|
Home
Speakers
Topics
Schedule
Register
Hotels
Travel
|
Conference Topics
Bipolar Disorder and Your Marriage: Surviving, Coping and Rebuilding — Dr. James and Rev. Leah Stout
How to Create a Care Ministry — Dr. Lydia Sarandon
Wrise Booker pioneered in psychodrama, gaming and other innovative techniques for clarifying personal issues and improving self-esteem. Optimizing human potential and individual accomplishment has been an important and consistent emphasis in Wrisë D. Booker's career. In her roles as educator, human behaviorist, organizational analyst, national speaker and business executive, Ms. Booker has spent over twenty years helping individuals, organizations and companies identify and achieve key goals. She holds a degree in English from Denison University and was appointed to a teaching fellowship. She also received a teaching fellowship at the University of Michigan, where she obtained her Master of Arts degree in Counseling. Ms. Booker's served as Dean of Counseling and Dean of Student Affairs at The Claremont Colleges. Se was Manager of Human Resources at Times Mirror Cable Television, Inc. before becoming the company's first Director of Organization Development. She is President of Reid Dugger Consulting Group, which she founded in 1987. This firm specializes in organization development, with particular emphasis on strategic planning, management development, diversity management and change management. Ms. Booker serves as the executive director of the NAMIC Foundation and her firm is also the managing partner for two trade associations, NAMIC (formerly National Association of Minorities in Communications) and the Cable and Telecommunications Human Resources Association (CTHRA). 
Death and Dying
Rev. Dr. Linda Bos, D.Min., has been a chaplain with VITAS Innovative Hospice Care in Orange County, California for over 14 years after serving on the ministerial staff of the Crystal Cathedral for 7 years. She has done her doctoral work on caring for the dying, with a special emphasis on spiritual care for persons with AIDS. She is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ.
Caring for Those Who Grieve Living Fully in the Shadow of Death
Susan J. Zonnebelt-Smeenge, R.N., Ed.D. is a Registered Nurse and a Licensed Clinical Psychologist employed by Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services in Grand Rapids, MI. Her doctoral dissertation work involved research in the area of grief and loss. She deals with a variety of issues associated with adolescents and adults, including eating disorders, marital concerns, depression and anxiety, and death, grief/loss issues. Robert C. De Vries, D.Min., Ph.D. is an ordained minister and a Professor of Church Education (emeritus) at Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, MI. He teaches courses at the seminary and conducts workshops in churches on teaching methods, youth ministry, adult ministry, and spiritual development. Serving Others in the Joy of Christ Kind People have Boundaries, Too!
Dr. Bill Gaultiere, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of the New Hope Crisis Counseling Center at the Crystal Cathedral and the founder of NewHopeNow.org, the world's first web site to offer live, private online counseling for free. Dr. Bill is also a Clinical Psychologist and Spiritual Director with a private practice in Irvine, CA, where he lives with his wife and three children. He is the author of “A Walk with your Shepherd” and “Returning to the Father” and offers articles and tapes on Christian psychology, marriage and family, and spiritual information on his web site, www.ChristianSoulCare.com. At his web site you can also sign up for a free semi-weekly devotional by email. How To Make A Difference
Terri Green shares her bittersweet memories of those who helped her family weather years of medical and financial struggle. Her oldest daughter underwent 21 surgeries as a child and was left without the ability to speak, walk, or perform normal daily activities. Her second daughter had surgery as an infant and survived only because of answered prayer.
