Bishop's Colloquy
for Pastors and Deacons
Sunday, March 15 - Monday, March 16
Boundaries Workshop Tuesday, March 17
Faithfulness, Diversity,
& the Challenge of Change
Keynote Speaker:
The Rev. Lenny Duncan
Lenny Duncan (he/him), author of Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the US , is a follower of Jesus Christ and is in a passionate love affair with grace. Lenny spent most of his teens homeless after leaving home at age 13. He has spent time in all 48 contiguous states, sleeping by the side of the highway or in penthouses along the way. He has been a prisoner of war in the so-called war on drugs. After systemic oppression or drugs didn't kill him, Lenny found himself in a strange place: the church. 

Lenny has been everything from high school drop out, drug dealer, sex worker, street corner poet, hitchhiker, dharma bum, small town drifter, seminarian, political activists, father, pastor, lover, public theologian, and writer. Now he parties dead sober and thrives in NYC. 

In March 2018 the Metro New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America issued Lenny a call to serve the people of Jehu's Table as a mission developer (church planter). He is also a frequent voice at the intersection where the cries of the oppressed meet the Church. He pays special attention to Black Liberation movements in his work, but lifts up the many intersections with other marginalized peoples as well. Lenny is a queer pastor and serves as Chaplain to the board of Reconciling Works. believes that the reason the ELCA has remained so white is a theological problem, not a sociological one. He holds a Master of Divinity from United Lutheran Seminary.
Workshop Leader:
Ravi Verma
Ravi Verma is a spiritual director and has worked professionally with churches and lay leaders for over twenty-five years. Ravi’s passion is to work with individuals and groups to build bridges between parts of ourselves, with others and the cosmos based on our connection to the Divine. Ravi, born in India, now teaches at Stillpoint, and works with corporations, retreat centers, and non-profits on issues of spiritual development.  Ravi is a current member of the coordinating Council of Spiritual Directors International, the first global learning network of spiritual directors in history.

Stillpoint is an open, inclusive community that exists to form deeply grounded spiritual directors, and to live together in a contemplative life of faith, spiritual practice, and action.
Schedule of Colloquy Events
All events will take place at the Lutheran Center in Glendale
The registration fee of $99 includes the optional Boundaries Workshop on Tuesday, March 17

Lodging is not included. Click here for a list of area hotels .

Sunday, March 15

5:00 p.m. | Check-in
6:00 p.m. | Keynote: The Rev. Lenny Duncan
7:30 p.m. | Dinner

Monday, March 16

8:30 a.m. | Continental Breakfast & Registration
9:30 a.m. | Morning Prayers
10:00 a.m. | Keynote: The Rev. Lenny Duncan
11:15 a.m. | Discussion
Noon | Lunch
1:00 p.m. | Workshop: Ravi Verma
2:00 p.m. | Breakout Groups
3:00 p.m. | Chrism Mass with Renewal of Vows & Blessing of Anointing Oils
5:00 p.m. | Dinner
6:00 p.m. | Prayer for Travel & Rest (Fellowship following)

Tuesday, March 17

10:00 a.m. | Conference Deans' Meeting with Bishop Erwin
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. | Boundaries Workshop with The Rev, Terry Tuvey Allen (Lunch included)

Southwest California Synod of the ELCA| (818) 507-9591| news@socalsynod.org| www.socalsynod.org