Franconia Conference Board
March 3, 2010
The Conference Board is deeply saddened with the confusion that has been created in parts of the Franconia Conference Community and beyond. We take responsibility for not communicating quickly enough and with clarity.
• The news has gone out that Franconia Conference Board has made a decision to dismiss all the staff.
• The reality is that the staff has been informed that in the coming year the direction the Board is calling for requires a mid-course correction, to come into a greater alignment of fulfilling our mission to Equip Leaders to Empower Others to Embrace God’s Mission.
• A smaller Conference staff to include LEADership Ministers, will continue, but will be narrowly focused on equipping congregations to becoming missional.
• We lament the deep pain and suffering that this decision has caused staff and others by not including the staff directly in the decision-making process.
• We will work towards a healthy ending process and seek to build upon the hard work and creativity by which the staff has carried out their work to date.
The Conference Board will be facilitating public meetings to engage in further dialogue regarding all that has transpired. The following times and dates have been set as follows:
• Monday, March 8, 2010 from 7-9 pm at Towamencin Mennonite Church for all Credentialed Leaders of Franconia Mennonite Conference;
• A second meeting will happen on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 from 9-11 am at the Mennonite Conference Center.
Summer Classes
Eastern Mennonite Seminary aims to provide resources to pastors and leaders. Several classes being offered this summer that might be useful or of interest to you. Those classes are as follows:
Distance Learning Course – Money, Ministry and Me
Professor Beryl Jantzi
May 3 – June 26
This course involves an exploration of stewardship education resources alongside an exploration of financial tools and services needed in today’s world. It is designed to serve the needs of pastors and other church leaders in the congregation.
Summer Institute for Spiritual Formation
June 14 – 25
This two-week institute offers courses in spiritual formation, and spiritual disciplines and their application in individual and congregational life.
Cross-Cultual to the United Kingdom
Struggle and Hope in Post-Christendom
Instructors: Steve Kriss and Stuart Murray Williams
May 1 Orientation, May 16 – 24 Travel, June 25 – 26 Debriefing
This course is designed to offer a reflective and engaging pace in the post- Christendom context in the UK while attempting to investigate the difference and similarity of North American context.
For more information visit www.emu.edu/seminary/courses/summer_institute/
3/4/10
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.