During these hardships, the Greens were blessed with many friends and even strangers who came to their aid by bringing simple gifts like a fresh-cut rose, lightening the work load by washing the family cars, and even delivering toilet paper! Terri encourages people to reach out and take the first step to help someone in need. Her book, “Simple Acts of Kindness”, is filled with uplifting true stories and great ideas on how to extend practical aid to those in need of physical, emotional, and spiritual support. So...I Have Gifts; Now What Do I Do? Taking Care and Kindness Home
Judy Gustum is a former teacher, businesswoman, and Human Resource Specialist. She is a keen observer of human behavior and likes to delve into the “why” of things. In reading The Miracle of Kindness by Dr. James Kok, Judy caught the Care and Kindness vision. She is a popular speaker, now spreading the vision through her practical application of the care and kindness principles. Judy taught high school English in her home state, Iowa, and in California and Minnesota. Judy is an accomplished musician — a chorister and a soloist and she is an active volunteer for the American Red Cross. Mrs. Gustum and her husband, Ed, live in LaPorte, Indiana, with their two daughters' and five grandchildren nearby. Getting Smart — Growing Older
Jane Glenn Haas is a multi-media personality – a newspaper writer, national columnist, book author, television host, professional speaker and founder of WomanSage, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering, educating and fostering mentoring relationships among women at midlife. She currently is researching the various ways women deal with multiple midlife crisis events – from loss of a job to divorce and widowhood. Her research on women at midlife already has led to coverage by TIME magazine, as well as The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune and other publications. She was asked to be a featured writer in a special TIME report on women at midlife. Haas is a writer for The Orange County Register specializing in issues involving people 50 and older. Her weekly column, “Our Time,” is distributed to 300 newspapers by Knight Ridder Tribune Syndicate. Twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, she has been honored for Excellence in Aging Reporting with the Hugh Downs Award of the International Longevity Center ; the American Society on Aging Media Award; the American Medical Writers Association Rose Kushner Award; the American Heart Association C. Everett Koop Award; the Alzheimer's Association Rosemary Award, and many others. Providing Comfort to Those Who Have Lost a Child
Rick and Karen Hacker have been the ministry leaders for the Empty Arms Support Group through Saddleback Church since 1995. The Empty Arms Support Group Ministry is dedicated to providing care, council and encouragement in a Christian setting to parents who have suffered through the death of their baby due to miscarriage, stillbirth or infant death. In 1990, during the seventh month of pregnancy with their first child, Rick and Karen were told their baby had a severe heart condition and probably wouldn’t survive. When their son Matthew was born he lived a little over two days. When Matthew’s heart came to a complete stop, they felt as if theirs did too. One year later, Karen miscarried and lost their second child, but Rick and Karen continued to hang onto their faith. Since becoming leaders in the church, Rick has created an Empty Arms Facilitators training manual in order to establish Empty Arms Support Groups throughout the country. Rick and Karen, along with their group facilitators, have been able to help and equip hundreds of grieving parents work through their loss with hope for the future. Their goal is to facilitate the grief process by helping members acknowledge and understand their feelings and realize the hope they have in Jesus Christ. Rick and Karen recently celebrated their 20th Wedding Anniversary and they live in Mission Viejo with their two children, Ryan and Avery. Grief and Caring for Those Who Grieve Helping the Hurting without Hurting while Helping How to Be a Powerfully Caring Leader The Stephen Series and the ChristCare Series Providing Comprehensive Care
Rev. Kenneth C. Haugk, Ph.D., a pastor and clinical psychologist, saw that people’s needs for care in his congregation and community far exceeded what he alone could provide. He developed materials to train nine of his congregation members to provide quality, one-to-one Christian care to individuals experiencing a life crisis. Upon completion of their training, he commissioned them as “Stephen Ministers” and linked them with people with a variety of needs for care. In 1975 Dr. Haugk founded Stephen Ministries, when other congregations wanted to become involved, and further developed the Stephen Series, which has now been implemented in over 9,000 congregations representing more than 100 Christian denominations. More than 450,000 laypersons have been trained as Stephen Ministers, who in turn have ministered to nearly a million care receivers. The author of numerous training courses, books, and articles, Dr. Haugk’s newest works are Journeying through Grief, a set of four short books designed to be given or sent to grieving people at four times during the first year after the loss of a loved one, and a book for caregivers, Don’t Sing Songs to a Heavy Heart: How to Relate to Those Who Are Suffering. Dr. Haugk and the development team at Stephen Ministries are currently focused on preparations for the Breakthrough Leadership Conference scheduled for October 2006. How Does One Care When a Daughter or Son Says, “I'm gay”? Melvin D. Hugen, professor of pastoral care and counseling (ret.) at Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan, has served on two ministry task forces for the Christian Reformed Church: “The Biblical teaching on homosexuality” and “Ministry to persons who are homosexual.” He is currently director of Project Africa, a program to produce training manuals for lay pastors and evangelists in subSaharan Africa. Personalities: Giving and Receiving Care
Dr. Debbie Hutchinson is the Director of Staff Development at the Crystal Cathedral Counseling Center. She is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and has been seeing clients at the counseling center for 7 years. Dr. Hutchinson has a special interest in working with adults who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Her passion is people, and she has a particular joy in working with couples and helping them find their way to marital bliss. She has celebrated 23 years of marriage and has a 16 year old son and an 13 year old daughter. What Jesus Wants From Us What It Means That We Are Spiritual Beings
Dr. James Kok is Director of Care Ministry for the Crystal Cathedral Congregation of Garden Grove, CA. He has been an ordained minister of the Christian Reformed Church of America for 35 years. He speaks extensively throughout the United States and Canada. During his ministry Dr. Kok has specialized in the training of lay men and women, pastors and theological students in the art of caring and counseling, first at Pine Rest Christian Hospital and now at the Crystal Cathedral. With Dr. Kok as the director, the Crystal Cathedral is an approved center for Clinical Pastoral Training. This is accredited training for seminary work specializing in the truly pastoral side of ministry. Dr. Kok provides both Extended sessions and Summer Intensive sessions.
