What's planned?

Keynoter Dr. Mark Allan Powell and . . . Time for:

— personal devotions — worship and healing — resting
— renewing friendships and making new friends — a game of golf or tennis
— conversation with Synod staff about what's on your mind
— reflection with the Bishop
— connecting with the ELCA Board of Pensions
— perusing the newest resources — browsing Cokesbury bookstore

Let's Talk Together

A new feature this year: more choices during free time on Tuesday! On Tuesday morning, you are free to choose to play golf, sleep in, read, or take part in small group discussions that will occur twice on Tuesday morning and once on Tuesday afternoon. (9-10:15 AM; 10:45-Noon; 3:45-5 PM)

From Bishop Benoway: There are many important and holy conversations that we need to have among ourselves as rostered leaders in this church. This year, the conference provides three opportunities for you to participate and engage in group conversations with colleagues. Facilitators are identified for each conversation, but the focus is on engaging the whole group in sharing, listening and talking with one another. In addition to what we will personally gain from one another, we also invite notation of input and ideas that might serve to advise the bishop on how to further these conversations throughout our congregations and synod.

Let's Talk Together discussions will include:
Raising Up Church Leaders for Tomorrow's Church
Identifying and recruiting faithful and courageous leaders
Envisioning and Preparing-- as the ELCA-- for the Future
Renewing and positioning our church for mission
Rightly Handling Genetic Knowledge & Technology
The intersection of faith, ethics and science
Being an Evangelizing Church Together
Collaborative efforts to connect faith with the world
Guided by the Word of God
Faithfully understanding and interpreting the Bible
Proclaiming the love of God in distant lands
Walking with and learning from our Companion Synods
Finding Ways to be Church Together amidst Deep Differences
Honoring the integrity of one another's convictions
And Who is My Neighbor?
Securing and using detailed information about the community
And Who is My Neighbor? Part 2
Using and applying information about the community
Moving from Fear to Radical Hospitality
Welcome of the immigrant neighbor is challenging ministry
Helping to bring Out the Very Best of Leadership Gifts
The important role of coaching and being coached

What about Matthew?

Advent of 2010 begins the lectionary year of Matthew. Dr. Mark Allan Powell has focused on Matthew's Gospel throughout his career and is currently writng a large commentary on Matthew for Eerdmans. To help get us ready for Series A, he will offer presentations on what scholars believe to be two defining themes of this book--themes that just happen to be extremely relevant for the lives and interests of most people in our modern world.

Theme One: The Presence and Absence of God (Tuesday afternoon at 1:45 PM)
How is God present in our world today? Where do we find God? How do we experience God as real or active in our lives? The Gospel of Matthew was probably written to answer these questions - the theme comes up repeatedly in lectionary texts - but what Matthew has to say can be somewhat surprising. For one thing, Matthew is very realistic in recognizing ways in which God is not present. Dr. Powell says, "mature, biblical spirituality involves the recognition of both the presence and the absence of God in our lives today."

Theme Two: Scripture and Making Decisions (Wednesday morning at 9:00 AM)
How can the Bible continue to guide people in making decisions? It was written a long time ago, for people very different than us. There are things that obviously do not apply to us--how do we know what does apply - and who gets to make those decisions? These are precisely the questions that Matthew's church faced as Gentile Christians puzzled over the relevance of scripture texts addressed to ancient Israel. Many passages in this Gospel reflect a struggle to determine how ancient texts can continue to address contemporary moral issues (including ones that they were not originally intended to address); surprisingly, sometimes, the conclusion is that certain texts don't apply and need to be set aside--but how does one do that without being dismissive of scripture? The issues may be different today (congregations don't split over the appropriate length of phylacteries or healing on the sabbath) but the principles Matthew advances provide wise and scriptural counsel.

Lutheran Buzzwords? (What do Lutherans say about the Bible)

Dr. Powell's first keynote (Monday evening at 7:15pm) will focus on Scripture in general and from a Lutheran perspective. Powell's DVDs "How Lutherans Understand the Bible" have received widespread use throughout the ELCA and were excerpted for inclusion in the Lutheran Study Bible.

Lutheran Buzzwords: Four things You Often Hear Lutherans Say About the Bible
All Christians say that the Bible is the Word of God...but what do they mean by that? There are a lot of different Christians in the world, and some of them say things about the Bible that you don't often hear in Lutheran churches. Mark Allan Powell will rehearse four things that Lutheran "typically and traditionally" say about the Bible...though as he points out, "one more thing Lutherans believe is that not everyone should be typical or or traditional!"

Shall We Pray?

Worship at Conference on Ministry will be planned and coordinated by David Ludwig, Director of Music and Arts at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Winter Park. Opening Eucharist will begin immediately after our gathering and announcement time at 4:00pm on Monday with Bishop Benoway preaching. Plans for Tuesday include time in the morning for personal reflection and quiet time, and healing prayer worship in the evening. Dr. Mark Allan Powell will preach at the closing Eucharist on Wednesday morning at 10:30am. He will title his sermon "Worship and Doubt" and will take as his text, Matthew 28:1-9, 16-20 (emphasizing the phrase "they worshiped him but some doubted in 28:17)

How much does it cost?

Double room is $195 per person for two nights and Single room is $250 per person for two nights.
After August 27 -- Double is $220 and Single is $275
Meals -- $49.00 for all conference meals or separately $8 each breakfast; $9 each lunch and $12 each dinner
Deadline for registration for room at Life Enrichment Center is September 3, 2010
After September 3, you may register for the event (event fee is $125) and stay at a local hotel and eat at local restaurants.

Where?
Life Enrichment Center (near Leesburg, FL) http://lecretreats.org/
Directions can be found at http://lecretreats.org/page.asp?PKValue=128

How do I register?
Easy! Click on http://bit.ly/daxB5N.

Questions?
Contact Jan Bernard at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Irene Flynn at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Who Is Dr Powell?