EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES

Dementia and Congregational Care
A free, one-hour webinar on “Dementia and Congregational Care” is planned for Thursday, June 16, at noon Central Time. Accredited ministers may receive 0.1 continuing education credit through the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership. This webinar, co-hosted by the Church of the Brethren Discipleship Ministries and the Anabaptist Disabilities Network, will help you understand the basics of dementia and learn how to reach out. Heddie Sumner, RN, BSN, will lead this webinar. Before her retirement, she served as care manager, director of Dementia Services, and director of Resources and Development for the Midland County (Mich.) Council on Aging. She is co-author of two works: A Family Centered Alzheimer’s Care: A Caregiver’s Manual and Doing More with Less: Michigan Dementia Coalition. In addition, she provides training on dementia for staff of adult care facilities and church leadership. Register at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUkf-yrrj0uHNRG4WbTuTNKynGvIAbxV7I-. For questions about the webinar or registration contact Stan Dueck, co-coordinator of Discipleship Ministries, at sdueck@brethren.org or 847-429-4343.

Part-Time Pastor; Full-Time Church
The denomination’s Part-Time Pastor; Full-Time Church program is hosting a 10-week discussion centered on the book How Your 21st Century Church Family Works by Peter Steinke. Based on Family Systems Theory pioneered by Murray Bowen and further developed and applied in the religious context by Edwin Friedman, Steinke discusses emotional systems, anxiety, generational transfer, and the forces that draw us together and keep us apart. The discussion will be facilitated by John Fillmore, a “circuit rider” with Part-Time Pastor; Full-Time Church. Continuing education credit will be available for participants, and books are provided to participants. Registration is required; group size is limited. Sessions will be at 6 p.m. Central Time on Tuesdays beginning on June 14 through Aug. 23, not meeting the week of Annual Conference. Please contact jjensen@brethren.org with questions. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIkcuuhrTwuG9BsRO1KPwsT8Z7XAco5Ctwl. 

The Minister as Theologian
The Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership will offer this online course, The Minister as Theologian, from Sept. 7 to Nov. 1.  Joelle Hathaway, assistant professor of theological studies at Bethany Theological Seminary, will be the instructor and TRIM students will receive one credit in Bible/Theology upon completion and the BTS experience.  EFSM students may create a Learning Unit for the course. Others can take it for continuing education or personal enrichment.
   
As an introduction to theological thinking, this course will cover some of the “big topics” that Christians talk about, including: God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, humanity as the image of God, and Christian hope. We will read multiple genres, including sermons and poetry, to help us explore the deep, imaginative interconnections between various aspects of the Christian faith.  
   
The deadline to register for this course is Aug. 3. Register and pay online at https://bethanyseminary.edu/brethren-academy/brethren-academy-course-listings/brethren-academy-course-registration-annual-trim-payment/  There is a 3 percent service charge when registering online.

Mediation Training
The summer session of the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center’s Mediation Skills Training Institute for Church Leaders will be held in person Aug. 1-5 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Glen Ellyn, Ill. This popular and practical workshop helps church leaders deal more effectively with interpersonal, congregational, and other forms of group conflict. Register online at https://lmpeacecenter.org/all-events/. For more information, please contact the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center at 630-627-0507 or admin@LMPeaceCenter.org. 

NCP Learning Tours
New Community Project is offering Learning Tours to Lybrook, N.M., in mid-summer; Denali/Kenai Fjords, Alaska, in early August; and Arctic Village in mid-August. January 2023 will offer either Myanmar or Nepal. These trips are open to all ages and explore the beauty of and challenges facing God’s creation and God’s children. Learn more at https://www.newcommunityproject.info/learning-tours.