Disability Awareness Q&A Panel
Kent Loftsgard has accumulated an uncommonly diverse range of communications expertise as not only a broadcaster, producer, researcher, and journalist, but also promoter, planner, educator, and advocate for numerous healthcare and humanitarian causes and is celebrating 20 years since first establishing his roots in radio while still in high school. Born with a mild form of Cerebral Palsy, and raised by a young single mother, Kent battled severe asthma from an early age. Childhood medical treatment experiences, combined with a divine alchemy of faith, family, and future friendships, cultivated in him a conscience of care and kindness, as well as comfort, compassion, interpersonal connectivity, and the vitality of creatively capitalizing on the positive possibilities presented in each moment of life. Mr. Loftsgard lives in Vancouver, BC. Norman Coombs, Ph.D. was blinded by an accident at age 8. He is the CEO of EASI (Equal Access to Software and Information) as well as professor emeritus from the Rochester Institute of Technology where he taught history for 36 years. He has lectured on distance learning and on making information systems accessible to students with disabilities across the US, as well as in Canada, England, Ireland, Hungary, Mexico, Switzerland and Turkey. Maureen Pratt has disabilities that are the invisible kind; she is a patient of multiple chronic illnesses, including lupus and cardiovascular disease. See bio below. Glen Giffin fell victim to smoker-type throat cancer and underwent radiation, chemotherapy and several surgeries in efforts to save his voice. These efforts came to an end with the surgical removal of his larynx and he uses an Artificial Larynx Device (ALD) to communicate. He is an active member of the International Association of Laryngectomees support group and past President of the Minnesota New Voice Club. He counsels hospital patients who undergo surgery on how to overcome their disability. He speaks to high school classes about dangers and affects of smoking and second hand smoke. (Since he has never smoked, he is quite fervent about these issues.) Glen is a retired former executive of a major computer manufacturer and lives near Minneapolis, MN, with his wife, Dottie. A Time to be Born:
John McKinney is the author of a dozen books about walking, hiking and nature, and has described more than 10,000 miles of trail in his narratives, essays and guidebooks. His most recent book, The Joy of Hiking, champions hiking for good health, for spiritual growth, and for improved relationships with friends and family. His first book, Day Hiker’s Guide to Southern California , with its lively tales of trails, was, and still is, one of the best-selling trail accounts of all time. He served eighteen years as the Los Angeles Times hiking columnist and now writes articles and commentaries about hiking for national publications, promotes hiking and conservation on radio and TV, and serves as a consultant to outdoors-oriented businesses. He lives with his wife Cheri, an editor, daughter Sophia and son Daniel in Santa Barbara, California. Conference Song Leader Bev Michielson has successfully created and maintained various Care Ministries in different areas of the country. In 2000, she founded ‘Through Me Ministries’, which deals with care on multiple levels from children through the elderly, as a means of coordinating all of her involvements. Throughout her career, she has blended a host of volunteer service projects with her professional singing. She inherited her talent from a musical family and from her mother, who was a piano teacher. She marks her singing career as having begun at age 13 on a bus ride home from a Billy Graham crusade. Her early performances included several Junior Miss contests, leading up to her receiving the Miss Congeniality award in the Miss Michigan Junior Miss Pageant. More recently, she has given a concert each year at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, beginning in 2001. She is actively working as a songwriter and publisher, with her most recent projects being a CD of children's songs for the KINDer Kids program in public schools and Christmas album of favorites. She has begun another facet of her ministry through motivational speaking to staff members and patients in hospitals, hospice and care facilities. These presentations have emerged out of her dealing with debilitating illness and chronic pain, as she herself suffers from an incurable illness called Peripheral Neuropathy. Delivering Healing and Growth for Adult Children of Alcoholics
