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Harpers Ferry Ministerial Study Group - A JPD Tradition

For decades, a steady group of current and former JPD clergy has met each mid-November for a few days of intriguing study and good collegiality. We are named after the original site for the sessions, in Harpers Ferry, WV, but since 2003 we have met in Cacapon State Park just south of Berkeley Springs, WV (which is south of I-70 on Rte. 522).

CONTACTS:

Program: Henry Ticknor (
hrtcknr@comcast.net)
Logistics & Registration: Lori Staubitz (Lstaubitz@aol.com
)

Contact information for registration :
Please send registration and check to:
Rev. Lori Staubitz
1535 Chatham Colony Court
Reston, Virginia 20190

Questions: (LStaubitz@aol.com)

SITE
Cacapon State Park Lodge is a modern (and completely accessible) facility, tucked between a public golf course and Cacapon Mountain. It is not a luxury site, but well appointed and very clean, with a nice buffet dining area, game room, fireplace lounge, surrounded by lots of hiking trails. Rooms are a mite small, although each has its own bathroom/shower and telephone. No pets are allowed in the building.
http://www.cacaponresort.com/


SCHEDULE

NOTE that we arrive Sunday evening (after dinner) and depart after lunch on Wednesday. Some colleagues meet up for dinner on the way (such as in Berkeley Springs). There is usually one afternoon without programming and lots of room for social interactions.

ATTENDANCE

Currently there are 39 ongoing members (31 in JPD parish settings, 1 JPD staff, 1 UUA staff, 2 retired in the JPD, and 4 from beyond our district). Qualified newcomers are welcome to come once as guests and then decide whether to join, as space is available.

Please review our Covenant, by which membership is limited to "UU ministers who are in fellowship with the UUA, are members of the UUMA, and are members of one of the UUMA chapters in the Joseph Priestley District." (However, those "who move on to other districts, but who wish to maintain membership, may do so, provided they continue to honor the covenant," which stipulates regular attendence and dues paid). Also, "Interns in candidate status supervised by Study Group members may attend as guests, if accompanied by their supervising members."




2007 Study Groupers enjoy a sunny West Virginia autumn day and each other’s company.


UPCOMING DATES & PROGRAM

Welcome to Harpers Ferry 2008

Dates: November 16-19, 2008

TOPIC: “Beyond Congregational Polity: How does it survive?”

Registraton deadline: October 16, 2008

The focus of the 2008 Harpers Ferry Ministerial Study Group will be an examination of the promise and inherent limitations of congregational polity. We will explore questions such as:  

Is Congregational Polity relevant in the days of policy governance?
and
From what sources can ministers continue to claim their sense of ministerial authority?


The following material is suggested reading for this year's Study Group:

Adams, James Luther, Litany. The Church That Is Free.
http://docs.google.com/RawDocContents?docID=dcpw2fqt_14g3s2cxcx&justBody=false&revision=_latest&timestamp=1218644353649&editMode=true&strip=true&pli=1
Cambridge Synod  (1646-1648), Trans. 2008. The Cambridge Platform. Hughes, Peter. Contemporary Reader's Edition. Boston: Skinner House.

May, Rollo. 1998. Power and Innocence, A Search for the Sources of Violence. W. W. Norton and Co..

Nathanson, Donald, Report to the Academic Advisory Council of the National Campaign Against Youth V. the Name of the Game is Shame. http://www.tomkins.org/PDF/library/articles/thenameofthegameisshame.pdf  

Niebanck, Martha, Sermon. A General Theory of Love. unpublished. 2006 [attached]

Tillich, Paul, Theology. 1960. Love, Power, and Justice. Oxford University Press US.

Wesley, Alice Blair. Spring 2005. 2000-2001 Minns Lectures. Chicago: Meadville
Lombard "Journal of Liberal Religion"
http://www.meadville.edu/2001_Wesley_2_2.htm.

COST & REGISTRATION
2008 registration costs include annual dues, program costs, snacks, food and lodging (beer and wine costs are not included).  The fees are $215 for a shared/double room and $305 for a single room, covering three nights, 6 meals and program expenses. (Two lunches are "on your own.")  Registration DEADLINE—including payment by snail mail—will be Oct. 16, 2008 (one month before the event).

Please include the following registration information with your check:

Name:

Address:

Phone:                                                        E-mail:

Member? _____          First-time Guest? _____

Roommate information (if applicable):

Special needs:

Dietary considerations are limited to vegetarian options served ala carte with each meal.

 

If you are not attending this year's program but wish to remain a member, please include contact information along with your $15.00 check for 2008 dues.

 

Please make checks payable to:

HFMSG 2008 - by Oct. 16, 2008

Mail checks and registration information to:

Rev. Lori Staubitz

1535 Chatham Colony Court

Reston, VA  20190

Archive
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