Small Church

Celebrating Smallness: Unleashing New Life through Collaborative Models of Mutuality

God DOES set a feast in the wilderness, so let us celebrate the opportunities ahead of us for engaging the Holy Spirit, especially in our small but mighty communities of faith.

Watch the Webinar

About the Webinar

The majority of congregations across denominations now fall into the category of “small church,” many unable to maintain a model of ministry centered around a minister. Join Lydia Kelsey Bucklin as we explore alternative models of shared ministry, focused on the gifts of the community. God DOES set a feast in the wilderness, so let us celebrate the opportunities ahead of us for engaging the Holy Spirit, especially in our small but mighty communities of faith.

Resources from this webinar:
What is mutual ministry
Mutual Ministry Annotated Bibliography

About the Presenter

The Very Rev. Lydia Kelsey Bucklin is President and Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School. She also serves as Canon Theologian in the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan and Senior Advisor to the Mutual Ministry Initiative at Virginia Theological Seminary.

Before joining EDS, Bucklin was Canon to the Ordinary in the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan (2018-2024). She also served as Missioner to two Mutual Ministry congregations in the diocese. Previously, she spent eleven years in the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, focusing on Children, Youth, and Young Adult Ministry, Communications, Congregational Development, and New Leadership Development (2007-2018).

Ordained as an Episcopal priest in 2015, Bucklin holds a master’s degree in ministry from Episcopal Divinity School (2015) and a master’s degree in social work with a specialization in Social Policy & Evaluation and Community and Social Systems. She was a Seeds Project Fellow for Faithful Innovation at Luther Seminary (2021-2022).

Bucklin has consulted with congregations and leadership across the Episcopal Church in areas of redevelopment, collaborative ministry, and emerging church, including the dioceses of Alaska, Southern Virginia, Navajoland, Massachusetts, the Gathering of Leaders, and Episcopal Church Foundation.

Rev. Bucklin is deeply committed to justice-oriented theology and collaborative ecclesiology. Her leadership is characterized by a strong emphasis on community engagement, indigenous reconciliation, and social justice advocacy, reflecting her belief in honoring each individual’s gifts in ministry.