Learning Forte
Through custom solutions and both individualized & cohort-based learning opportunities we equip you to reach and teach people in a changing world.
This blog post written by the Rev. Gar Demo is a result of Leaders for Hybrid Futures, a community of learning and practice created by Rev. Tim Schenck and Learning Forte’s CEO, Rev. Stacy Williams-Duncan, to reflect on and experiment with hybrid ministry. This innovative program is a partnership with LEAD, TX, and Learning Forte’s Digital Ministry Initiative and …
Many in our community are glad to return to in-person practices. We are beginning to see who is returning, who remains on the fringes, and who may have moved on. There is lament at how our community has changed, but our refrain has become "God is still at work in us."
This blog post written by the Rev. Dr. Rebecca B. Coerper is a result of Leaders for Hybrid Futures, a community of learning and practice created by Rev. Tim Schenck and Learning Forte’s CEO, Rev. Stacy Williams-Duncan, to reflect on and experiment with hybrid ministry. This innovative program is a partnership with LEAD, TX, and Learning Forte’s Digital Ministry …
Incarnection. It’s not a word and I’m not proposing that it become one, but I do want to explore the intersection of connection and incarnation in light of the Church’s ministry during and post-Covid. I confess to you now that there are more questions below than answers, but perhaps their proposition will be work enough …
Two years ago, I thought of “hybrid ministry” as something that cutting-edge, super- hip formation leaders were doing—not my intergenerational parish formation program led by a 30-something, cis-gendered, self-proclaimed church lady. “Hybrid” sounded amorphous, mysterious, and very tech-heavy. But, things have changed. COVID-19 has pushed all of us into using technology to seek and serve …
If I were asked to teach a digital faith formation class two years ago, I would have written out my flipchart notes onto PowerPoint slides and run my class exactly as I would have if we were gathered in person. After almost two years of teaching, praying, and meeting in a digital space, I can …
By Ataira Franklin, Video and Media Designer Now more than ever, the need for highly functioning online meeting platforms has skyrocketed. Whether for personal or professional use, one thing is clear: meeting online plays a large role in helping us stay connected. While texts, phone calls, and video chats can usually get the job done …
By Erin Weins St. John, Project Manager and Social Media Coordinator As mainline churches have lost more members and revenue in the last several decades, a narrative of “church decline” dominates both media narratives about the Church and the Church’s self-image. From lay members to clergy to top denominational officials, the focus has often shifted …
By Erin Wiens St. John, Project Manager and Social Media Coordinator Many of us are deeply missing communion, both the Sacrament and the community. As we’ve journeyed through the time of online worship, and begin to think about outdoor gatherings, we’ve considered so many different ways to share this Sacrament. And as we consider these …
By Erin Weins St. John, Project Manager and Social Media Coordinator I begin this sermon with sad and unexpected news. Rather than announcing a return to in-person worship, I must delay our gatherings yet again. The cases in our area have gone back up, and we can’t meet again until cases decline for two weeks …
By Jenn Baker, Associate for Integrated Learning Educators are flexible, accessible, and creative. They are passionate and committed. Why then wouldn’t every educator jump at the chance to use an online learning management system that can make course material accessible to more students in more places, provide more opportunities for flipping the classroom, and engage …
Joel Duncan From our earliest dating days, we have valued traveling together. Whether a few hours (or many) on a road trip in the car to long-haul train trips or longer-term overseas travel, we love taking in the world’s beauty, its diverse culture, and continually learning more about our worldwide neighbors. Most important to us …
Reba Balint, Project Manager and Social Media Coordinator Her entire life, the Rev. Stacy Williams Duncan has worked to reconcile her identities as both white and Chickasaw. She once said that, no matter where she is in the world, she will always feel this indescribable pull towards her home land of Oklahoma. Her mother’s family …
By Reba Balint, Project Manager and Social Media Coordinator The Rev. Stacy Williams Duncan is the part-time rector for the Little Fork Episcopal Church in Virginia. When COVID-19 hit her community in March, one of her concerns was how her congregants would be able to participate in traditional Easter practices while remaining socially distant and …
By Sam Sheridan, Sub Contractor At the end of 2018 I was devouring books on chaplaincy and pastoral care. I did not know what I was looking for, but I was sure that I would find some article or chapter that would help contextualize all I had experienced as a summer hospital chaplain intern. I …
The Rev. Stacy Williams Duncan, Founder, Learning & Change Strategist I’ve thought a lot over this last year, as we’ve had more and more clients, about what causes someone to send an email or call us at Learning ForTE: why take that initial step now? For many, they feel overwhelmed making the decision about a …
The Rev. Stacy Williams Duncan, Founder, Learning & Change Strategist Only a couple of days after Kyle and I had submitted our article- Reassessing Embodiment in a Post-Pandemic Age– while looking into how we were receiving all of the pieces of the Digital Literacies for Ministry… …when I received a call from a member of …
The Rev. Stacy Williams Duncan, Founder, Learning & Change Strategist A few years ago, when teaching at Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), I had the opportunity to teach a chaplaincy class and later an advanced chaplaincy class. In that class, we spent a lot of time talking about what the model of ministry for chaplains is …
The Rev. Stacy Williams Duncan, Founder, Learning & Change Strategist When you worked on research for a while, having come to conclusions after working really hard, the actual journal article can seem a little…anticlimactic. Kyle Oliver & I talked for a year about really needing to finish up this foundational article and get it out …
The Rev. Stacy Williams Duncan, Founder, Learning & Change Strategist Right after the shutdown, Heidi Campbell of Texas A&M University decided to produce a book where she asked both ministry practitioners and scholars to write about their experiences in the pandemic so far. She invited Kyle Oliver & I to write in either capacity, knowing …
By Tania Schramm, Associate for Community Design LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more. Social media apps have become ubiquitous. Even if we have a “love-hate” relationship with social media networks, we also might feel like we have to be there. FOMO, or “fear of missing out,” along with wanting to stay in touch with friends, …
By Tania Schramm, Associate for Community Design Since March 2020, pastors, congregations, and people of faith have experienced enormous changes and challenges to the way we’ve always practiced our faith. We haven’t been able to worship in the usual ways. We haven’t been able to care for each other – to share in our joys …
By William Boyles, Sub Contractor With the end of Summer, we experience the return of the Fall. Seersucker is placed back in the closet in favor of denim, the leaves begin to change, and football is back. More importantly, perhaps, the dawn of Fall means that students return to college campuses across the country. In …
