Chicago Presbytery Leadership Conference 2025

Presented by Rev. Doug Bradshaw, Executive Director, Facing Forward to End Homelessness

You and your congregation can empower someone to end their experience of homelessness! This workshop will help participants explore and consider best practices for responding to homelessness in your community, offering you guiding values that will support and respect you, the congregation, and those you seek to serve. Come learn from the 40 years of practice and innovation by Facing Forward to End Homelessness and leave better equipped to shape conversation and action in the congregation.

Presented by Joyce Perry, facilitator for Anti-Racism & Equity (FARE)

This workshop will introduce a framework and develop a shared understanding of white supremacy before exploring the legacy of Christianity and its role in helping to create and promote white supremacy while protecting a system that is oppressive and does not promote racial equality or equity.

Presented by Joyce Perry, facilitator for Anti-Racism & Equity (FARE)

We will continue our discussion from the previous session and explore the power arrangements, which sustain and maintain white supremacy and white racial superiority; the ways in which both whites and people of color have been socialized into this system of oppression. Whose centered? Whose in the borderlands?

Presented by Cindy Shepherd, teaching elder member of the Presbytery of Southeastern Illinois and Green Team Director for Faith in Place

People of faith can be powerful voices for building healthier communities. Faith in Place and Faith in Place Action Fund work hand in hand to empower people of faith to become involved in policy decisions that shape our common life. This workshop will teach attendees how (and why!) to advocate with their representatives and support just climate solutions. We’ll also be gathering participants’ feedback on legislation currently before Illinois decision makers, using a model called “Listen, Lead, Share!” Come find your voice and get comfortable using it.

Presented by Cindy Shepherd, teaching elder member of the Presbytery of Southeastern Illinois and Green Team Director for Faith in Place

Every Green Team is unique! Come find out how to get one off the ground in your faith community! Green Teams meet regularly to connect a faith community’s spiritual practices and traditions with solutions for climate change and other environmental justice issues. Green Teams educate their members, motivate their faith community to incorporate environmental consciousness into all activities, and celebrate accomplishments, while learning and having fun together. We’ll offer resources, encouragement and next steps to get your Green Team Launched right!

Presented by DeEtte Decker, Vision Integration & Constituent Services Manager for the PC(USA)

Rooted in the theme of bringing wholeness, or shalom, to a messy world, this workshop integrates the core principles of the Matthew 25 movement and the seven Vital Conditions for Wellbeing to envision communities where life flourishes as God intended. Participants will explore the Matthew 25 priorities of Congregational Vitality, Systemic Poverty, and Structural Racism through the lens of shalom — a state of right relationships, justice, and restoration. Through interactive activities, discussions, and case studies, this workshop inspires participants to engage in the Matthew 25 movement’s invitation to create beloved communities that reflect God’s vision of equity, connection, and completeness. Together, we will map actionable steps toward cultivating thriving, compassionate, and whole communities.

Presented by DeEtte Decker, Vision Integration & Constituent Services Manager for the PC(USA)

Join us for an inspiring and interactive workshop as we explore how partnerships are central to the transformative work of Matthew 25. Rooted in the biblical vision of shalom – wholeness, peace, and right relationships – this session will highlight how cultivating meaningful partnerships can dismantle structural racism, eradicate systemic poverty, and nurture congregational vitality.

Through dynamic discussions, role-playing scenarios, and real-life examples, we’ll unpack five essential values – curiosity, courage, care, compassion, and connection – that drive impactful and sustainable relationships. Learn practical tools to strengthen existing collaborations, heal broken connections, and spark new partnerships that reflect God’s justice, love, and vision of wholeness.

Leave equipped with actionable strategies to inspire collective action, foster beloved communities, and embody the fullness of God’s kingdom. Together, let’s build relationships that bring shalom to life in our ministries and beyond!

Presented by Ken Hockenberry, Stated Clerk and Business Manager of the Presbytery of Chicago

This session will address key aspects of church leadership, offering practical theology and polity guidance for ruling elders, deacons, clerks of session, and other church leaders. The proposed structure includes 30 minutes of general instruction, followed by 30 minutes in three breakout groups (deacons, elders, and clerks), and concluding with 20 minutes for questions.

Presented by Traci Smith, Program Director for Family Faith Every Day

Many of our congregations remember a time when Sunday school rooms were overflowing, Vacation Bible School attendance had to be capped, and nurseries were full of babies. For most congregations, this is no longer. Many of our congregations have few, if any, youth and children. Why is this, and what are we called to do to change it? This workshop will feature practical ideas for congregations looking to provide research-based and healthy faith formation opportunities whether there is one child or fifty children in the sanctuary on a Sunday morning.

Presented by Kenneth Groenewold, ruling elder at Church of the Cross, and Fred Veenbaas, ruling elder at Community Presbyterian Church of Clarendon Hills

This workshop will explore the biblical basis for mission and provide an in-depth look at the mechanisms for mission within the Chicago Presbytery. Participants will learn about Mission Grants available to churches needing financial assistance for their mission endeavors, including examples of successful grants and a step-by-step walkthrough of a typical grant application process, highlighting key elements the Mission Committee evaluates. Additionally, the workshop will showcase inspiring examples of what other churches in the presbytery are doing, offer guidance on exploring church funding opportunities, and provide practical tools for managing and recruiting volunteers. Some boundary training for mission efforts will also be included.

Presented by Samuel Son, Manager of Professional Development and DEI at Interim Unified Agency of the PC(USA)

Moses was afraid to do God’s work because he was afraid of “public speaking.” So, God provided him a professional development plan: Aaron as his speech coach. For the monumental work of freeing abused laborers, a major disruption of Egypt’s economic system, Moses knew that calling actually wasn’t enough. Moses required a practical plan to upskill. This workshop will provide theological framework and practical tips on identifying skills needed and creating a learning plan to upskill for the holy disruptive work.

Presented by Jennifer Parks, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Chicago

This workshop will show how the presbytery’s mission is aligned with Habitat for Humanity’s vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. There will be an overview of Habitat for Humanity Chicago’s focus neighborhoods and a discussion about how this neighborhood approach tackles systemic poverty and structural racism. Participants will learn how to find and volunteer for their local Habitat for Humanity organization.

Presented by Michael Kirby, senior pastor at Northminister Presbyterian Church

How do we live our Christian faith and identity or speak about our faith and the way it shapes our social and political ideologies without resorting to Christian Nationalism? Is there a Presbyterian way to be a citizen, regardless of your particular ideology? What does our faith tell us about how to disagree without resorting to mutual condemnation? Join us for a lively discussion on these timely topics.

Presented by Jennifer Parks, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Chicago

This workshop will cover Habitat for Humanity Chicago’s four impact areas and how they address the neighborhood disinvestment that has resulted from decades of racist practices. There will be a discussion about Habitat for Humanity Chicago’s core programs and how they create a more just Chicago.

Presented by Ken Hockenberry, Stated Clerk and Business Manager of the Presbytery of Chicago

This workshop will assist Clerks of Session and church staff members responsible for Session Records, Minutes, and Rolls — fulfilling the General Administrative Review guidance from the Book of Order (G-3-0108a). Clerks are asked to bring their Minutes Book(s) and Church Registers.