Forma Leadership
October 2020 - A Word from the Forma Council
Dear Forma,
Despite these unusual times in which we're living, it's been a delight working with the Forma Council and so many of you. I'm inspired every day by the ingenuity, creativity, and passion you bring to your ministries. Whether you're serving in a small or large church, whether you're paid or not, I'm sure you realize how vital your ministry is for such a time as this. It might be easy to feel overwhelmed, overworked, undervalued or underappreciated, yet what you do matters. Thank you for your continued care and commitment to this vital work you've been called into!
The Forma21 Conference planning is well under way and we anticipate the release of our workshop presenters in early October. While I don’t want to reiterate the information you already have, what I do want to convey is how special we are trying to make this virtual conference. We are hard at work researching and studying the dos and don'ts of online gatherings and are brainstorming ways we can equip and engage an audience through a number of different modes. This will include synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities. Every registrant will have 100% access to every workshop. Unlike in-person conferences where only a few workshops can be recorded (or attended), we will stream and record everything and make it available to registrants to watch at their leisure.
Are you aware of those crazy, money-saving institutional packages dioceses and other groups can purchase? These are designed to make our reduced ticket price even more discounted and accessible. For the cost that one person would pay to attend an in-person Forma conference (registration, airfare, lodging, and meals), a group can register 20 people. There are other benefits and package options, so encourage your diocese to check it out here. We will be releasing content to those who have registered as early as November, so register soon. For more information, please reach out: [email protected]
The Forma Council has been working on a number of different fronts. You may have heard about our partnership with ChurchNext and Forward Movement. This is NOT Sunday School launched the week of September 12, and over 750 households and churches have registered! If your church could use help providing formation in these times, this is a free resource for all ages—old and young. It's not too late to share this with everyone you know.
Cheers and blessings,
Melissa Rau
Episcopal Church Foundation's Staff Liaison to Forma
Greetings, friends. I hope this finds you doing well. We have lots of news to share with you this month.
The Forma Council and assorted work groups are excited to share about a collaboration between Forma and ChurchNext which will be launching on September 20, 2020. We are calling this new initiative “This is NOT Sunday School: A Weekly Christian Learning Opportunity.” See the press release below for more information. This is an incredible offering for formation leaders and families, especially as we navigate these remarkable times.
The Forma21 Conference Workshop Group headed up by Katelyn Kenney and Patrick Kangrga continues to do amazing work. We are especially excited to be able to offer the conference to the wider church community. We are also thrilled about the opportunity for individual dioceses to be able to pay a set fee so that many formation leaders in their dioceses will be able to attend under a group rate.
Forma’s Anti-Racism Working Group, chaired by Wallace Benton, held its first meeting this month. This working group discussed how Forma should further its mission to develop formation leaders through the lens of inclusion and diversity. Group members discussed potential goals and how it can work with Forma’s Advocacy Working Group to better engage all our congregations and institutions to end racism within the Episcopal Church.
Invitations to join other working groups have gone out. We are certainly looking for more volunteers, so please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you are interested or would like more information.
Forma’s Certificate Program is moving forward and will resume in Fall 2021, either in person or online. More information to come soon.
Thank you for the good work you are doing out there.
Roger Hutchison, Forma Council ChairSeptember 2020 - A Word from the Forma Council Chair
Houston, Texas
[email protected] (Daily) is pausing for the rest of the summer. We are in communication with Forward Movement and the Episcopal Church Foundation (ECF) about the future structure and staffing of this free resource from Forma and friends. A special thank you to Victoria Hoppes, Melissa Rau, and the countless others who helped make this such an essential offering to the greater Church over these past several months. [email protected] (Sunday) will continue!
I had the opportunity to meet with the ECF Management Team recently. It was a helpful and informative conversation and I look forward to our evolving and growing partnership. The Forma Council is in conversation with the ECF to produce panel discussion webinars. The webinar content will be produced by the Leadership Resources department of ECF in collaboration and partnership with Forma. These panel discussions are meant to help formation leaders to partner with their clergy and other church leadership to enter the fall considering the pandemic and all of the change that’s been upon us since this time last year.
More updates:
My prayers remain with each of you. Do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions, concerns, or thanksgivings!
