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  • 2020 Lancaster Theological Seminary DMin Symposium

    Monday, March 30, 2020

    Symposium presentations will be conducted online using Zoom.

    Schedule of Events
    Time Presenter Topic
    9:00‑9:55 a.m.   Ronnette Comfort‑Butler  "How to Develop a Practice of Radical Hospitality for People with Cognitive Processing Disorders"
    10:00‑10:55 a.m.   Colie Bettivia  "Hello, We're Here!: Active Participation in Traditional Church Congregations By Those in the Millennial Generation"
    11:00‑11:55 a.m.   Faith Dickens Fitzgerald  "Renewing the Spirit of Hospice: A Spiritual Response to Compassion Fatigue in Hospice Workers"
    12:00‑12:55 p.m.  Will Hagenbuch  "'Won’t You Be My Neighbor?': Creating an Interconnected Onsite and Online Christian Community"
    1:00‑1:55 p.m.   Karin Pejack  "'Where Two or Three Are Gathered…': A Study of Multiple Christian Congregations under One Steeple"
    2:00‑2:55 p.m.   Kim Stryjak  "The Holy Week of Our Lives:  How to Help Faith Leaders have Conversations around Death and Dying in our Faith Communities"
    3:00‑3:55 p.m.  Marjory Roth  "'Is it a Savior?': Finding Salvation in Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Batman"
    All times are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC -4:00)

    Presentation Details for Current DMin Students and Guests

    • Presenters are listed below in schedule order
    • Expand the presenter's section to find:
      • Link to join Zoom session or recording (as available)
      • Supporting documents provided by presenter (if applicable)
      • Online evaluation form (made available at the time of presentation)

    • Test your device with Zoom in advance URL

      Recommended: Test your equipment and Internet connection before Symposium Day. (Note: You may be prompted to download the Zoom app.)


    • Presenter Requirements

    • Submit your signed recording consent form Assignment
      Restricted Not available unless: You belong to Presenters
◄9:00 a.m. - Ronnette Comfort-Butler11:00 a.m. - Faith Dickens Fitzgerald►

10:00 a.m. - Colie Bettivia

  • 10:00 a.m. - Colie Bettivia

    Hello, We're Here!: Active Participation in Traditional Church Congregations By Those in the Millennial Generation

    Time: 10:00-10:55 a.m.

    Abstract

    This project seeks to shed light on persons who are of the Millennial generation (born between 1981 and 1996) who are actively engaged in a traditional Christian church congregation. Focusing on congregations of the United Church of Christ in Wisconsin, I used surveys and interviews to study pairs of siblings where one sibling is active in a congregation and the other is not. By analyzing the differences between siblings in life situations, personal experiences, and spiritual engagement, the wider church can achieve a better understanding of the Millennial generation and why some of them have chosen to participate in the church while others have not. Differences between siblings found to be significant include the religious level of spouses, self-identity as a person of faith, and LGBTQ+ identity. Surprisingly, my data suggests that Millennial siblings who identify as LGBTQ+ are more likely to be actively involved in a church than their straight-identifying sibling. Discussion also includes the ways that Millennials are engaging with spirituality and community outside of the institutional church. Hearing the voices of these Millennials directly provides perspective and understanding that the church is often missing in the conversations about this generation. Millennials who are participating in congregations are not doing so by accident, happenstance, or outside pressure - they are making active, intentional decisions to participate in church community because they care about the church. 

◄9:00 a.m. - Ronnette Comfort-Butler11:00 a.m. - Faith Dickens Fitzgerald►