The Faith Leadership Conference | February 6, 2026

The Faith Leadership Conference is an annual event exploring the challenges and possibilities faced by leaders of faith communities. Each year the conference has a specific focus, and includes presentations on Bowen theory, case studies, and discussion.

The conference will be held online from 10:30 am - 3:30 pm ET
It is open to all, especially those involved in congregational life in any faith tradition, and to those who teach Bowen theory.

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The Conference | Registration | Schedule | Presenters | Previous Conferences

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About

Relating without Fixing: An Approach to Parenting and Grandparenting: Life in a congregation is one of relationships. How are we to live in those relationships so that each person may grow into their fullness? How are we to live as peers, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and as children ourselves? This conference will look at relationships with an eye towards a thoughtful presence. 

We will begin the day with a brief introduction to Bowen theory, focusing especially on the relationship between generations. We will venture to traditional villages for a view of relationships and explore some of the challenges to the generations in our own culture. 

Dr. Jenny Brown will join us from Australia as keynote guest speaker. Author of Growing Yourself Up: How to Bring Your Best to All of Life’s Relationships, she will draw on decades of experience in child and family mental health. Dr. Brown writes, “Bowen family systems theory offers a surprising perspective: families find more steadiness and resilience not by fixing others, but by cultivating differentiation and learning to respond thoughtfully in the face of tension.” 

This conference is open to all, especially those involved in congregational life in any faith tradition, and to those who teach Bowen theory.

Registration

Conference fee: $95

Conference Discounts

  • Current Faith Leadership Seminar participants: Use the full discount code on your participant page.

  • Current Learning & Development participants: Use the conference discount code on your participant page.

  • Full-time students: Please contact info@thebowencenter.org with confirmation of your enrollment. A discount code will be sent to you.

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Schedule

Time

Title

Presenter
10:30 Introduction to Bowen Theory: The Generations
The passing on of the emotional process.		 Rev. Dr. Carol Jeunnette
11:45 Break
12:30 – 1:45 Expanding the View, Exploring the Challenges
Growing up in a wider emotional context.		 Rev. Edward Henley,
2:00 – 3:30 When Families Find More Steadiness
How to love our children by giving them space to grow.		 Dr. Jenny Brown

Presenters

Carol Jeunnette, MDiv, PhD 
Seeking congruencies between Bowen theory and theology, and bringing both perspectives together to promote the health of troubled congregations has been a primary focus for Carol Jeunnette, an ELCA pastor. Carol is co-author of Family Systems in Ministry: Growing Hope at Peace. She writes, teaches, leads the Voyagers group, and serves a congregation. Carol lives in Racine, Wisconsin. 

The Rev. Ed Henley, MDiv. 
Ed joined the Bowen Center faculty in 2017 and chairs the annual Faith Leadership Conference, works in the Faith Leadership Seminar, is Program Head for the Introduction to Bowen Theory course, and is a presenter and coach in other Bowen Center programs. 

Jenny Brown, PhD is Emeritus Executive Director of the Family Systems Institute, Sydney, Australia, which she co-founded in 2004. She currently directs the Family Systems Practice and the Parent Hope Project. A clinical member and supervisor with the Australian Association of Family Therapy, she has received national and international recognition for her contributions to the field, including the 2018 Distinguished Contribution Award from the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy and the 2022 Research Award from the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family in Washington, DC. She has published widely on the application of Bowen theory to child and family mental health and is the author of Growing Yourself Up: How to Bring Your Best to All of Life’s Relationships and co-editor of Bowen Family Systems Theory in Christian Ministry. Her forthcoming book, The Parenting Paradox: How to Love Our Children by Giving Them Space to Grow (Bloomsbury USA), will be released in June 2026. 

Previous Faith Leadership Conferences