Roland Petit is the author of Transformation for Life: Healing and Growth for Adult Children of Alcoholics and Others . He has led, and continues to lead, scores of self-help groups, is an ordained Elder in the Reformed Church of America, has been an Interfaith Minister and training and development manager at one of the world's largest corporations. Roland Petit has served on the presidential award-winning CONTACT crisis intervention hotline, has been on TV and in print. He holds a Masters Degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Someone Has Alzheimer's: How To Be Present
Dr. Jan Pfeffer is Senior Vice President of Nexus Consulting, a company that does management consulting and transformation breakthrough. She is Pastoral Liaison and Director of Partners In Care at San Francisco Solano Church. She conducted research on the Effects of Personal Prayer and Touch on Recovery after Cardiac Surgery at Mission Hospital. She is on the Religious Outreach Committee for the Alzheimer's Association and has firsthand experience with care-giving, since her mother has Alzheimer's Disease. Dr. Pfeffer earned her Bachelors in Psychology and Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, her Masters in Pastoral Counseling and her Ph.D. in Relational Psychology from Trinity College of Graduate Studies. Peace in the Storm: Walking with God while Living with Chronic Pain and Illness
Maureen Pratt is an award-winning author, playwright, and journalist who speaks and writes about spirituality, prayer, and living with chronic pain and illness. Her latest book, “Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain and Illness”, is written out of her experience as a Christian and as a patient of multiple chronic illnesses, including lupus and cardiovascular disease. Maureen's articles have appeared in Guideposts, Arthritis Today, Lupus Now, GRIT, and the upcoming April 2006 issue of Journey Magazine. She has spoken at national and regional conferences, medical centers, and religious institutions, including Northwestern Memorial Hospital and DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois; The National Lupus Public Policy Summit in Washington, D.C.; and Women-Mentoring-Women at the Decatur Foursquare Gospel Church in Decatur, Illinois. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Languages from Georgetown University and a Master of Fine Arts in Theater Arts from UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television. How to Create a Care Ministry
Lydia Sarandan is Minister of Adult Education at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, California. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in 1962 from Wayne State University, her B.D. in 1970 from Princeton Theological Seminary, and her D. Min. in 1992 from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where here thesis was "How to Develop A Praying Church." Other responsibilities Lydia holds at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church include Director of The Stephen Ministry, Director of Prayer Ministry, Coordinator of the Deacon Ministry and Director of Covenant Group Ministry. She is also Director of Adult Education Sunday classes and Advisor to Presbyterian Women. Bipolar Disorder and Your Marriage: Surviving, Coping and Rebuilding How to More Effectively Help a Bipolar Loved One, and Still Maintain Your Own Health and Happiness
Rev. Dr. James T. Stout is an ordained Presbyterian minister and has pastored in five churches. His other ministry experiences include working with college and graduate students at Miami, Harvard, M.I.T., Boston and Northeastern University, doing social work with Young Life's outreach to teenage gangs in New York City, being chaplain to the men's violent ward at Danvers State Mental Hospital, serving as an Area Director with The Gathering U.S.A., a national ministry with business and professional men, and Director of Career Compatibilities, a career-counseling service. Dr. Stout has taught and written on topics such as mental illness, depression, bipolar disorder, stress, burnout, career transition, live planning, marriage enrichment and parenting. Dr. Stout received his B.A. degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, his Master of Divinity from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts and his Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. Visiting The Sick: Practical Ways to Give Care, Comfort and Courage
Leah Stout is Minister of Congregational Care at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, California. She has been an active pastor's wife throughout her husband's ministry, has taught in both public and private schools, and has been involved in children's, high school and college ministries. Leah holds a B.S. degree in Education from Miami University and a Masters of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary. She serves on two boards connected with Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach. Wounded Healers: Servanthood and Suffering
