A3D 2021 CONFERENCE

formerly Archdeacons and Deacon Directors' Conference
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PIVOT FROM PANIC: DEACONS FOR A POST-PANDEMIC CHURCH
Thursday evening, March 4 - Saturday evening, March 6, 2021

ONLINE

Keynote open to all deacons and friends - separate registration.

​Registration opens December 1, 2020!
Where are deacons in this moment of crisis?  The same places they always are: on the front lines.  But their needs in formation and supervision are vastly varied.  Each diocese, and each communion, envisions the diaconate in a contextually customized way. And when the context is in chaos, how do we equip deacons to serve for such a time as this? 

We can affirm every deacon, like every Christian, needs resources to engage meaningfully in anti-racism work, in creation care, in the new movement for economic justice, and with the health care crisis which has so forcefully revealed how all these things are inextricably linked.  But what else do they need?

Join us in a newly designed A3D Conference. This all-online event will have several opportunities for those working or interested in diaconal formation and supervision to reflect on what is needed NOW.  

Our tech hosts will be Bexley Seabury Seminary, whose professionals have years of experience in managing online learning well. Dividing screen time into manageable units, topics to be addressed will include:
  • Maintaining our prophetic voice.  When our churches may be facing financial distress at an accelerated rate, how do we link survival and evangelism with diakonia?  
  • Challenges to our diaconal identity.  How, in the midst of shut-downs, preexisting conditions, profound isolation and grief, can we help deacons remember their diaconate as something they are,not something they do, and help them find a new path to express it?
  • Reliable resources for diaconal anti-racism training online and in person.  How do we jack up our understanding of racism when we are mired in it ourselves?
  • Next steps in creation care.  How should formation equip every deacon to respond to the current threat level to all creation?

What’s returning: Open Space sharing, networking, timely topics with good presenters, good worship, plus “Archdeacon 101,” our special seminar for those new to diaconal supervision.

What’s new, we hope: A presentation open to all deacons and their supporters, to include a lively keynoter.

What’s unknown: Cost, exact schedule details, and a whole lot more.  Pray for us!