Leadership

Trevor Hudson

Preaching: Sunday night and Thursday morning worship

Plenary Sessions: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings

Trevor Hudson has been part of the Methodist movement for over 30 years, primarily serving in and around Johannesburg, South Africa. Currently, he serves on the pastoral team at Northfield Methodist Church in Benoni. He is committed to the work and ministry of the local congregation and believes strongly that for something to be real it must always be local. In the post-apartheid era, he has been a leading voice in reconciliation and restoration in the Christian community. Trevor travels internationally, leading conferences, retreats, and workshops in diverse settings. He has written books on prayer, healing, and transforming discipleship including Journey of the Spirit, which was awarded Best Christian Book of the Year of 2003 in South Africa. Other books include The Serenity Prayer, Questions God Asks Us, Discovering Our Spiritual Identity, Hope Beyond Tears, A Mile in My Shoes. Trevor is married to Debbie, and they have two adult children.

Vance Ross

Preaching: Monday night

Reverand Vance Ross serves as pastor at Gordon Memorial United Methodist Church. He is a proud native of Bluefield, WV. He was educated in Bluefield Public Schools and earned the Bachelor of Arts degree in Government/Youth Services from West Virginia Wesleyan College. In June of 1985, he entered the Gammon Theological Seminary (ITC) where he graduated with honors.

Beth Ludlum

Preaching: Tuesday night

Beth Ludlum is the director of college student faith and leadership formation for the General Board of Higher Education & Ministry of the United Methodist Church. A farm girl from Kansas, she studied agricultural communications at Kansas State University; worked in China, on Capitol Hill, and at a national nonprofit; then served as Director of Recruitment at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC, while completing a Master of Divinity degree. In her free time, Beth loves to run, bike, bake, learn new things, and celebrate life as much as possible.

Bishop Ken Carter

Preaching: Wednesday night

Teaching: Morning class on intercessory prayer (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday)

Bishop Carter, formerly district superintendent of the Western North Carolina Conference of the Uunited Methodist Church, serves in the Florida Conference. He is the author of seven books with topics that range from stewardship and spiritual gifts to baptism and Methodist practices. His eighth book, on intercessory prayer, was published by the Upper Room in 2012. Carter received a Bachelor of Science from Columbus College, a Master of Divinity from Duke Divinity School, a Master of Arts from the University of Virginia, and a Doctor of Ministry from Princeton Seminary. Carter and wife, Pam have two daughters, Liz, a Chinese translator in Washington, D.C., and Abby, a recent graduate of Huntingdon College, a United Methodist-related institution, in Montgomery, Ala.

Karla Kincannon

Worship and Plenary Sessions: Visual Artist

Teaching: Afternoon Workshop on the Healing of Creativity (Monday and Tuesday)

Karla M. Kincannon is an artist, author, teacher, spiritual director, and United Methodist minister. Karla believes God’s gift of creativity is an essential tool for navigating the spiritual journey, and a necessary element for the corporate life of the church. She invites others to be courageously creative as a way of knowing God, embodying God’s image, and building God’s kingdom on earth. Karla is the founder of SpiritArt Ministries and the author of Creativity and Divine Surprise: Finding the Place of Your Resurrection. Karla lectures, leads workshops, and facilitates retreats in a variety of ecumenical settings nationwide. She is the Director of Field Education and the Director of Vocational Formation and Church Leadership at Garrett-Evangelical Seminary in Evanston, IL.

Session Leaders

Tom Albin

Leading: Morning Prayer in Chapel

Teaching: Morning Bible Study (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday)

Tom Albin was raised on a Kansas farm and educated in a one-room school. His educational journey includes a bachelor’s degree in Biblical Literature in Oklahoma, a master’s degree in Theological and Historical studies in California, and doctoral research at University of Cambridge in England. He taught at Boston University School of Theology, and the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, prior to joining The UPper Room staff in 1999. Tom is an ordained elder in the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church and currently serves as Dean of The Upper Room Ministries and Ecumenical Relations.

