On July 22, we welcomed Heidi Kleine, ACC*, ELCA Coach with specialty training in Discipleship and Mission Development/Congregational Vitality, currently serving as the Director of Faith Formation at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Cary, NC, and Emilee O'Brien, recent graduate of Georgetown University, M.A. Educational Transformation, who previously served as the Post Baccalaureate Fellow for Social Justice and Community-Engaged Learning at Furman University, where she developed an intergroup dialogue program.

Heidi and Emilee recently partnered to lead a series of conversations on racism for an affinity group of white women. They shared the story of how they connected and why they feel called to work in this space, the importance of partners, and their advice on how you can get started with intergroup dialogues.

How do we as individuals prepare ourselves to be leaders in this space?

How are we as individuals called to be church with all people?

How does this internal work transform us as leaders?

How can we utilize our platform within our congregations to create space for dialogue that leads to action?

*ACC = Associate Certified Coach (credentialed with the International Coaching Federation)