LARCUM 2025

Theme: Nicaea at 1700

Presenters

Lutheran: The Rev. Dr. William "Bill" Russell

The Rev. Dr. William Russell, a specialist in the life and work of Martin Luther, works at the intersection of the academy and the church, where he interprets the Reformer’s chief insights for modern audiences. With a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa and an M.Div. from Luther Seminary, Russell has served in a variety of academic and pastoral ministry settings. From 2022-24, he coordinated the Lutheran Confessions’ Project for the Lutheran World Federation. His 1989 dissertation is titled "'The Smalcald Articles' as a confessional document in the context of Martin Luther's life and theology." He is the translator of the Smalcald Articles in the Kolb/Wengert edition of the Book of Concord. He’s authored/translated 10 books and dozens of articles and reviews. His books in print include:

• What to do During an Epidemic by Martin Luther, William R. Russell, Contributing Editor and Translator (ALPB.org, 2021).
• The Ninety-Five Theses and Other Writings by Martin Luther, William R. Russell, Contributing Editor and Translator (New York: Penguin Random House, 2017), a.k.a., “The Penguin Classics Luther.”
• Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings, Revised Third Edition, Timothy Lull and William Russell, Editors (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2012).

A sought-after speaker, he has addressed audiences from Canada to Brazil, Malaysia to Nigeria, Norway to South Africa. He is married to The Rt. Rev. Ann Svennungsen, former bishop of the ELCA’s Minneapolis Area Synod; they have three grown children and four grandchildren.

Anglican: The Rev. Ben Wyatt

Fr. Ben Wyatt is an Episcopal priest in the diocese of Indianapolis, where he serves as Priest-in-Charge of Church of the Nativity. He holds an M.Div. and S.T.M. from Yale Divinity School, where he completed research on ancient mysticism and contemporary theology. He is the author of Christ and the Council, a forthcoming book describing the Nicene controversy and its legacy. He is the writer and host of the podcasts The Road to Nicaea and In Simeon’s Wake. Ben is also a psychotherapy resident who works with adults and teenagers on a wide variety of mental health issues. In his spare time, he enjoys exercising and creating new, experimental ice cream flavors.

Roman Catholic: The Most Rev. Mark E. Brennan & The Rev. Dr. Thomas Anatharackal  Sebastian, CST

A native of Boston, Bishop Brennan is the son of the late Edward Charles Brennan and Regina Claire Lonsway. He attended public schools in Massachusetts and Maryland before entering St. Anthony High School in Washington, D.C. Bishop Brennan graduated from Brown University in 1969 with a degree in history, and then entered Christ the King Seminary in Alleghany, New York, for a year of philosophy before attending the Pontifical North American College in Rome for his theological studies.

A parish priest for nearly his entire career, Bishop Brennan was assigned to Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Potomac, MD, from 1976-81; St. Pius X Parish in Bowie, MD, from 1981-85; St. Bartholomew Parish in Bethesda, MD, from 1986-88; St. Thomas Apostle Parish in Washington, D.C., from 1998-2003; St. Martin of Tours Parish in Gaithersburg, MD from 2003-16. Bishop Brennan attended Spanish Language courses and Hispanic cultural studies in the Dominican Republic and in Colombia from 1985-86. From 1988 to 1998, Bishop Brennan was the Director of Priestly Vocations in the Archdiocese of Washington. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Baltimore on Dec. 5, 2016, and ordained on Jan. 19, 2017.

On July 23, 2019, Bishop Brennan was appointed ninth bishop of Wheeling-Charleston by Pope Francis and was installed on August 22, 2019. During his episcopacy, Bishop Brennan has taken a number of steps to increase accountability and transparency in the Church in West Virginia. He has expanded the Diocese’s Safe Environment Program to include strengthened background checks and fingerprinting. Additionally, Bishop Brennan has committed to ongoing financial transparency through the yearly public distribution of the audited financial statements of the Diocese. Most importantly, Bishop Brennan has remained steadfast in continuing the Diocese’s commitment to the service of those in need through the work of Catholic Charities West Virginia.

