This post was originally published on this site
Persons planning to attend the 2023 Parish Development Forum are reminded that registration will be available through Friday July 7. The Forum, with the theme “Our Parish and the Future”, will be held at Holy Trinity Church in Parma, OH from 1:00 PM July 13th through noon on July 15. Attendees must register.
Only a Few Spaces Available
“To assure an atmosphere of robust discussion, Forum attendance will be limited to 100 persons,” said Joseph Kormos Forum lay co-chair. “While registration for this Tenth Forum has been very strong, a about a dozen additional spaces are still remaining.”
Click here for registration and hotel information
Additional Speakers Announced
“We recently added Father Jonathan Bannon, priest at Christ the Savior Orthodox Church, Rockford IL (ACROD) to the speaker line up,” noted Archpriest Stephen Frase, clergy co-chair of the Forum. “Father Bannon will share perspectives on welcoming many new Orthodox converts into a modest size parish. Additionally presentations will be offered by Steve Christoforou the Director of Operations for FOCUS NA, (“Meeting the Needs of Young People Today”), Father Adam Roberts, dean of St. Athanasius College (“Personal Purpose: A Primary Ingredient for Leadership”) and Scott Thumma, lead researcher with the Hartford Institute of Religious Research (‘Key Trends Influencing the Future for Christian Communities in US”} . Attendees will collaborate on The 2030 Project—a set of structured, facilitated discussions designed to share experiences and identify the key behaviors, skills and “new muscles” parishes will need to thrive amidst future societal, cultural, demographic and technological trends. The results of the recent Orthodox convert survey will be shared in the Project 2030 discussion segment entitled ‘Attracting and Integrating Converts’. Other segments will include ‘Healthy Clergy-Laity Dynamics’ and ‘Connecting with the Neighborhood’.
Canonsburg PA
Now in its tenth year, the Parish Development Forum, is a clergy/laity conference which explores the challenges facing Orthodox parishes, delivers actionable ideas and good practices valuable to parish leaders and builds mutually supportive relationships among participants. The Forum is co-sponsored by the Orthodox Church in America’s Archdiocese of Western Pennsylvania, the Diocese of the Midwest and the Bulgarian Diocese.
Attendees from sponsoring Dioceses are eligible for tuition rebates. Questions and enquiries may be directed to Mr. Kormos at joekormos1@gmail.com.
