Report from the 2019 Forma Conference

Andrea McKellar, center, with Bill Campbell, Executive Director of Forma, and Director for Formation, Youth and Young Adult Ministries for The Episcopal Church.

Diocesan Ministry Developer Andrea McKellar recently returned from the 2019 Forma Conference and has written this report.

I had the pleasure of spending a week in Indianapolis in January at the Annual Forma Conference. Forma is the Network for Christian Formation for the Episcopal Church and beyond. This year’s conference theme was “Formed to Proclaim: Conversations on Liturgy and Evangelism.” This was my sixth year attending the conference and I love the diverse group of voices from across the Episcopal Church it brings together. (Many people in our diocese attended the 2018 Forma Conference that our diocese hosted in Charleston.)

Some of the highlights that I want to share from the 2019 Forma Conference:

• My main take-away was when the Rev. Paul Fromberg, one of the speakers who is the Rector of St. Gregory’s of Nyssa in San Francisco, said that church should not be comfortable. That isn’t to say that church isn’t and shouldn’t be comforting, but to live our lives like Jesus we have to be always working to change the world. Sitting comfortably in our pews and not engaging the outside world is not the work of the Jesus Movement. That resonated with me and I see that good work happening in our diocese and hope to encourage even more of it.
• Dr. Catherine Meeks of the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing in Atlanta was part of a Q&A one of the evenings about her life and work. I highly recommend it, especially to those who will be attending the Racial Awareness Event later this month. You can watch it online here.
• Lauren Kay, seminarian from our diocese at Seminary of the Southwest, was one of the 15-minute speakers. Their talk can be seen starting at the 6:30 minute mark on the video here.
• - So many people want to hear about what is going on in our diocese. The prayers, love, and support that we receive from the wider Episcopal Church is ongoing.

​Next year’s Forma conference will be in Atlanta on January 20-24, 2020. I hope you will mark your calendars and plan to join me for another inspiring event.