“At work, the potter sits before a lump of clay on the wheel. Her mind is on the clay, but she is also aware of sitting between her past experiences and her future prospects…the product that emerges on the wheel is likely to be in the tradition of her past work, but she may break away and embark on a new direction. Even so, the past is no less present.”

                        - Henry Mintzberg in “Crafting Strategy,” Harvard Business Review

The 2009 Annual Conference for the Society for the Advancement of Continuing Education for Ministry will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, March 6-8, at the Columbia Theological Seminary. In this year’s annual conference we will consider what it means to craft continuing education for ministry programs that honor tradition and embark on new directions. We will, individually and together, discern what is core to our identity to insure that the past is present in the future, and we will be intentional in considering new directions.

Dent Davis, Columibia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, was elected to serve as the president of SACEM for the coming year during this afternoon's annual business session. SACEM members are currently meeting for the Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio. 

The Board of SACEM, under the strategic leadership of Dr. Dent Davis, has been developing a proposal for a new online Journal of Lifelong Learning for Ministry.

An exciting prospectus will be presented to SACEM members at our business meeting during the annual gathering in February. Dr. Davis indicates that this unique online publication would seek to stimulate conversation and strengthen the quality of educational practice among those who provide lifelong learning in theological institutions, denominational offices, conference and retreat centers, and consultant and freelance organizations. The prospectus describes the online journal to be:

an ecumenical journal for the exchange of research, ideas, and practices related to continuing education for ministry. … Each edition would focus on a particular topic through the lenses of a variety of perspectives using lead articles, responses, and replies, as well as discussion-starters and an annotated list of resources for further research and reflection…The journal would also seek to connect the practice of continuing education for ministry with the broader fields of adult education, religious education, theological education, spiritual formation and ministry practice in a rapidly changing world.

 

Watch for more information! And plan to be part of the conversation at the SACEM Annual Conference in February.

The Society for the Advancement of Continuing Education for Ministry (SACEM) is a learning community of persons and organizations seeking to share resources, enhance skills, and promote excellence in lifelong learning for ministry and SACEM Online has been developed as a place to share these resources, to engage in dialogue, and to grow in knowledge and skill as a learning community.

We invite you to access many of the resources of SACEM Online by signing in as a registered user or to consider becoming a member of SACEM to take advantage of all of the resources and opportunities for networking and learning within this community.