Roger Hutchison, Forma Council ChairAugust 2020 - A Word from the Forma Council Chair
Houston, Texas
Forma
is committed to an open and inclusive planning process. Direct input
and participation of our membership is a critical component for our
ongoing life together. To better manage the planning and network input,
the
Forma Advisory Council is excited to announce that we are creating working groups in the following areas:
Forma members will serve alongside different council members on the
working groups to ensure a process that is sound, benefits from broad
network support, and results in a strategy that can guide Forma’s
efforts for years to come. Each working group will gather network input,
identify network needs/concerns and opportunities, and provide support
to the Forma Advisory Council, the Forma network, and the larger Church.
If you are interested in joining one of these working groups or would like to suggest additional working groups, please contact me.
July 2020 - A Word from the Forma Council Chair
Roger Hutchison, Council Chair
Houston, Texas
May’s Council meeting began with Council members reflecting on Forma’s mission, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a productive conversation and deepened our commitment to serving each of you the best way possible.
We also have some things to celebrate:
We continue to discuss ways to support all of our members – no matter the size of your church or ministry. A team is working on the creation of short video tutorials for those new to Christian Formation or in locations where resources are few and budgets are small. We are also exploring the idea of monthly Forma webinars.
We want your input on how Forma can better serve you – especially this summer. Please share your thoughts and ideas about membership value with us. One of our goals is to grow our membership; we need your help to do this.
My prayer for you is that summer can be a time for rest, restoration, and at least one week without a Zoom meeting. Take long walks or explore new hobbies like writing or learning to play the guitar. Stretch your bodies and your minds.
Peace friends,
Roger Hutchison, Council Chair
Houston, Texas
June 2020 - A Word from the Forma Council Chair
It is my great honor to serve as your 2020 council chair for
Forma. Never in a million years could I imagine that I would be called
to serve in this role during a season of such extreme loss and change
within the Church and world.
Roger Hutchison, Council Chair Houston, TexasMay 2020 - A Word from the Forma Council Chair
Over the past months, I have
watched alongside you, the unimaginable horror, sadness, fear, and
confusion as a world-wide pandemic became reality. I have equally
watched with awe, joy, amusement at times, and deep respect, as members
of this diverse network, our partners, and the Church modeled love and
resurrection in a way I have never experienced. Creativity and
generosity shared by you and your ministries has provided hope,
connection, and healing.
At the same time, I have observed and
experienced crushing exhaustion and grief. It is imperative that we take
care of ourselves as we continue to care for others. Reach out for
support if you need it. If you see that someone needs support, provide
it. Be open to forgiveness – asking for and granting it. Please take
note of “Your Self-Care” in the ‘Quick Takes’ section below.
The
Forma Council, in prayerful consultation with the Episcopal Church
Foundation (ECF) and the Forma 2021 Conference Planning Team, has had to
make some very difficult, but necessary,
decisions regarding the Forma 2021 Conference. We have also had to make the same difficult decisions
regarding the Forma Certificate Program. At the same time, prayerful
and thoughtful work continues as we look to a new and exciting vision
for both the Forma 2021 Conference and the Forma Certificate Program.
Our prayers remain with other conferences and gatherings that have had
to make the same tough decisions.
Lastly, I want to ask you to become a dues-paying member of the Forma Network. Being a member of Forma is not the same as being a member of the Forma Facebook Page. Click here and become a member today. We have options for everyone's ministry context.
We are Resurrection People!
2020 Forma Council:
Roger is the Director of Christian Formation and Parish Life
at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church in Houston. An artist who paints
with children and adults in a variety of contexts, he is the author of five books including Jesus: God Among Us, The Painting Table, and The Very Best Day.
