Category: Events

Announcing Christianity 21

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Christianity 21: Faith in the 21st Century
21 Voices
21 Ideas
21 Minutes Each

We live in a time of epochal change.

Many find this change exciting; for others, it’s a challenge. Call it globalization, pluralization, or postmodernism, this change affects our economy, politics, government, and education—all of society. And, of course, our faith and our churches are not immune to change.

So we have gathered 21 of the most important voices for the future of Christianity—21 voices for the 21st century—to speak into our future as people of faith in this age. They represent a diverse array of backgrounds, interests, and passions, and they will provide a wide range of innovative and challenging presentations.

Christianity21 is less a conference and more a happening, an event—a gathering of voices and ideas that will shape the future of our faith. And to the 21 voices, we want you to add your voice, whether you’re a seeker or skeptic, leader or layperson, disciple or doubter.

We hope you consider joining your voice to ours at Christianity21.

Friday, October 9 – Sunday, October 11
Colonial Church of Edina
6200 Colonial Way
Minneapolis, MN 55436
$195

I am really excited about this event. I’ll can’t wait to hear from these presenters, and I get to join them as I will be speaking on “seeking justice in the everyday” I think this will be a gathering where we can really dig deep and explore where faith is headed in the 21st century. We can’t ignore that changes are happening around us, and I appreciate the opportunity to think out loud with others about what this all means. So stick it on your calenders and plan on join us in October!

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Peter Rollins at Journey

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Speaking of Peter Rollins…

Saturday, February 14, 2009

10:00am – 3:00pm

Journey Imperfect Faith Community

3009 Industrial Blvd.

Austin, TX

Journey Imperfect Faith Community will be hosting Peter Rollins, Irish philosopher of religion and a leading thinker in emergent christian theology. Pete is one of the most important voices speaking about where Christianity is heading in the 21st century. All interested parties are invited to come and hear Peter speak and to interact with him as he discusses ‘Lessons in Evandalism.’ A suggested donation of $20 is requested from attendees to assist in supporting the event. All proceeds from donations will go to Peter to assist in supporting his work with IKON.

Here is Pete’s summary of the Lessons of Evandalism tour:

The current religious landscape is cluttered with various expressions of faith that claim to rethink Christianity at the dawn of a new cultural epoch. However such groups often accomplish little more than the repackaging and redistribution of faith as we currently understand it. A repackaging that involves flashing lights, video projectors and ‘culturally sensitive’ leaders who can talk about the latest mediocre pop sensation.

Throughout his Spring 09 tour Peter will be arguing that, in the midst of this arid landscape, there exist small but fertile sites of resistance. Groups who offer a way of thinking that not only challenges the way we express faith but fundamentally ruptures the way we understand it. He will argue that these pockets of resistance represent a growing, organic movement that are proclaiming the death of God, church and religion as we know them in preparation for their resurrection in a radically different form.

Through a mix of parables, philosophy and discussion Peter will be exploring the theoretical kernel of this emerging movement and addressing its dangerous, revolutionary and transformative potential.

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Thoughts on Emergent Gatherings

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I assume most emerging folks have heard by now that the Glorietta Emergent Gathering as it has been will no longer be occurring (more info here). It’s apparently grown too organized, too structured, too different than what it once was. Given those changes the organizers are shutting it down to make room for other sorts of gatherings/events. While I understand the rationale behind the decision, I find it a bit sad. Granted I was never part of the early days of the Gathering. As hard as I tried to make it in earlier years, I was only able to attend the past two Gatherings. So apparently all I saw was the more structured, on-ramp for the newbies sort of event. And I guess I was one of those newbies trying to find my place and my voice in this conversation. I got to hear the reminisces of the “good old days” and the complaints about how things have changed, but I also seriously appreciated what I experienced. And personally I’m going to miss that.

We are being encouraged instead to seek out local events or to put them on ourselves as alternatives to the Gathering. On one hard this is a great idea. Finding others in one’s area to meet with and provide encouragement to through things like cohorts is a wonderful thing. And having put on a few local emerging conferences, I know the value of those events as well. Those are times for like-minded people bound by geography to find each other. I’ve had fun at these events and have been blessed by the people I encounter there. Sometimes these things develop into ongoing community, sometimes they don’t. As we’ve discovered with the Chicago cohort, we have an email list of over 300 contacts, but rarely see more than a dozen at any given gathering. Often people show up once or twice, attend the big events with the big name speakers, ask to be part of the network, affirm that they aren’t crazy for asking these questions, and then never plug into community. It meets a need, often a very vital need in their faith journey, but lacks a certain something for those of us committed to the emergent community for the long haul.

