Upcoming events from the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership include the annual Clergy Tax Seminar with leadership from Deb Oskin, scheduled for Feb. 1, 2025, as an online webinar; and the course “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship” with leadership from Christy Waltersdorff, scheduled for Jan. 15-March 11, 2025, as an online course via the Moodle virtual classroom.
Additional upcoming courses include “Church of the Brethren Polity,” online Feb. 12-April 8, led by Torin Eikler (registration deadline is Jan. 8); and “Ministering Across Cultures: Building Bridges through Intercultural Competence,” onsite at Bethany Theological Seminary on March 17-19, led by Darla Kay Deardorff (registration deadline Feb. 10).
Clergy Tax Seminar
Each year, the Brethren Academy hosts a Clergy Tax Seminar with leadership from tax expert and Church of the Brethren ordained minister Deb Oskin. For 2025, the seminar will take place online on Saturday, Feb. 1, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern time). The webinar event is a good resource for clergy and for church treasurers seeking guidance on clergy taxes. Cost is $40 per person. The registration deadline is Jan. 24, 2025. Ministers may receive 0.3 continuing education units for attending the first two sessions of the seminar. Find details and registration information at https://bethanyseminary.edu/brethren-academy/clergy-tax-seminar.
‘Brethren, We Have Met to Worship’
The Brethren Academy is introducing this online course as a practical exploration of the gifts and challenges specific to worship. It is to take place as an online course via Moodle on Jan. 15 to March 11, 2025, led by Christy Waltersdorff, pastor of York Center Church of the Brethren in Lombard, Ill. The deadline to register is Dec. 11, 2024.
Topics will include exploration of the theology and structure of worship as experienced in the Anabaptist tradition, the variety of worship styles in our global church, the building blocks of an authentic worship service, the use of all five senses in worship, inclusion of all ages and abilities in our praise of God, the ways in which worship can encourage healing in a divided congregation. Participants will create worship services and liturgy for a wide variety of worship experiences including, but not limited to, Sunday morning congregational worship, baptism, baby dedication, anointing service, and love feast and communion.
Online classes such as this one are particularly accessible for busy individuals and pastors. These online classes “meet” for eight weeks in Moodle, a virtual classroom platform. Each student is provided with a Moodle access code before the course starts. A Moodle tutorial will be provided upon request.
Fnd a course brochure and more about registration at https://bethanyseminary.edu/brethren-academy/brethren-academy-course-listings. Direct questions to academy director Janet Ober Lambert at oberlja@bethanyseminary.edu or 765-983-1820.
———-
Find more Church of the Brethren news:
- Global Food Initiative grants aid food security and related work of church partners
- ICM Café Cohort opportunity is announced by Intercultural Ministry
- Emergency Disaster Fund extends aid to organizations working in response to the Israel-Hamas war, in addition to other grants
- Brethren bits
- L.E.A.D. Conference gathers in Ephrata to learn to ‘Listen, Equip, Adapt, Disciple’