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Building Bridges

BUILDING
BRIDGES

Date Conference Emcc 24
Emcc24 Infos
Bridge In Blue
Budapest
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The next European Member Care Consultation will take place in Budapest, Hungary in March 2024. Our theme will be Building bridges: cultivating mutual respect, understanding and learning across generations, cultures and genders as we take an in-depth look at Paul’s words in his letter to the Philippians:

1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. (Philippians 2: 1-4)

Acknowledging and honoring our backdrop of historic Budapest and the role its beautiful bridges have played in uniting Buda and Pest into one city and one future, we will examine how building bridges is important in Christian ministry. Our plenary and workshop sessions will look at how we can better learn from each other, respect one another and ultimately build bridges in an increasingly inter-cultural and globalized world where more and more, people seem to be polarized and when confronted with differences, flee to their respective corners, surrounded by people who either agree with them or look like them. Conflicts and misunderstandings abound not only in our teams, but also on social media and even in our families. As Member Care providers, we will look at how we can encourage and empower those we serve to build bridges across the vast divides of misunderstandings, stereotypes and conflicts that so often inhibit the advancement of the Gospel with the goal of being of one mind and spirit.

SPEAKER & WORKSHOPS

We are excited to announce the names of our speakers. This time we have one keynote speaker who will speak at multiple times and thereby have the opportunity to take us deeper into our theme Building bridges. For the same reason, we are also offering a number of workshops as a 2-day track so the speakers will have more time to go into their subject.

Keynote speaker: Christian Quartier

Workshop speakers: Jonathan Ward, Sarah Hay, Mihai Lundell, Sonja Pichler, Rafael Năstase, Evi Rodemann, Maria Techow, Barry Danylak, Amrei Wehmeyer, Suzy Grumelot, Charley Warner, Cathy Thompson, Gary W. and Scott Shaum.

Klick onto the picture of the speaker to read their biography.

Participants will need to sign up for workshops, registrations will be accepted on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. Registrations for workshops will be possible in the first week of March 2024. Everyone who has signed up for the conference will in due time receive a workshop registration link by email. Last minute participants can choose a workshops where space is still available upon arrival at the hotel at the EMCC registration desk.

Click on the button to see the Timetable for EMCC 2024.

Timetable EMCC 2024
Plenary and workshop synopses

Christian Quartier

About the speaker

Jonathan Ward

About the speaker

Sarah Hay

About the speaker

Mihai Lundell

About the speaker

Sonja Pichler

About the speaker

Rafael Năstase

About the speaker

Evi Rodemann

About the speaker

Maria Techow

About the speaker

Barry Danylak

About the speaker

Amrei Wehmeyer

About the speaker

Suzy Grumelot

About the speaker

Charley Warner

About the speaker

Cathy Thompson

About the speaker

Gary W.

About the speaker

Scott Shaum

About the speaker

DATE & LOCATION

CONFERENCE FEES

We are offering you a choice of rooms – economy and superior, giving you a choice according to your budget. All rooms have ensuite bathrooms and have been checked by our representatives to ensure they are suitable. Superior rooms are limited in number and will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

Early-bird discount rates EMCC 2024 – valid until 5th January 2024:

€430,00

* Single economy room

€475,00

* Single superior room

€350,00

* Twin economy room

€395,00

* Twin superior room

Married couples sharing a twin room receive €25,00 discount each on their booking.

* Day guest entire conference (Monday afternoon – Thursday morning) €290,00
* Day guest (entire conference and pre-conference event) for Hungarian or Eastern European citizens, with a LOCAL INCOME €80,00

General rates EMCC 2024 – valid after 5th January 2024:

€480,00

* Single economy room

€525,00

* Single superior room

€400,00

* Twin economy room

€445,00

* Twin superior room

Married couples sharing a twin room receive €25,00 discount each on their booking.

* Day guest entire conference (Monday afternoon – Thursday morning) €320,00
* Day guest pre-conference event €30,00
* Day guest (entire conference and pre-conference event) for Hungarian or Eastern European citizens, with a LOCAL INCOME €100,00

For those people who would like to attend and stay at the hotel but are on a limited budget, particularly if they have not been to EMCC before and live in Hungary or Eastern Europe, there are a limited number of scholarships available. Applications for these could be submitted until December 31, 2023. All scholarships have now been given out. No new applications can be submitted.

