Summer Playlists 2025
Some are fun and poppy for backyard meals or road trips. Others lean into gentle folk or thoughtful instrumentals, ideal for reflection or focus as you work, write, or simply rest. We hope these playlists are a gift to our Ministry Forum community—small offerings of sound and spirit that accompany you in this season of growth, movement, and grace.
Soul Work for Better Leadership
A book I read recently brought the importance of this intentionality into focus for me. Ruth Haley Barton’s Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry reminds ministry leaders that we need to take time in solitude to nourish our very souls.
Paying Attention to the Quiet: Mindfulness and Ministry
In our fast-paced world, ministry leaders often find themselves swept up in the “adrenaline of busyness.” Consider how mindfulness practices—like meditation apps (Headspace, Calm, Lectio 365) and prayer—can help us notice and tend to our inner life. Sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is simply stop, breathe, and listen to what our souls are trying to say.
Trauma-Informed Practice: Fundamental Concepts for Complex Workplaces
Thanks to some additional funds from the Lilly Grant Foundation, we’re hosting monthly webinars are several important topics between now and November.
How to Practice A Flourishing Ministry | Duke Clergy & Religion Research Collaborative
What does it actually mean to be well in ministry? The team at Duke’s Clergy & Religion Research Collaborative explores this question in their Fully Alive resource—a guide to cultivating deep, sustainable well-being in ministry.
Trauma-Informed Preaching
In our churches today, we preach to congregations where people are carrying untold burdens — personal pain, communal grief, generational wounds, every type of trauma. The pulpit is not immune to these realities either. Preachers bring their own scars, questions, and unresolved tensions into the sacred task of proclamation.
Knowing this, how do we preach in a way that acknowledges trauma without re-opening wounds?
How can our sermons participate in healing without bypassing the brokenness?
Reading in Community: ICS’s Summer Read, On Tyranny
If you’re like our team at Ministry Forum then summer is a time to slowing oyur pace, catch up on good books, and reconnect with the deeper questions that shape our faith and practice. That’s why we want to highlight an offering from our neighbours at the Institute for Christian Studies (ICS): their 2025 Summer Read, featuring Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century.
Just do ONE thing.
Years ago, when I was on an Inter-mission (if you don’t know what that is… check it out here!) I discovered that I would be OFF for 100 Days. So for those 100 Days I committed to doing just one thing. Each day I’d have one thing I wanted to accomplish - it could be visiting somewhere, fixing something around my home, completing a task from start to finish - but it was always just ONE THING and when it was done. The rest of the day was my own to simply be. It was an amazing way to approach this intentional time away from my ministry context. Just do the one thing!
Inter-mission: People are asking, so let’s talk about it!
More and more ministry leaders are talking about it —some are exploring the possibility, others are making plans, and many are asking: Could I take one too? At Ministry Forum, we’ve returned to this topic often—not just because it’s timely, but because we’re deeply passionate about it. We believe in ministry that is sustainable, grounded, and spiritually whole. And Inter-mission can be a powerful part of that journey.
Celebrating Sara Traficante: A Year of Listening, Leading, and Lifting Voices
Sara has been a deeply thoughtful and grounding presence in our community. She brings a combination of professionalism, warmth, and spiritual depth to everything she’s been a part of here at Ministry Forum. Sara really cares about people and working alongside her has been a constant reminder that faithful ministry is always relational at its core
Creative Ways: Insights from our Interns
As the academic year concludes, we’ve asked Sara and Rachel, our Ministry Forum interns to share their reflections and take aways from Creative Ways 2025.
Celebrating Rachel Kennedy-Proctor: Hope and Bold Leadership for the Future Church
Whether preaching, podcasting, or mentoring youth, Rachel models the kind of leadership that listens deeply and speaks prophetically—never shying away from the tough questions but always pointing us toward hope. We’ve been encouraged by her wisdom, challenged by her insights, and inspired by her heart for the Church’s future.
General Assembly 2025: Reflections and Take Aways
We celebrated the PCC’s 150th General Assembly with gratitude and hope. Key highlights included the “Narratives of Hope and Possibility,” new calls to prayer and action, and a renewed commitment to communication and change.
Recap: Creative Ways 2025
On Sunday, June 1st we hosted Creative Ways 2025 as a space for ministry leaders to explore how the Church can respond faithfully and creatively to today’s complex needs. This year’s gathering focused on justice, housing, reconciliation, and prayer—rooted in real stories and courageous leadership.
Interview with The Rev. Dr. Paul Scott
In November 2024, The Rev. John Borthwick, Director of the Centre for Lifelong Learning and Curator of Ministry Forum took the opportunity while on retreat at Sumac Centre with some clergy colleagues to interview The Rev. Dr. Paul Scott, Sumac’s resident director. Paul recently celebrated his 60th anniversary of graduation from Knox College at the College’s 40+ Alumni Luncheon held last month. Unfortunately, the audio recording of this interview was corrupted (“Not surprisingly”, we imagine Paul would say!) and we weren’t able to turn it into an episode of The Ministry Forum Podcast. So instead, we’ve salvaged some of the nuggets of the conversation and we’re sharing them here with you!
What I learned at the Ministry Mental Health Summit
Heather Robinson, a recent MTS graduate, shares her reflections from attending the Ministry Mental Health Summit, sponsored in part by Ministry Forum. Drawing on Dr. Hillary McBride’s keynote on embodiment and sustainable care in ministry, Heather unpacks how spiritual trauma—what McBride calls "Holy Hurt"—can be addressed through a holistic understanding of the body and healing. Her insights are a heartfelt reminder that ministry leaders are not alone in their journey toward mental and spiritual restoration.
The Sanctuary Course: Bring Mental Health Ministry to Your Congregation
With endorsements from Ministry Forum members and a flexible, accessible design, The Sanctuary Course offers churches a meaningful way to support mental wellness through small groups, staff discussions, or formation programs.
Resources for LGBTQI+ Inclusion
As we continue through Pride Month, we reaffirm our commitment to fostering inclusive, welcoming spaces within our faith communities. The Ministry Forum Resource Hub offers a curated selection of resources designed to support churches in their journey toward greater LGBTQI2S+ inclusion. These resources aim to equip ministry leaders with the tools and insights necessary to create environments where all individuals feel seen, valued, and loved.
Resource Hub 2025
The Resource Hub has one simple goal: to equip ministry leaders with tools that are practical, diverse, and accessible. Whether your focus is pastoral care, youth work, administration, or preaching we want the Resource Hub to meet you where you are.
Why We Love Ministry Forum
As we mark this season of growth and look ahead with gratitude and anticipation, we wanted to pause and reflect on what this work has meant to us. The reflections that follow come from members of the Ministry Forum team - each offering a glimpse into why this work continues to matter and what they have seen take root through it.