Agenda.
Welcome to the Sankofa Experience! Our dedicated Plenary and Workshop committees have carefully crafted a comprehensive program designed to inspire, educate, and equip every attendee.
We've assembled an exceptional lineup of speakers from across the United States—thought leaders, practitioners, and visionaries who share our commitment to spiritual growth and community support. Each session has been thoughtfully designed to serve our diverse community of chaplains and ministry professionals.
Our goal is simple: to provide you with the knowledge, tools, and spiritual renewal you need to return to your calling with renewed purpose and energy. Whether you're seeking practical skills, theological insights, or personal refreshment, you'll find sessions tailored to meet you where you are in your journey.
Explore the sessions below and create your personalized conference experience. We're confident you'll discover exactly what you need to enhance your ministry and deepen your impact in the communities you serve.
Conference Agenda
2026 Sankofa CPE Conference
April 21-24, 2026
Oakbrook Marriott
Tuesday, April 21, 2026
12:00 PM Conference Registration
(Vendors Available)
2:00 PM Hotel Check In
6:00 PM Conversation with Dr. Buhuro
7:00 PM Social Event/House Party kick off
(Vendors Available)
Wednesday, April 22, 2026
7:00 AM Continental Breakfast
(Vendors Available)
8:00 AM Plenary Session: Emotional Intelligence as a Spiritual Discipline
This plenary explores emotional intelligence not just as a psychological tool but as a spiritual discipline.
Dr. Nathaniel D. West, LPC
9:00 AM Conversation with Dr. Buhuro
9:45 AM Mid-Morning Break
(Vendors Available)
10:00 AM Workshop A: Dear Pastor, Do You Want To Be Made Well?
This workshop offers practical mental health strategies tailored to clergy, addressing burnout, anxiety, and the unique emotional demands of ministry. Participants will be introduced to
therapeutic tools and self-care models they can incorporate into their daily lives.
Workshop B: Rest and Joy as a Resistance
This session explores the transformative power of rest and joy as radical acts of resistance against burnout, grind culture, and emotional depletion. It equips clergy to reclaim rest as a
spiritual practice and cultivate joy as a form of resilience.
Workshop C: Creating Space for Mental Wellness in Our Sacred Spaces
This workshop guides clergy in fostering a culture of mental wellness within their ministries. It emphasizes the importance of modeling healthy practices and creating affirming environments where mental health is prioritized and destigmatized.
11:00 AM Workshop A: Combating Sexism, Homophobia, and Transphobia in Ministry
This session challenges systemic barriers in religious settings that impact emotional and spiritual safety. It equips clergy to lead with inclusivity and justice while fostering affirming spaces for marginalized communities.
Workshop B: High Functioning/Burnout
A focused look at how clergy often operate in a high-functioning state while experiencing internal burnout. This workshop will help participants recognize the warning signs and develop proactive recovery strategies.
Workshop C: Joy as Resistance
A focused look at how clergy often operate in a high-functioning state while experiencing internal burnout. This workshop will help participants recognize the warning signs and develop proactive recovery strategies.
12:00 PM Lunch (provided)
1:00 PM Plenary: Wells of Joy
Discussion of making joy a mandate in a healthy Christian life; organizing life around moments of refueling and operating from overflow as a default.
Dr. Jessica Young Brown, LCP
2:00 PM Workshop A: Dear Pastor, Do You Want To Be Made Well?
This workshop offers practical mental health strategies tailored to clergy, addressing burnout, anxiety, and the unique emotional demands of ministry. Participants will be introduced to therapeutic tools and self-care models they can incorporate into their daily lives.
Workshop B: Rest and Joy as a Resistance
This session explores the transformative power of rest and joy as radical acts of resistance against burnout, grind culture, and emotional depletion. It equips clergy to reclaim rest as a spiritual practice and cultivate joy as a form of resilience.
Workshop C: Creating Space for Mental Wellness in Our Sacred Spaces
This workshop guides clergy in fostering a culture of mental wellness within their ministries. It emphasizes the importance of modeling healthy practices and creating affirming environments where mental health is prioritized and destigmatized.