Roger serves as the chair of the Forma Council and is a member of the
National Association of Grieving Children and the Society of Children's
Book Writers and Illustrators. He lives with his family outside of
Houston, Texas. Board Term ends: Jan. 2021 - is able to extend to 2024 Meet Wallace Benton, who grew up at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church outside of Atlanta, Georgia as a precocious, loud, and mischievous child. When he graduated high school, he continued his education at Georgia Institute of Technology (the one true college in the state of Georgia) and studied International Affairs with the expectation that international law was in his future. After graduating and a stint working for a law firm, Wallace found himself volunteering and then, employed, as the Youth Minister at St. Edward’s Episcopal Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Currently, Wallace serves as the Youth Director at St. David’s in Roswell. You may recognize Wallace as a member of Forma’s Council of Advice. He is also highly involved with EYCDIOATL (Episcopal Youth Community of the Diocese of Atlanta). Listen to him as one of the hosts on their podcast about youth ministry. Wallace felt a call to serve others while serving as a high school team member at the middle school retreat weekend, New Beginnings. It was one of the few opportunities where he got to choose to serve, instead of being told to serve others or the Church. New Beginnings served to be a jumping off place for his relationship with God and the Church, and it also kept him connected to the church during his college years. Wallace offers one piece of advice for new Christian formation people: “Connect as much as possible. I would not have had success in youth ministry without remembering the people who supported, challenged, and taught me along the way. Even if there aren’t people in your area or diocese you can talk to about your ministry, reach out to other local formation people from other denominations for advice about what works and what doesn’t. Forma has been a phenomenal outlet for me to learn and observe formation people from around the country who have been doing ministry longer than I have been alive.” Wallace Benton enjoys spending time with his wife and rival youth minister, Sally; playing hide-and-go-seek with his dog, Bishop; hiking; and reading. He believes that relationships are the most important aspect of his ministry with youth and their families and puts diocesan ministry as a cornerstone of his own ministry. Meet April Caballero, a young-ish adult with a passion for curating relevant and meaningful experiences of Christ through liturgy and creative expression. She has been a “proud” member of Forma for a little over two years now. It has been a primary source of inspiration to her, noting that “Forma is a network of absolutely dedicated Christian practitioners, and I have come away from each conference, each Council meeting, and each interaction with a renewed sense of purpose for the work of the Church and Christian formation.” For those new to Christian formation (in any capacity), April advises that you “sleep on any decision” before committing to a new endeavor. “There is so much exciting work to be done in Christian formation, and it is tempting to offer to do it all. This can lead to over-worked and over-burdened leaders; it can take the joy out of something we thought would be exciting. By taking a pause before committing, we allow our excitement some space to mingle with the rest of our work and our lives and we can make commitments that we are truly enthusiastic about.” Kate is the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries for the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma. Kate
first felt a call to professional lay ministry in the Episcopal Church
while in college and serving as a counselor at St. Crispin’s Camp and
Conference Center before
going on to work as the youth minister at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Kate
grew up in SW Oklahoma City and attended the University of Oklahoma
where she received her BA and MA in Political Science. In 2015, Kate
received a Certificate in Leadership in Lifelong Formation
from FORMA (the network for Christian Formation in the Episcopal Church)
and Virginia Theological Seminary. Kate has also served as the Assistant Secretary of Convention for
the Diocese of Oklahoma, Secretary of Province
VII, and as a Deputy to General Convention in 2012, 2015, and 2018. Kate
is passionate about forming disciples and working with young people in
the church. Kate
has one daughter, Brigid, and you can usually find them cooking
together in the kitchen, reading a book, or watching a movie. Their
family also includes Sully, a
rescue Great Pyrenees/Anatolian Shepherd mix, and Oliver, the tabby
cat. Board Term ends: Jan. 2021 - is able to extend to 2024 Originally from Arkansas, Patrick Christopher Kangrga began
in ministry by serving two years as a member of the Episcopal Service Corps in
Maryland and in Massachusetts. After this he began a lay-professional journey
