Ending with Grace - Spring '23

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  • This five-session course will be held on Tuesday mornings, 9-11, beginning April 25, 2023.
  • Instructors
    Rev. Peter Soli
    Deacon Erin Power 
  • For both clergy and lay faith leaders
  • Video time: 6+ hours
  • Five two-hour sessions
    held on Tuesdays from 9 to 11 am.
Course overview
Learn from pastors and judicatory leaders who have walked with congregations as they end their ministry.
After completing the course, you will:
  • Understand strategies and rules for meaningful and legal closing.
  • Learn how theologies of place and journey affect closure.
  • Know how conflict and respect shape a closing.
  • Discover how closing a church can be either a Good Friday or an Easter experience.
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2.0 CEU Certificate
Walking with  a congregation as it closes its doors is a unique experience layered with grief, legal and practical issues, sometimes conflict, and the question, "Where is God in the closing of a congregation?" This course draws on the experience of:
  • Gail Cafferata – Priest, sociologist, and author
  • Deacon Erin Power – Director of Evangelical Mission, ELCA
  • Peter Soli – Director of Dialog Works
  • Pastors who have prepared case studies based on their walk with congregations that have closed.
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