2024-25
Leadership Series
"Cultivating Connections in a
Fragmented World"
The Leadership Series is an opportunity for leaders across professions (pastors, religious leaders, educators, administrators, and health professionals) to enrich and expand their ability to apply principles of systems thinking to self, family, and organizations. The year is composed of seminars that promote in-depth thinking throught the lens of Bowen Family Systems Theory. The seminar includes plenary presentations, application of systems theory to workplace and family, and small group coaching. Practical application of theory through working with a coach for an extended period of time is at the heart of systems thinking.
Registration Now Open!
On this page:
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2024-25 Leadership Series Application Process
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Online Seminar Dates and Information
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In-Person Seminar Dates and Information
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Monthly Topics
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Required Readings
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Facilitators
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Costs
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Details
2024-25 Leadership Series Application Process
We invite all participants to do some thinking prior to the start of the program by completing an application and preparing a family diagram of three generations. The application is a series of questions to prepare you for the perspective and process of the program. Resources for completing the family diagram are available. For "new" applicants, a conversation with one of the group consultation facilitators will follow the receipt of your application.
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Please download and complete the correct application, and submit it along with your three generation family diagram to office@healthycongregations.com
by Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
A non-refundable deposit of $50 that will be credited towards your registration cost is due at the time of application.
Application for NEW participants (or those last participating prior to 2021).
Application for CONTINUING participants.
How to Build a Family Diagram
Guidelines for the Family Diagram
ONLINE SEMINAR SERIES
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SCHEDULE (1:00 - 4:30 p.m. Eastern)
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1:00- 2:30 p.m.: Broadening perspective through the lens of systems theory (Part 1)
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2:30 - 3:00 p.m.: Break
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3:00am - 4:30 p.m.: Broadening perspective through the lens of systems theory (Part 2)
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Online coaching groups will be scheduled at another time by the consultation group during the first session.
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Online participants will receive a link to watch the Bowen Video presentation at their convenience.
DATES
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​Thursday, September 19, 2024 (Orientation)​
Thursday, October 17, 2024
Thursday, November 21, 2024
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Thursday, February 20, 2025
Thursday, March 20, 2025
Thursday, April 24, 2025
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Monday, May 19, 2025: Special Event & Leadership Series Capstone Event​
Location
Online via Zoom
IN-PERSON SEMINAR SERIES
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SCHEDULE (8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Eastern)
8:30- 10:00 a.m.: Broadening perspective through the lens of systems theory (Part 1)
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10:00 - 10:30 a.m.: Break
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10:30 - 12:00 p.m.: Broadening perspective through the lens of systems theory (Part 2)
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12:00 - 12:30 p.m.: Lunch
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12:30 - 1:30 p.m.: Bowen video presentation
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1:30 - 2:30 p.m.: Small Group Coaching - Workplace application
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2:30 - 3:00 p.m.: Break
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3:00 - 4:30 p.m.: Small Group Coaching - Family of Origin (FOO) group
Location
Onsite at the Healthy Congregations Office
(located inside All Shepherds Lutheran Church)
6580 Columbus Pike
Lewis Center, OH 43035​
DATES
​Friday, September 20, 2024 (Orientation)
Friday, October 18, 2024
Friday, November 22, 2024
Friday, January 17, 2025
Friday, February 20, 2025
Friday, March 21, 2025
Friday, April 25, 2025
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Monday, May 19, 2025: Special Event & Leadership Series Capstone Event​
MONTHLY TOPICS
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September 19/20, 2024: "Orientation"
Assignments and additional information coming soon...​
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October 17/18, 2024: "Handling Hard Better: Managing Life’s Tribulations" Anthony J. Wilgus
Kara Lawson, the women’s basketball coach at Duke, challenged her players in a brief pep talk. Stating that things in life do NOT get easier, Coach Lawson outlined the player’s task as learning how to ‘handle hard better.’ This mantra, however, runs counter to the flurry of grievances articulated by increasingly polarized groups in this society.
How does Bowen theory address the many unfairnesses and inequities that occur to humans, often through no fault of their own? Participants will highlight not only the grievances in their own lives but explore the ways in which they managed self through life’s tribulations, a legacy that all humans have inherited (Bowen).