Pre-Conference event

WHEN HELPING HURTS

Pre-Conference event: When helping hurts
We’d like to draw your attention to a special Member Care event led by Jelena Sivulka and Rafael Năstase on Monday 18th March. We are delighted to offer this pre-conference event on When helping hurts: Burnout – the common cold of the 21st century, where Jelena will describe her experiences as someone in ministry, as a counselor, and as a person who came close to giving up. This day is for anyone who wants to arrive a day early and dive deeper into this topic and get some more practical insights. You can attend as a day guest for €30,00 or stay at the conference hotel for an extra night (Twin room €75,00 or Single room €95,00, incl. breakfast). Keep in mind that you have to arrive a day early on Sunday 17th March. Click here for more information.

More information

BOOKINGS

Bookings:
We are fully booked. You can be placed on a waiting list. Should anyone cancel before the end of February, we can still offer the vacant spot to people on the waiting list. Please email emcc@membercare.eu to be placed on the waiting list.

Please read our terms and conditions. If you have any questions, please read our Q&A before contacting us.

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Christian Quartier

He is married to Simone and is father of 3 adult TCK. He is passionate about strengthening, resourcing and empowering cross-cultural Workers and their families through debriefing, critical incident debriefing and brief counselling. Restoring a sense of peace (shalom and wholeness) in their lives when that peace has been disturbed or shattered is at the core his ministry. He is also active in membercare training and consultancy.

Jonathan Ward

Jonathan Ward is involved in the Federation of Francophone Evangelical Missions and its member care network (www.resam.fr), and he serves at a retreat centre in France dedicated to caring for pastors and cross-cultural workers (www.pierresvivantes.org). He and his wife Rachel were raised on the mission fields of France and Angola respectively. They have three adult children. Jonathan also serves on the board of Member Care Europe.

Sarah Hay

Sarah Hay has a background in HR, initially in the National Health Service, UK and then in Nepal with International Nepal Fellowship for 3 years, where she also began member care for expatriate mission workers. After returning to UK and starting a family, Sarah began working as HR and Member Care Manager with European Christian Mission Britain, where she’s been for almost 15 years.  This continues to involve her in the recruitment and preparation of new workers, their member care whilst overseas plus debriefing and re-entry assistance when they return. Since 2015, Sarah also became Course Leader of the MA in Member Care at Redcliffe College, before then developing a new MA in Staff Care and Wellbeing at All Nations Christian College following the college merger. She has the best of both worlds in being a member care provider but also an equipper and encourager of member care students across the world. Last but by no means least, Sarah is married to Rob and has two sons who are now both at university. Sarah is also a board member of Member Care Europe.

Mihai Lundell

Mihai Lundell has helped to form national member care networks in countries like Romania and Italy. He served for over 20 years as a missionary and country director for the mission One Challenge in Romania before he and his wife Tammy accepted a new challenge in Genova, Italy caring for and coming alongside local pastors and Christian leaders. As a member of the European Member Care Board, Mihai works to build Member Care awareness and networks in eastern and central European countries that are just beginning to understand the need for MC. He is passionate about building bridges between new and old generations and making sure the voices of Eastern Europe are heard and respected. He is a former investigative journalist for WCCO television in Minneapolis with a doctorate in missions from Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, MN and a masters in child psychology, trauma and developmental disorders from the University of Minnesota. Currently he collaborates with the Gaslini Institute in Genoa Italy in child trauma counseling and serves as an advisor for the Association of Christian Counselors in Italy.

Sonja Pichler

Sonja Pichler is a happy single, born originally in Germany and has been living in Switzerland since 2010. During her time in Switzerland, she finished her studies as a counsellor; currently she is responsible for Member Care in OM Switzerland. In the international setting of OM she is involved in the Face2Face courses, both German and English. For the AEM in Switzerland she ministers in the annual debriefing week for intercultural workers. Sonja also works for a local church and as a licensed counsellor, both part time. Her professional qualifications are Psycho-Social Counsellor, Trauma focused counselling, Supervision (in process). She simply loves to see people thrive in who they are and who they are becoming. Her recreational oasis she finds in reading, walking and journaling (Bullet point and Bible Art). Creativity is one of her big resources.

Rafael Năstase

Rafael Năstase is a missionary who served with his wife Alice, seven years in Republic of Moldova, being involved with Operation Mobilisation (OM) in church planting, discipleship and mobilizing churches for missions. Returning in his home country, Romania, he stepped in the leadership position from 2007-2019 as National Director of OM. Now he coordinates the church relation department of OM in Romania and is the national member care facilitator. Rafael has a BA in Philosophy and Journalism and got a master in Theology at Baptist faculty. Being born in a Romani (Gypsy) family he is passionate working towards getting his doctorate in ecclesiology and ethnography at the University of Bucharest, researching on the role of the church in transforming Roma communities. Rafael also serves on the board of Member Care Europe.

