm – 6:00pm; Wednesday, January 30, 9:00am – noon (All times are CST.)
Location: on-site and hybrid
Cost: $225

Course name: Worship and Sacraments

Course Description: This course explores the theology and practice of Christian worship and sacraments from a Reformed perspective and the relationships between worship, sacraments, and education in a congregational context. This course aims to enhance the learners’ participation in, leadership of, preparation for, and teaching about worship and sacraments.

Learning Outcomes of the Course:
By successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
1. Explain and evaluate a reformed liturgical and sacramental theology.
2. Develop reformed liturgies that respond to the needs of worshippers and the context of the congregation.
3. Develop learning experiences around the teaching of worship and sacraments in the Reformed tradition.

Course Schedule:
January 15: Introduction to the Course online via Zoom for all participants

In person prior to 2025 APCE Annual Event in Memphis, TN at the Peabody Hotel, and hybrid participants online –
Monday, January 27: 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Tuesday, January 28: 900 am – noon and 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Wednesday, January 29: 9:00 am – noon

Final assessment due February 8: Design a Reformed worship service of the word and sacrament for an Easter Service in which a group of middle schoolers will be baptized and received as new church members.

Required texts:
1. PCUSA Constitution: Book of Confessions and Book of Order (particularly Directory for Worship)
2. The Presbyterian Book of Common Worship.
3. Duck, Ruth C. Worship for the Whole People of God. Second edition, with contributed appendix from David Gambrell. Louisville, Kentucky: WJK Press, 2021.
4. The instructor will provide additional chapters, articles, and essays, as well as videos.

Cost: $225

Instructor:
Rev. Dr. Lis Valle-Ruiz, Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Worship and Director of Community Worship Life at McCormick Theological Seminary
Rev. Lis Valle-Ruiz is Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Worship and Director of Community Worship Life at McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, IL. She earned her PhD in Homiletics and Liturgics from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, where she also studied gender and sexuality. Her research interests lie at the intersection of preaching, worship, and performance studies. Rev. Valle received a ThM in Homiletics from Princeton Theological Seminary and an MDiv from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. She also holds a JD and a BA in Education from the University of Puerto Rico. Theater is her life-long passion.

For questions or further information: Contact APCE Certification Course Coordinator Billie Sutter at billiepsutter@gmail.com

Pre-Event: Engaging Livestream Worshippers, Sundays and Beyond!
Date: Tuesday, January 28
Time: 9:00am – 12:00pm CST
Location: on-site
Cost: $25

Come explore the wonderful world of digital ministry through engaging livestream worship! Through storytelling, technical specs, and examples of what’s rocked and what’s flopped, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church Livestream Director and Associate Pastor to the Online Campus will share theological reasoning, techniques in practice, and how we’ve moved from pre-recorded broadcast to calling a dedicated Associate Pastor to this livestream ministry. Participants will have opportunities to ask questions about how this can look at churches of all sizes! Whether you are livestreaming with a laptop using Zoom or putting out a multi-camera broadcast, you will leave this session excited for all the possibilities to reach your online worshippers.

Leaders: Natalie Owens-Pike and Emily Dombroff
Rev. Natalie Owens-Pike (she/her/nop) is Associate Pastor for Ministry to the Online Campus of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City. Ordained in the United Church of Christ, she is in her second year of ministry at FAPC, and grateful for the holy playground of innovative online ministries. Natalie brings a decade of experience as a non-profit Executive Director and teacher in and alongside diverse communities to her ministry, but her favorite title so far has been Minister of Fun. Natalie earned her M.Div at Yale Divinity School and specialized in Congregational Ministry through the Andover Newton Seminary program there. Her B.A. in American Studies, English Literature and History is from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. Originally from Minnesota, she’s excited to be back in Memphis where she spent time while living in the Mississippi Delta as a Teach for America teacher.
Emily Dombroff has been shooting video for Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church for nearly a decade. She led the online worship efforts during COVID and transitioned to directing their weekly livestream starting in September 2021. Outside of Fifth Avenue, Emily has directed livestreaming events at other organizations such as Columbia University and Etsy and has created video content for NYC Based non-profit organizations such as Girls Inc of New York City, Safe Horizon and the Arthur Miller Foundation. She attended Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications for her Bachelors degree and received a Master of Arts from New York University.