What Love Does
Session # 1: Thursday 1:30 – 3:00pm
Session # 4: Friday 3:30 – 5:00pm
Are our attempts at justice simply a result of our own compassion or do they reflect God's concern? How does he view the marginalized and how does he expect us to respond to them? Is a commitment to justice an optional calling or is it an essential part of our Kingdom commission? This workshop is designed to strengthen the conviction of those already committed to developing community among the poor (as well as to challenge the unconvinced) by examining the love of God that reaches to the lowest and the farthest places.
Gary Best
National Team Leader, Vineyard Churches Canada
http://vineyard.electricurrent.com
Gary, along with his wife Joy, are the National Team Leaders of the Vineyard church family in Canada – a family committed to developing community among the marginalized. Gary speaks out of over twenty years of experience travelling and teaching about the inbreaking Kingdom of God, as well as putting that teaching into practice at a local church level. Gary and Joy have recently moved to one of the most impoverished counties in New Brunswick and are discovering God’s treasures there.
Empire, Homelessness and the Homemaking King
Session # 1: Thursday 1:30 – 3:00pm
Session # 3: Friday 1:30 – 3:00pm
Building upon his recent book, Beyond Homelessness: Christian Faith in a Culture of Displacement, Brian Walsh will bring Paul's letter to the Romans face to face with the crisis of homelessness in our own time. If "empires" always result in homelessness, then how does Paul's understanding of Jesus address the homelessness of both the Roman empire and our own imperial realities.
Brian Walsh
Brian Walsh is a Christian Reformed Campus minister at the University of Toronto and Adjunct Professor of Theology of Culture at Wycliffe College. Converted to Christ in the context of the Yonge Street Mission, Brian has always seen an intimate connection between the gospel and homelessness. His most recent book, with Steve Bouma-Prediger, is “Beyond Homelessness: Christian Faith in a Culture of Displacement.”
TBA
Session # 1: Thursday 1:30 – 3:00pm
Description to Follow
Jack Murta, Daniel Clapin
So You want Donors? The Ministry of Development
Session # 1: Thursday 1:30 – 3:00pm
Session # 3: Friday 1:30 – 3:00pm
Irene and Del will discuss practical advice on securing and retaining donors to support your ministry. For beginners and experienced as well. Don't miss this interactive workshop.
Irene Pfeiffer
President, Moorgate Holdings
Irene Pfeiffer is President of Moorgate Holdings, and was a Partner and Co-founder of PWR Search (formerly Russell Reynolds Associates). She joined Russell Reynolds after six years as Vice President, Executive Search for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Prior to that, she had been involved in all facets of human resources, as well as internal communications, with companies such as Mobil Oil Canada Limited, Suncor Resources Inc., and Shell Canada Limited. For 10 years Irene also served Mount Royal College as an administrator and sessional instructor in Business Education. She is a Past President of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and the Alberta Chamber, a Director of the Council of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, and a Board Member of the Rural Physicians Action Plan. She is on the Social Sciences Advisory Committee of The University of Calgary and a Board member of The Ranchmen’s Club. Irene co-founded the Pearls of Wisdom Scholarship Fund for Mount Royal College and is on the Advisory Council for Social Sciences, University of Calgary. She was also instrumental in the creation of the Women’s Loan Program for Alberta. Among her most recent awards, Irene is the recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee Medal for Community Service in 2003, and the Kay Pringle Memorial Award for Community Service in 2004. She received a Life Membership in recognition of her contribution to the Chamber movement. In 2005, she was awarded the Alberta Centennial Medal for Community Service, the Leading Woman Award – Business and Professions – in 2006, and the Unicef Canada Volunteer Appreciation Award in 2007. Irene was also named to the Order of Canada in December 2007. Irene is a Licensed Lay Minister with the Anglican Church and is active with the Mustard Seed Street Ministry.
Del Bannerman
Executive Advisor, the Mustard Seed Street Ministry
www.theseed.ca
Del has been with The Mustard Seed since 1995, when she joined as Housing Manager. As Development Officer (since 1999), Del was responsible for all resources secured for The SEED, including gifts-in-kind. In her current role as Executive Advisor, Del works directly with the Executive Director. Through communication with her many contacts in the business and non-profit sectors, she works to educate and mobilize churches, businesses, and the community-at-large to provide for the needs of the homeless. Del also sits on the 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness Board as a representative for the SEED. In 2005, Del was nominated for a Women of Action award, and in 2001, was named one of Calgary’s Women of Vision for Education and Social Action. Most recently, the Leading Women’s Conference recognized Del as one of the Leading Women for 2008, an award for public service as a woman in Christian Ministry in Canada. In May 2008, Del, daughter Paula and husband Doug were honoured with Calgary Child Magazine’s Publisher’s Award of Distinction for their dedication to volunteerism in Calgary. The family was also named Calgary’s Volunteer Family for 2008 for the annual Bannerman Clark Christmas dinner, an initiative they began in 1982 which provides dinners, gifts and necessities to thousands in need each year. Del is a member of StreetLevel: the National Roundtable on Poverty and Homelessness, and Development Chair for the 2009 StreetLevel conference.