Evi Rodemann

Evi Rodemann lives in Hamburg, Germany and works as a theologian and event manager. She engages in the international work of the Lausanne Movement and the Mission Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance as well as being the CEO of her own organisation LeadNow. Her focus is the younger leaders generation. She has a Master in European Mission and Intercultural Christianity and currently works on her PhD researching event impact. www.evirodemann.com, www.leadnow.center

Maria Techow

Maria Techow is a Clinical Psychologist in Denmark with a heart for mission. In her working life she is the head of department for Psychiatry & Existence, and Competence Unit for Expats at Center for Family Development. She has been working with mission organizations for more than 13 yeas, screening candidates for the mission fields, offering crisis counselling and online therapy and helping families in their re-entry process, among other initiatives leading TCK groups for years. She is the co-author of the book: GO! My personal guide and diary before, during and after moving abroad, an interactive book for TCKs. The book is as a starting point for conversations between children and their parents, for children’s groups, in schools and across cultures and border. She is the mother of four, a writer and a speaker in various Christian settings. Maria is also a board member of Member Care Europe.

Barry Danylak

Barry Danylak is an international speaker, author, and pastor-theologian with expertise on topics related to singleness, marriage, sexuality, and family in the biblical and modern world. Barry serves as Executive Director of SEE Global, a ministry based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada that equips church leaders around the world. He is ordained and has served as a pastor for over 10 years with the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada. Barry holds a PhD in New Testament with the Divinity Faculty of the University of Cambridge and is author of Redeeming Singleness: How the Storyline of Scripture Affirms the Single Life, Singleness in God’s Redemptive Story, and a forthcoming book, Paul and Secular Singleness in 1 Corinthians 7, scheduled for release by Cambridge University Press in 2024.

Amrei Wehmeyer

Amrei Wehmeyer has been working with DMG interpersonal and TEAM in Portugal since 1991. She is currently leading the Member Care Center ReCanto da Fonte in Lourinhã on the Silver Coast of Portugal. Amrei also serves on the board of Member Care Europe.

Suzy Grumelot

Suzy Grumelot has served with World Team in urban church planting in France for the past 35 years. In 2012, with French partners, an historic new church was birthed in central Paris. In addition to discipling women and overseeing Bible studies, Suzy is involved with training, networking, prayer, and mentoring of new believers and church planters. She serves on the executive team of Shoulder to Shoulder and is the co-author of Sacred Siblings: Valuing One Another for the Great Commission.

Charley Warner

Charley Warner has been involved in member care in Eurasia since 1992. He and his wife, Cheryl, serve with Barnabas International and live in Irpin, Ukraine. Charley is also a board member of Member Care Europe.

Cathy Thompson

Cathy Thompson is a missionary kid with degrees in Physical Education, Anthropology, and Cross-Cultural Leadership. She has further studies in Ministry Leadership Development, Member Care, Conflict Management, Counseling, Child Safety and Forensic Investigation. Since 1992, Cathy has served with Pioneers as Team Leader in Hungary and since April 2009 as Area Leader for East Central Europe. Cathy also serves as Pioneers’ Child Safety Officer for Europe, as a member of several working groups on training and leadership development, and on the executive team of Shoulder to Shoulder. She is committed to seeing teams work well as they incorporate singles, couples and families into multicultural teams.

Gary W.

Gary W. left the US in 1983, following a call from the Lord to serve overseas, and served as a tentmaker in France until 1988 and then in Switzerland where he lives now. As a professional, he worked full-time as a research chemist and in later years as an IT specialist. In terms of ministry, he has served mostly in pastoral settings with services of teaching, preaching, counseling, and inner healing. Since taking an early retirement in 2013, he has done short-term ministry trips in eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia. He joined OM in 2017 and has been doing pastoral care for workers in Asia through short visits and online. Gary is married to Beverly and they have five adult children.

Scott Shaum

Scott Shaum‘s deep joy is living life with his wife, Beth, their three sons and wives, and three grandchildren. That and really good food shared amongst a bevy of friends; or in solitude with a stack of books. As Associate Director of Barnabas International (20 years) and an ordained pastor, the Father’s goodness in his life is reflected as a pastoral, companioning presence with other shepherd-leaders scattered globally and locally. A scary-tough decade resulted in authoring The Uninvited Companion: God’s Shaping Us in His Love Through Life’s Adversities. He has contributed to Trauma and Resilience (ed. Schaefer and Schaefer) and Tender Care (Barnabas Books). You can find his latest rambles at tendingscatteredwool.com.