Wade in the Water draft schedule click here
Workshop & Speaker information:
Bishop Yvette Flunder: Keynote Address
Opening Worship: Friday
Key Note Presentation: Saturday, 11:00-12:30
Workshop (repeated twice): Saturday, 2:00-3:00 PM or Saturday, 3:30-4:30 PM
Bishop Flunder is the founder and pastor of The City of Refuge UCC in San Francisco, CA. City of Refuge is a thriving inner-city congregation that celebrates the radically inclusive love of Jesus Christ. In June 2003 Bishop Flunder was consecrated Presiding Bishop of The Fellowship, a multi-denominational fellowship of 110 primarily African American Christian leaders and laity representing 56 churches and faith-based organizations from all parts of the United States Mexico and Africa.
Revs. Jim DeLange and Jeff Johnson
Workshop: An Historical Perspective…LLGM, ELM
Saturday, 3:30-4:30 PM
In September 1981 Rev. James DeLange, a straight married man, assumed his duties as pastor of St. Francis Lutheran Church in San Francisco’s Castro District. At the time a small, struggling congregation, DeLange expected his main focus would be filling the pews of the Danish-built brick church.
Jim served for eighteen years as senior pastor at St. Francis. In serving as pastor, Jim was actively in involved in the community and saw great revitalization of the neighborhood and congregation. Jim, along with his colleagues created ministries to respond to the HIV/AIDS pandemic; was involved with the creation of Lutheran Lesbian & Gay Ministries (LLGM); served on the San Francisco Interfaith Council; and has been an active advocate for inclusion and welcome in the larger church.
In his “retirement” Jim continues to write, speak, and work on behalf of justice and interfaith issues.
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The Rev. Jeff R. Johnson serves as Pastor of University Lutheran Chapel and the Lutheran Campus Pastor at the
University of California, Berkeley. Prior to this call to the Chapel, Jeff served as pastor of First United Lutheran Church in San Francisco.Jeff is a graduate of California Lutheran University and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley. Upon graduation, he was Director of AIDS Education for Lutheran Social Services of Northern California. In 1990, he founded Lutheran Lesbian and Gay Ministry along with his colleagues, Pastors Ruth Frost and Phyllis Zillhart, to provide an outreach to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Pastor Johnson was ordained extra ordinem in January 1990. Pr. Johnson has served two terms as Dean of the ELCA’s San Francisco Conference of Lutheran Churches; is a member of the Steering Committee for Religious Witness with Homeless People; is a founder of the Extraordinary Candidacy Project; is the past chair of the Homelessness Task Force for the Telegraph Area Association; is co-chair of the University Religious Council at CAL Berkeley; and is a Teaching Parish Supervisor for Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary.
Asher O’Callaghan, Joel Workin scholar
LGBTQ Genders in Public Ministry
Workshop: Sunday, 1:30-2:30 PM
Asher came to the Lutheran church via House For All Sinners and Saints in Denver, Colorado. He began his graduate coursework at Iliff School of Theology in Denver before transferring to Luther Seminary where he is now studying. Asher has a focus on service to others through mission work, caring for those with mental health concerns, and making personal witness as a person who found Christ anew in Lutheran liturgy and theology.
Becca Seely, Joel Workin scholar
Workshop: Poetry & Prayer, Times for Renewal and Reflection
Sunday, 11:00 AM-12:00 PM
Becca is currently fulfilling her Lutheran Year at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. Last year, Becca completed an internship as a chaplain at the Christian Hospital in St. Louis, MO. Becca received her undergraduate degree at Wesleyan University, with a focus on European literature, history and philosophy and a minor in Jewish and Israel Studies.
Rev. Robyn Hartwig
Workshop:EcoFaith Recovery, a new ministry supported by ELM
Saturday, 3:30-4:30 PM
EcoFaith Recovery is based in Portland, OR. EcoFaith Recovery nurtures faith-based recovery groups and relational leadership networks to help individuals, communities and institutions emerge from our intoxication with consumerism to recover our relatedness to God, ourselves, one another, and the entire Earth community. EcoFaith Recovery engages in theological reform, incites action to reduce the climate crisis, fosters the renewal of community life in the Pacific Northwest, and offers a practical model for people of faith throughout the country.
Rev. Lura Groen
Workshop: Re-rooting a congregation in the neighborhood & community
Sunday, 1:30-2:30 PM
Rev. Groen has been the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas since 2008. Grace works on a number of justice ministries such as micro financing, AIDS walks, and supporting the local food pantry. Grace Lutheran serves its neighborhood through Montrose Grace Place, a separately incorporated non-profit, created to provide food, friends and hope to homeless youth of all sexual orientations and gender identities. This workshop will explore how the creation of Montrose Grace Place re-rooted Grace Lutheran in the Montrose community.
Presentation from 4M Ministries: Creating a space of inclusiveness specifically to those on the margins with Lee Whittaker and Philip Tanner
Saturday, 5:00-6:30 PM
The vision of 4M Ministries is to create intentionally innovative spaces that embrace the diversity of gender, gender expression, and the spiritual exploration of God’s creation in the spirit of faith, love, peace, and liberation.
Vance Blackfox, ELM Board Member & Guest Presenter
Multicultural, Intercultural, Diverse…
Workshop: Sunday, 11:00-12:00 PM Presentation: Sunday, 5:00-6:30 PM
Vance Blackfox serves as ELM Board member, is a Ph. D. student at LSCT, holds a M.A. in theological studies from LSCT and a B.A. in communications studies and ethnic/cultural studies from TLU.
Vance has been a motivational speaker since 1994, with keynote presentations, workshops and vocational training. He has been a chaplain at the Oaks Indian Mission, Oaks, Oklahoma; a multicultural program coordinator for California Lutheran University; an editor for youth, adult, and family resources for Augsburg Fortress Publishers; and adviser and planning team lead for the ELCA’s Multicultural Advisory Committee of the Lutheran Youth Organization and the Multicultural Youth Leadership Event. He has been active with the Oaks Indian Mission and Cherokee Nation Oklahoma.
Vance works at LSTC as director of Youth in Mission. He has served as director of youth ministries in congregations in Chicago, California, and Texas. Vance has participated in and led mission and cultural immersion programs to sites throughout the United States, Palestine, Mexico, and Zimbabwe.
Questions? Contact Rachael Johnson, Operation & Communications Coordinator for ELM: Operations@elm.org