{"id":36589,"date":"2018-01-23T15:19:11","date_gmt":"2018-01-23T20:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=36589"},"modified":"2018-01-24T09:59:52","modified_gmt":"2018-01-24T14:59:52","slug":"seminary-conference-gives-space-brokenness-kintsugi-clergy-ministry-polarized-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/seminary-conference-gives-space-brokenness-kintsugi-clergy-ministry-polarized-society\/","title":{"rendered":"Seminary conference gives space to brokenness, ‘kintsugi clergy’ and ministry in a polarized society"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Reverend Meredith McNabb is director of the United Methodist Church Virginia Conference\u2019s Center for Clergy Excellence, and she isn\u2019t afraid to poke a little fun at the grandiose-ness of that title.<\/p>\n

This she did, gently and to knowing laughter, during her keynote address last week at Eastern Mennonite Seminary\u2019s annual School for Leadership Training<\/a>. The gathered included some 160 clergy and faith leaders representing 10 denominations and coming from 13 states.<\/p>\n

Yet it was clear to all that McNabb had considerable experience helping to prepare both prospective clergy for the path of ordination and supporting those currently serving. In her hour-long address, McNabb suggested that there is a temptation to ignore \u201cunhealed wounds in unhealed places.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t stay in Good Friday, we keep moving and we are Easter people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Iris de Le\u00f3n-Hartshorn, director of transformative peacemaking for Mennonite Church USA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Taking as her theme the Japanese art form kintsugi, McNabb shared that the goal of excellence in ministry cannot be truly attempted unless one considers \u2014 deeply \u2014 one\u2019s own \u201cbroken places.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn kintsugi, broken ceramic pieces are mended together with gold and silver, filling in the cracks with craftsmanship, value, care and beauty,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is what God does, pouring in the gold and working it in finely \u2026 it is critical that we be models of how the broken places can be mended.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iris de Le\u00f3n-Hartshorn, director of transformative peacemaking for Mennonite Church USA, offered the first keynote address on Monday evening. She shared the story of her journey in leadership, \u201cfrom Catholic to Presbyterian to Southern Baptist to Mennonite,\u201d and invited listeners to \u201cface into brokenness as an integral aspect of finding one\u2019s place as a leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

Networking a highlight<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One goal of the event was for those attending \u201cto come to grips with the reality that \u2018brokenness\u2019 and \u2018thriving\u2019 are not mutually exclusive realities,\u201d said EMS Director of Admissions Les Horning<\/a>. \u201cSeveral participants noted that the speakers and workshops challenged them to rethink the categories of wholeness and brokenness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow is wholeness defined? How is brokenness defined? And who gets to write the definitions?\u201d asked one participant.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
From left: Seminary alumnae Nicholas Detweiler-Stoddard, Lorie Hershey, Carmen Horst and Brett Klingenberg contribute to a panel discussion about their ministry contexts which range from rural western plains to urban streets.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Time to connect and network was woven into the schedule, which Horning said was the highlight for many participants. \u201cI think the more we encounter brokenness in us and around us, the more we need each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust being with other pastors is wonderful,\u201d wrote one participant in an evaluation. \u201cGuest speakers are icing on the cake. I like how all the emotions and brain waves get validated and voiced.\u201d<\/p>\n

Practical skills<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In breakout sessions throughout the three-day conference, seminars focused on practical skills related to the complexities of congregational leadership.<\/p>\n

Professor David Brubaker<\/a>, an expert in congregational change, brought a sociologist\u2019s perspective to current polarization on political and cultural issues in the United States, then presented with EMU President Emeritus Loren Swartzendruber a case study of how the university moved through a long listening process on the way to making the decision to change their same-sex policy for employees.<\/p>\n

Brittany Caine-Conley, an EMS alumna and ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, shared about her leadership and involvement<\/a> in the clergy response to recent white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia.<\/p>\n

While many in the audience knew the popular narrative provided by the media, Caine-Conley shared a more nuanced and detailed narrative: of how she became involved in area activism at the behest of an anarchist group for people of color; how as a layperson, she persuaded area clergy to become involved; and how her leadership among various groups sometimes forced her to make decisions she later regretted. She spoke openly about the challenges of making decisions in fear-filled situations and mediating between citizens\u2019 groups with disparate and conflicting views.<\/p>\n

\u201cAllowing our bodies to be bruised and our spirits broken for the gospel is not new but it is necessary in today\u2019s world,\u201d she said. \u201cWe follow an agitator who was executed by the state.\u00a0 If you enter into this ministry, you\u2019re called to do this thing that doesn\u2019t make any sense, to put your body on the line to spread the good news that is countercultural to everything our society values. Jesus put his body on the line to absorb violence at the hands of the emperor so that others didn\u2019t have to. If I am to follow this Jesus, I need to do that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Reverend Meredith McNabb is director of the United Methodist Church Virginia Conference\u2019s Center for Clergy Excellence, and she isn\u2019t afraid to poke a little fun at the grandiose-ness of ... read more about Seminary conference gives space to brokenness, ‘kintsugi clergy’ and ministry in a polarized society<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36592,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,17562,8845,265],"tags":[9040,14543],"feature":[17427,17425,17426,17241],"class_list":["post-36589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-digest","category-emu-at-lancaster","category-seminary","tag-david-brubaker","tag-les-horning","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-featured-seminary","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nSeminary conference gives space to brokenness, 'kintsugi clergy' and ministry in a polarized society - 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