What’s a “Laity Leadership Academy?”
In the United Methodist Church, all of God’s children are called to do things like Proclaim the Gospel, Be a Light, Be a Servant, to love, to grow, to “make disciples who make new disciples.” And depending on how we feel God’s call in our lives, there are generally two ways to do all of that: as Clergy, or as Laity.
Rosa Williams. Lay Leader of the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference.
Training for Clergy is pretty intense. You can complete the Local Pastor’s School and become a local pastor. But the path to ordained ministry is much deeper. First you must first earn a Bachelor’s degree, then you must earn a Masters of Divinity, then you have to submit to interviews, write papers, and be approved by the Conference. Then you can become a “Provisional Elder”, and eventually an “Elder in Full Connection.”
But what about the Laity? Those of us who don’t have the title of “Rev.” are critical to the work of the church. What training is available for the Laity?
There are many opportunities such as Regional Days of Learning or Lay Servant training. All sorts of workshops are available throughout the year. But one of the year’s biggest training opportunities for Lay people is the annual “Laity Leadership Academy.” It’s a one day event held in the conference’s Mission and Resource Center in Neptune, NJ.
2018 Laity Leadership Academy
This year’s Laity Leadership Academy day is coming up. Here are the details:
2018 Laity Leadership Academy
Date: Saturday October 6
Times: ~8-5 PM
Where: Conference Mission and Resource Center in Neptune, NJ
For Whom: Anyone!
Cost: $50 registration
Deadline: Register by Friday, September 7
Schedule
(After the drive to Neptune), the day begins with a time of worship, and then we break into our selected workshop (“track” as they call them). Since we’re Methodists and love to eat, of course there’s a lunch break. After lunch, we return to our workshop for the afternoon session.
Registration / check in begins at 7:45 AM, and the afternoon session starts at 1:30 PM. The whole day will end somewhere around 5:00 PM.
Tracks
Five “tracks” (workshops) are available, and you choose from one of them. Here’s a quick summary of the available workshops:
Registration
Registration is done on the Greater NJ Conference website. To go to the registration page, click this button: Laity Academy Registration
If needed, carpools from PUMC to Neptune (the city- not the planet!) will be formed. Stay tuned.
More Info
If the above summary didn’t answer your questions, here’s the pamphlet for this year’s Laity Leadership Academy….
laity_academy2018
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