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​November 21/22, 2024: "Who’s fusing who??" Jennifer Long
One of the factors that influences functioning is fusion… but what does it actually mean? How does fusion develop? How does fusion affect and how is it affected by triangles? How does one get a handle on fusion and what difference does it make? Is it just a human thing?
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This presentation will seek to explore fusion and how it governs relationships both in the family and in the church.​
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December - No Meeting
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January 16/17, 2025: "The Good Life and Bowen Theory" Anthony J. Wilgus
Clergy, psychologists, and laity, among others, have frequently pondered the question, “What constitutes a good life?” Professional success? Reproduction? Resource acquisition? Wisdom accrued over time? Human curiosity begs these questions and more.
In the longest running study of human functioning, Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz describe very specific components of a good life. Their conclusions are simple and striking, substantiating some of the tenets of Bowen theory. Participants will examine the research and apply their own thinking and experience to an understanding of the good life, be it from their faith communities, their families, or their friendship circles.​
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February 19/20, 2025: "What do you expect?" Dana Runestad
How do our expectations for others become factors that contribute to polarization and distance? What expectations might be reasonable and realistic? How can Natural Systems Theory, the natural world and neuroscience help inform our thinking? How can managing my expectations for others help me manage myself in conflict?
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What about my expectations for myself? Where do those come from? Are they reasonable and realistic? How can learning to manage expectations help cultivate connections in a fragmented world?
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March 20/21, 2025: "Thinking Systems, Observing Sabbath" Emlyn Ott
Observing Sabbath (Shabbat) originates in the biblical commandment, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."
In a world of change and upheaval, time is needed to change rhythm, focus, and attentiveness. Systems are complex, and sabbath is more than rest, renewal, and self-care. It is more than a day. What does a wider view on “observing sabbath” mean for busy people? Disciplines for thinking systems and exploring a deeper meaning for sabbath-keeping will be examined, including an overview of the purpose and possibilities for sabbaticals for ministry leaders.
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April 24/25, 2025: "Cultivating Authentic Connections in Communities of Faith: Integrity And Unity" Dana Runestad
“This congregation is my family,” we often hear. And many find their integrity and authenticity compromised in such “families” of faith. This can be an underlying factor in the rise of “nones” and SBNRs (Spiritual But Not Religious). For good and ill, congregations are often bastions where togetherness forces overpower the instincts for individuality. During anxious times, says Bowen Family Systems Theory, togetherness forces become even stronger. And yet as more churches close and merge, we see more and more “Unity” Churches dotting our landscapes.
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What is the interplay between unity and integrity like in your faith community? What role does faith formation play? How might Bowen Theory inform and guide cultivating such a climate? What role might organizational structures, processes and systems play in helping to ease emotional pressure toward togetherness? How can leaders nurture integrity and unity?​
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Monday, May 19, 2025
Special Event and Leadership Series Capstone - details forthcoming
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REQUIRED READING​
These books are essential to the Leadership Series:
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Bowen, Murray (1978). Family Therapy in Clinical Practice. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson. (Read Chapter 16, Theory in the Practice of Psycotherapy, for Orientation; Other chapters for other presentations - to be announced)
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Creech, R. Robert (2019). Family Systems and Congregational Life: A Map for Ministry. Grad Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing. (Read Part 1 for Orientation)
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Harrison, Victoria (2018). The Family Diagram and Family Research: An Illustrated Guide to Tools for Working on Differentiation of Self in One's Family. Houston, TX: Center for the Study of Natural Systems and the Family.
- This book can be ordered from the Center for the Study of Natural Systems and the Family.
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Kerr, Michael (2019). Bowen Theory's Secrets: Revealing The Hidden Life of Families. New York, NY: W.W. Nortone​
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Highly Recommended Readings:
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Kerr, M. & Bowen, M. (1988). Family Evaluation: The Role of the Family as an Emotional Unit that Governs Individual Behavior and Development. New York, NY: W.W. Norton.
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Laymon, B. (2023). All the Families of the Earth: Therapists in Bible Times. Eugene, OR: Resource Publications. (Healthy Congregations Member Network 2024 Book of the Year).
