The 2022 Seminar has been rescheduled.
The 2023 Crossings ConferenceThe Promising Community: “Can I Get a Witness?”January 22-25, 2023
Yes, we extended by a day, confirmed the original speakers and are adding more including…
ELCA Bishop Elizabeth Eaton
more to be announced soon
Our Lady of the Snows Conference CenterBelleville, IL (15 minutes from Downtown St. Louis)nnWe, the Church, are the promising community—“the salt of the earth,” “the light of the world.” Or so the Promising One, crucified and risen, once said and continues to say to the people he gathers around him. But who takes that seriously in this third decade of the 21st century? Our neighbors scoff at it. Our children run from it. We struggle to believe it ourselves as we assess the post-pandemic state of our aging congregations and dwindling institutions.
The goal of this seminar is to help us—once again—to hear the Promise clearly, to think about it deeply, and to let the Spirit refresh us in our calling as stewards of God’s breathtaking promises of forgiveness, love, and abundant life for all people, beginning with the neighborhoods we inhabit.nnRegister for In-Person and VirtualnnKeynote SpeakersnnRev. Dr. Mary Hinkle Shore
Dr. Shore is rector and dean of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (LTSS), Columbia, South Carolina, a seminary of the ELCA. She received her MDiv from Luther Seminary and her PhD in New Testament from Duke Divinity School, after which she taught New Testament for 16 years at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. Before coming to LTSS in 2019, she served for six years as pastor of Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Brevard, North Carolina.nnRev. Dr. Kathryn (Kit) A. Kleinhans
Dr. Kleinhans is dean of Trinity Lutheran Seminary at Capital University, Columbus, Ohio, a seminary of the ELCA. A graduate of Christ Seminary—Seminex, she received her PhD in Theological Studies from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Before coming to Trinity, she served for 24 years on the religion faculty of Warburg College, Waverly, Iowa, where she held the Mike and Marge McCoy Family Distinguished Chair in Lutheran Heritage and Mission. She has been a popular speaker at several Crossings conferences.nnRev. Robin Lütjohann
Rev. Lütjohann hails from Berlin, Germany, and has been serving as pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, since 2015. He graduated from nearby Harvard Divinity School in 2013, where he now co-teaches Lutheran Confessions to ELCA seminarians and others. He is board chair of common cathedral, a street church for unhoused people in Boston, and a member of the Crossings board.nnSpeakersnnRev. Dr. Jerome Burce
Dr. Burce is the senior pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Fairview Park, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. He began his ministry teaching Scripture and theology at a seminary in Papua New Guinea, where he had been born and raised as a child of Lutheran missionaries. He was introduced to U.S. parish ministry at Zion Lutheran Church in Southington, Connecticut. Dr. Burce received his MDiv from Christ Seminary—Seminex and his DMin from Hartford Seminary. He is president of the Crossings board and edits “Thursday Theology,” a weekly Crossings publication. He has spoken at several prior Crossings events.nnRev. Matthew Metevelis

Rev. Metevelis has served as chaplain at Nathan Adelson Hospice in Las Vegas, Nevada since 2009. He also is the associate pastor at Living Hope Lutheran Church in downtown Las Vegas, where he is responsible for community care and faith formation. He received his MDiv from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

nnConference Worship Leader and Eucharist Preacher

nnRev. Dr. Arthur (Chris) Repp
Dr. Repp is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Champaign, Illinois. His first call was to teach church history and theology at a Lutheran seminary in St. Petersburg, Russia. He then served as pastor of Epiphany Lutheran Church in Carbondale, Illinois, before accepting his current call. He received his MDiv from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and a PhD in Russian history from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is a member of the Crossings board.nn

What you need to know:

Crossings will offer 2 options for the 2022 Seminar: in-person attendance,  and virtual attendance.

Pricing:

Virtual Attendance – $125
In-person Double Occupancy (2 nights) – $375
In-person Single Occupancy (2 nights) – $475

Crossings offers the following discounts for in-person at the 2022 Seminar:

• Seminary students are FREE (based on double occupancy option). A required $100 deposit will be refunded onsite.
• First-time attendees are 50% off.

Everyone attending in-person must be vaccinated. Crossings is committed to following local, state and federal public health guidelines.

Schedule

Prayer, praise and thanksgiving will be an integral part of our gathering.

We pray that you will join us, and bring a friend.

Afternoon          Check in

7:00 PM               Introduction and Text Study: “The Promising One: Jesus’ Witness at Nazareth, Part 1 (Luke 4:16-21)”. Led by Jerome Burce

8:00 PM              Compline

8:15 PM               Fellowship and Refreshments

8:45 AM              Morning Prayer

9:00 AMKeynote Address 1: Dr. Mary Hinkle Shore on “The Promising Community: Witness from the Scriptures.”

10:15AM              Break

10:30 AM            Keynote Address 2: Dr. Kit Kleinhans on “The Promising Community: Witness from the Lutheran Tradition.”

12:00 PM             Lunch / Break

1:30 PM                Text Study: “The Promising One: Jesus’ Witness at Nazareth, Part 2 (Luke 4:21-30). Led by Matt Metevelis.

2:45 PM              Break

3:15 PM              Dialogue: Dr.’s Shore and Kleinhans reflect together on “Forming the Promising Community: The Church’s Continuing Witness in 2022.”

4:45 PM            Break

5:30 PM              Dinner

7:00 PM              Eucharist. Preacher: Pr. Chris Repp

8:30 PM               Fellowship and Refreshments

8:45 AM            Morning Prayer

8:30 AM           Keynote Address 3: Rev. Robin Lütjohann on “The Promising Community Meets the World: Witness at Ground Level”

10:15 AM          Break / Checkout

10:45 AM         Panel Discussion: “How This Seminar Bears Witness to the Promising Community”

11:45 AM          Closing Prayer

Register for In-Person and VirtualnnThe 2022 Crossings Seminar

The Promising Community:
“Can I Get a Witness?”
January 23-25, 2022
Our Lady of the Snows Conference Center
Belleville, IL (15 minutes from Downtown St. Louis)nn