2023 CLERGY RETREAT

Pastors, chaplains, retired ministers, and others who are credentialed in the church are invited to the district’s 2023 spring clergy retreat, sponsored by the Ministry Leadership Development Team. It will take place April 19-20 at Bishop Lane Retreat Center near Rockford. Thanks to a grant received from the Lilly Endowment-funded Part-Time Pastor, Full-Time Church program, the retreat this year will be FREE to all participants other than transportation to the event.

The keynote speaker will be Greg Davidson Laszakovits, who previously served as pastor of Elizabethtown (Pa.) Church of the Brethren and as an intentional interim pastor in Maryland. He now has started his own leadership and organizational development consulting company, GLD Insight, with a particular interest in churches and church-related groups. Greg is tuned in to the significant demographic and cultural shifts taking place in church life and structure and the exacerbation of many of those trends by the pandemic, as well as the added stress and challenges that has brought for pastors and others in ministry. He will also be the keynote speaker for this year’s District Potluck Experience event (see more information below).

For the retreat, Greg’s theme will be “If I Had a Hammer: Tools for Building and Re-Building Communities of Faith.” Three sessions will look at: Strategies for Leading Positive Congregational Change, Moving from Pastor as Hired Hand to Pastor as Leader, and Taming the Bear of Conflict. All participants will receive 0.5 CEU’s.

In addition to those sessions, the retreat will include times of worship and devotions, as well as space for fellowship and free time. Registration includes a single room with bathroom (bedding provided), and three meals (Wed. supper through Thurs. lunch). To register, contact the district office: andreaw.iwdcob@gmail.com or 309-649-6008. Please register by April 12.