Click here to learn more about Bishop Brennan on the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston website.

Fr. Sebastian, CST, is co-presenting with Bishop Brennan. He holds Doctorate in Theology (Christology) from the Catholic University of Leuven, in Belgium.
He entered religious life in the Little Flower Congregation (CST), Kerala, India in 1979, making perpetual profession in 1988. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1991. He has served as Rector, Novice-Master and Vicar-Provincial of the St. Thomas Province of the Little Flower Congregation in India. He currently serves as the Pastor of Our Lady of Grace Roman Catholic Church, Romney, and Assumption Roman Catholic Church, Keyser, WV.

United Methodist: The Rev. Dr. Sarah Heaner Lancaster

LARCUM 2025 on Social Media

LARCUM 2024

Theme: Holy Communion — Contemporary Questions

LARCUM 2024 gathering at Saint John XXIII Pastoral Center, Charleston, WV, 20-22 May 2024, under the theme Holy Communion — Contemporary Questions. Attendees heard from presenters from all four traditions (Lutheran, Anglican, Roman Catholic, and United Methodist), not a rehashing past conversations but diving into matters related to digital/virtual communion, first communion education, the communing of those not baptized, and more.

Presenters

Lutheran: The Rt. Rev. Matthew Riegel

Bishop Riegel was elected 6 June 2015 by the Synod Assembly and assumed office on 1 September 2015 as the third bishop of the WV-WMD Synod, succeeding The Most Rev. Dr. Ralph Dunkin.

Riegel served as the Chaplain of the Lutheran Campus Ministry at WVU since August 2000. Prior to that, he served six years as the pastor of Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, Westernport, MD, and Trinity Memorial Ev. Lutheran Church, Keyser, WV. He also served interim pastorates for St. Paul Lutheran Church, Morgantown, St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Clarksburg, and St. Johannes Lutheran Church, St. Clara Community.

Riegel earned an M.Div. with honors in both Systematic Theology and Church History from the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg, in 1994, and an S.T.M. from the same institution in 2011. His S.T.M. thesis explored the doctrine of sanctification as articulated in classical Lutheranism. His primary research interest is the sanctification of ecclesiastical politics, synthesizing theological anthropology, ecclesiology, and sanctification. He majored in History at Gettysburg College, earning his B.A. in 1987.

Riegel serves on the ELCA's Civic Life and Faith Task Force that is tasked with the development of a social statement on government, civic engagement, and the relationship of church and state. He also serves on the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church. He is the current president of the Lutheran Historical Society of the Mid-Atlantic and also serves on the Board of Directors of Mountainside Baroque.

Click here to learn more about Bishop Riegel on the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod website.

Anglican: The Rev. Canon Dr. Lizette Larson-Miller

Dr. Lizette Larson-Miller is Professor of Liturgy and Sacramental Theology at Bexley-Seabury. She is also canon precentor for the Diocese of Huron (Anglican Church of Canada) and the former Huron-Lawson Chair of Liturgical Studies at Huron University College (concluding on June 30, 2023). Her first degrees were in music (conducting and church music from the University of Southern California). She then earned an additional M.A. in liturgical studies (St. John’s, Collegeville), and a Ph.D. in liturgical history and sacramental theology (GTU, Berkeley). She is the author of four books and numerous articles, including Sacramentality Renewed (2016), and past president of both Societas Liturgica and IALC (International Anglican Liturgical Consultation, a network of the Anglican Communion). She has written extensively on rites with the sick, dying, and dead, as well as on sacred space, popular religiosity, and contemporary ritual issues. She states, "My teaching aim is to introduce, broaden, and enrich students' knowledge of Christian liturgical studies. Liturgy encompasses many different disciplines in addition to engaging students in both academic research and pastoral application." She was ordained in the Diocese of Los Angeles in 2003 and has served in a number of Episcopal and Anglican (Canadian) parishes in addition to teaching at Loyola Marymount University, University of Notre Dame, CDSP, and Huron.

