Last week Amy and I attended a Healthy Congregations™ Facilitator Training in St. Paul, MN at the Luther Seminary.  Led by pastors Roger Schwarze and Bill Strom.   Though I had read Peter Steinke’s book, Healthy Congregations (Alban),  it was great exploring systems theory and congregational life with the small interfaith group of assembled participants.  If you are a leader in a Unitarian Universalist congregation, I highly recommend finding opportunities to collaborate with interfaith colleagues.

We are offering our first related trainings in the Ballou Channing District later this month.  I’ll be co-facilitating these seminars with the Rev. Bill Zelazny, BCD District Executive.

As a trained Healthy Congregations facilitator, I am now available to lead HC workshops for individual congregations.  I’m looking forward to weaving these trainings into my work with our congregations.  If you haven’t heard of Healthy Congregations, here is some basic information including a short video overview.

What is Healthy Congregations?     

The following is an excerpt from the HC website:

Healthy Congregations is an ecumenical and interfaith organization that takes seriously the times that we live in and the challenges of thinking more clearly about families, congregations, and leadership.

Healthy Congregations, Inc. offers resources and training that are based on a view of life that looks at communities as living systems that incorporate thinking, feeling, responsibility, and purpose. 

Making use of the contributions of leaders in the field of Bowen family systems theory and congregational life, Healthy Congregations, Inc. has created educational resources and leadership development material designed with the purpose of encouraging healthier, clearer and deeper individual and community life.

What are the benefits?

These workshops designed to help  participants:

  •  Gain a renewed sense of purpose and mission
  •  Cultivate strong leadership capacities push their congregations to new levels 
  •  Learn how to develop healthy patterns of living together in community
  •  Learn to focus on strength, resources, and options for the future
  •  Boost confidence in responding to challenges and opportunities
  •  Reflect theologically about relationships
  •  Move the congregation toward healthy functioning

“Healthy Congregations: A systems theory approach” cross-posted on LeadingCongregations.com