While I have met some wonderful people though the local events, cohorts, and conferences, I still find that most of my emerging interactions occur online. My community is scattered across the states (and the world). There are members of this community who I have only met at the big trans-regional events like the Gathering. So while I still love the idea of and will continue to help organize regional events (yes I am think of a Texas Emerging Women gathering soon), I’m going to miss the opportunity to connect with the larger emergent family. And while the idea of a National EV Conference is appealing, I doubt it will be as open-source, fun, and inexpensive as the Gathering. I doubt we will see whole families there or have the chance to cook meals together. So I’m going to miss the family reunion/pilgrimage that was the Gathering. And I’m curious how it’s absence will affect the nature of the conversation – will it truly spark more grass-roots conversations or will everything just default towards more and more structure? In other words, how can the spirit of the Gathering be maintained without the Gathering itself actually existing?

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Emergent Gathering Reflections

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That’s where I was all last week – at the Lifeway Glorieta Conference Center situated in the mountains outside of Santa Fe. As strange as it is to attend an Emergent event at a Southern Baptist camp, it does make for a stunning setting. Emma enjoying pointing out the “real mountains” (a opposed to the sand mountains we climbed in Michigan). In all she had a wonderful time there which is a good thing since we were really unsure how doing this event as a family would work. This Gathering was the first Emergent event that I have done in “mommy mode” which of course created a new dynamic for me, but I discovered that it is actually doable. Having Emma there meant we both took a very relaxed approach to the event. There was no possibility of us making every workshop or late night option, so we just stepped back and enjoyed the community where we could. So instead of stressing out about being places and becoming overwhelmed with information, we ended up having fantastic conversations wherever we were at. Playing with kids at the playground or letting Emma collect rocks on the hill were all opportunities to connect with people. And I loved that most conversations jumped straight to deeper issues and richer topics. I think everyone there was desperate for a community, a tribe as some are calling it, where those conversations are possible and so we took advantage of them at every moment.

A few random highlights from the week for me –

    • – Like I mentioned before, attending a discussion of holistic emerging parenting. I am drawn to alternative parenting ideas and generally don’t hold to the typical American style of parenting, but I’ve had a very hard time finding people to discuss those ideas with, much less learn from their experiences. The few I’ve found have not been involved in Christianity. So I’ve longed for other Christians to talk to who share my emerging journey and are exploring more holistic parenting ideas. Ideas that wrestle with spiritual formation of children outside of the assumed model of Sunday School or AWANA. Parents that see their children as people to be respected instead of pawns to be controlled. Parents who don’t hit or scream at their children on principle (and definitely don’t justify such things with the Bible). It was very refreshing to be in a group that cared about such things (men and women equally btw). We only had a short time at the Gathering to discuss such ideas, but I am in the process of creating an Emerging Parents blog to help continue that discussion.

    • – Hosting an Emerging women lunch where we got to hear each other’s stories. Women are coming to this emerging discussion from such a wide variety of backgrounds and it is helpful to hear about those journeys. We heard the stories of pain, of questioning, of anger, and of hope. As always those discussions developed into longer conversations about the whole “women in Emergent” issue. I’ll post more about those over at the Emerging Women blog later this week.
    • – Being involved in discussions about the future of Emergent Village and the role it will play. Will it be a place for newcomers to come with their pain and questions to work through new ideas or will it be pushing forward in developing practice and theology in our postmodern world? Mike has blogged about this issue here.
    • – Finally figuring out who/what The Cobalt Season is and realizing that their music is amazing (go buy their CD’s right now). And it was also amusing to discover the um, interesting, relationship Ryan Sharp has to my brother…

    • – Taking Emma into Santa Fe and trying to teach her how to walk the labyrinth at the Cathedral. She made it through one circuit and the said “I just run,” and ran to the middle. There’s got to be some spiritual analogy in there somewhere…
    • – Hanging out with friends new and old. Finally meeting some online faces. And knowing that yes, there are people in this whole emerging community that I really can connect with and wishing we weren’t scattered across the country.
  • – New Mexican food. Enough said.

