Open Arms sponsors retreat for child-care directors

Editor’s note: This retreat is being rescheduled for a later date, possibly in late September or early October 2013. To read a related story, “Open Arms postpones Directors Retreat,” click here.

The Open Arms Institute is sponsoring a Directors Retreat for Open Arms child care center directors and assistant directors July 31-Aug. 2 at The Lutheran Church of the Ascension in Atlanta.

Open Arms is an LCMS Recognized Service Organization based in Williamsburg, Va., that provides “encouragement and guidance for quality Christian child care with new church planting and with existing congregations,” according to the organization’s website.

The upcoming retreat is designed to “explore center management strategies that will promote ministry outreach, build strong teams and establish a foundation that is financially responsible.”

Open Arms CEO Rev. Dr. Philip Kuehnert told Reporter the ministry has found that “gathering directors together face to face is one of the most effective ways of supporting directors in their challenging vocation.”

Presenters at the retreat are:

Kuehnert, who was pastor of Ascension, Atlanta, when the congregation started the first two Open Arms centers in 1989 and 1990. Today, there are more than 60 Lutheran child-development centers in operation synodwide that have their origins in the Open Arms model.

Shelta Collins, director of Operations for the Open Arms Institute.

Lindsey Kilgannon, director of the largest Open Arms facility — the Open Arms Christian Child Development Center in Ashburn, Va., a ministry of Our Savior’s Way Lutheran Church, Ashburn.

Topics to be covered during the retreat include “Instilling a Passion for Ministry,” “Strengthening the Team,” “Conflict Resolution,” “Assuring the Quality while Stewarding the Resources,” “Stress Release Strategies and Fun,” “Time Management and Checklist for Fall Preparation” and “The Power of Networking: Encourage One Another.”

Devotions will focus on “The Personal Spiritual Life of the Director,” “Building a Spiritual Partnership with your Parents” and “Creating a Spiritual Caring Community with your Staff.”

Registration is $100 ($85 for each additional person from the same center) and includes two meals plus conference materials.

For more information or to register, visit the Open Arms website at openarmsinstitute.com or call the ministry’s Williamsburg office toll-free at 888-958-OPEN (6736).

Updated June 25, 2013, and July 16, 2013