Four Called to Transformation Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) facilitator formation workshops have been slated for 2016: April 18-21, Solomon Episcopal Conference Center, New Orleans, LA; June 13-16, Dumas Bay Center Seattle, WA; August 8-11, Nashotah House, Milwaukee, WI; and September 19-22, Bosque Center, Albuquerque, NM.

Called to Transformation is a partnership between The Episcopal Church and Episcopal Relief & Development.  The workshops are designed to train leaders in methods and tools to enhance local ministry and mission.

The Asset-Based Community Development online toolkit and workshops were developed to train facilitators in leading a faith community in understanding the ABCD process, explained the Rev. Canon E. Mark Stevenson, Episcopal Church Domestic Poverty Missioner. “Training people to use Asset-Based Community Development to approach ministry switches the discernment to an asset view – what we have – from one focused on what we don’t have,” he said. 

Through the trainings, participants will learn about the theory and the practice of ABCD work, and then begin the process of creating a working plan to implement an Asset-Based Community Development project in their own ministry community.

Asset-Based Community Development engages communities at a grassroots level to recognize local assets – such as people, buildings, relationships and even faith – and creatively envision how to use that abundance to achieve goals and imagine new forms of ministry. Sean McConnell, Episcopal Relief & Development’s Senior Director of Engagement said, “ABCD brings people together to transform their communities. It focuses on the gifts and strengths of individuals, congregations and organizations. By recognizing their own gifts, people are empowered to more deeply invest in achieving the shared goals of the community.”

Registration

Registration for the April 18-21 Solomon Center in New Orleans, LA is available here 

Registration is $175 per person which includes room, all meals, handouts, etc. Transportation is not included. Deadline for registration for the April session is April 1. Seating is limited.

The Called to Transformation Asset-Based Community Development online toolkit and facilitator formation process were developed by The Episcopal Church and Episcopal Relief & Development with assistance from the Beecken Center of the School of Theology at the University of the South. 

For more information contact Stevenson, The Rev. Canon E. Mark Stevenson, or McConnell, smcconnell@episcopalrelief.org