The Weekly Online Gathering for ELCA Leaders continues every Wednesday, 1 pm Central, 11am MST. Links to the meeting at elcacoaching.org as well as archives.

On August 5, we are thrilled to have Rev. Robin McCullough-Bade and Rev. Brenda K. Smith with us in "Naming our Laments and Recognizing our Resiliency."

Rev. Robin McCullough-Bade currently serves as the Executive Director of the Interfaith Federation of Greater Baton Rouge which cultivates unity, justice, and peace. As an ELCA pastor, she has served Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Episcopal churches in Ohio, Texas, and Louisiana. She and her husband, the late Rev. John McCullough Bade, co-authored Our Mission: Discovering God's Call to Us, as well as two ELCA online lectionary bible studies: Daily Discipleship (on the gospel readings) and Daily Faith Practices (on the second lesson). Her recent ELCA series Five Gifts of Discipleship includes a Personal Inventory, Conversations: Race Relations and NEW Resiliency resources designed for this time of lament. (The resiliency resources are scheduled to be posted on the ELCA Faith Practices webpage soon.) In her spare time, Rev. McCullough-Bade enjoys playing tennis, hiking, and traveling.

Rev. Brenda K. Smith is Program Director for Faith Practices in the ELCA. In this role, she works with other faith formation leaders, both lay and clergy, to create a culture of discipleship in the ELCA. Rev. Smith and another staff member, Rev. Dwight DuBois, coordinate the Book of Faith ministry of the ELCA, a ministry that has the goal that individuals and congregations will be intentional about opening the Bible and having conversations about the transformative power of the word of God. She also convenes the ELCA’s Spiritual Renewal Team that offers healing and prayer services, Lutheran revivals, and workshops on various topics. Prior to her current position, Rev. Smith was pastor of New Hope Lutheran Church in Jamaica, New York, for 13 years. Before answering God’s call to ministry, she was a pediatric nurse and taught pediatric nursing at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. She attended New York University, where she received both her B.S. and M.A. in nursing. She received her Master of Divinity degree from Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. In her spare time, Rev. Smith enjoys spending time with family and friends, watching movies, reading, and listening to Motown classics, especially any songs by the Temptations. 

Following the first hour this week, those that desire may stay on the call for an additional time of casual conversation around the topic with our presenters, ending with a time of prayer.