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Registration for Gathering 2007 is Open!
To register for Gathering 2007, go to the EP website,
log in, then select the registration button in the left
column. You can go directly to the registra
tion page, but that bypasses the automatic fill in
feature.
For a description of the Gathering, see article 3 below.
"Faith and Politics after Christendom"
On the other side of the Atlantic,
Paternoster Press has developed a new series
called "After Christendom." The third book in
the series may be of interest to EP
endorsers. It is written by Jonathan Bartley
and titled: Faith and Politics after
Christendom: The Church as Movement for
Anarchy. Bartley is director of
Ekklesia [no
immediate relation to the EP], and also a tutor in the
certificate
of politics and theology at Sarum College in
Salisbury. Here is the publisher's synopsis:
"By definition, one of the most integral
issues raised by the idea of post-Christendom
is the relationship between church and state.
For the best part of 1700 years, the
institutional church has enjoyed a
hand-in-hand relationship with government.
Indeed, the church has often been seen as the
glue that has stopped political systems from
disintegrating into anarchy. But in this
post-Christendom era the relation of Church
and State has weakened to the point where the
church can no longer claim to play any
significant part in government." While the
historic relationship between church and
state has been quite different in the U.S.
than in the U.K., (and this book is very
"British"), I'm sure that those of us who
have been bitten with a touch of anarchy will
find the book of interest.
Reviewed by Jon Stock
Meet the EP: On-line Interview with William Cavanaugh
William Cavanaugh -- EP endorser and
coeditor of our
Christian Practices of Everyday Life book
series -- was
recently
interviewed by Godspy.com.
Cavanaugh is
introduced with these words: "We're sure some
people would be surprised to learn that there
are Catholic thinkers doing original, even
radical, theology who aren't embarrassed by
Church authority or teachings. But they
shouldn't be. In fact, not only are these
thinkers orthodox in their beliefs, they're
actually getting their radical ideas from
within Catholic tradition -- from sources like
the Church Fathers. And rather than
subverting the Church, these new ideas
instead are aimed directly at the most
entrenched secular interests -- like money, sex
and power. It's a refreshing change."
To read the text of this interview please
click here.
Gathering News
"Learning Christ: Congregational Formation for
the
Long Haul"
This summer's gathering will focus on the dynamics
of congregational formation and practical ways that
formation can be nurtured and sustained within
congregations. The planning team has a detailed list
of its hopes and dreams at the Gathering page on our website. These
include renewing our sense of the centrality of
formation in the life of Christ's church, hearing from
persons and churches about the joys and challenges
of formation, and introducing materials EP is
developing for congregational formation.
The Death Penalty Information Center
Last month, the Death Penalty
Information Center linked Tobias Winright and
Allyne Smith's EP pamphlet, Christian Worship
and Capital Punishment, to their new "Religion
and the Death Penalty" page. To read or re-read the
pamphlet, click here and
then choose either the "Online" or "Printable" option,
and scroll down to pamphlet #8.
March also saw the publication of Brent Laytham's
piece on capital punishment, "Truth,
Passion, and the Death Penalty: Can We Be Both Just
and Merciful?" in The Covenant Companion.
EP Finances
March is the month we pay our insurance. Our
general liability insurance runs $1,118 per year and
our directors and officers insurance costs $625. The
members of the board donate specifically to cover the
latter, while the general insurance is covered out of
our operating budget.
We are happy to report that at the end of the first
quarter of 2007, we are $250 in the black. As always,
we appreciate the contributions you make that keep
the EP running.
From the Editor
Throughout the season of Lent and Holy Week,
the "bLogos" section of the Ekklesia Project
website was particularly alive with
thoughtful commentaries and the occasional
odd bit of information (where else are you
likely to find the Paschal greeting and
response in 59 languages, including
Finnish?). Here in the season of Easter
tide, take a few moments to read new postings
by Brian Volck, Halden Doerge, and many
others to discover what fellow EP endorsers are
pondering: click here. He is risen! Alleluia!
John McFadden, editor
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