"What's Working" Conference at Claremont a Success

On Saturday, April 28, nearly 60 pastors, laypeople and youth from several mainline denominations gathered at Claremont School of Theology for the inaugural "What's Working in your Context" conference. John Farley, lead pastor of Foothills United Methodist Church in La Mesa, CA, led the event that was organized by and held at CST.

Participants explored what one author calls "leading causes of life" - connection and sense of belonging, coherence and capacity to make a difference, and experiences of blessing and hope. Teams and individuals identified where these strengths are present in their churches and explored ways to develop them further.

"This was a wonderful opportunity for people diverse backgrounds to share stories of success in the Church," said Karen Dalton, associate dean of ministry resources and extension programs who recently joined the Claremont faculty as director of field education.

"While the conference was open to all churches and individuals, we are excited that multicultural and multigenerational congregations participated in this unique event," she said.

At the one-day conference, individuals and groups representing a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds from the California Pacific Annual Conference joined congregational teams from other denominations to network and share ideas about models and techniques for ministry and vitality in the local parish.

"Hopefully, this conference is the first of many events of this kind," Dalton said.