Schedule
In The Gathering: Journeying Towards Pastoral Health, Old Testament scholar Dr. Tremper Longman III and psychologist Dr. Danielle Vriend Fluit will be our guides as we explore the topic of holistic health in pastoral ministry. We will also hear from Workshop presenters Karen Daniels, Malcolm McKinlay, Jeff and Carrie Schuliger, Anne Shannon, and Lawrence Yuen, together with host Mark Glanville. Together through worship, prayer, preaching, dialogue, and recreation, we will attend to soul care amidst the beauty of Vancouver.
Registration will take place on Friday between 11 am and 12 pm.
NOTE: More schedule details will be added to this page. Please check back shortly. Details are subject to change.
Daily Schedule
Friday, June 2
- 11 am–12 pm Registration
- 12–1 pm Lunch
- 1–2 pm Worship
-
2–3:10 pm Plenary Session #1: Tremper Longman
- 3:10–3:45 pm Afternoon Tea
- 3:45–4:45 pm Workshop #1: Tremper Longman | Anne Shannon | Lawrence Yuen
- 4:45–6:00 pm Reflection & Prayer
- 6–9 pm Dinner and Activities on the Beach
Saturday, June 3
- 9:30–10:15 am Worship
- 10:15–11:30 am Plenary #2: Danielle Vriend Fluit
- 11:30 am–12:20 pm Reflection & Prayer
- 12:20–1:35 pm Lunch
- 1:35–2:35pm Workshop #2: Danielle Vriend Fluit | Jeff and Carrie Schuliger | Karen Daniels
- 2:45–3:45pm Workshop #3: Malcolm McKinlay / Activity
- 4–5:30 pm Final Worship & Facilitated Discussion
Topics
Plenary Sessions
FRIDAY, JUNE 2: PLENARY SESSION #1
Speaker: Tremper Longman
Topic: Mirror of Our Soul: Letting the Psalms Help You Understand Yourself and Move Toward God
We experience a jumble of emotions, some we don’t even understand. John Calvin called the book of Psalms a mirror of our soul and went on to say that there is not an emotion experienced by us that is not expressed in the book of Psalms. Those emotions range from joy to despair, love to hate. The hymns, laments, thanksgiving, and confidence psalms help us articulate what is going on in our hearts, and lead us into greater self-understanding and honesty before God. In this talk, we will explore how the psalms were intended to move us toward wholeness with ourselves, others, and, most fundamentally, God.
SATURDAY, JUNE 3: PLENARY SESSION #2
Speaker: Danielle Vriend Fluit
Topic: Looking In to Look Out: The Necessity of Doing Our Inner Work
Looking inward and knowing ourselves is an act of stewarding God’s creation – namely, us. Drawing on insights from theology, neuroscience, and psychotherapy, this talk highlights the importance of knowing our internal worlds and woundings. By becoming familiar with signature themes from past to present, participants will be encouraged to move beyond role demands as leaders and helpers, and embrace the deeper work that brings greater relational, spiritual, and emotional connection. Knowing and caring for our internal worlds will be the pathway to greater intimacy with God and others.
Workshop Topics
FRIDAY, JUNE 2: WORKSHOP #1
Speaker: Tremper Longman
Topic: Celebration and Warnings about Our Sexuality: Reflections on the Song of Songs
What is such a sensuous book like the Song of Songs doing in the canon? How does it fit into a biblical theology of sexuality, and how does it contribute to our sexual health? In this workshop, we will explore how the Song of Songs in the context of the canon informs our understanding of God’s gift of sexuality that often feels like a burden.
Speaker: Anne Shannon
Topic: Cultivating Resilience for Stressful Times
Cultivating and strengthening our emotional and mental capacity to adapt under stress is critical to preventing unhealthy patterns of living and burnout. Through the lens of the neuroscience of attachment, this workshop will offer: reflective questions; practical skills to strengthen our connection to our inner world; and explore together ways to meet our emotional, psychological, and relational needs within our daily rhythms of living.
Speaker: Lawrence Yuen
Topic: Gleanings for the Long Haul—Ministering in the Asian North American Church (Is a joyous, fruitful journey possible?)
Sitting in a class with George Barna and Gary McIntosh in 1990, I was astonished to hear that the average duration of ministry in the American church for a youth pastor was thirteen months; for an associate pastor, three to four years. Coming out from the pandemic, a similar pattern holds for English-ministry servants in Asian Canadian churches. Some servants leave the ministry altogether, disheartened or disillusioned. Our time together includes a brief overview and lessons learned along the journey of service in over thirty years within the North American Chinese church. We hope to have a vibrant conversation around pastoral health and fruitful ministry for the present and future of the Asian church.
SATURDAY, JUNE 3: WORKSHOP #2
Speaker: Danielle Vriend Fluit
Topic: Perils and Pearls: A Psychotherapeutic Approach to Working With Our Internal Worlds
As leaders and helpers, it is critical to know what wounds and heals us. This workshop offers participants an invitation to engage experientially with their own interior worlds, using key therapeutic elements of Internal Family Systems and Satir's theories of change. Participants will be invited to interact both relationally and emotionally with their own stories and internal parts to increase awareness of their life themes.
Speakers: Jeff and Carrie Schuliger
Topic: Restoring the Contemplative Pastor for the Sake of the Staff Team
Making and maintaining healthy relationships within a church staff and among church leadership is not optional. And it's not easy. This workshop will offer and discuss ways for pastors and church leaders to tend to their own soul while also tending to the key ministry relationships around them.
Karen Daniels
Topic: “Fit” for Ministry 101
Physical fitness is an important part of a holistic life, as it directly affects our spiritual health and our ability to care for others. Yet, in order to meet the demands of ministry, it is often the first thing omitted from our busy schedules. This workshop aims to restore a positive attitude towards physical health by learning about the direct benefits of physical activity and simple ways to incorporate them into our daily rhythms. The session will include some movement appropriate for all ages and fitness levels.
SATURDAY, JUNE 3: WORKSHOP #3
Speaker: Malcolm McKinlay
Topic: Transforming Polarized Conversations
Transforming polarized thinking is challenging—especially when we miss the wisdom polarized perspectives are longing to reveal. Many churches are increasingly wrestling with how to manage polarized thinking across their leadership teams, their congregations, and their denominations. This interactive session considers the dynamics of polarities and the risks of either-or thinking, while proposing a strategy for transforming deeply entrenched differences, and embracing the power and possibility of both-and thinking.