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Online Ministers' Gathering
We invite any who are in vocational ministry to join together once a month to learn, share, and pray together online via Zoom. There is no cost to join these meetings. In these meetings, there will be a brief teaching around an element of restorative Christian ministry, space to discuss ministry and ask questions, and to encourage and pray for one another.
Our next Breathe meeting will be on Wednesday, September 27 at 11am Eastern Time.
One-on-One
If you are looking to connect one-on-one with someone for spiritual guidance or direction, we would be happy to have someone meet with you at no cost. We recognize that sometimes it is difficult to know who to talk to when you are a minister, and it can be a challenge to afford professional services. We are partnering with trained ministers and spiritual directors to offer this service at no charge for those serving in vocational ministry.
Resources
On our resource page we will have a number of articles, book recommendations, spiritual exercises and more to help you develop practices for a healthy, restorative Christian ministry. These resources will cover such topics as knowing God, overcoming vices, learning to rest, and loving people well. Updates will be made regularly, so be sure to come back often and see what's new.
Within scripture, God is pictured as a shepherding God and Jesus refers to himself as the good shepherd. Within the Old Testament, prophets, priests and kings are spoken of as shepherds of the people of God. Jesus calls his disciples into a shepherding role and the apostle Paul uses this language for leaders in the early church. This course will examine what it means to be a shepherd in today's church.
Within a mobile culture (in more ways than one) we have lost connection. Presence is a central biblical theme, whether we are talking about the presence of God among his people or the presence God's people are to practice with one another. This course looks at how to lead presence-based ministry in the local church, discerning above all else God's presence among us.
In the reading of scripture, whether privately or publicly, we are invited into another world. When watching a good movie, reading a great novel, or listening to a powerful piece of music, we are moved in a deep place within our being. With the Bible, however, the experience has often become dry, dutiful, and void of that deep encounter with something more. In this course we will search for more in sacred scripture than meets the eye.
We are planning to hold one or more sabbath retreats before the end of 2023. The purpose of these will be twofold: first, they will be a time of rest; secondly, they will be a time of learning how to incorporate rest into your regular rhythm.
Plans are in motion for a Fall 2023 Restorative Ministry Conference for you and your leadership. This will be an in-person conference structured around restorative ministry principles and practices.
We are presently looking into options for an Empey Centre retreat house where ministers can come to rest and renew; during this time we will provide practical guidance and instruction so they will return better equipped to practice restorative ministry in their context.