Date: Mar. 31 - April 2, 2008
Location: Eden Campus - S. D. Press Education Center

Eden graduates of 2003-2007 are invited back to Eden for Herbster 2008. The Herbster Event gives recent graduates a chance to reflect on their vocation and experience in ministry, to gain insight and to be nurtured by one another and the Gospel.

This year’s event will be held in conjunction with Spring Convocation 2008.

Note: Herbster participants will register here for the Herbster Event. You will need to register separately for Spring Convocation, but will receive a discount on your registration fee.

Featuring
Anthony B. Robinson

Topic: “How the Class No One Wanted to Take in Seminary Became So Important: Church Governance, Organization and Leadership in a New Time”

Tony Robinson is a Northwesterner by birth and at heart. He was born in Oregon, but spent his formative years in Washington, DC. Today he lives in Seattle. His wife, Linda Jambor Robinson, is principal of Bryant Elementary School in Seattle. Their children are Joe, Nick and Laura.

He is a graduate of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. He holds an M.A. in European Cultural and Intellectual History from the University of Oregon, and a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York. He has done post-graduate studies at Harvard Divinity School as a recipient of a Merill Fellowship.

Tony has served four congregations, in both rural and urban settings. He has served small and large congregations, and churches that are multi-cultural and multi-racial, as well as primarily euro-American. In 2004, he completed 14 years of ministry at Plymouth Congregational Church (UCC) in Seattle, Washington.

During his ministry, Tony has been active in interfaith dialogue, refugee resettlement, ministry for persons and families experiencing mental illness, and ministries in low-income housing. He led Plymouth’s partnership with Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Seattle, and Plymouth’s relationship with Iglesia Morava in Nicaragua.

Tony’s present ministry is multi-faceted. He travels throughout the nation speaking, teaching, preaching and working with congregations and church leaders on congregational renewal and transformation. Tony is the author of eight books including the best-selling Transforming Congregational Culture; a recent collection of essays, Common Grace: How to Be a Person and Other Spiritual Matters; and Leadership for Vital Congregations. He writes regular op-ed columns for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and articles for magazines and journals, including The Christian Century. He consults with congregations on planning, and keynotes conferences and retreats. He teaches in Seattle. He is the president of a new program of leadership education and formation, The Columbia Leadership Network, which is based in Seattle.

Schedule:

3pm Registration
3:30pm Gathering
4-5:30pm Lecture and Response
6pm Reception
6:30pm Herbster Dinner with faculty speaker

Tuesday, April 1
Spring Convocation begins - See Convocation page for details
Herbster participants pay discounted $45 registration fee; all meal fees apply on Tuesday and Wednesday
3:30-5pm Herbster panel (open to all)
6pm Convocation Banquet ($25)

Wednesday, April 2
Spring Convocation
Herbster Dinner - Herbster participants join other five-year graduates for a reunion dinner. ($25)

The Herbster Event at Eden Theological Seminary honors the memory and ministry of Ben Mohr Herbster, longtime parish minister and first president of the United Church of Christ, 1961-1969. It is funded by the proceeds of the Ben Mohr Herbster Endowment Fund established by his wife, the late Elizabeth Beam Herbster, and his family. As a result of their generosity, Eden grads of ‘02 - ‘06, their spouses or partners, and families are guests of the Seminary.

Herbster 2008 is a time for recent graduates to reflect upon their vocation and experience in ministry, to gain additional insight and to be nurtured by one another and the Gospel. Along with worship, laughter and sharing our stories and questions, there will also be time to visit favorite spots in St. Louis with friends old and new.

The Herbster event is made possible by the Ben Mohr Herbster Fund, established in honor of the first president of the United Church of Christ, to support a program for pastoral development focused on recent graduates of the Seminary.

For more information, contact:

Continuing Education
Eden Theological Seminary
475 East Lockwood Avenue
Saint Louis, Missouri 63119
phone: 314-918-2547
toll-free: 877-627-5651
fax: 314-918-2544