The Church of the Brethren in the Czech Republic, known in Czech as Církev bratrská, is preparing its annual pastoral conference for ministers and their spouses. This year's gathering is to be held again at the Hotel Jezerka in the wooded Železné hory hills near the Seč reservoir, and takes as its theme "Spiritual Renewal".
The programme is organised by the denomination's Council together with its Department for Education, and the main speakers are Kateřina Lachmanová and Jaroslav Pokorný. Alongside the plenary sessions, ministers choose from experiential Saturday seminars, with a deadline of 21 October to make their selection. The weekend also includes an evening of prayer, thanksgiving, confession and praise, and closes with a Sunday service celebrating Communion. The conference is a fixed point in the yearly rhythm of a denomination that traces its life to the revival movements of the nineteenth century and remains one of the Czech Republic's established free churches.
The theme of renewal places the emphasis on the ministers themselves rather than on programmes, at a time when Czech congregations work in one of Europe's most secular societies. The denomination has been active in recent months in projects aimed at people outside its own walls, including the national HledamBoha.cz conversation project on faith, and its Council has published priorities running to 2029. A conference devoted to the spiritual refreshment of pastors is, in that setting, as much about sustaining the congregations they serve as about the retreat itself.
(Originally published in Czech. Summary translated by CC / Connexion.)
Source: Církev bratrská / Brána — portal.cb.cz
