Feedback from the Gammon Theological Seminary 139th Founders Day, Brand New Day “Uncharted” is in!

Comments from both in-person and online attendees revealed that our conference was a tremendous success and a blessing to many.

The Homecoming Celebration kickoff event on Monday, December 5th, was held at the Central United Methodist Church. Trustees, Board members, students, alumni, and friends gathered from near and far under the tent to enjoy good food, fellowship, fun, and dancing. Rain did not dampen our spirits.

Everyone was excited to be back together in person, especially since all the Gammon classes met online for the semester.

On Tuesday, when the church doors opened at Impact UMC, a continental breakfast allowed time to meet and greet those we hadn’t seen in years, and then the anointed service began.

Bishop Jonathan Holston brings warm greetings to our in-person celebration of Founders Day.

The Gammon Student Praise and Worship team, comprised of current students and alums, blessed us mightily and prepared our hearts to receive the preached Word.

Our scripture for Founders Day Services was Isaiah 43:18-19, “Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do not you perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

The Reverend Dr. Byron Thomas preached and gave practicality to our theme, a Brand-New Day, “Uncharted.” Dr. Thomas said in his message, “if the Church is going to survive, we have to come to terms with the possibility that we will have to break things up. We can’t continue to operate the same way.”

At the end of worship, all were invited to the altar for prayer as they began thinking about moving forward into “uncharted” territory with their congregations. There were young and seasoned pastors who came with their hands up and heads down for prayer. You could feel the excitement and the emotions in the sanctuary.

In line with Dr. Thomas’ words of wisdom, Elaine Robinson Beattie, Lay member and First Lady of Hartford UMC, taught a workshop entitled, “Leading Differently”. She encouraged us to change our mindset and think about inclusive leadership.

Attendees discussed establishing intergenerational leadership teams and the importance of instituting leadership team co-chairs. This is a way to develop intentional mentorship relationships and a strategy for leadership succession planning.

This way, our younger leaders are guided into places of leadership with wisdom and institutional knowledge from our more seasoned leaders. This creates a succession pipeline and addresses leadership burnout or early departures from ministry.

The Rev. Dr. Quincy Brown taught a workshop entitled “The Discipleship Path”. Using the membership vows as goals, he discussed how important it is to work through the five connect points of church engagement to develop a discipleship plan.

He also detailed the five areas where churches can guide their people on discipleship paths.

Worship leads to Presence, Serve (outreach) leads to Service, Grow (faith formation) leads to Prayers, Give (stewardship) leads to Gifts, and Impact (evangelism) leads to Witness.

Rev. Brian Tillman, the Conference Director of Inclusion and Advocacy, taught a workshop on Racial Healing and Reconciliation. He introduced his racial healing framework and walked us through the process of healing and reconciliation.

Rev. Tillman defines racial healing as “a process that leads to the wounds of racism being healed and a more just relationship being established between those who historically have endured the injustice and the expression and those who have perpetuated it.”

Our younger clergy were impacted and given tools, a model, and language to facilitate these much-needed discussions and work in their personal ministry contexts.

We were encouraged to consider learning more by joining the next session of the Racial Justice & Healing Academy that begins in January. You can visit the website for more information.

During the Alumni Lunch Meeting, Dean Lewis challenged everyone to “invest” in Gammon’s Brand New Day.

The Ebony Exploration demonstrated the phenomenal potential to resource and impact young adult leaders and mentors on a grander scale. Ebony Exploration was led by Rev. Nathalie Nelson Parker. They introduced a more integrated approach to ministry, expounding on holistic leadership development, guided theological exploration, and equipping leaders with thoughtful ways to practice ministry within the United Methodist Church.

Ebony Exploration impacts the capacity of Gammon by engaging young adult leaders. Many young adults are now discerning the next faithful steps and consider Gammon a place for theological exploration.

The Founders Day dinner was another successful and well-attended event.

The night’s highlight was the newly established Icon Award given to Rev. Dr. Walter L. Kimbrough, the grand statesman Gammon. Our speaker for the occasion was the honorable Judge Sonja Natasha Brown, a proud member of Central UMC. Judge Brown currently serves as a full-time judge on the Cobb County Magistrate Court.

We launched our final day with the Thirkield Jones Lecture with Rev. Dr. Shively Smith, Assistant Professor of New Testament at Boston University School of Theology. Dr. Smith talked about her latest research and publication soon to be available to the public.

The research Lecture: What is in a Name? Resourcing the Founders of African American Women’s Literature to Interpret 2 Peter. The comments we received from her lecture were “powerful, challenging, and convicting.”

Our time together ended on Wednesday with a powerful, prophetic time of worship, praise, Word, and prayer. Bishop Sharma D. Lewis blessed us and encouraged us to be a part of the change.

Bishop Lewis said, “God is moving us into unchartered waters. God is up to something at Gammon Theological Seminary. There is a new energy. God is moving us to stop playing church and be the church who are committed to follow Jesus Christ. We need to change our focus. We must stop looking backward. It is time to clarify our focus and commit.”

What a great way to come back together in person and to be blessed with a great 139th Founders Day! To God Be the Glory! We pray that you will join us next year as we celebrate our 140th Founders Day.