And if you want to see some really good pictures from the Gathering click here.

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The Conference (briefly) and The Book (no spoilers yet)

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I am exhausted.

We had a great time at the Midwest Emergent Gathering. At least from a planners perspective everything went smoothly. Since I didn’t participate as an attendee, it is hard to say what the feel and effect of the conference was to those really experiencing it. But I had a good time. I got to spend time with people I see maybe once a year and catch up with good conversation. I met new friends and am looking forward to continued dialog with them. But we were busy, very busy. I got just a handful of hours of sleep this past weekend. Mike has posted his summary of the weekend at his blog if you are interested in hearing all about what happened.

But of course tired or not I had to read Harry Potter. I started it at 5PM last night and didn’t stop until I was done sometime after 3am. Loved it. Loved it. Loved it. It was satisfying in all ways. I think I cried for the last 300 pages or so (kinda hard not to when you read something like this when you are utterly exhausted and worn raw). I’ll wait for now to post spoilery type things. But I do have to say that after this concluding book all conservative Christians need to make a huge apology to JK Rowling, lift the bans on the books, and give them a place of honor on the spiritual fiction shelf next to the Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings (where I’ve kept my set all along…). And although satisfying, it leaves one empty in a way to see the story end. I want to read it all again, to linger in the world a while longer. Maybe I’ll read it again once Mike is done (he started it as soon as I finished last night, or early this morning I should say…). At this point I’m just waiting for someone else to finish it so I can discuss it.

So I’m physically and emotionally exhausted. But it was good.

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Jubilee USA Grassroots Conference

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Sorry for the silence here the last couple of days, I was at the Jubilee USA Grassroots Conference over the weekend. It was an exhausting weekend and I feel overwhelmed with information. At the same time, it was revitalizing and inspirational to be surrounded by so many people who have truly committed their lives to make this world a better place for everyone.

Jubilee USA exists to promote economic justice for the world, mostly through Debt Relief. They of course realize that to improve conditions worldwide debt relief is just one element that needs to happens, so they promote and partner with organizations that work on all eight of the Millennium Development Goals. But Jubilee’s main focus is to end so-called third world debt. Most Americans are unaware of the need for debt relief at all. They hear the term “debt” and think of their maxed out credit cards. But Debt Relief refers to countries that have incurred millions of dollars in debt from loans from other countries, the IMF, and the World Bank. The problem is that many of these loans were irresponsibly given, acquired (and squandered) illegally by dictators, or are remains of colonialism and the Cold War. These are debts that the people of these countries didn’t ask for or approve (like South Africans having to pay back the loans that the Apartheid government used to fight anti-apartheid efforts) and now these countries are having to use up to 80% of their national budget to repay these debts and their insane interest rates. To come up with that money the countries have cut public education, health services, and stopped hiring doctors, nurses, and teachers. Most aid the country receives from Western countries just goes straight back to West in debt repayment. To put numbers to it – Nigeria has borrowed $5 billion, to date it has paid $16 billion and still owes $32 billion. There are a number of stories and reasons why these debts are wrong, but the effect is that they are keeping the poorest countries in this world in cycles of extreme poverty.

The Jubilee movement calls for a cancellation of these debts. They invoke the Biblical principle of Jubilee to forgive debts and break the chains of injustice. Why? Because the people of these countries don’t owe and they shouldn’t pay. Besides the fact that the principles on these debts have been paid already, these weren’t their debts in the first place. A good way to help understand this is to imagine that someone stole your credit card, charged $10 billion in weapons on it and did all that before you were born. But for some reason you have to pay it all back, resulting in your children not being able to attend school, you not having clean water, and there not being health services available to you. To put a selfish spin on why cancel debts, if these countries don’t have debt canceled the environmental degradation and political instability (potential for terrorism) increases. But most of all it should be a moral choice for all people of faith or conscious who claim to care for the least of these to do whatever we can to give all people a fighting chance at life and the basic rights they deserve.

