The seminar is scheduled to begin on October 13th with lunch at noon and end after lunch on October 15th.
The narratives we tell about our own lives -- and about the institutional-lives of the communities we share with others – help to bring into being the very realities they initially merely claim to describe. For this reason, “narrative” has become recognized as a way of
- approaching individual therapy
- describing ways that religious traditions get shared, and
- engaging in organizational leadership
This seminar connects the contemporary uses of narrative for personal and organizational change to the various forms of narrative work in faith communities.
What practices do "narrative leaders" engage in when they are being mindful of the role and power of narrative in the practice of their leadership in community?
How can religious leaders, for example, be more intentional about
- Linking people's stories to one another and to God's?
- Reframing past stories and traditions for the future?
- Discerning God's call to a new story?
- Embodying the church's story in renewed practices?
Goals:
1) To gather insights from organizational and personal uses of narrative for change into our own ministries with congregations and denominations.
2) To explore how religious leaders can engage the full range of narrative work in religious life for revitalizing church practices and facilitating change.
3) To envision a working plan for how narrative leadership in ministry can be exercised in the context of our own congregations and other church organizational structures.
Participants will develop a specific plan for incorporating what they learn into their on-going practices of leadership within their ministry settings.
About Larry Peers
Larry Peers
applies an integrative and comprehensive approach to his work with congregations and religious organizations in various faith traditions. As he describes it, “At the heart of my approach is to help congregations and their leadership align their practices with a renewed sense of purpose (or “calling”) in ways that promote on-going learning, spiritual vitality, growth and innovation. His background as minister and therapist provides a rich array of insights and methods for his work in professional and spiritual discernment processes.
Printable Flyer (PDF)