with positions at parish and diocesan levels in New York and New Jersey. He has recently served as the Associate for Youth Ministries at Trinity Church in Menlo Park, California. Author and speaker Dorothy Linthicum is a catechist for the Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) Baptized for Life initiative. As an adjunct instructor at VTS, she has studied and taught courses and workshops about older adult spirituality and ministry throughout the country. She co-authored Redeeming Dementia: Spirituality, Theology, and Science, with Janice Hicks, for caregivers and people facing dementia. She is currently working with a cohort of small churches in Arkansas to better understand their ministry needs. Meet Marvin McLennon (he/him/his), a “cradle” Episcopalian born and raised in Little Rock, AR where he grew up attending St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. After high school, he went to Hendrix College, a liberal arts school in Conway, AR where he studied communications with an emphasis in broadcast journalism. After graduating in 2013, he joined the Episcopal Service Corps in Baton Rouge, LA. Moving back to Little Rock in 2016, Marvin began working at Christ Episcopal Church where he is today, serving as the Director of Children’s and Youth Ministries. The favorite parts of his ministry are the surprising deep conversations that occur in youth group. Seeing the gears turn in young people’s heads and watching them connect the dots months later is very rewarding. In his free time, you’ll find Marvin playing “Dungeons and Dragons” and other board games along with spending time with friends. He plays guitar and also nerds out over video games and comics. While he enjoys reading, he has a bad habit of starting one book and then another, and then another without finishing any of them. While currently watching season 2 of The Umbrella Academy, he claims his (unfinished?) reading stack includes How to Ruin Everything (a collection of essays by musician and poet George Watsky), The Art of Gathering by Prya Parker, and Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff. Marvin has been a member of Forma since 2016. He shares, “Forma has been an invaluable resource that has given me so many wonderful ideas and has helped me form so many wonderful friendships that I am grateful for. I come back from every Forma meeting feeling rejuvenated, reminding me that I am a part of a large, wonderful Episcopal family.” He encourages others who are new to their formation ministries to spend their first year building relationships with your youth, children, and their families. Some of Marvin’s earliest memories of church include sitting with his family during worship, playing in the pews with his friends, and hearing the choir sing while watching the organ director’s hand frantically conducting just above the back wall of the altar. He regularly attended youth group as soon as he was old enough, was a member of the youth council in the Diocese of Arkansas while in high school, and during his college summers worked as a counselor at Camp Mitchell. You can understand why Marvin might say the Episcopal Church has always been a part of his life. One of Marvin’s favorite Bible stories is from 1 Kings 19. After strong winds and an earthquake, Elijah hears God in the silence. It reminds him to strive to slow down and try to be truly present in quiet moments. One way that helps him is an app (1 Second Every Day If you ever get a chance to meet Marvin in person, ask him about the cookbook he published with three college buddies - The College Guide to Smoothies. Turns out he is a wiz at combining unusual items from a campus cafeteria and turning them into pretty good smoothies. Rev. Cathlena was ordained into the Transitional Diaconate in June of
2014. Later, she was ordained to the Priesthood in November of 2015. She
attended the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley,
California receiving her Master of Divinity Degree.
Her title is Reverend Canon for Spiritual Formation, she assists in
developing programs for both clergy and laity in the formation of
spiritual discernment and practices.
She serves on the Economic Development Board, and is the current Vicar
of Good Shepherd Mission in Fort Defiance, AZ. The vision and mission
Rev. Cathlena would desire to achieve at Good Shepherd, echo the faint
legacy of her father our former Bishop of Navajoland,
the late Rt. Rev. Steven T. Plummer Sr. His vision and legacy of a
Navajo led laity and clergy with the teachings and spirituality of
Navajo and Christianity combined, echoed in ECN’s Hooghan Learning
Circle formation.
In her downtime, Rev. Cathlena is very much a music enthusiast she
plays the traditional and wood flutes, and can often be found enjoying a
Bollywood film starring famous Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan. Erin Redden, serves as the Christian Formation Director at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Columbus, Georgia. She also teaches music at Beauregard Elementary in Opelika, Alabama where she holds several leadership positions including writing and being awarded the first state funded grant to implement a PreK class in the school system and developing a school system safety plan that was recognized by the State of Alabama and adopted by schools across the country.
Music brought her to the Episcopal Church and the opportunity to live into her baptismal covenant by sharing the good news of Jesus for all people is why she stayed. Erin recently served as the 2019 Conference Coordinator for the Christian Formation Conference, Gather at the Table - Answering Christ’s Call to Radical Hospitality at Kanuga. She remains on the Lifelong Christian Formation Planning Team for Kanuga Conferences. Erin lives on the Alabama side of the Chattahoochee River with her husband Roger, children Maddie and Hugh and furbabies, Coconut and Bella.
