Registrations are now open for four Called to Transformation Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) facilitator formation workshops in 2017.

The workshops will be held:

• June 8-10: Cathedral of St. Andrew in Honolulu, Hawaii
• September 18-21: Transfiguration Spirituality Center in Cincinnati, OH
• October 16-19: Ignatius House Retreat Center in Atlanta, GA
• November 6-9: Cenacle Retreat House in Houston, TX.

The workshops are designed to train leaders in methods and tools to enhance local ministry and mission.

Participants need to attend only one of the workshops.

Called to Transformation is a partnership between the Episcopal Church and Episcopal Relief & Development.

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. Melanie Mullen, Episcopal Church Director of Reconciliation, Justice, and Creation Care. “Equipping people to use Asset-Based Community Development skills empowers church leaders and the communities we touch, to go beyond just giving charity for needs – and toward following Jesus in an empowering vision of the assets we have,” she said. 

Through the workshop 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 and more information are here.

Registration is $175 per person per workshop, which includes room, all meals, transportation at the training, handouts, etc. Transportation to the training is not included. Deadline for registration for is four weeks prior to the event. Space is limited; early register is encouraged.

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 Mullen, The Rev. Melanie Mullen, or McConnell, smcconnell@episcopalrelief.org