Dr. Siang Yang Tan was Director of the PsyD (Doctor of Psychology) program in Clinical Psychology (1989 - 1997) and is now Professor of Psychology in the Graduate School of Psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary. He has published articles on lay counseling and lay counselor training, intrapersonal integration and spirituality, religious psychotherapy, cognitive behavior therapy, epilepsy, pain, and cross-cultural counseling with Asians and Hispanics. He also currently serves as Senior Pastor of First Evangelical Church in Glendale, CA and lives in Arcadia with his wife Angela and their two children, Carolyn and Andrew. My Story, Your Story
Ruth VanderZee has spent a lifetime connecting to people through music, storytelling, facilitating groups, speaking at conferences, and hosting people in her home. She taught Middle School for many years and is currently substitute teaching in the Miami Dade public school system. She is the author of two picture books for older children: Erika's Story and Mississippi Morning. She has also written Discover Your Gifts and Learn How to Use Them, a curriculum for adolescents. In addition, her stories have appeared in numerous journals and magazines. Caring for the Emotional Needs of the Gifted and Talented
Connie Wax is a Marriage, Family and Child therapist who specializes in working with parents of gifted children. She has also provided home-based counseling, parenting training and resource development to families who were in jeopardy of losing their children. In 2000, she worked with families and responders who were impacted by the “Fires of 2000” in Montana, teaching crisis counseling skills, problem solving, body language and PTSD. She also did formal presentations for teachers on how to emotionally support the children and their families. She received her Masters degree in Social Work from Walla Walla College in Washington. Ministry of Prayer This quote by Edwin W. Lutzer expresses our need to connect with God on an ongoing basis. This workshop will discuss the various types of prayer mentioned in Scripture, and give a practical paradigm for companioning in prayer with those in need. We will learn how to cultivate the habit of prayer and extend it to others as a ministry of prayer. For, as St. Augustine said, “True prayer is nothing but love.”
Chip Whitman is Founder and President of GriefCare, Inc., a nonprofit organization located in San Juan Capistrano whose mission is ‘Bringing Hope to the Broken Heart’. A specialist in bereavement care for the past 20 years, Chip brings the compassion gained from many years of pastoral experience to his competent counsel and teaching. He is also the Founding and Teaching Pastor of The Gathering Community Fellowship in Capistrano Beach . Chip graduated from Western Evangelical Seminary in 1985 with a Master of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology. He brings the 17 years of pastoral ministry and training in psychology to all of his training, teaching and counseling. He often presents workshops and seminars to medical professionals and clergy in hospitals and churches in the Southwest area of the United States . He is happily married and lives in Capistrano Beach with his wife, Joanne, who serves with him in their ministry to the brokenhearted. Raising A Special-Needs Son —
An Unfinished Odyssey
Dottie (Vanden Bosch) Wiersma is a registered nurse, B.S.N. from Aquinas College. She has worked as a health care professional for more than twenty-five years, specializing in breast cancer treatment and education. She is a frequent speaker and spokesperson for breast cancer support groups and allied organizations, as well as a frequent counselor to mothers of newly born Special needs persons. She provided initial impetus for “Friendship”, a religious education curriculum for Special needs persons. Jack Wiersma is Professor emeritus of Educational Psychology, Calvin College, and Ph.D from University of Iowa, Iowa City. He has written numerous articles in professional and layman publications. Along with his wife, he gave initial impetus and contributed to “Friendship”- a cycled three-year, two- track, religious education curriculum for Special needs persons, published by the Christian Reformed Church in North America, funded by “Friendship Foundation”, and translated into several foreign languages. During his career, he has provided leadership in numerous advocacy organizations for Special needs persons. Jack, Dottie, and their son Sherman, live in Belmont, Michigan. |
Dr. Jan Pfeffer
Dr. James Stout
Rev. Leah Stout