Roman Catholic: The Most Rev. Mark E. Brennan & Fr. Thomas Sebastian, CST

A native of Boston, Bishop Brennan is the son of the late Edward Charles Brennan and Regina Claire Lonsway. He attended public schools in Massachusetts and Maryland before entering St. Anthony High School in Washington, D.C. Bishop Brennan graduated from Brown University in 1969 with a degree in history, and then entered Christ the King Seminary in Alleghany, New York for a year of philosophy before attending the Pontifical North American College in Rome for his theological studies.

A parish priest for nearly his entire career, Bishop Brennan was assigned to Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Potomac, MD, from 1976-81; St. Pius X Parish in Bowie, MD, from 1981-85; St. Bartholomew Parish in Bethesda, MD, from 1986-88; St. Thomas Apostle Parish in Washington, D.C., from 1998-2003; St. Martin of Tours Parish in Gaithersburg, MD from 2003-16. Bishop Brennan attended Spanish Language courses and Hispanic cultural studies in the Dominican Republic and in Colombia from 1985-86. From 1988 to 1998, Bishop Brennan was the Director of Priestly Vocations in the Archdiocese of Washington. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Baltimore on Dec. 5, 2016, and ordained on Jan. 19, 2017.

On July 23, 2019, Bishop Brennan was appointed ninth bishop of Wheeling-Charleston by Pope Francis and was installed on August 22, 2019. During his episcopacy, Bishop Brennan has taken a number of steps to increase accountability and transparency in the Church in West Virginia. He has expanded the Diocese’s Safe Environment Program to include strengthened background checks and fingerprinting. Additionally, Bishop Brennan has committed to ongoing financial transparency through the yearly public distribution of the audited financial statements of the Diocese. Most importantly, Bishop Brennan has remained steadfast in continuing the Diocese’s commitment to the service of those in need through the work of Catholic Charities West Virginia.

Click here to learn more about Bishop Brennan on the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston website.

Fr. Thomas Anatharackal Sebastian, CST, is co-presenting with Bishop Brennan. Fr. Sebastian holds doctorate in theology from the University of Louvain in Belgium.

He entered religious life in the Congregation of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux in 1983, making perpetual profession in 1988. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1991. He currently serves as the parish priest of Assumption Roman Catholic Church, Keyser, WV.

During out LARCUM, he will tie in the Eucharist to the Incarnation of the Son of God.

United Methodist: The Rev. Dr. Eliezer Valentín-Castañón

Dr. Valentín-Castañón stepped up to the plate at the last minute, filling in for Bishop LaTrelle Miller Easterling, as the presenter for the United Methodists. Valentín-Castañón serves as a district superintendent in the Baltimore-Washington Conference of The United Methodist Church.

LARCUM 2024 on Social Media

LARCUM 2023

Theme: Evangelism?

LARCUM 2023 gathered 8-10 May 2023, at John XXIII Pastoral Center, Charleston, WV, under the title, "Evangelism?" the title telegraphing that it would no typical evangelism conference. Rather than focusing on the how of evangelism—there are plenty of other conferences and events that do that—we LARCUM focused on the why of evangelism. Evangelism was selected as the theme for LARCUM 2022 by the attendees of LARCUM 2019. It took us 3½ years to finally address the topic, the pandemic militating against gathering.

Presenters

Lutheran

David Hahn has been serving the Northwest Washington Synod since 2015. He brings a unique intersection of practical parish ministry experience (MDiv 1997) alongside deep theological reflection, primarily curated through his PhD work as a missiologist (Luther Seminary, 2014). He has served as an adjunct professor at Luther Seminary, Wartburg Seminary, Seattle University, and Rochester University teaching MDiv/DMin courses in missional church, leadership, organizational change and complexity.