So I got to spend the weekend hearing stories about debt relief, economic justice, and human rights. I knew most of the general ideas before, but got to learn the facts and the stories this weekend. I heard of the extreme injustices being perpetrated (Vulture Funds), attempts to stand up to injustice, and stories of hope from countries whose debt has already been cancelled. I met activists from around the world – a political cartoonist from Kenya, lobbyists from DC, a human rights watch journalist in exile from Columbia. We even heard from the Ecuadorian Finance Minister who came to report in how her country is choosing to stop making payments on their onerous debt so they can spend money on basic human services. As a country they are standing up to the World Bank and the IMF (and their puppetmasters the G8). They face serious legal, economic, and political (hopefully not military) dangers in doing so, but they choose to no longer be oppressed by the rich west.

I could share any number of stories – of both horror and hope. At this point, I realize the need more than ever to get the word out about these issues. It is the government that can effect change by canceling the debts (or pressuring the IMF and World Bank to do so). But it will take people telling their elected representative (they do represent us you know) to support morality and debt relief. As I posted last week a bipartisan bill was just introduced to Congress called the Jubilee Act. It’s up to us to tell our Congresspeople to support it. Simple, easy, but something that most people (especially Christians) have an allergic reaction to (treating the government like the empire it pretends to be instead of the representative democracy it is).

I’m sure that I will be mentioning other aspects of this event on this blog in the future. I just want to conclude by mentioning something I realized during the conference. Exactly five years ago I was at another conference at Moody Bible Institute just a few blocks from the Loyola building I was at this weekend. Both events were “Christian” events (although I don’t think Jews, Muslims and Atheists would have been welcomed at the Moody one). But what sticks in my memory from the Moody event is the insane amount of time given to discussing exactly what type of clothing the women at the conference were allowed to wear – what sort of swimsuit, the exact width tank top straps had to be, and whether or not it was okay to wear jeans in church). When such an “adventures in missing the point” defines who we are as Christians instead of seeking justice and proclaiming good news to the poor I rejoice to no longer be immersed in that sort of Christian experience. For although I spent this past weekend hearing depressing and horrific stories of oppression and injustice, I came away more full of hope in God and the potential of a better world than I do from “ministry” conferences where the focus remains on stuff we should have gotten over a long time ago (accepting women’s rights for example). I got to be (for once) in an environment where gender equality was assumed and not debated and racial and ethnic diversity was the norm. It was encouraging to see that such things actually do exist (as opposed to just being endlessly discussed and debated). I am very thankful to have had this opportunity this weekend and look forward to continuing to meet with the Chicago Jubilee group to build on the grassroots campaign for justice, mercy, and love.

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Summer Conferences

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Here are the spiffy cool conferences I’ll be attending this summer. You know you wanna come too…

 

Jubilee USA Grassroots Conference here in Chicago. “The conference will include speakers from the Global South, skill-building sessions for grassroots economic justice activists (advocacy, media work, engaging congregations, etc.), and workshops that will deepen participants’ understanding of debt and economic justice issues. And of course there will also be down time for networking and having fun with global economic justice activists from around the United States.”

Because I’m all about having fun with global economic justice activists, no really, I am… It sounds like a great conference and a good way to learn more about involvement and advocacy.

and then there’s the –



 

“A church of 10,000 people that meets in a mall…
A small urban community that meets in an art gallery…
An African-American church on the south-side of Chicago…
Web communities that connect tens of thousands of people…

What do all of these have in common? They are all emerging faith communities discovering what it means to be missional in their own unique context. AND they will all be represented at the first annual Midwest Emergent Gathering, July 20-21 in the suburbs of Chicago, IL. Come learn from Tony Jones (Emergent Village), Denise Van Eck (Mars Hill Bible Church), Spencer Burke (theOoze.com), Nanette Sawyer (Wicker Park Grace), Doug Pagitt (Solomon’s Porch), and Alise Barrymore & James King (The Emmaus Community) and other missional practitioners from a wide diversity of backgrounds as we learn together about “Creating Missional Communities”.

Contribute to the conversation as we discuss, network, and learn in community together via fast-paced mainstage sessions, interactive workshops, and unstructured times for dialogue with old or new friends. Whether mainline or evangelical, emerging or traditional, high church or de-churched, you will find inspiration and ideas to help you and your faith community become more effective agents for the mission of God in this hurting world.”

