The General Commission on United Methodist Men announces its 2021 Virtual National Men’s Gathering. The gathering will be held online August 28, from 11 AM to 5 PM. Keynote speakers will be the Rev. Dr. Ron Bell, pastor of Camphor Memorial UMC in St. Paul, Minn., and the Rev Tom Albin, who recently retired from The Upper Room as Director of Spiritual Formation and Congregational Life.
Albin now directs United Christian Ashrams International and is President of Albin Consulting and has authored or contributed to numerous books, articles, online courses and reference works. He will speak on Evangelism and Discipleship.
Bell, formerly a pastor in the Peninsula-Delaware Conference, provided key community leadership in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by police in Minneapolis, Minn. in 2020. He has written for several local and national publications, has a webinar series on Trauma and Empathy, and has published books about reaching Young Adults in ministry, Embracing Grief through Art, and his newest book, The Four Promises: Journeying through Past and Present Trauma. He will speak on “Combating and Healing the Trauma of Racism.”
Registration for the gathering is required. Download the flyer. Click here to register.
If you have questions, call 615-620-7277 or email rvance@gcumm.org.
Learn more about the speakers:
Rev. Dr. Bell is the senior pastor of Camphor Memorial UMC and a regular guest columnist for the Saint Paul Monitor. He has written articles for The Upper Room, UMNews.org and has published articles in the Minnesota Coalition for Death Education and Support quarterly journal among other publications. He has written three books: Bigger Than Hip Hop 7 Questions for Reaching Young Adults in Ministry, Is There Space for Me?: Embracing Grief through Art, and his latest book: The Four Promises Journeying through Past and Present Trauma. He has also created an ongoing webinar series on Trauma and Empathy that he has led with several universities including St. Paul College, Bethel University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Fuller Theological Seminary, and several others, as well as with numerous nonprofits and county agencies. Ron is married to Dr. Eboni M. Bell, and they have two sons.
Ron will be speaking in the session on “Combating and Healing the Trauma of Racism.”
Rev. Tom Albin is currently the Executive Director of the United Christian Ashrams International and President of Albin Consulting. He recently retired from his work as the Director of Spiritual Formation and Congregational Life for The Upper Room, a branch of The United Methodist Discipleship Ministries in Nashville, TN. Tom is passionate about helping others come to know Jesus Christ and grow into the mature, life-giving, joy filled, people God created us to be. He sees that evangelism and discipleship are the natural consequences of our life in Christ and the result of the Holy Spirit’s work in us. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree Magna Cum Laude in 1973. After serving as a full-time youth director at First United Methodist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he answered God’s call to ministry, completed his Master’s Degree at Fuller Theological Seminary, and began work on a Ph.D. in Ecclesiastical History in 1978 at the University of Cambridge in England. Tom has authored or contributed to numerous books, written numerous articles, online courses, and reference works. Tom and his wife, Maryle, have three married daughters and eight grandchildren.
Tom will be speaking in the session on “Evangelism and Discipleship”