He is most excited about developing the LiVE Project alongside a faithful team of synod leaders. Living into Vocational Engagement, LiVE, is the synod’s newest initiative focused on partnering with lay leaders to deepen their own exploration and discovery of God’s passion for their lives and communities. For more information see our LiVE page.

David deeply appreciates the interdisciplinary nature of his work and how it continues to inform congregational life and growth to share in God’s mission already moving among us in our world. Such areas of continued study and interest include the intersectionality of race and gender studies, whiteness and the influence/impact of patriarchal structures operative in the church’s life and mission, as well as organizational change and complexity.

Roman Catholic

Daniel Maul hails from South Holland, Illinois, a southern suburb of Chicago. In the winter of 2020, right before COVID hit, he moved from Hammond, Indiana, with his wife (Amanda) and two small children (Daniela and Abram), to become the Director of the Department of Faith Formation and Mission for the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. In June of 2020, that department took on additional diocesan responsibilities for youth, young-adult, and campus ministries, and was renamed the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis. He is currently its director. Daniel has a Bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Saint Norbert College, and a Master’s degree in Theology from Catholic Theological Union, in Chicago. He did years of doctoral work in Theology at Loyola University Chicago, before finally giving up and ending as an ABD. He’s been a parish youth minister, a DRE, a high school theology teacher, and a part-time, adjunct, theology professor. He lives with his family in the Warwood neighborhood of Wheeling, WV, where they belong to Corpus Christi Parish. He feels the love of God intensely and wishes nothing more than to share the Good News message of Jesus Christ with others.

United Methodist

Heather Lear is the Vice President for Grant Administration at The Foundation for Evangelism, a pan-Wesleyan foundation focusing on raising up Gospel leaders, engaging the laity, and equipping the local church. Prior to joining the FFE staff, Heather served for 6 years as the Director of Evangelism at the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church, where she spent her time training leaders, creating resources, teaching at seminaries, and building ecumenical partnerships. Her work on the intersection of evangelism, discipleship, and mission was featured at several World Council of Churches gatherings across the globe, including the 2018 Conference on World Mission and Evangelism. She is an elder in the North Carolina Annual Conference and pastored three congregations over 12 years.

Heather holds degrees from Boston University, Duke Divinity School, and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. In her spare time, you can find Heather at the baseball field cheering on her teenage son, coaching youth basketball, or spending time with her husband of over 20 years.

LARCUM 2023 on Social Media

Yes, we do have a social media presence. Check out out "WV LARCUM" Facebook page—follow and/or like us while you are there. Lutherans can even join Team Wittenberg, a subgoup attached to the page—if you are jealous, convince your tradition's planner to set up a tradition-specific group. We also create Facebook events for specific conferences, e.g., "LARCUM 2023." Since we have a social media presence, don't be shy about sharing.

LARCUM 2019

LARCUM 2019, held under the "Christianity & Civil Government: History, Theology, Implications (for Citizens, Pastors, and Institutions)," was very well attended with 49 registered. In a rare move, a common presenter, Dr. John Taylor, was invited in addition to the presenters from the four traditions. Taylor, the Jackson Kelly Professor at the WVU College of Law, provided a brilliant outline of the history of church & state issues in American juriprudence. Dr. Philip Michelback of the Department of Political Science, WVU, and The Rt. Rev. Matthew Riegel, bishop of the WV-WMD Synod, Evangelical Lutehran Church in America, presented for the Lutherans. Michelbach lectured on Luther's influence upon the development of modern democratic thought in the west. Riegel tackeled questions of church & state relations as they might be informed by Augustana XXVIII and the doctrine of vocation within the three estates. The Rev. Dr. Jason Fout, Professor of Anglican Theology at Bexley Seabury, traced notable anglican voices with respect to civic engagement. The Rev. Dr. Clayton Childers of the UMC Board for Church and Society discussed UMC practrice and theory related to church-state relations and civic engagement. Fr. Brian O'Donnell, S.J., presented on Roman Catholic teaching regarding the state and the its relationship to the church. If you would like to check out some pics and posts from LARCUM 2019, click here.

Questions?