Friends New and Old
Last week Ellen Davis came to my seminary to speak
about
good eating and good working. It was nice to make a
new friend. Along the way, she
referenced the writings of Norman Wirzba and
food-related ministries at Cedar Grove UMC and
Austin
Heights Baptist Church, pastored by Grace
Hackney
and Kyle Childress respectively. It was a
reminder to
me of how blessed I am to know these three
friends--
Norman, Grace and Kyle--through the work of The
Ekklesia Project. Our first pamphlet envisioned the
work of EP as a "school of subversive
friendship." It
certainly is that, but it also is a network of
enriching
and sustaining friendships. For that I am
thankful.
Brent Laytham, Coordinator
Meet the EP
Justin and Miriam Snider are a husband
and wife team facing the daunting challenge
of serving as parish ministers to four
congregations in rural Illinois. The pair
met at Greenville College, were married in
2002, and attended Duke Divinity School
together, where they were introduced to EP.
This is their first year of full-time
ministry, and already they are learning about
the challenges of building relationships and
establishing mutual trust with their
communities. They are joyfully discovering
with those in their congregations what it
means to be the body of Christ, and what sort
of practices and attitudes can inform
discipleship in their context. Recent
highlights of their ministry include a trip
to West Africa to partner with Liberian UM
districts, and the 2007 EP Gathering, where
they met old friends and made some new ones.
Book Review: Jason Byassee and the Desert Fathers
My students have long insisted that the
Desert Fathers are, at best, misguided
antitheses of Christian discipleship. Jason
Byassee takes on that claim in his new book,
Introduction to the Desert Fathers
(Cascade
2007) and up-ends it. In lucid and
engaging prose, Byassee provides eighteen
short but theologically-rich commentaries for
understanding each of the corresponding
sections of the classic text, Sayings of
the Desert Fathers. Animated by his own
growing appreciation for the monastic
tradition, in both its ancient and new
varieties, Byassee brings to life the context
of desert monasticism and in doing so makes
clear how directly relevant the wisdom and
practices of our desert forebears are for the
challenges of Christian discipleship in the
21st century. This is a great little book
and would be ideal for personal spiritual
reading, book clubs, adult education, or
classroom use.
reviewed by Therese Lysaught
University Hill Congregation offers Christian Calendar
Ed Searcy of University Hill Congregation
(Vancouver) joined us for our Gathering in
July. As a mission project, his
congregation publishes an annual Christian
calendar that sets the year within the
narratives of the Gospel and liturgical
seasons rather than the "Hallmark holidays"
of the secular calendar (It begins, for
example, with Advent, not January 1). The
calendar includes description of the
Christian seasons and the lectionary readings
for each Sunday.
You can read about this calendar and order
copies here, or visit University Hill's web-site.
Regional Gathering
Our Church of the Servant King friends in
Portland will
be holding a conference on the New
Monasticism the
last weekend of February. Speakers will include
Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, Tim Otto and Jon
Stock.
They invite any area EPers to consider this a
'regional
gathering.'
From the editor
A full year between our annual EP Gathering
is a long time! I am always grateful when EP
friends stop by during their travels or find
time to drop a note or e-mail. Frankly, I am
not always diligent about checking additions
to our web-site, much less posting to it.
But our site and this monthly newsletter are
the best vehicles we have for keeping our
conversations, and our friendships in Christ,
alive while we are physically distant from
one another. Please share the newsletter
with your friends and colleagues, and check
in with the EP
website when time permits.
John McFadden, editor
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