Erin has a knack for creating a warm, inviting and inclusive environment and strives to build intentional relationships. Erin looks forward to bringing a positive attitude, go-getter mentality, creative mind, and collaborative approach to the Forma Council. Melina Luna Smith is the founder of StoryMakers NYC. I enjoy mixing together ministry, creativity, and
imagination with the hope of creating Gospel content for niños. Over the last 10 years, I have dabbled in interiors, and floral
design, with the constant backdrop of children’s ministry at Calvary St.
George’s Church. Over the years, I have loved gathering and working
with artists with the intention of retelling the stories of the Bible. I
have thought over the years, why hasn’t design, beauty, and imagination
been maximized when sharing the greatest stories ever told. Together with a team of writers, artists, and jacks-of-all-trades, we
are humbly approaching the Bible with the intent to create content to
foster connection and more fun. Our team believes that when we play,
imagine, and create together, learning takes deep roots. Chris Yaw is an Episcopal priest and founder of
churchnext.tv, which produces online learning resources. A life-long Metro
Detroiter, he is the rector of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Southfield,
MI and is interested in exploring the interaction between online learning and
face-to-face dialog to enhance the process of disciple-making, including its
relation to leadership. He is interested in helping congregations become more
vital sources of knowledge and learning hubs for their communities. Board Term ends: Jan. 2021 - is able to extend to 2024 Melissa Rau is the Staff Liaison to Forma at the Episcopal Church Foundation. Her primary roles include membership support and engagement, collaborating with the Forma Council, and managing the annual Forma conference. Prior to her current role, Melissa served as ECF’s Director of Partnerships and New Initiatives before accepting the position of Chief of Staff at Bexley Seabury Seminary. Melissa has been a formation leader for more than twenty years. Prior to joining ECF, Melissa was very active as a Lead Consultant with Ministry Architects, an organization that provides consulting for churches in a number of different capacities. She’s currently earning an M.Div. at the General Theological Seminary. Living just outside of Philly, she is married to Mike, an Episcopal priest and rector. They have two daughters and a son. She loves to read and is particularly fond of giraffes and the color orange.Roger Hutchison
Council Chair
Wallace Benton
April Caballero
Currently April is the Executive Assistant for the Office of the Bishop at the Diocese of Olympia, serving the Episcopal Church in Western Washington state. Prior to her work at the diocese, April served as the Ministry Coordinator for Church of the Apostles (COTA), a Lutheran-Episcopal Mission Station in the Fremont neighborhood in Seattle, while taking on freelance design and marketing projects as well as event planning. It was here that she found the Episcopal Church; a space for her to grow as a lay leader that embraced her passion for creative liturgy.
April has the habit of sitting on her west-facing deck for one hour each evening after the workday has ended. Sometimes she reads (right now it is Terry Tempest Williams who weaves faith, family, and life/death with the natural rhythms of creation), sometimes she has a Zoom happy hour with a friend, and sometimes she just sits and watches the sun go down through the trees. While this started during the stay-at-home order, it is a practice she intends on keeping.
April holds a BA in communications and religion from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She is passionate about liturgy, cetaceans, and backpacking. While loving her life in the Pacific Northwest since 2008, April will always be a Texan at heart (as you can tell). She offers her favorite piece of scripture: Simon Peter’s plea to Jesus: ‘Lord, to whom shall we go?’ (John 6:68) along with this “lovely little song” from Poor Clare.Kate Huston
Patrick Kangrga
Dorothy Linthicum
Marvin McLennon
Cathlena Plummer
Erin Redden
Melina Smith
The Rev. Chris Yaw
Bronwyn Skov, Liaison from TEC - Ex-Officio
Bronwyn Clark Skov serves as the Officer for Youth Ministries for The Episcopal Church. She is passionate about lay leadership, mentoring young people in their Christian journey, and empowering adults who work with youth. Currently she is the primary coordinator for the triennial Episcopal Youth Event and the General Convention Official Youth Presence. In her spare time she volunteers in her home parish and is an active member of the National Ski Patrol. She works from her rural southern Minnesota home where she lives with her recently retired spouse, a dog, a cat, two goats, and four fish. Melissa Rau, Episcopal Church Foundation
(215)872-7532 |