Doesn’t it sound great. (okay, so yes I’m part of the planning team and need to promote it, but I still think it sounds great and am looking forward to attending!). I will be hosting an Emerging Women affinity lunch during it which anyone is welcome to attend.

If anyone is planning on attending these events let me know so we can hang out.

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NW Emerging Women Gathering

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I returned home last night from the NW Emerging Women Gathering outside of Portland, OR. It was a refreshing experience of connecting with some amazing women. I got to see some old and new friends again and meet some more. The gathering was held at the Edgefield Manor which is this amazing complex of buildings. It is part of the McMenamin’s system which I had never heard of before, but which seems really cool. They try to create “third places” for communities – with ample space for people to come and find community. So at Edgefield there was the hotel, a movie theater, a concert hall, a pool hall, a brewery and pub, a winery with tasting rooms, a distillery, gardens, and lots of fun places to just hang out. I would love to have something like that near here.

The gathering of Emerging Women was a fun time. I’ve posted summaries of our activities over at the Emerging Women blog so if you are interested, you can read that stuff there. As I expected, this gathering was very different than the other two I’ve attended so far. Granted, it was in a different area of the county (one slightly more progressive and emerging friendly imho) and hence reflected it’s surroundings. But even with similar discussions taking place at each, I have come away from each one with a different take away. At the first Midwest Gathering last spring, I was repeatedly reminded of the need to use my voice. I found the encouragement to reenter discussions, start writing, and to not fear stepping up in leadership. At our East Coast Gathering back in October I was most influenced by the ecumenical nature of the women gathered there. I came to a new appreciation of our differences and the wonderful things we can learn from our divergent traditions. At this gathering the theme that kept popping up for me was that of spiritual direction.

We were encouraged by the leaders there to find mentors and/or see a spiritual director. While the need for something like that was something I had acknowledge before, it was always in the “wouldn’t that be nice” category. It’s kinda hard to have a spiritual mentor when you don’t know anyone who you would ever consider for that role. But during the gathering I got to talk with a number of women who either are or are preparing to be spiritual directors. I got to have a short spiritual direction session as well. It is not something I had ever really considered (or really knew much about) before. So I’ll be thinking about it and looking into it.

I also liked the space given to various forms of worship at this gathering and hope to bring some of that back to our church and to the upcoming Midwest Gathering I’m planning for this March. Using one’s creativity and body in worship is not normal for us, but can be a deeply meaningful experience. I think women need these times to learn from each other, to be encouraged and empowered, and be given a refreshing space to worship and grow.

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Emerging Women Midwest Gathering

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Emerging Women Midwest Gathering
Beyond the Castle Walls—Re-Imagining the Kingdom
March 16-18, 2007
Stronghold Conference Center
Oregon, IL
 

Emerging Women are gathering again this March in a castle retreat center outside of Chicago to “Re-imagine the Kingdom.” This gathering is open to women of all ages and cultures, ministers and lay-persons, from all denominations, and at all points on their journeys of faith. You are invited to a weekend of reflection and worship, theology and praxis, teaching and learning, and (of course) friendship, food, and fun.

We will explore the stories of women who re-imagined the kingdom by challenging the dominant assumptions of their cultures in order to serve God. We will re-imagine our worship as we explore our spiritual voices and how we connect with God. We will examine how the church is being re-imagined in our emerging, postmodern world. Our time there together will refresh us and give us a vision (a new imagining) for our spiritual lives as we serve in God’s Kingdom.

We invite you to add your voice to the conversation. We expect to learn from and encourage each other – through our stories, our knowledge, our questions, and our passions. This is a gathering of community and its outcomes will rest on what the community has brought to it.

The Emerging Women Midwest Gathering will be held March 16-18 (Friday evening til noon Sunday) at the Stronghold Conference Center in Oregon, IL. Oregon is in NW Illinois, about two hours from Chicago. Limited airport runs from the Chicago area airports (Rockford, O’Hare, and Midway) will be provided. We will be staying in dormitory-style housing in a modern-day castle. The cost for the gathering is $140, which includes the registration costs, 2 nights lodging, 4 meals, and snacks. There are a very limited number of private rooms and family accommodations available (at extra cost), so please contact us as soon as possible if you require either. Some scholarships and student rates are also available.