The Heart & Soul of Volunteering
Session # 1: Thursday 1:30 – 3:00pm
Session # 4: Friday 3:30 – 5:00pm
“The greatest need of the human heart is to live for something higher than oneself.” Paula and Cherie bring this workshop with a combined experience and enthusiasm for changing the lives of individuals and organizations through volunteerism.
The Heart & Soul of Volunteering will cover the three R’s of volunteerism: Recruiting, Retaining and Remembering Your Volunteers. This workshop will provide participants with practical applications such as networking in your communities, empowering staff to work with volunteers, providing meaningful opportunity, etc. You will also leave this workshop, inspired and invited to see how volunteers will come to be part of “this important work”; each with a unique combination of giftedness and need. The Heart & Soul of Volunteering clearly outlines the importance of building “volunteerism” into the structure of your organization by inviting, equipping, and including your churches and communities to be an integral component of your ministry.
Paula Bannerman
Volunteer Support, the Mustard Seed Street Ministry
www.theseed.ca
Paula Bannerman worked in Health care for 19 years. She has worked relief and volunteered at the Mustard Seed Street Ministry for 10 years. Currently, Paula is working full time at the Mustard Seed supporting the agency’s more than 12,000 volunteers. Paula has dedicated her educational endeavors to management and inspiration of volunteers. She coordinates the Bannerman – Clark Christmas dinner, which has been held for 27 years in memory of her two brothers. In May 2008, Paula’s family was honoured with Calgary Child Magazine’s Publisher’s Award of Distinction for their dedication to volunteerism in Calgary. The family was also named Calgary’s Volunteer Family for 2008 for the annual Bannerman Clark Christmas dinner, which provides dinners, gifts and necessities to thousands in need each year. Paula has a strong passion for street ministry and working with volunteers, and is a highly gifted and sought-after speaker for schools, businesses and churches. She is born and raised in Calgary and the proud mother of 3 children.
Cherie Tetz
Cherie Tetz lives in Calgary, Alberta. She is a gifted motivational and inspirational speaker and represents The Mustard Seed (Calgary) Street Ministry in the community, churches, schools and businesses. Cherie left a full-time position as Volunteer Coordinator with The SEED in 2007, to pursue a vocation of offering spiritual direction, facilitating retreats/workshops and volunteering. She is part of a Contemplative Community in Calgary, and a “thankful” mother and grandma (mom-mom).
Moving from Outreach to Community: Transforming our churches into places of welcome for the poor
Session # 2: Thursday 3:30 – 5:00pm
Session # 3: Friday 1:30 – 3:00pm
When Jesus said that the poor would always be with us, he wasn't Donald Trump telling us that some people are just destined to be losers. His church, rather, would be with the poor - accessible and relevant and together in fellowship. The church was to be a safe place, where those who were vulnerable could know that they were loved, where they were truly home.
What happened?
Many of us have had to fight tooth and nail to overcome the barriers to being with the poor, sometimes with little apparent success. Sure, some of us have been sidelined by the charity game (giving money without dignity), the referral game (its just the professionals' job), or the piety game (let God do it all, minus me). But there are many good people working for the betterment of the poor, and yet so many churches do not feel like home for them. And not for lack of good intentions.
How can the church become like a true home for those who have been pushed onto our streets? What costs must be paid? How can we be the sign of the Kingdom that Jesus said the church would be - where we aren't just close to those like ourselves, but also those who live across deep divides of poverty, race, and culture? There are some amazing places today where middle class and wealthy churches have become not only resources, but places of friendship with those across the tracks. Lets see what's working, and what's not. There are also ancient paths that the church fathers walked, and they invite us still to follow - what are they? And how might that look in your unique neighbourhood. This is a workshop for leaders and workers.
Nathan Rieger
Nathan Rieger has been permanently marked by things the world throws away, and as a result, his life seems off-centre in a society that believes in Progress. Caught by the vision of a Jesus who was kind to the poor but spoke truth to power, he envisions a future where the church finds its joy in doing justice, being a true community, and refusing to worship the idols of its generation. He has an M.A. in New Testament; otherwise, his best teachers have been addicts, prostitutes and those who suffer. His wife Kendra and three children live in Winnipeg, where he is a pastor at the Winnipeg Centre Vineyard, an inner city community.
