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DISCIPLES SEMINARY FOUNDATION - Supporting the formation of emerging theological leaders
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Thank you for your interest in Preparing for Sabbatical. Use the form below for registration. Please note that we will be sending out the Zoom link a few days before the workshop so keep an eye out in your inbox! Questions? Send us an email at info@dsf.edu.
A sabbatical can be a transformative season of rest, renewal, and discernment, but preparing for it takes intentional planning. On November 2 at 1:00 p.m. PT, DSF students and clergy are invited to join for Preparing for Sabbatical, a workshop designed to offer practical guidance for those considering or preparing for this important season.
The workshop will explore the Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Program, including who can apply, what the program funds, and how to navigate the application process. Participants will also receive practical guidance for preparing to step away from congregational leadership, including communicating with church leadership, preparing family and personal plans, establishing healthy boundaries, and helping a congregation understand the purpose and value of a sabbatical.
The conversation will also address preparing a congregation for a pastor’s absence and return, including incorporating sabbatical language into pastoral agreements, communicating the “why” of a sabbatical, sharing the sabbatical experience with the congregation, and finding a healthy rhythm for returning to pastoral leadership.
Most importantly, the workshop will create space to consider why sabbatical matters for clergy and how intentional boundaries before, during, and after a sabbatical can support healthy, sustainable pastoral leadership. This workshop is offered free through the DSF Collective. Workshop presenters: Rev. Alicia Speidel (DSF/PSR graduate, M.Div./2002), Rev. Dr. Marvin Lance Wiser (DSF/GTU graduate, Ph.D./2023), Rev. Jeanne Loveless (DSF/PSR graduate, M.Div./2003), Rev. Rebecca Littlejohn (DSF/PSR graduate, M.Div./2001), Rev. Dr. Leslie Carole Taylor (Lilly Endowment Clergy Grant recipient), Rev. Dr. Christy Newton (Executive Director, DSF)
About the Speakers:
Reverend Alicia Speidel (DSF/PSR graduate, M.Div./2002), has been serving at Hood River Valley Christian Church (HRVCC) in Hood River, Oregon since June 2015. A native Oregonian, Alicia is married to Geoff with two children, Kailey and Jackson, plus two cats, Yoda and Leia.
Rev. Dr. Marvin Lance Wiser (DSF/GTU graduate, Ph.D./2023) serves as Senior Minister and Executive Director of Eden United Church of Christ (EUCC) in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he leads a bilingual congregation rooted in belonging, justice, and community. As a teacher and pastor, Marvin’s work engages questions of ministry, ethnicity, and migration, while EUCC works at the intersection of direct service and advocacy through its Newcomer Navigation Center and the Eden Power Collective. In 2024, he and his congregation were recipients of the Lilly Endowment National Clergy Renewal Program grant.
Rev. Jeanne Loveless (DSF/PSR graduate, M.Div./2003) serves as Senior Minister & Teacher of United Church of Hayward, United Church of Christ (UCH). UCH sold their physical campus after the pandemic and chose to become a primarily online community. Today, the church welcomes online members from Alberta, Canada; Frome, UK; Arkansas; and North Carolina. UCH produces a growing weekly sermon podcast called "UCH Rebuild" on YouTube and Apple/Spotify that has around 500 regular listeners, including many seekers in red states looking for a progressive alternative to evangelicalism and white Christian nationalism. In 2025, Rev. Jeanne and UCH received the Lilly Clergy Renewal grant that allowed Rev. Jeanne to upgrade her camera and cultivate her photography skills as she traveled with her family in Greece and Türkiye. UCH experienced renewal by getting behind and in front of church cameras and producing a theologically progressive podcast with a slate of diverse preachers called "What Makes Your Heart (and God's Heart) Sing?" based on the Lilly theme.
Rev. Dr. Christy Newton is the Executive Director at DSF, an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and has served Disciples of Christ and United Church of Christ congregations in Arkansas and California for over 25 years. Most recently, from 2013-2023, she served as Senior Pastor of First Christian Church (DOC) of Vallejo, CA. Since 2011, she has also taught Social Ethics and the Practice of Ministry online for Lexington Theological Seminary. Her teaching credits also include work at Pacific School of Religion, San Francisco Theological Seminary, the Graduate Theological Union, Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Chapman University, and Yagumo Juko in Nagoya, Japan. She regularly leads retreats and teaches a variety of courses in the areas of social ethics, leadership formation, spirituality, globalization, and culture. She is energized by practical and public theologies that insist on hospitality, justice, and compassion, and she is relentlessly inspired to help individuals and communities find ways to sustain their prophetic voices in a difficult and polarized world. Dr. Newton earned her M.Div. in 2000 from Pacific School of Religion and her Ph.D. in 2011 from the Graduate Theological Union.
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Rev. Dr. Leslie Carole Taylor is the Senior Minister of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Concord, CA. Ordained in 1988, Pastor Leslie has served in many positions in the United Church of Christ, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), seminaries, and non-profit agencies. In 2023, Leslie graduated with a Certificate in the Art of Spiritual Direction from the University of Redlands Graduate School of Theology (formerly San Francisco Theological Seminary). She is a member of Spiritual Directors International (SDI), a global community of spiritual companions and spiritual directors, and Spiritual Directors of Color.
Rev. Rebecca Littlejohn (DSF/PSR graduate, M.Div./2001) is the pastor of Vista La Mesa Christian Church in East San Diego County, California. She has served two congregations in 25 years in ministry and has had 2 and two halves sabbaticals in that time. The first, in 2008, was supported by a Lilly grant and convinced her of the need for ensuring all pastors have financial support for regular sabbaticals. In addition to her work with her congregation, Rebecca is active with various justice issues including Palestinian human rights and the current immigration enforcement crisis.