To register click here.

Get the word out, tell your friends, help us let others know about this gathering. If you would like to be sent a file of the event brochure to print out for your church, cohort, school, or friends please let us know.

We hope to see you at the Castle!

For more information contact –
Julie Clawson –

[email protected]

Sarah Notton

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Emergent Gathering

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So what to say about the Emergent Gathering…


For starters – the Glorieta Conference Center is a fantastic place. It’s nestled in the mountains outside of Santa Fe – so one is surrounded by spectacular views, dense forests, and (this year at least) beautiful wildflowers. A beautiful place to be part of a conversation.

The campus is huge with massive meeting halls, hotels, apartments, and cabins, gardens, game areas, a lake, and at the center of everything a giant Bible (the Bible thing was really weird, to get anywhere on the campus you had to drive past the Bible – all roads led to the Bible… it was strange). At night you could see tons of stars which is something I rarely get to see here in the Chicago suburbs. The setting did serve to show me how out of shape I am given that at 7500 feet elevation I got out of breath just trying to walk from building to building.

As for the Gathering itself – it is a very organic and somewhat chaotic event. They call it a do-it-yourself kind of retreat/conference. We cooked our own meals which had been planned by other attendees. Whoever wanted to could lead a session. I led sessions on Re-imagining Feminine Imagery for God and on Emerging Women. Other offerings included open forums on theology, a photography walk, a visit to Santa Fe art galleries, discussions about salvation, a contemplative hike, forums on worship, Biblical literacy, and community involvement, and a local brewery tour and tasting. At first, I didn’t know what to make of the seeming chaos and disorganization. Nothing was really planned or discussed until it was about to happen. My “J” tendencies were beginning to stress out until I realized that in true DIY fashion, I could make the week whatever I wanted to make it. The community was coming together for an experience and what that experience became depended on how much each of us were willing to offer to the community. So I did my best to jump in.

During my time there, I got to participate in some fun discussions and meet some wonderful people. There were people there at various stages of encountering the emerging church conversation. Some people had just begun to hear about it and had come to the Gathering to find out more. Others who are in unsafe places at churches where they could loose their jobs if the wrong people discovered what books they had been reading came because they were desperate for like-minded people to talk to.

Other of us who have fully engaged in the conversation came looking for conversations that went deeper than the typical “intro to emergent” ones we often have. And all sorts of denominations were represented. There were those who had left the institutional church, evangelicals, post-evangelicals, mainliners (although they made up a smaller percentage of the whole than they did at the Emerging Women Gathering), and even an atheist interested in the emerging/postmodern approach to Christianity. I had fun making new friends and putting faces on internet friends from the Ooze and elsewhere. There were of course some of the Emergent “big names” there and it was refreshing to just hang out with them as opposed to hearing them speak from on high at a typical conference. Just hanging out with people was a huge part of the blessing of the Gathering. Be it over meals in local restaurants (yummy New Mexican food!) or over beer and wine late nights in the communal cabins – conversation was the core of this gathering.

A few “snapshots” of my favorite Gathering experiences –

– Sitting on the dock for Doug Pagitt’s discussion about getting beyond Augustinian Christianity. It was so freeing to admit that there are historical lenses that shape our perception of faith and then actually talk about what our faith might look like it we removed those cultural assumptions.
– Silly (yet somewhat serious) discussions with other Emerging Women about upcoming EW gatherings. Something about discovering the sacred feminine by dancing nude under a full moon and about theology that happens in Vegas staying in Vegas… um, yeah..
– The Wednesday night sharing session that turned into a place for people to share their poetry.
– The African drum song that we sang together after serving each other communion outside under the changing trees.

I am glad I got to experience this Gathering. I did find it to be a safe place to share ones ideas without being attacked or automatically called a heretic. It was a welcoming group and a place of hope for those of us who believe that the emerging conversation is a valid and necessary expression of the Christian faith. I will try to reflect more on specific conversations I was involved with there as well as the “emerging women” side of it over the next few days.

For those of you who attended and help make this even happen – thank you for all you had to offer and the experience you helped make it be.

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