Rostered Ministers throughout the Northern Illinois Synod are invited to join Ms. Debie Thomas and Mr. Erik Olson for the 2023 Professional Leader's Conference. 

Held at the beautiful Lutherdale in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. This ELCA Outdoor Ministry site has not only two on-site housing options but there are plenty of opportunities for free time activities and dining together in nearby Lake Geneva and surrounding towns. 

Replenishing the Well: Finding Strength and Sustenance for Ministry 
As people in ministry, we seek to love and serve others with generosity and abundance.  Yet sometimes the well of faith, compassion, hope, and resilience runs dry. As we attend to the needs of others, we neglect the aridity within our own souls, until we find ourselves in deep "drought."  Spiritual journaling can be a powerful way to allow the Spirit of God to replenish the waters of our souls.  When we engage in honest and reflective writing, we invite God to renew us, so that we can once again serve others with freshness, hope, and vitality. 

Worship Bulletin
Everything you need for the three different services during PLC can be found in this worship bulletin. Everything will be displayed on the screen in the Hope Center but we hope that this can aid in your worship experience. There will be no printed copies available at PLC. Click here to access the worship bulletin. 

Scroll down for more information including the schedule, housing, worship bulletin, and who our speakers will be.

Schedule

In response to your feedback from last year’s PLC, we have scheduled for more rest and 
renewal in the afternoon on Tuesday. One of Tuesday afternoon’s sessions is now moved to Wednesday morning. Please plan to stay through the duration of PLC until 12:30 on Wednesday to hear the concluding presentation by Debie Thomas, as well as a musical workshop and bebop worship led by Erik Olson. 
 
Monday, September 18 

  • 9:30 a.m.    Check-in - Hope Center
  • 10:45 a.m.   Worship - Hope Center (Click here for the worship bulletin)
  • 12:00 p.m.   Noon Meal - Dining Hall
  • 1:00 p.m.     Presentation I - Hope Center
    • “Naming Our Hungers” with Debie Thomas  
      • We begin by naming what we need.  What we lack.  What we long for.  We refuse to pretend that everything is okay, and take time instead to listen deeply to the gnawing hunger and thirst that cries out for our attention.  What spaces have become arid?  What feels lifeless, precarious, tired?  In this first session, we will name the reality of the “drought,” and begin to imagine what replenishment might look like. 
  • 2:30 p.m.  Free Time  
    • Social activities availabel at camp and in the local area.
    • Dinner with participant groups or on your own in the area.
    • Sign-ups for both available in the Hope Center lobby.
  • 7:30 p.m.  Optional activities - Lutherdale
    • Campfire with camp song sing-a-long – Firepit by Hope Center 
      Games in Hope Center
  • 8:30 p.m. Night Prayer - Firepit by Hope Center

Tuesday, September 19

  • 8:10 a.m.  Breakfast - Dining Hall - For those staying overnight at camp
  • 9 a.m.     Presentation II - Hope Center
    • “Rediscovering Joy” with Debie Thomas 
      • Poet Jack Gilbert writes that "we must risk delight," even in the face of the world's deep pain.  In this second session, we'll reacquaint ourselves with the things that give us true joy.  What feeds us by way of pleasure, laughter, beauty, awe, surprise, and delight?  We will engage our senses and write about the shapes, textures, colors, and sounds of authentic joy.
  • 10:45 a.m.  Worship - Hope Center (Click here for the worship bulletin)
  • 12:00 p.m.    Noon Meal - Dining Hall
  • 1 p.m.   Bishop’s Time - Hope Center
  • 2:30 p.m. Free Time
    • Social activities availabel at camp and in the local area.
    • Dinner with participant groups or on your own in the area.
    • Sign-ups for both available in the Hope Center lobby.
  • 7:30 p.m.  Optional Activities - Lutherdale 
    • Campfire with camp song sing-a-long – Firepit by Hope Center
    • Games in Hope Center  
  • 8:30 p.m.    Night Prayer - Firepit by Hope Center 

Wednesday, September 20

  • 8:10 a.m.   Breakfast - Dining Hall  - For those staying overnight at camp
  • 9 a.m.   Presentation III - Hope Center
    • “The Well at the Crossroads: Where Deep Gladness Meets Deep Need” with Debie Thomas 
      • In this last session, we'll reflect on the wisdom of theologian Frederick Buechner, who wrote that “vocation is the place where our deep gladness meets the world's deep need.”  Where is the fertile middle space where our own deep gladness meets the world’s hunger?  What does it look like to serve others from this abundant space, this overflowing well?  To ground our vocation in both gladness and need? We will use a series of writing prompts to find this space within ourselves and allow it to become an ongoing source of renewal as we live into our vocations as God's children. 
  • 10:30 a.m.  Workshop - Hope Center
    • “Maximizing the ELW!” with Erik Olson
      • Examples include using the ELW to organize a hymn sing as pulpit supply, repurposing contents for alternate media (i.e. social media, meditation, bible study listening music, etc.) and DIY Cantata - an exercise in which everyone who attends leaves with their own personally arranged cantata. 
  • 11:40 – 12:30   Worship - Hope Center (Click here for the worship bulletin)

 

Guest Speakers
Ms. Debie Thomas

Debie Thomas is a writer and the Minister for Lifelong Formation at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Palo Alto, CA. She is the author of Into the Mess and Other Jesus Stories: Reflections on the Life of Christ, a collection of essays that explore the life and teachings of Jesus. She also is a columnist and contributing editor for The Christian Century. From 2014 to 2022, she was a staff writer for Journey with Jesus: A Weekly Webzine for the Global Church. 

Learn more about Debie Thomas
Guest Musician
Mr. Erik Olson

Erik Olson is currently the Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church in Morris, Illinois. He previously served as the Minister of Music at Faith Lutheran Church in Joliet, Illinois. He is the son of Pastor Chuck Olson, a retired pastor in our synod.