Wendy LeBolt and Wayne Young

Teaching: Morning class on integrating physical and spiritual practices (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday)

Wendy LeBolt, PhD, holds advanced degrees in cardiovascular physiology and exercise science but her profession, her mission and her ministry find their perfect intersection on the field of play. For more than a decade she has been reaching out to kids and their families through her business, Fit2Finish, LLC. Wendy calls herself a Kinesthetic Christian, finding faith in the physical and the body-soul connection, inseparable. Wendy lives, trains and writes about health, fitness and faith from Herndon, VA, where her husband, three daughters, two dogs and lots of young athletes provide tons of material and all the inspiration she will ever need.

Sandy Jackson

Teaching: Morning class for Lay Servants/Lay Speakers (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday)

Sandy Jackson has recently retired from serving as the Director of Connectional Laity Development with the General Board of Discipleship. In that position, Sandy wrote a number of resources for training and equipping the laity for service. A former registered nurse, she is passionate about the ministry of the laity and strives to equip lay people for leadership and their daily life missions.

Dwight H. Judy, Ph.D.

Teaching: Morning class on congregational renewal through spiritual formation (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday)

Reverend Dwight H. Judy, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Formation at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. He will explore the renewal that intentional spiritual formation ministry can bring to faith communities. He helped design the United Methodist Professional Certification in Spiritual Formation, approved in 2000. He has offered retreats in spiritual formation since 1980. He regularly teaches core seminary courses in spiritual formation and spiritual direction. Dwight has served as a parish pastor and director of spiritual formation for a retreat center. He offers spiritual direction in Evanston and in Syracuse, Indiana. His books include A Quiet Pentecost: Inviting the Spirit into Congregational Life (Upper Room Books, 2013); Discerning Life Transitions: Listening Together in Spiritual Direction (Morehouse, 2010); Embracing God: Praying with Teresa of Avila (Abingdon, 1996); Quest for the Mystical Christ: Awakening the Heart of Faith (OSL Publications, 2003); Christian Meditation and Inner Healing (OSL Publications, 2000, 2010).

John Mogabgab

Teaching: Morning class based on Henri Nouwen’s work (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday)

John is a special projects editor at Upper Room Books and founding editor of Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life. From 1975 to 1980 he was Henri Nouwen’s teaching, research, and editorial assistant at Yale Divinity School.

Kristen Vincent

Teaching: Morning class on prayer beads (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday)

Leading: Afternoon workshop on prayer beads (Monday and Tuesday)

Kristen Vincent is the owner and principal artisan of Prayerworks Studio, which specializes in making handcrafted prayer beads and other prayer tools. She speaks widely on prayer and prayer beads and enjoys leading retreats. She has just published a book about prayer beads A Bead and a Prayer: A Beginner’s Guide to Protestant Prayer Beads. Kristen has a Master of Theological Studies degree from Duke Divinity School. She is a native Texan but currently lives in Oxford, GA, where she is married to Max, a Methodist minister, and is the mother of Matthew, an inquisitive and energetic nine-year old.

Other Leaders

Sharon Conley

Sherry Elliott

Greg Engroff

Lindsay Gray

Doug Hagler

Karen Jackson

Karen Luke Jackson, Ed.D., has led workshops and retreats for clergy and lay leaders, nonprofit professionals, and educators throughout the southeast. A facilitator with the Center for Courage & Renewal, she coordinated the learning and evaluation for Phase II of the Lilly project and introduced circle of trust practices to numerous congregational, diocesan, and faith communities. Karen lives in Western North Carolina, where she companions seekers, writes, and attempts to keep pace with growing grandchildren.

Jay MacDonald

Jay has been practicing yoga for over 25 years and teaching for 10 years. She was introduced to yoga because of a back injury in her 20s and has been an ardent practitioner ever since. She became a certified yoga instructor in 2004 through the Asheville Yoga Center and registered with the Yoga Alliance which is a national yoga organization which promotes a level of excellence and integrity for all yoga instructors and schools. She currently teaches yoga classes at the Haywood Regional Fitness Center in Clyde, NC for a variety of different fitness levels and needs. I have been in my current position for 8 years. She has organized several yoga clinics and special classes focusing on many different aspects of yoga including alignment, safety, and avoidance of injury to name a few.