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Leadership Academy Brochure & Registration Form

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SCHEDULE:

North Coast District United Methodist Church

Leadership Academy 2006

All aboard the Mission Express with connections to all 69 local churches, or mission stations, in the North Coast District. They are small, medium and large; they are urban, suburban and rural; they are old and new; they are traditional, blended and contemporary; they are rich and poor; yet, they all are connected. Think of each church as a “Mission Outpost,” where we can sow and reap blessings with and for one another.

A new, or revived, vision is being brought before us in the East Ohio Conference by Bishop John Hopkins. Think of the bishop, our keynote speaker, as the spiritual engineer of our mission express. Attending North Coast’s Leadership Academy will offer you the advantage of understanding the work we have ahead of us. Any of the 32 workshops we offer to you will help to “make the vision plain.” You have the opportunity to choose up to three, or four if you skip lunch, workshops.

We all are called to be disciples and we’re hoping the things you learn and the people you meet will help you get on board, make all the right connections and get on the right track. Your ticket should read, Destination: Stronger Discipleship. Whistle stops: Mission Possible, Prayer, Unity, Promise, Spirit, Peace, Justice, Faith, Hope, Love, and Freedom.

Of necessity, our mission is multi-faceted. We are sent out to make connections among our own mission stations; in giving and receiving help from our own, we are helping ourselves; in helping ourselves, we are helping others; in helping others, we are modeling Christ and sharing our faith; in modeling Christ and sharing our faith we are helping God.

We must reach out to one another and to our neighbors in the spirit of discipleship— with love and kindness, and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit—remembering that we may be the only Jesus some folks ever know. All aboard!

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Bishop John L. Hopkins

Bishop Hopkins was born December 1, 1945, in Montgomery, Alabama. His childhood was spent in Montgomery, Houston, Atlanta and Ft. Wayne. After marrying Elaine M. Smithson in 1964, he attended Indiana University, receiving a B.A. with Honors in Psychology in 1969. He graduated from Yale Divinity School in 1971, and was selected for the two-year Wheelock Residency at the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College where he practiced hospital, campus and parish ministry. During this residency, he served as the Protestant Chaplain at Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital. He was ordained in the North Indiana Conference as deacon in 1972, and elder in 1975.

After serving a two-point charge in LaPorte, Indiana, John was appointed as campus minister and Wesley Foundation Director at Ball State University. In 1983, he became Director of the Council on Ministries in North Indiana. In 1989, he was appointed in South Indiana as Senior Pastor at The Methodist Temple in Evansville. He was elected to the episcopacy in July, 1996, at the North Central Jurisdictional Conference and assigned to the Minnesota Area. He served on the General Council on Ministries and the Committee for the Advance for Christ and His Church.

John was instrumental in the formation of Operation Classroom in Sierra Leone and Liberia. He developed a video study course for this mission project in 1990. His mission travel has also included Angola, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Korea, China, Japan and Mexico. He enjoys tennis, skiing, guitar and computers.

Hopkins officially began his assignment as resident bishop to the East Ohio Area on September 1, 2004. He served the Minnesota Area the previous eight years after being elected to the episcopacy in 1996. Bishop Hopkins is presently the Chair of The Connectional Table and a member of the Board of the United Methodist Publishing House.

Elaine Hopkins, the Bishop's wife, holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in English and a Master of Arts Degree in Public Relations. She has served as Director of Communications and Marketing for the YMCA of Muncie, Indiana, Internal Education Consultant for the St. Joseph Medical Center in Fort Wayne, and Director of Management Education for the University of Evansville. Currently Mrs. Hopkins leads a four person management consulting and training group, Hopkins Associates, that specializes in workforce-wide quality change management for business, healthcare and industry.

The Hopkins are the parents of three adult children: Nathan, Zachary, and Benjamin, and have one granddaughter, Lauren.

DIRECTIONS:

Lakewood United Methodist Church

From the east: Take I90 west to Warren Rd. exit. Turn right. Cross Madison & Hilliard/Franklin to Detroit. Turn left. Church is seven blocks on right.

From the northeast: Take Shoreway to Lake Ave. to Summit. Turn left. Cross tracks and church will be on your right.

From the south: Take I71 north. Exit at West 150th St. Turn left. This becomes Warren Rd. Stay on Warren to Detroit. Turn left. Church is seven blocks on right.

From the west: Take I90 east to Lakewood McKinley Exit. Turn left. Cross Hilliard & Madison to Detroit. Turn right. Church will be on your left.

Alt.: Take Lake Rd. east to Clifton Blvd. in Lakewood. Turn right on Summit Ave. Cross tracks. Church is on the right. Or: Take Detroit Rd. to Detroit Ave. to Summit.

Click here for Workshop Descriptions

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