Awakening the Spirit of Healing and Restoration

March 28-29, 2025
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
In-Person and Online

What would it be like to restore sanity in our world and our souls? What kind of leadership creates the conditions for people to be generous, creative, and kind? In challenging, troubling, or dark times, how do we care spiritually for ourselves and others? Join Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and the Pneuma Institute for a two-day conference designed to spark creativity, promote healing and wholeness, and begin the processes of restoration and reconciliation in ourselves and in our communities. Gather with spiritual leaders and directors, pastors and church leaders, congregational care practitioners, chaplains, community leaders, healthcare providers, and community and interfaith organizers for a shared experience of global awakening with inspiring speakers, engaging workshops, and restorative practices in community. Friday night’s keynote address will be given by bestselling author and speaker Dr. Margaret Wheatley, who will invite us into focused reflection and conversation. On Saturday, Pittsburgh Seminary’s Joan Marshall Associate Professor of Pastoral Care the Rev. Dr. Leanna Fuller will share her groundbreaking work on congregational conflict and practices of reconciliation. Workshops will explore organizational healing and reconciliation and intra/interpersonal challenges and resilience. Then, local leaders will share their stories of cultivating peace, healing, and generosity within their particular contexts.

Presenter

Dr. Margaret Wheatley received her doctorate in oganizational behavior from Harvard University, her master's in media ecology with Neil Postman from N.Y.U., and her bachelor's from the University of Rochester (with a year's study at University College London).

Meg has worked globally for decades as a consultant and speaker, and she is now co-founder and president of The Berkana Institute, where she trains Warriors for the Human Spirit — leaders who learn as a community, training with discipline and dedication to develop a stable mind and skillful ways of being. She is a best-selling author of nine books applying wisdom drawn from new science, history, and spiritual traditions to the challenges of organizational leadership and community, including Leadership and the New Science, Turning to One Another, Who Do I Choose to Be? and her most recent book, Restoring Sanity: Practices to Awaken Generosity, Creativity, and Kindness in Ourselves and Our Organizations.

Meg has received several awards and honorary doctorates. Her most recent awards include: the Leadership Legacy Award for Lifetime Achievement of the International Leadership Association (2014), where she was inducted into the Leadership Hall of Fame; the Clara Snell Woodbury Distinguished Women's Leadership Award (2016); and The Loretto Community's Mary Rhodes Award for her international work with women and grass roots traditions (2015).

The Rev. Dr. Leanna Fuller is the Joan Marshall Associate Professor of Pastoral Care at PTS. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt University (Ph.D.), Vanderbilt Divinity School (M.Div.), and Furman University (B.A.). Her most recent book is titled When Christ’s Body is Broken: Anxiety, Identity, and Conflict in Congregations (Wipf and Stock, 2016). Dr. Fuller has earned numerous fellowships, awards, and honors. She was selected to participate in the 2016-2017 Wabash Center Workshop for Early Career Theological School Faculty, and she received the Louisville Institute Dissertation Fellowship in 2010-2011. Dr. Fuller’s most recent conference paper, “One Body, Many Parts: An Ecclesiology for Churches in Conflict” was presented at the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting. Her ministry experience includes serving as associate pastor of Oakland Christian Church in Suffolk, Va., where she coordinated youth ministry and Christian education programming. Dr. Fuller also worked as chaplain resident at Riverside Regional Medical Center, in Newport News, Va., providing pastoral care for patients. Dr. Fuller's family includes her spouse, the Rev. Scott Fuller, a UCC minister and chaplain; and their young son, Simon.

Schedule

Fri., March 28

5:00-6:00 p.m. Registration and networking social with refreshments

6:00-6:30 p.m. Keynote: Dr. Margaret Wheatley (virtual presentation)

6:30-7:00 p.m. Facilitated discussion with Dr. Wheatley

7:00-7:15 p.m. Break

7:15-8:00 p.m. Roundtable Spiritual Conversations

8:00-8:15 p.m. Closing Prayer and Day Two Invitation

Sat., March 29

8:00-8:45 a.m. Registration and Light Breakfast

8:45 a.m. Welcome and Prayer

9:00 a.m. Keynote: The Rev. Dr. Leanna Fuller

10:00 a.m. Break

10:15-11:45 a.m. Workshops

Session A: Intra/Interpersonal Challenges and Resilience with Michael Mervosh

Session B. Organizational Healing and Reconciliation with Leanna Fuller

12:00-1:30 p.m. Lunch

1:30-3:00 p.m. Panel: Cultivating Peace, Healing, and Generosity in Our Communities

3:00-3:15 p.m. Break

3:15-4:00 p.m. Spiritual Insights from the Day

Registration

Please click here to register. (Registration closes at 4:00 p.m. ET on March 21.)

Questions

Please contact or call 412-924-1345.

Awakening the Spirit of Healing and Restoration Conference