From Hospitality to Justice:
One community's pursuit of kingdom practices
Session # 2: Thursday 3:30 – 5:00pm
Session # 4: Friday 3:30 – 5:00pm
Over the last 19 years, Grandview Calvary Baptist Church has experienced renewal in its urban context. From a dying church two decades ago, they have become a thriving community with two congregations pursuing a vision of the kingdom of God in the Grandview Woodlands neighbourhood. Over the years, the church has developed the gift of hospitality, welcoming people in many different life situations through the ventures they have developed such as community housing, housing for refugees and homeless, Out of the Cold, Street advocacy, after-school tutoring, a performing arts group for children, social enterprises (in pottery, gardening and catering) and an urban retreat space. Tim will tell the story of how their church has moved from this place of welcome to a vision for the transformation of their neighbourhood. He will facilitate a discussion of how inhabitting a neighbourhood can help a group of people combat individualism, consumerism and fragmentation to seek the well-being of their city.
Tim Dickau
Pastor, Grandview Calvary Baptist Church
www.gcbchurch.ca
Tim Dickau has been the pastor of Grandview Calvary Baptist Church in East Vancouver for the last 19 years. Over that period, this once-dying church has become re-rooted in its neighbourhood and has creatively pursued a vision of the kingdom of God which includes the practice of radical hospitality, integrated multicultural living, seeking justice for the least and the pursuit of a deeper life in God. He recently completed his doctoral thesis describing these four movements which this is community of people have taken up. Along with many others living in community in his church, Tim lives in community with his wife Mary, their three teenage sons, two house mates and many meal-time visitors.
Change your Worldview, Change Your World!
Session # 2: Thursday 3:30 – 5:00pm
Session # 3: Friday 1:30 – 3:00pm
It’s not uncommon for people to look at the poverty around them and say something like, “People have made bad choices and are now living the consequences of those choices!” Though there can, at times, be the ring of truth about this, it is nonetheless a smug assessment of the complexities which contribute to the choices we make and the lives which flow out of those decisions. A worldview influenced and shaped by scripture ought to help us embrace the realities of life and poverty differently than this. Unfortunately, as followers of Jesus we often live out of worldviews shaped more by popular theology, pop psychology and the sociology of personal well-being than scripture. This workshop will examine trends and issues related to poverty and ministry, suggesting some ways to cultivate a biblically informed worldview.
Terry LeBlanc
National Director, My People International
www.mypeopleinternational.com
Terry is Mi’kmaq/Acadian, in his 36th year of marriage to wife Bev, and the father of twin daughters, aged 31 and a son age 27. He currently serves as National Director with My People International. Terry has taught as a sessional and guest lecturer at various colleges, seminaries and universities. He is an award winning writer and a contributor to the Faith in Action study Bible sponsored by World Vision International. Terry is one of the founders and current Chair of NAIITS (the North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies), a new approach to biblical and theological reflection, writing and education for Native North Americans. Terry is a PhD candidate at Asbury Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky.
When the Undone is Done; Dealing With Loss
Session # 2: Thursday 3:30 – 5:00pm
Session # 3: Friday 1:30 – 3:00pm
We will focus on understanding the phases of loss;
how to find God in each phase;
what the lessons are in each phase;
techniques and suggestions for healing throughout the process.
Sharon Gernon
Sharon has a Masters Degree in Theology & Counseling. She is a clinical member of the Ontario Society of Psychotherapists. Sharon has been in practice for 17 years and specializes in individual, family and couple counseling. She deals with issues such as anxiety, depression, grief and different aspects of relationships. Sharon has been leading workshops and seminars throughout Ontario for the past 25 years.
The Rest of the Story: Caring for the Caregiver
Session # 2: Thursday 3:30 – 5:00pm
Session # 3: Friday 1:30 – 3:00pm
We step into the lives of others because we truly care about their needs and we want to see something better for them. But sometimes along the way, meeting the needs of others can begin to take over our lives and our own story disappears into the tragic stories that surround us. When that happens, it's time to enter into the invitation God gives us to rest; it's time to explore a different way of living out the story of the caregiver. Come join us as we explore and experience what it's like to be taken care of by the One who cares more than we ever could for the needs of those we serve … and for us as well.
Iona Snair
Director, Lifeteams: School of Urban Youth Outreach
www.lifeteams.com
Iona has been involved in caregiving in a variety of ways over the past 25 years as a group home worker, foster parent, drop-in director, youth probation counselor, young adults pastor, and college instructor. For the past 9 years, she and her husband Rob have mentored young adults toward opening their hearts to homeless youth before they become houseless youth. They run LifeTeams: School of Urban Youth Outreach, through Vancouver YFC/Youth Unlimited. Iona and Rob live with their two boys in Abbotsford, B.C.