Date: Thursday, July 28, 2022, 3:00 - 4:00 pm ET
Available by: Join by Videoconference Only (learn more about videoconference)
One Spirit Congregational Ministers:
Affinity Group
Facilitated by Rev. Brigid Beckman and Rev. Sue Koehler-Arsenault
Meeting every 4th Thursday of the month from 3:00 - 4:00 pm ET.
One Spirit is pleased to announce our latest affinity group to provide support and shared insight to those actively serving in congregational settings. This group, currently led by Rev. Brigid Beckman and Rev Sue Koehler-Arsenault, will be meeting on the 4th Thursday of the month from 3 to 4 pm ET.
In a time of tectonic religious and spiritual unfolding, many spiritual communities are looking for ministers who can address the changing needs of their communities. One Spirit trains ministers to meet people wherever they are on their spiritual journeys. With increasing frequency, established spiritual communities are looking beyond their traditions for congregational ministers who can creatively help them go into the future with vitality and hope; while new spiritual communities are also being formed.
One Spirit trained ministers are answering this call, serving as pioneers in a changing spiritual and religious landscape.
This affinity group will help examine and support one another around the ways that One Spirit congregational ministers are serving:
Leading worship and life-cycle rituals
Offering weekly sermon/message/meditation
Serving as spiritual teacher & pastoral counselor
Overseeing staff and volunteer team(s)
Building community (within the spiritual community—and in the greater regional community by collaborating with other spiritual communities and non-profit groups)
Working with a Board of Directors for building and grounds, administration (including financial management and stewardship/fundraising)
Maintaining their own spiritual practices and reservoir (models this for others, too)
Future dates:
August 25
September 22
October 27
November 24
December 22
Facilitators
Rev. Sue Koehler-Arsenault, M.Div.
Rev. Sue Koehler-Arsenault graduated from One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in 2011, served as Second Year Dean from 2015-2019, and has taught at the seminary on subjects from death and dying to creating your own wedding ministry. An M.Div. graduate of the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in 1994, she has served as a chaplain at Wellesley College and the Community Hospice of Schenectady before becoming a “minister-without-walls.”
In February 2022, Sue was called as pastor of the independent, interdenominational Annisquam Village Church in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Five weeks into this new ministry, the pandemic began and the church shifted to online worship, spiritual practice, meetings and more. A dynamic Creation Care ministry was born. Through the opportunities and challenges of leading what has become a hybrid spiritual community, Rev. Sue has drawn on many of the skills she developed as a student and Dean at One Spirit.
She looks forward to convening a group that helps congregational ministers navigate the ebbs, flows, and “tsunamis” that come with leading a spiritual community at this unique moment.
Rev. Brigid Beckman
Rev Brigid Beckman is a class of 2016 graduate of One Spirit, and in November 2021 was called to the position of Senior Minister at Unity Church in Albany, NY. Prior to this, Brigid spent four years as Campus Minister and Director of Spiritual Life at an all-girls high school on Boston’s North Shore.
A heart-centered minister and teacher, Brigid is dedicated to helping others find their joy through creating opportunities for deep reflection on their own journeys and shared communal experiences. An active wedding ministry initially led Brigid to One Spirit. Over the past decade she has officiated close to 150 weddings, numerous funerals and baby blessings, and has been a spiritual companion through volunteer work at Hospice, and in individual spiritual direction sessions.
Her current role as a congregational minister draws on all of that, and on her work experience in both public and independent schools, as office manager of a wellness center, and as a retreat and workshop facilitator for students, teachers, and people of all ages.
If you have questions about registering for this course, please contact One Spirit Learning Alliance by email to info@1spirit.org or call 212-931-6840.