October 11, 2005

Clergy and laity interested in models and resources for Black congregational development in the Episcopal Church will gather November 13-18 at Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, North Carolina, for Transformation & Renewal IV.

Meeting under the theme "Behold a New Thing – Challenges and Opportunities," the conference will hold a variety of workshops, lectures, daily Bible study, networking opportunities, and a chance for relaxation and reflection.

Co-sponsored by Kanuga, the Episcopal Church's Office of Black Ministries and the Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE), Transformation & Renewal IV aims to inspire, encourage and transform clergy and lay people to "embrace a vision, stay on mission and be assured that God is in the midst of it all."

This year's keynote speakers will be the Rev. Dr. Renita J. Weems, author and speaker who served as the William and Camille Cosby Visiting Professor of Humanities from 2003-2005 at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia; and the Rev. Dr. Grainger Browning Jr., senior pastor of Ebenezer A.M.E. Church, Fort Washington, Maryland, who transformed a congregation of 17 into more than 10,000.

The Rev. Karen B. Montagno, dean of students at Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Rev. Nelson Pinder of Orlando, Florida, president of the UBE, will serve as conference chaplains. Dr. Horace Clarence Boyer, general editor of Lift Every Voice and Sing II, will lead the music for the conference. Featured performers will include the Jazz Mass Quartet of St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Raleigh, North Carolina, and Trinity Hip Hop Mass, of Trinity Church of Morrisania, Bronx, New York.

Development workshops will focus on five areas:

• Visioning and Appreciative Inquiry (how organizations change by seeking and appreciating what is best in themselves, their people and their setting)

• Mission and mobilization

• Understanding the Percept tools

• Christian hospitality

• Evangelism: Christian formation, spirituality, discipleship training.

Registration information is essential for this area of the workshop.

For additional information and registration visit http://www.kanuga.org/.

Episcopal News Service