In the months of July and August 2026, leaders from the Western Jurisdiction of the UMC will offer a series of Continuing Education Courses for Lay, Clergy and church leadership teams. These courses range from one to five weeks and will be taught fully online via Zoom. Registration and full details are available on the CST website at this link.
Courses are offered by a range of leaders throughout the Western Jurisdiction, with most class meetings in the evenings (pacific time). A few courses are highlighted below, but make sure to download the brochure to see details about all twelve offerings!
Building Beloved Community: The Courage to Love in the Face of Tyranny: Taught by the five active Bishops of the Western Jurisdiction, this course is a four-session journey reading the
book, practicing neighboring, and building a concrete action plan together. Each session asks participants to read, reflect, practice, and make one concrete move toward beloved community.
This course is for people who want to move beyond agreement, concern, or conversation alone. Class meets over four consecutive Tuesdays, beginning July 7 at 6 p.m. (Pacific).
The Fundamentals of Church Administration: Taught by Bishop Grant Hagiya, Co-President and Professor of Leadership & Innovation, Claremont School of Theology and John Woodall, President & Executive Director of the Cal-Pac Foundation. This course is designed to offer the “nuts and bolts” of church administration. It will tackle issues that aren’t provided by most seminaries: insurance, leases, staff relations, how to read a financial spreadsheet, audits, basic stewardship, annual conference tables/forms, and productivity. Designed for Clergy, laity, churches, Licensed Local Pastors, Local Pastors, Advanced CLM members, Church Administrators and Secretaries, and anyone who wants a practical class on church administration. Class meets over four consecutive Mondays, beginning July 6 at 5 p.m. (Pacific).
An Integrated System Approach to Outreach: Connecting Congregations with Non-Church Households: Taught by Rev. Dr. Peter Wernett, Founder of MissionInsite, Trustee of Claremont School of Theology. The class will focus on bringing theology and practical application together to shape a ministry plan to connect with non- churched households. The class will provide a process for a local congregation to analyze their current mission statement and how it shapes its evangelistic efforts to connect with non-church households within the Wesleyan tradition. This will be followed by determining the demographic and socioeconomic similarities and differences between the church congregants and the non-churched households in the ministry area. Included is financial, religious, and ministry application information. Following the July 29 session, the team will conclude their activity by designing a ministry effort to implement in the fall. This ministry effort will be presented at the August 25 class session. This course is designed for teams of 3 to 5 people per church. Teams should include clergy and laypersons. The course meets five times: July 8, 15, 22, 29, and August 25 at 5:30 p.m.
