The Future of “First Churches” Foundations, Partnerships and Legacies (ClergyEducation.com)

Duke Divinity School’s Office of Wesleyan Engagement is hosting a free two-part interactive lunch time seminar with Bishop Ken Carter and Rev. Dr. Audrey B. Warren entitled “The Future of “First Churches”: Foundations, Partnerships and Legacies.” This event is geared toward clergy and laity serving churches that have historically found themselves at the geographic and spiritual center of their community regardless of whether the church is called “First Church.”  The first session will be held November 8, 2021, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m., and the second session will be held February 22, 2022, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm.

Dr. Warren and Bishop Carter will build upon the work presented in their 2020 book Fresh Expressions of People Over Property and in supplemental materials to dream about the future of “First Churches.” The first session will focus on important ways that “First Churches” have served their communities and the roles that they have played. It will also plant the seeds to imagine ways that these churches can continue to be agents of transformation. The second session will build upon the first session and lay the groundwork for envisioning the future of First Churches.

Registration is required.

Rev. Dr. Warren is an ordained elder in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church and senior pastor at First United Methodist Church of Miami. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Florida Southern College, where she majored in Religion; a Master of Divinity degree from Duke Divinity School; and a Doctor of Ministry focusing on children and spirituality from Wesley Theological Seminary.

Bishop Carter, resident bishop of the Florida and Western North Carolina Conferences of the United Methodist Church, is also serving as the bishop-in-residence at Duke Divinity, teaching on a limited basis as a consulting faculty member. He is the immediate past president of the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church and was one of three moderators of the Commission on a Way Forward, the commission authorized by the General Conference in matters of unity and human sexuality. Carter is author of ten books, including Fresh Expressions: A New Kind of Methodist Church co-authored with Warren (Abingdon Press, 2017) and Embracing The Wideness: The Shared Convictions of United Methodists (Abingdon Press, 2018).