3:10 PM Workshop A: Combating Sexism, Homophobia, and Transphobia in Ministry
This session challenges systemic barriers in religious settings that impact emotional and spiritual safety. It equips clergy to lead with inclusivity and justice while fostering affirming spaces for marginalized communities.
Workshop B: High Functioning/Burnout
A focused look at how clergy often operate in a high-functioning state while experiencing internal burnout. This workshop will help participants recognize the warning signs and develop proactive recovery strategies.
Workshop C: Joy as Resistance
A focused look at how clergy often operate in a high-functioning state while experiencing internal burnout. This workshop will help participants recognize the warning signs and develop proactive recovery strategies.
7:00 PM Evening Worship
Dr. Gail Rice
Thursday, April 23, 2026
7:00 AM Continental Breakfast
(Vendors Available)
8: 00 AM Morning Worship
Rev. Dr. Ebony D. Only
9:00 AM Conversation with Dr. Buhuro
9:45 AM Mid-Morning Break
10:00 AM Workshop A: Mitigating the Messiah Complex
This workshop addresses the internalized pressure clergy often feel to “save everyone.” It encourages healthy delegation, boundary setting, and sustainable ministry leadership practices.
Workshop B: Letting Go of the Guilt
Many pastors carry guilt—spiritual, emotional, or familial—that weighs heavily on their ministry and well-being. This session helps clergy explore the roots of that guilt and learn strategies for releasing it.
Workshop C: Pediatric Chaplaincy
This specialized session offers insight into the emotional and spiritual care needs of children in crisis, their families, and the chaplains who serve them. It includes practical approaches to trauma-informed care in pediatric settings.
11:00 AM Mid-Morning Break
(Vendors Available)
11:15 AM Midday Plenary
Rev. Dr. Wm. Marcus Small
12:15 PM Lunch (Provided)
(Vendors Available)
1:30 PM Workshop A: Spiritual Entrepreneurship: Cash Rules Everything Around me (C.R.E.A.M)
This workshop explores how clergy can develop sustainable, spirit-led businesses or ministries. It includes discussion on calling, funding, structure, and balance, and empowers participants to move boldly in purpose.
Workshop B: Addiction and Spiritual Care: Whisky After Worship
A session focused on clergy and substance use, this workshop addresses the reality of addiction within spiritual leadership. It provides tools for support, accountability, and healing— both for leaders and those they serve.
Workshop C: Grief and Loss
This workshop supports clergy navigating personal or communal grief. Through a trauma- informed lens, participants will explore spiritual practices and pastoral responses that honor loss and hold space for healing.
2:45 PM Workshop A: Spiritual Entrepreneurship: Cash Rules Everything Around me (C.R.E.A.M)
This workshop explores how clergy can develop sustainable, spirit-led businesses or ministries. It includes discussion on calling, funding, structure, and balance, and empowers participants to move boldly in purpose.
Workshop B: Addiction and Spiritual Care: Whisky After Worship
A session focused on clergy and substance use, this workshop addresses the reality of addiction within spiritual leadership. It provides tools for support, accountability, and healing— both for leaders and those they serve.
Workshop C: Grief and Loss
This workshop supports clergy navigating personal or communal grief. Through a trauma- informed lens, participants will explore spiritual practices and pastoral responses that honor loss and hold space for healing.
6:30 PM Evening Worship
Rev. Dr. Reginald Williams Jr.
Friday, April 24, 2026
7:30 AM Continental Breakfast/Registration
(Vendors Available)
8: 30 AM Plenary: Leading While Bleeding and Healing at the same time
This plenary explores the emotional and spiritual toll of ministry, as Bishop Vanessa M. Brown reflects on what it means to lead while bleeding, heal while serving, and reclaim one’s
humanity amid heartbreak, betrayal, and sacred responsibility.
Bishop Rev. Dr. Vanessa M. Brown
9:30 AM Sankofa Address
Rev. Dr. Danielle Buhuro, Ph.D.
10:45 AM Conclusion/Departure