Saturday, May 4, 2019 // Thessalonia Worship Center, The Bronx
Workshop Selections
Please take note that some workshops, as indicated below, are repeated in the morning and afternoon, while others are continuous and span both the morning and afternoon (two parts).
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Workshop A: Spiritual Tools for Cultivating Personal Peace
This is a repeated workshop, offered both in the morning and afternoon.
In stressful times in particular, we need tools that will help connect us more deeply to God in order to experience peace, a clearer connection to our faith, our purpose, and our calling. This workshop, which will be informed by tested meditation concepts, will lead persons through a deepening journey of prayer. The facilitator will introduce four (4) levels of prayer and will emphasize the third level that focuses on listening to God and discerning God's will. Participants will be led in exercises that they may use to enhance their prayer life at home or at church in pursuit of deeper peace and wholeness.
The Rev. Dr. Michael Christie
FACILITATOR: The Rev. Dr. Michael Christie received his Doctor of Ministry from Hartford Seminary. He is a master practitioner in neuro-linguist programming and a certified mindfulness teacher with the International Mindfulness Teachers Association. He is Chaplain at several correctional facilities in Connecticut and teaches mindfulness to a variety of communities. He teaches at male prisons to both the incarcerated and to staff. Dr. Christie recently launched a mindfulness program for those struggling with addiction. He has been working with kids and youth, coaching mindfulness in youth sports and teaching mindfulness to “at-risk” youth. Dr. Christie has a passion to teach mindfulness and meditation to Christians and created a curriculum for faith-based meditation. He is also a graduate of the Mindfulness Teacher Training program.
Workshop B: Border Peace: Hospitality vs. Hostility
This is a two-part workshop, spanning both the morning and afternoon.
This workshop will discuss current realities at the Mexico-United States border regarding persons who are seeking to enter this country. It will engage participants in ways to pursue peace in the midst of the humanitarian crisis of unauthorized immigration. This workshop will lead participants to understand current events at the southern border, the plight of asylum seekers, and the impact of U.S. immigration law and its implementation on real human lives. The workshop will wrestle with the complexity of providing hospitality undergirded by Christian teaching, in order to respect and protect those now seeking to enter the U.S. Most importantly, the workshop will identify practical ways in which individuals, congregations, our association of churches, and our denomination might “welcome the stranger” and advocate on their behalf.
The Rev. Ray Schellinger
FACILITATOR: The Rev. Ray Schellinger began serving as IM global consultant for Immigrants and Refugees on July 1, 2017. In this role, he networks with IM colleagues and international partners that work with refugees and displaced peoples, helping to strengthen their ministries, find needed resources and build capacity. Schellinger works to construct bridges between U.S. and Puerto Rican churches and IM’s global partners, providing opportunities to serve some of the most vulnerable people in the world. In addition, he hosts several volunteer teams per year in international cross-cultural settings where they learn about the struggles of migrants, the realities of global immigration and border policies. Ray and his wife, Adalia Gutiérrez Lee, were commissioned in 1994 to serve as missionaries in Nicaragua.
Workshop C: Peace Behind Closed Doors: Intimate Partner Violence
This is a repeated workshop, offered both in the morning and afternoon.
According to the World Health Organization, Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is one of the most common forms of violence against women. IPV includes physical, sexual and emotional abuse, and controlling behaviors by an intimate partner. Intimate Partner Violence occurs in all settings and among all socioeconomic, religious, and cultural groups. Locally and globally, the overwhelming burden of IPV is borne by women. This workshop will help participants identify signs of trauma caused by IPV that might be manifest in their own families, congregations, communities, and networks in order to respond in ways that are helpful and faithful to the Gospel. It will help create pathways to peace for those suffering trauma in their homes.
Project SAFE
FACILITATOR: Ms. Afua Addo and Project SAFE work to improve the services offered to criminalized black women who are survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault. On any given day, black women in the United States are three times more likely than white women to be behind bars. And more than eight out of 10 black women engaged in the criminal justice system in the United States are survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse. It is in response to statistics such as these that the Center for Court Innovation, Black Women’s Blueprint, the National Black Women’s Justice Institute, and Rev. Dr. Cheryl Dudley of ABCMNY created Project SAFE. The initiative provides targeted training and expert assistance to Office on Violence Against Women grantees working with criminalized black women who are also survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault. Project SAFE addresses the intersections of trauma, race, gender, and sexuality by acknowledging the needs of black women engaged in the justice system through enhanced trauma-informed responses and practices. Their training and technical assistance includes trauma-informed engagement, strategic planning, needs assessments, developing implementation strategies, and more.
Workshop D: Peace in the Church: Managing Conflict in Congregational Life
This is a repeated workshop, offered both in the morning and afternoon.
Life in the church is not always peaceful. Conflicts sometimes emerge in congregations that threaten to diminish the witness of the church and distract it from its purpose. This workshop will highlight the learnings of one church that has prevailed through past conflict. The workshop will lift up warning signs, help churches know when to use internal resources and gifts to manage conflict, and know when and how to use external consultants to assist them through the conflict, so that the church may see its way forward.
The Rev. Dr. Kirkpatrick Cohall
FACILITATOR: The Rev. Dr. Kirkpatrick G. Cohall has for the past 23 years served as Senior Pastor for the Lenox Road Baptist Church in Brooklyn New York. Prior to his pastoral service, Dr. Cohall started his career as a medical technologist at the Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Research Hospital in New York City, for more than 11 years before answering the call to pastoral ministry. He is a graduate of New York Theological Seminary (MDiv, 1993; DMin 2000), and Fordham University Graduate School of Education (PhD, 2006). He served as an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate School of Education at Fordham University, St. John Fisher College. During the 23 years of leadership at Lenox Road, the ministry has rebuilt worship facility, and developed an educational and recreational complex. Dr. Cohall continues to work closely with community leaders, the police department and the health facilities in addressing issues such as teenage pregnancies, youth gang activities and a host of health-related issues facing the community. He also serves as the chairman of the University Council for the SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Over the years he has also served on several boards of institutions that continue to have a positive impact in the community and the nation. Those boards include Anchor House a drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation center, and the general board of the American Baptist Churches USA. He is a past president of the Board of American Baptist Churches International Ministries. He was recently appointed by the Governor of New York State to serve as the chairman of State University of New York Down State Medical Center. Rev. Cohall’s area of specialty is in the field of educational leadership, administration and policy. As a pastor he continues to explore emerging methodologies in addressing the many social pathologies in urban America and the role of the church in addressing these issues.
Workshop E: Digital Peace: Managing Technological Demands + Opportunities
This is a two-part workshop, spanning both the morning and afternoon.
Morning session: Participants will review the social implications of the digital age. This session will focus on the violence that emerges from the overwhelming spaces of connection in the digital age, and will explore the challenges it presents to traditional foundations and structures of the church. In order to be pursuers of peace, people must understand that this kind of violence must be addressed.
Afternoon session: Participants will explore opportunities that these new social spaces of the digital age present to individuals and faith communities, so that they may be integrated into a church’s ministry to enhance outreach, learning, and relationship building.
David Castañeda
Facilitator: David Castaneda is a sociologist, theologian and educator interested in the ways that people understand meaningful experiences in the digital age. He delivers workshops and presentations for churches on ministry in the digital age and is a guest lecturer at Drew Theological School (DTS). David is a highly experienced online learning producer, and has created online learning experiences and systems for many companies and partners. He earned his Master of Arts degree from DTS.