Leadership Conference

Worship, plenaries and panels will be held in the Augustana Chapel

Caryn Riswold is a feminist theologian in the Lutheran tradition. She is professor of religion and teaches gender and women’s studies at Illinois College in Jacksonville, Ill., working with undergraduates to help them think critically and creatively about religion. She earned her ThM and PhD from LSTC and holds a master’s degree from Claremont School of Theology and a bachelor’s from Augustana, Sioux Falls.  Her most recent book is Feminism and Christianity: Questions and Answers in the Third Wave. She is the author of two other books and dozens of articles. She also writes regularly for local and regional op-ed pages. You may follow her on Twitter and check out her Patheos blog @feminismxianity.

Andrea Walker is the ELCA’s global mission area director for Madagascar, West and Central Africa. She frequently travels to nine countries on the continent of Africa and the island nation of Madagascar to oversee the ELCA’s relationship with Lutheran churches there, including projects, programs and missionary personnel. She earned her MDiv and DMin in preaching from LSTC and served congregations in suburban New Jersey and in the Bronx, NY.

Cynthia Moe-Lobeda is professor of theological and social ethics at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Church Divinity School of the Pacific, and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif. She has lectured or consulted in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin American and North America in theology, ethics, climate justice and climate racism, moral agency, globalization, public church, and eco-feminist theology. She is the author or co-author of five books including Resisting Structural Evil: Love as Ecological-Economic Vocation, which won a Nautilus Award for social justice.

William Flippin Jr. is pastor of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Atlanta, Ga., and president and CEO of E3 Movement (Ecumenism, Evangelism, Entrepreneurship). He was recently inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers at Morehouse College. He has preached twice on Day1, contributed to the African American Lectionary as a cultural commentator, and is a regular contributor blogger to the Huffington Post (Black Voices and Religion). He is an associate for healthierchurch.org specializing in church growth/church planting/grassroots and community organizing. He also serves on the ELCA Church Council and LSTC’s Alumni/ae Board.

Other Leaders (as of July 2017)
Philip Ruge-Jones, storyteller, writer and teacher
Jason Chesnut, co-founder of the Slate Project, Baltimore City, Md., storyteller
Michelle Townsend de Lopez, pastor, Cross Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, Wis.
Richard Perry Jr., professor of church and society and urban ministry, LSTC
Gordon Straw, associate professor and Cornelsen Chair for Spiritual Formation, LSTC
Ray Pickett, rector, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, Calif.
Benjamin Stewart, Gordon A. Braatz Associate Professor of Worship, LSTC
Glocal Musicians

Wednesday 11 October 2:15 to 3:15

Theological Education in Turbulent Times
Lea Schweitz, Assoc. Professor of Systematic Theology/Religion & Science; Director, Zygon Center

Take a behind-the-scenes tour of LSTC's innovative curriculum. We will explore the emerging contours of theological education and share inspiring stories about teaching and learning in, with, and for the public church.

Reformed for Turbulent Times: Telling the Biblical Story
Phil Ruge-Jones, ThM, 1996; PhD, 1999; writer, storyteller, teacher

This workshop is an intorduction to the spiritual discipline of internalizing biblical texts for the purpose of performing them in liturgical and educational contexts.

Congregation Community Organizing
Jim Lapp, MDiv and AM 1994; pastor, St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church, Santa Cruz, Calif.
Facilitated by Michael Coffey, MDiv 1993, Alumni Board

Using St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church’s compelling story as a model process, learn how
your congregation can engage in the work of justice for your local community, while building a deeply relational culture within your congregation and among your fellow faith-based and other related institutions.

Wednesday 11 October 3:30 to 4:30

Generosity in Turbulent Times
Michael Dixon, LSTC Planned and Major Gift Officer

The key to major and planned gift development is a relationship with a donor and an understanding of their dreams and desires. Join this conversation to discuss the best ways and the best times to have conversations with your members and friends about their ability and their intentions. Learn how to use the resources around you to help them change their communities and the broader world, regardless of the economic times in which we live. 

Honest Proclamation: Prophetic Preaching Across the Divide
Jan R. Rippentrop, former Axel Jacob & Gerda Maria (Swanson) Carlson Professor of Homiletics; Director of MA Programs, LSTC

Address the question "What is prophetic preaching?" by looking to the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and scholars. This workshop also addresses a very practical question: "How might I preach prophetically 'across the divide'?" Seeking the answer to this second question will yield "marks of prophetic preaching" that the preacher will be able to incorporate, even next Sunday.

Public Church Hyde Park Refuge Project
Dorothy Pytel and Sara Trumm

Learn how the Hyde Park community began mobilizing itself to respond to the global refugee crisis. Hear how a few people meeting in a church turned into a community-wide movement involving many engaged community members as well as 20 faith communities. Hear stories about the rocky beginnings of the Hyde Park Refugee Project, the joys and challenges of resettling two Syrian families during the past year, and innovative uses of technology for communication as well as community organizing purposes.

The Global Context
May May Latt, International Student Services Coordinator

On October 11 we will honor these outstanding alumni/ae:
Rev. James Bickel – Faithful Servant Award
Rev. Yehiel Curry – Emerging Voice Award
Rev. James Lapp – Excellence in Parish Ministry Award
Rev. Amy Reumann – Witness to the World Award
Rev. Dr. Andrea Walker – Called to Lead Award
Rev. Dr. George Zachariah – Specialized Ministry Award

October in Chicago
You will be in Chicago in the fall, one of the best times to visit the city. The 2017 Leadership Conference is during LSTC’s Fall Semester Reading Week giving students the opportunity to participate.

Tuesday Reception and Dinner
The conference reception and dinner have a special focus on the classes with five- and ten-year anniversaries, and provides an opportunity for all participants to connect and network. The dinner includes a fun, interactive experience learning music from ELCA Glocal Musicians. 

Housing and daytime meals
Rooms have been reserved at the La Quinta Chicago Lakeshore, 4900 South Lakeshore Drive, Chicago, for $149/night plus 16.4% city and state taxes from October 9 –13, 2017. Make your reservations by calling La Quinta at 773.324.3000 and reference the LSTC Leadership Conference.  Reservation deadline is August 24.

La Quinta Chicago Lakeshore, newly remodeled and less than 2 miles from LSTC, offers many amenities: complimentary breakfast, guest parking and high speed internet/WiFi.

The LSTC Refectory, which features locally-sourced ingredients, house-made baked goods, salads, sandwiches, and delicious entrees at reasonable prices, will be open for breakfast and lunch during the conference.

Dozens of Hyde Park restaurants are within easy walking distance of LSTC.

Getting to LSTC
Visit www.lstc.edu/about/directions for driving directions and parking information.

Cancellation /Refunds
Registration cancellation requests must be submitted in writing to: LSTC Advancement, 1100 E. 55th St., Chicago, IL 60615 or to advancement@lstc.edu. A refund minus a $20 administrative fee will be issued on written cancellations received on or before October 6, 2017.