Workshops for Churches

This is a kairos moment for the church.

It's an opportunity to become fully alive.

In this time of change, we can learn how to listen with our whole selves, be agile, playfully collaborate, and cultivate our prophetic imagination.

What might be possible if we did?

WHAT PEOPLE SAY

David and Sara led an Applied Improv Workshop for 120 of our church leaders from various contexts and backgrounds in our Northwest Coast Presbytery. Their confident, supportive leadership along with a thoughtfully sequenced set of improvisational engagements and spot-on reflections were fantastic! We discovered how an improv approach can deepen and expand the joy, creativity, and hopefulness of our ministry. If you want to continue with paralyzing analysis, erudite scholarship, and current forms of engagement, don’t invite them. But if you want your people to experience joy, laughter, and deeper connections with each other while leaning into creativity, hope, and play, then invite David and Sarah today!

Corey Schlosser-Hall

Executive Presbyter

NW Coast Presbytery PC-USA

— Karolyn Labes

In our workshops we facilitate applied improv exercises and guide conversations to help you integrate and translate the learning for your church.

Absolutely no theatre experience necessary. Both Sara and David create safe spaces that enable people to be present, discover joy, fail freely, and build connections.

Contact David at david@BePresentDiscoverJoy.com or
Sara at saramatemac@gmail.com to connect and hear how their workshops can help your church cultivate core skills.

Sara McMahon is an improviser, teacher, and facilitator who's been performing and teaching around the Seattle area for 15 years. She has facilitated workshops for elementary, middle, and high schools, tech companies, all-staff church and company retreats, couples, parent-child improv nights, and even mock trial teams. She tailors each workshop to the needs of the attendees, maximizing fun and connection. She believes that empathy is at the heart of both great improv and great relationships.

David Westerlund finds joy in unlocking latent resources in organizations, by increasing engagement and innovation. He is passionate about improving systems and organizational health, by improving the quality of our interactions, so we can build resilience and put more energy towards our mission. He is a member of the Applied Improv Global Network and Advancement NW. David is the founder of Be Present Discover Joy Consulting. He facilitates thought-provoking, reflective, playful workshops and his clients include: United Way of King County Development Team, US Dept of Agriculture’s Center for Training and Development, Peace Health (Patient Experience Team, and Hospital Chaplain Team), Skagit Valley College Foundation, Non-GMO Project, Bastyr University, Christ the Servant Lutheran Church, Camp Sealth (Vashon), DVSAS Whatcom, Friendship House, Francis Place, and the Lighthouse Mission. He brings 20 years of non-profit experience most recently as Director of Development and jail chaplain at Tierra Nueva.

An Interview

Get a 12 minute taste of Applied Improv Philosophy

This is an edited interview of David at Holden Village from Summer 2018. He will be on the teaching faculty again this summer (2019), during the week that ends July 4.

For more on visiting Holden Village, a beautiful retreat center in the Mount Baker Wilderness (off Lake Chelan (WA), go to holdenvillage.org