New Ways of Educating 21st Century Leaders

We've been in the business of educating congregational leaders  since 1974 . And over the years in some significant ways "the more things change, the more they remain the same."

Yet when you look at the educational programming offered by Alban here at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, even those who think they know us very well shouldn't be surprised to find themselves saying,

this just isn't your grandparents' Alban!

We haven’t decided to give up on resourcing congregations to go into wealth-management or political-consulting!

We still field a staff of nationally recognized  Senior Consultants  who together in 2009 contracted with almost one hundred fifty congregations in the United States and Canada.

Our publishing program continues looking for new ways to help congregational leaders think about the challenges and opportunities they face, adding about twenty  new book titles  yearly to the  Alban Bookstore  and continuing to produce the award-winning  Congregations  magazine.

In addition, we continue to host the innovative and evolving  Congregational Resource Guide , which has just begun a new  BlogTalkRadio  show. And we remain proud to work in close affiliation with the  Center for Congregations .

Yet it is emblematic of many of the most enduring changes in education at Alban in recent years that our offices have been located for most of the past decade on the  Dulles technology corridor  west of Washington, DC.

THE NEW LOOK OF LEARNING ... ONLINE

While our traditional on-site seminars continue to draw hundreds of enrollees each year, our online seminars, or  webinars , reached more than 2,000 participants in 2009, our first full year of operation. Our growing online audience comes from congregations that are Mainline, Evangelical, and non-Denominational Protestant; Roman Catholic; and from across the spectrum of contemporary Judaism – Reformed to Orthodox.

In 2010 we will offer almost one hundred new live webinars – or about two per week. And at year’s end will have about one hundred fifty  On Demand  or recorded webinars available for your use, such as the ten that are part of our toolkit:  The Road to Recovery: Resources on Money & Ministry . You can keep up with the continuing development of these web seminars at our Webex-based  Online Event Center . 

Webinars are only one of the ways you can choose to  Learn Online  through Alban.  Also check out our  website , audio and video  podcasts  (available through the  iTunes Store ), a blog ( AlbanRoundtable ), and a growing number of  digital downloads , including  e-Books , several of which are available for Amazon’s  Kindle ^TM .

We invite you to explore these AlbanLearning tools and resources, use them, and then tell us what you think, either by  email , blog-comments, or the numerous surveys and polls that we will host on AlbanRoundtable and the Alban website during 2010.

We will continue to keep you abreast of what’s going on at Alban online through

NEW ON-SITE SEMINARS

While new online options are regularly being added to AlbanLearning, our  on-site events  for congregations and their leaders – lay as well as ordained – are constantly evolving in response to the needs and  feedback  of you,  our loyal clients .  

Our  2010 calendar  offers opportunities for people located across the United States to find an event nearby, or to travel to a location (or a climate!) that in itself can be an important reason for choosing among our  sites for continuing education , as well as for rest and refreshment. Sunbelt locations for 2010 include  Jacksonville, FL ;  Scottsdale, AZ ;  Santa Barbara, CA ; and  Norcross, GA , outside Atlanta. In the mid-Atlantic you can enjoy the Smoky Mountains at Lake Junaluska near  Asheville, NC . New Englanders can find events in  West Hartford, CT  and Midwesterners in either  Techny, IL , just outside Chicago, or in  Dubuque, IA . And in the Pacific Northwest you can attend an event in  Federal Way , near Seattle, WA. Or call us to arrange a  custom educational event  at your location.

NEW faces of leadership FOR 2010

We are excited to be in the final stages of developing an entirely new four-day workshop in May 2010 with renowned historian,  Alban author , and widely sought speaker  Diana Butler Bass , “ Emerging Patterns in 21st Century Worship ,” co-sponsored with the United Methodist Church’s Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center. 

William Enright and Rich Klopp from the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University will offer their nationally-acclaimed workshop, “ Creating Congregational Cultures of Generosity ,” being sponsored by Alban and hosted this year at Lake Junaluska.  This follows the research project jointly sponsored by Alban and the Lake Institute, the  2009 Congregational Economic Impact Study .

Our highly acclaimed ongoing “ Sacred Practice Leadership Series ” concludes with  three on-site events in 2010  on “The Practice of Prayer” (with Dick Bruesehoff and Jane Vennard), “The Practice of Proclamation” (with Lillian Daniel and Craig van Gelder), and “The Practice of Service” (with George Hunsberger and Susan Briehl).  Each can be attended separately by commuting registrants.

NEW OFFERINGS BY ALBAN CONSULTANTS

Hotchkiss

Beaumont

Peers

White

Mann

Susan Beaumont’s “ Inside the Large Congregation ,” which bears the title of  her new blog .

Larry Peers' “ Breakthroughs: Getting Congregations from Stuck to Thriving ” (watch a  video of Larry  
talking about his work as an Alban consultant).

LEARN FROM PROVEN MENTORS

Senior Consultant Ed White, a stalwart of national Presbyterian Church USA educational and pastoral life for years, will offer his always highly-attended and positively-reviewed seminars, “ New Vision for the Long Pastorate ” and “ Disciple Making Communities: Moving from Maintenance to Mission .” If you’ve never worked with Ed, you don’t want to miss the chance to sit at the feet of a master of his craft.

Alice Mann, whose Alban book,  Raising the Roof , has guided thousands caught in the exciting and challenging transition from smaller to mid-sized congregation, is offering a shorter,  two-day workshop-version of “Raising the Roof”  designed to be more affordable precisely for those doing mid-sized ministries still dependent upon small-congregation budgets. She also is making herself available to the first six congregations who apply to remain another day for a personal consultation about the needs they are facing.

LINES HAVE BEEN FORMING FOR

Susan Beaumont’s “ Building Staff Collegiality ” and her “ Stepping Up to Staffing and Supervision ” (the latter of which draws on her acclaimed book  When Moses Meets Aaron: Staffing and Supervision in the Large Congregation )

Larry Peers’ “ Clergy Wellness: How to Balance Ministry and Life ,” “ The Power of Story to Transform Your Leadership ,” and “ Finishing Strong, Ending Well ”.

“ Holy Conversations: Transforming Congregational Planning ” led this year by Alice Mann with virtual appearances by Larry Peers and Susan Beaumont.

YET OUR MISSION REMAINS UNCHANGED

However much else is "new" in Alban's approaches to education, two things will never changed:

Our commitment to quality and responsibility in the work we undertake.

Our grateful recognition that we can serve your needs best only if we continue to hear from you about what they are, and how we can be of the most help to you.

So email us at educationa@alban.org or call us at 800-486-1318 to let us know how we can serve you better.

Wayne Floyd, Education Program Manager, The Alban Institute

Wayne came to Alban from the staff of Washington National Cathedral. Before that he worked on the staffs of three Episcopal dioceses and taught seminary and college students for over a decade. He brings to his work a deep love for congregational life and an ongoing commitment to imagination and excellence in lifelong learning.