{"id":26616,"date":"2026-02-12T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/?p=26616"},"modified":"2026-02-14T02:51:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T02:51:28","slug":"atlantic-northeast-hosts-workshop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/2026\/atlantic-northeast-hosts-workshop\/","title":{"rendered":"Atlantic Northeast hosts \u2018Better with Less\u2019 workshop to help churches thrive without fulltime clergy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>By Marianne Fitzkee<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Atlantic Northeast District Ministry Commission will host <strong>\u201cBetter with Less,\u201d<\/strong> a three-hour online workshop designed to help congregations thrive without fulltime clergy. The event will be held Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Eastern time) via Zoom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Open to all Church of the Brethren ministers and laity, the workshop will explore how part-time ministry models can strengthen congregational vitality, empower lay leadership, and re-imagine ministry for today\u2019s realities.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The featured presenter is G. Jeffrey MacDonald, award-winning religion reporter, United Church of Christ pastor, and author of <em>Part-Time Is Plenty: Thriving without Full-Time Clergy<\/em>. Drawing from research, case studies, and real-world experience, MacDonald will guide participants through three interactive sessions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Vitality Through Empowerment<\/strong> \u2013 Explore research on the benefits of part-time ministry and hear stories of congregations flourishing with part-time ministry models.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Changing Mindsets<\/strong> \u2013 Identify barriers to vitality in your own church setting and learn how to mobilize spiritual gifts within your congregation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Let\u2019s Workshop It<\/strong> \u2013 Apply practical strategies to real congregational scenarios and gain tools to take back to your church.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MacDonald\u2019s reporting has appeared in <em>USA Today<\/em>, <em>The Christian Science Monitor<\/em>, <em>The Boston Globe<\/em>, and <em>The Living Church<\/em>. He currently serves part-time as designated pastor of First Congregational Church of Rowley, Mass., and leads workshops across the United States and Canada on sustainable ministry models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This event is presented in partnership with the Church of the Brethren\u2019s Part-Time Pastor; Full-Time Church program and the Susquehanna Valley Ministry Center (SVMC).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"791\" src=\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BetterWithLessWorkshop-600px.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26617\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BetterWithLessWorkshop-600px.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BetterWithLessWorkshop-600px-228x300.jpg 228w, https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BetterWithLessWorkshop-600px-560x738.jpg 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Registration details<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cost is $40 per participant. Congregations that register three or more participants receive a discounted rate of $30 per person ($90 for three).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For ordained ministers in districts partnering with SVMC, 0.3 continuing education units are available for an additional $10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Registration closes Tuesday, April 14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To register, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/lp.constantcontactpages.com\/ev\/reg\/g977chu\">https:\/\/lp.constantcontactpages.com\/ev\/reg\/g977chu<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Find more Church of the Brethren news:<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__list wp-block-latest-posts\"><li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/2026\/six-awards-from-associated-church-press\/\">Messenger and Communications receive six awards from the Associated Church Press<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/2026\/conscientious-objection-event-for-adults\/\">Virtual event for adults will follow on conscientious objection sessions for young people<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/2026\/world-refugee-day-service\/\">Deportation Defense Response invites participation in World Refugee Day Ecumenical Service<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/2026\/brethren-bits-111\/\">Brethren bits<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/2026\/jeff-thomson-to-direct-bdm\/\">Jeff Thomson hired to direct Brethren Disaster Ministries<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Atlantic Northeast District Ministry Commission will host \u201cBetter with Less,\u201d a three-hour online workshop designed to help congregations thrive without fulltime clergy. The event will be held Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Eastern time) via Zoom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":26618,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"yes","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1703],"tags":[1387,3636,2372,3637,3414,1267,1994,1914,2056,617,1923,1304,2532],"wf_post_folders":[],"class_list":["post-26616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church-of-the-brethren-newsline","tag-atlantic-northeast-district","tag-better-with-less","tag-clergy","tag-g-jeffrey-macdonald","tag-marianne-fitzkee","tag-ministry-office","tag-online-event","tag-part-time-pastor-full-time-church","tag-pastors","tag-susquehanna-valley-ministry-center","tag-svmc","tag-training","tag-workshop"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26616"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26616\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26621,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26616\/revisions\/26621"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26616"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=26616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}