Calendar of Prayer Clergy Convocation Conference Calendar Continuing Education Conference Meetings Directions / Map Healing Services Pastors' Convocation Pastor's Eucharists Prayer Partners Professional Dev Spirituality Events Stewardship Events UCC / National Events Worship Services Youth–Young Adult     Annual Clergy Convocation Each year, shortly after Easter, the Conference sponsors an educational retreat for ministers. If you missed the last event, mark your calendar now for the upcoming Convocation! 2008:  John Thomas May 6 ~ 8    The 14th Annual Clergy Convocation will be led by Rev. John H. Thomas, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ. He is a graduate of Gettysburg College and Yale University Divinity School. He studied at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland and is author of numerous articles on ecumenical issues. He has served congregations in Connecticut and Pennsylvania and, 1991, was appointed Assistant to the UCC President for Ecumenical Concerns. In that role, he was instrumental in development of the full communion between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and three Reformed churches, the Reformed Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the UCC. 2007:  Joyce Rupp May 8 ~ 10   The 13th Annual Clergy Convocation will be led by Joyce Rupp, author, retreat leader and “farmer's daughter” from Des Moines, Iowa. A member of the Servites (Servants of Mary) she has led retreats throughout North America, Asia, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Africa and Canada. Joyce is the author of sixteen books including: Praying Our Goodbyes, The Cosmic Dance, and Your Sorrow is My Sorrow. Her latest book, Walk in a Relaxed Manner: Life Lessons from the Camino, chronicles a 450-mile trek full of adventure, humor, heartbreak and insight. 2006:  Tony Campolo May 9 ~ 11   The 12th Annual Clergy Convocation was led by the Rev. Dr. Tony Campolo, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Eastern University in St. Davids, PA. Founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education, he has helped create programs for "at-risk" children in cities across the US and Canada, and has helped establish schools in several developing countries. Dr. Campolo is a media commentator on religious, social and political matters, and has appeared on television in programs ranging from CNN News to Bill Maher’s Politically Incorrect. He is an ordained minister and has served congregations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Dr. Campolo is author of 30 books, the most recent of which are Which Jesus? (W Publishing, 2003), Speaking My Mind (W Publishing, 2004) and The Church Enslaved (Augsburg, 2005). 2005:  Paul Scott Wilson May 10 ~ 12    Our 11th Annual Clergy Convocation was led by the Rev. Dr. Paul Scott Wilson, Professor of Homiletics at Emmanuel College, University of Toronto, and the Toronto School of Theology, where he has taught for 22 years. An ordained minister of the United Church of Canada, he has served several congregations and is past president of the Academy of Homiletics. Dr. Wilson is author of: Preaching and Homiletical Theory (Chalice, 2004), Broken Words: Reflections on the Craft of Preaching (Abingdon, 2004), God Sense: Reading the Bible for Preaching (Abington, 2001) and The Four Pages of the Sermon (Abingdon, 1999). 2004:  Eugene Taylor Sutton May 4 ~ 6     Our 10th Annual Clergy Convocation was led by Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton, Canon Pastor at the Washington National Cathedral and Director of the Center for Prayer and Pilgrimage. Also, he is Adjunct Professor at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington and cofounder of Contemplative Outreach for Metropolitan Washington. He has served as pastor at churches in Michigan, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C., as a college chaplain, and a seminary professor in the areas of spirituality, preaching, and worship. 2003:  Margaret Guenther Our 9th Annual Clergy Convocation was led by Rev. Margaret B. Guenther, Episcopal Priest and Associate Rector for Spiritual Formation at St. Colomba's Episcopal Church in Washington DC. She is Professor Emerita of Ascetical Theology at the General Theological Seminary and retired director of the Center for Christian Spirituality. Margaret is the author of Holy Listening: The Art of Spiritual Direction and Toward Holy Ground: Spiritual Directions for the Second Half of Life. Her most recent book, The Practice of Prayer, is Volume Four in the New Church's Teaching Series. 2002:  Walter Brueggemann The 8th Annual Clergy Convocation was led by teacher, author and UCC minister, Walter Brueggemann. He is currently Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary. Formerly he taught at Eden Theological Seminary and was Visiting Lecturer, Cambridge University. He is Associate Editor for the Journal for Preachers and Contributing Editor for Christian Century. Some of his most recent books are: Deep Memory. Exuberant Hope: Contested Truth in a Post-Christian World, Texts That Linger. Words That Explode: Listening to Prophetic Voices, and The Covenanted Self: Explorations in Law and Covenant. For more information on the Clergy Convocation contact the Conference Church House at 610.489.2056 or ucc@psec.org. home         webmaster        contact us        talk to a person