Thoughtful Conversations,
Healthier Congregations
Join us for a “lunch and learn” opportunity to connect, support, and strengthen a network of faith leaders to develop a robust exchange of ideas based in systems thinking.​ Sessions will be held quarterly, online via Zoom.
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​The format of each session will consist of:​
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Presentation (20 minutes)
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Small-group discussion with focus question (15 minutes)
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Closing group discussion with Q & A (20 minutes)
Cost: Pay what you can.
(Suggested: $5/Student; $10/HC Member; $15/Non-member)
Session 4
June 25, 2026
12:00 - 1:00 PM Eastern
Online via Zoom
Overfunctioning? Who, me? Maybe, but…​​
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Rev. Dr. Carol Jeunnette
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Murray Bowen identified reciprocal functioning (overfunctioning/underfunctioning) as one of several ways we manage anxiety. For many leaders of faith communities, overfunctioning is simply the way things are. Is it life-draining? Life-promoting? A necessary reality? Can we even recognize it in ourselves? If so, then what? Drawing on Pastor Hope’s story in Family Systems in Ministry: Growing Hope at Peace, (Carol Jeunnette and David Goodine, Fortress press, 2026), this Lunch & Learn conversation offers an opportunity to explore some challenging and potentially uncomfortable questions around overfunctioning - in family, ministry and life.
Carol Jeunnette, Ph.D., is an ELCA pastor, coach, congregational consultant, author and student of Bowen Theory. She is chair-person of the Voyagers and co-author of Family Systems in Ministry: Growing Hope at Peace. Her Ph.D. work focused on bringing Bowen Theory and aspects of process theology together to develop a pastoral theology of congregational care and leadership. (And yes, she acknowledges that she is a chronic over-functioner!)