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Additional readings will be added before and after sessions throughout the year, and will be provided.
SEMINAR SERIES FACILITATORS
Emlyn Ott is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and has served as a parish pastor, campus minister, pastoral counselor, leader, and seminary professor for over 25 years. She was named CEO and Director of Healthy Congregations, Inc. in 2005. She holds a Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, a Doctor of Ministry from Phillips Theological Seminary, and is a Clinical Fellow in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. She has participated for nine years in postgraduate work at the Center for Family Process and the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family and is currently part of Research Group at the Bowen Center.
Anthony J. (Tony) Wilgus, faculty emeritus from the University of Findlay, taught
social work for 28 years subsequent to a 10-year stint as a clinical social worker
and administrator. After graduate school at the University of Michigan, he entered
the post-graduate training program at the Georgetown Family Center from 1979-
1981. Since that time, he has attended the annual symposia, presented numerous
papers, and published manuscripts on a wide range of topics rooted in the family
theory originated by Dr. Murray Bowen.
Currently, he resides in Oberlin, OH with his wife, Rev. Beth Marshall. He
occupies the ‘next chapter of his life’ by serving as a facilitator for the Leadership
Series of Healthy Congregations, Inc., an organization dedicated to training clergy
in family theory. Cherishing his roles as a father of 3 lovely daughters and
stepfather to a wonderful son and daughter, he now embraces the joys of
grandparenthood to nine active youngsters ranging in age from newborn to 18, the
latest addition arriving in May 2024. Gardening, biking, reading voraciously, and
listening to the loons on a Canadian lake bring much joy as he endeavors to lead a
life of contemplation in action.
Dana Runestad has been a pastor in the Southeast Michigan Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America since 1986, where she has served in a variety of congregations and staff positions. She's a youngest sister of three brothers and the daughter of a pastor and a nurse. After relying on every Peter Steinke book to get her through thirty years of parish ministry, she took a deeper dive into Natural Systems Theory in 2015 with 3 years in the post-graduate program at the Bowen Center in Washington D.C. From 2018-2023 she participated in their Faith Leaders Seminar. She's been in a book club for over 20 years and enjoys hiking and good TV with her husband of forty years, Barry Rabe. (Dana rhymes with banana.) They have two grown sons.
Jennifer Long is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, a trained interim minister (IMN) and currently serves an ELCA congregation in the southern tier of New York. She graduated from the University of Hartford (1992) and Eden Theological Seminary (1996). She has participated in a variety of programs that engage Bowen Theory including five years in the Postgraduate Program at the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family (2014-2019). In almost 30 years of ministry, she has served in staff, solo, and interim roles as well as a consultant in church conflict.
Wife, mother of two, oldest sister of four, and daughter of an only son and middle daughter, she has a particular interest in points of connection between Bowen Family System Theory and spirituality, religious practice and church conflict.
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COST ​
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Tuituion for Online and In-Person participants is the same.
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The $50 non-refundable Application Deposit will be credited toward your registration costs.
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If using the papyment plan option, a deposit of $200 is required at registration. The balance of the fee is due prior to the start of the first session. (A September and January payment option is available.)
RATES
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Early Bird Registration (Before August 1, 2024): $1,350 per person (includes $50 application fee)
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Individual Registration (Beginning August 1, 2024): $1,500 per person (includes $50 application fee)
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Group Discount Rate*: $1,300 per person (includes $50 application fee per person)
*"Group Discount" applies to three or more individuals from the same organization or household
Payment Plan Option:
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$50 application fee & $200 Registration Fee due at time of registration
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$625 payment due by September 12, 2024
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$625 payment due by January 9, 2025
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DETAILS​
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Registration includes full participation in the eight month program as well as access to a systems coach in small group sessions.
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Registration includes a free 1-year membership in the Healthy Congregations Member Network, a free book of the year, and access to the Members Area of the website (a $105 value).
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Registration includes participation in the May 2025 Special Event and Leadership Series Capstone.
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Individual coaching (with one’s small group coach) is available at a reduced rate.
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No reimbursement or credit for missed sessions.
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The registration cost is refundable (less the Application Deposit) until two weeks prior to the first seminar.