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Dear Friends,
As 2023 draws to a close I am grateful for my first year as Director of the Damascus Project, the shared theological learning ministry of the Minnesota and Wisconsin Conferences, United Church of Christ.
The Damascus Project was formed in 2017, envisioning a new way of nurturing clergy and laity toward theological enrichment and shared ministry across the two Conferences. This ‘new way’ of collaborative, online learning was akin to the Apostle Paul’s new way of seeing on the Damascus Road, hence the project’s name.
Learning takes place on the Damascus Project Network, a social media conversation and learning space which houses our classes, conversation for anyone whether taking a class or not, and serves as a meeting space and materials repository for various groups and cohorts throughout our Conferences and the wider UCC.
Since its inception, the Damascus Project has focused on two of its stated objectives. It has created a core curriculum for theologically curious lay people and for those on an alternate path to authorized ministry, emphasizing three curricular areas: Faith Foundations, Ministry Studies, and Leadership Skills. This curriculum aims to build competencies aligned with the Marks of Faithful and Effective UCC Ministers. The Damascus Project uses a learning assessment tool relative to the Marks, designed by Dr. Sandra Graham, Professor of Psychology and former Dean of Alverno College, Milwaukee, who is an expert in outcome-based adult learning.
In winter 2024 we invite learners to participate in our Leadership Skills course “The Pandemic Pivot: What we Learned that will Lead us Forward,” designed and taught by Rev. Dr. Elena Larssen of the national UCC Office of Philanthropy, Technology, Identity and Communication (OPTIC). The course is based on Dr. Larssen’s recent doctor of ministry dissertation research, and will invite clergy and lay leaders into a leadership self-assessment and evaluation of how they can best lead in this moment. The course is an excellent opportunity for clergy continuing education. Registration remains open for the four week course beginning January 11, 2024. REGISTER HERE.
We are also offering a UCC History and Polity course in our Faith Foundations track. This course is for interested lay learners and those needing to fulfill this requirement for authorized ministry. The course will be taught by Wisconsin Associate Conference Minister Rev. Michael Jones and meets Thursday evenings from February 22–April 18, 2024. REGISTER HERE.
In spring 2024 we will offer a Theology and Ecology course in our Faith Foundations track, of interest to anyone working in the area of climate care and creation justice. The course will be taught by Dr. Trish Zimmerman, professor of theology at St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, and a lay member of First UCC Northfield. Course meeting dates will be forthcoming this winter.
Here at the Damascus Project and in the Minnesota and Wisconsin Conferences UCC we are also celebrating the very good news that we applied for and received a $500,000 Thriving Congregations grant from the Lilly Endowment. This grant will allow us to focus on two of our other stated objectives over a five-year period:
- Strengthening the whole body of Christ by creating interactive learning opportunities for clergy and laity to grow together as leaders modeling healthy shared leadership and governance, and;
- Nurturing the vitality and drawing upon the wisdom of our small and rural churches for the benefit of the wider church.
The grant will allow us to create a set of Thriving Congregations courses for clergy and laity to learn together about the aspects of how to best live out our polity via healthy communication, shared leadership, missional assessment, and good governance. We anticipate that this series will begin with a course on Reflective Listening taught by Minnesota UCC lay person Barb Bickford, a member of St. Peter’s UCC Stillwater. A course on healthy relationships and boundaries for lay leaders follows in fall 2024.
We will also create a Living Faith online confirmation program to support small and rural churches that may only have one or two confirmands per year. We anticipate that the first cohort for confirmands will launch in fall 2024.
The grant supports course design, curriculum review and beta testing, instructor stipends, and needed technology upgrades. It will allow us to keep course registration costs modest. The grant will also support us in offering an annual Damascus Project Summit, which we envision being a hybrid time or learning together, featuring a keynote speaker, worship, workshops, and small groups. Those from the MN and WI Conferences will have priority registration for all events, but offerings will be open to others across the UCC.
Thanks to all of you for supporting us, learning with us, and spreading the word about all the Damascus Project is doing. If you’ve not yet learned with us, please join us in 2024.
With Gratitude,
Rev. Stephanie Perdew, PhD
Director, the Damascus Project
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