Fresh Start is a collaborative effort of the Episcopal Church Center, the Episcopal Church Foundation and CREDO Institute to assist clergy and churches in transition. Although especially helpful for clergy who are new to their position and to parishes in the process of searching for and calling a new clergy leader, Fresh Start is applicable to all those in leadership positions in their congregation. The fact is that parishes are always in transition – new members arrive, some members move on, lay leadership changes and so forth. Thus, the various modules in the Fresh Start can benefit all.
The workshop will be offered on Saturday, October 1 at St. Michael's of the Valley in Ligonier.
Please note: The workshop scheduled for St. Paul's, Mt. Lebanon has been cancelled.
The coordinators will be offering a morning session on "Role Clarity" and an afternoon session on "Conflict Awareness." The first session will help the participants understand the role expectations – both formal and informal – placed on them as vestry members by their congregation and to assess the impact of the congregation's culture and history on those expectations.
The afternoon session, from a base definition of "conflict," explores the various types of conflict that can arise within the parish and helps the participants not only assess their personal styles of dealing with conflict but also gives them information on how to recognize the early warning signs.
Reservations can be made by visiting www.episcopalpgh.org/fsvw. There is a small charge – $10 – to cover lunch, refreshments and materials and will be collected at the door. The workshop begins at 9:00 a.m. and will be completed by 3:00 p.m. at the latest.