The Ekklesia Project
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 May 2011

In this issue:

 

Register Now

for Gathering 2011

 

New on bLOGOS

 

Scholarship Fund

 

Why Endorse?

 

New Book in Eerdmans Series

 

Meet the EP

 

New Website Soon 
  

 

This was was originally sketched while Keith Davis was teaching at a Suns of the Prophets conference at Restoration Church in Euless, TX. Keith was teaching on the 'greatest mandate' - filling the world with God's glory. That is what I see in this painting. Worship stretching the body as the earth IS FILLED with God's GLORY! The worshippers also have an organic floral feel and that is where God is working with me right now. Our worship is a sweet aroma and we are the flowers in His Garden!

 

Worship Song, Gwen Meharg

Gathering 2011 Registration Is Open!

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Use this link to register for the Gathering. This fully automated online registration system allows online payment with credit card or payment by check. Please, please read the instructions at the top of the webpage before beginning the registration process.  

 

Chi-Ming Chien is coordinating our worship music this year. Plenary Speakers are Beth Newman (former EP board member), who has written on hospitality; Danny Carroll, who teaches Bible at Denver Seminary and has written on immigration and borders; and Craig Wong (longtime EP endorser) who directs Grace Urban Ministries and works on immigration reform. Mark Lau Branson will lead us in lectio divina on Luke 10, and lead a workshop on lectio and hospitality. Erin Martin, pastor of Wesley UMC (one of our CFI congregations) will be our opening preacher. Gabriel and Jeanette Salguero, pastors of The Lambs Church in Manhattan, will preach our closing worship service, and will lead a workshop on "The Church and Immigration: Advocacy and Social Service."  Debbie Gish (Church of the Sojourner) and Susie Logan (Church of the Servant King) will lead a workshop on embodying hospitality in the household.

 

New on bLOGOSalpha


The Close-at-Hand God  

 

by Debra Dean Murphy

   

For several weeks now the doomsday prophecy of one Harold Camping has been on the minds of many. First, it was the shared anticipation as the projected date got closer-and the requisite jokes about being left behind. Then it was the (no-surprise) failure of the prediction which resulted in . . . more jokes about being left behind.

Read More 

 

 

 

 

Please Support Gathering Scholarship Fund

 

As we do every year and In keeping with the theme of this summer's Gathering, we want to welcome as many of our "neighbors" as possible.  In order to practice our hospitality, we need your help. Please consider making a donation to the 2011 Gathering Scholarship fund. The Ekklesia Project has no corporate donors or sponsors and we rely on donations from our supporters to help people attend the Gathering. You can make a donation by using our on-line registration form, which offers the opportunity to make an "additional donation" for scholarship donations, or by sending a check to The Ekklesia Project, c/o Mike Bowling, Treasurer, Englewood Christian Church, 57 North Rural Street, Indianopolis, IN 46201. 

 

If you are in need of scholarship support to attending the Gathering, please contact Brent Laytham. Thank you for your generosity, which will help us welcome new friends to our Gathering.

 

 

Why Endorse?

by Rodney Clapp

 

For me, endorsing and participating in the Ekklesia Project are ways of keeping my life whole. Our capitalistic society constantly pushes to divide the public from the private, the personal from the political, Rodney Clappthe church from the "real world." The EP is a company of dear friends who recognize that being Christian is not a matter of keeping church and discipleship quarantined from the public and the political.

 

It's hard to overstate how important these friends and their commitment to the church are to me. They help me keep focused in my allegiances. They challenge me by the radicality of their faithful practices and convictions. They encourage me when I am tempted to despair that the Christian project is impossible in the world as it now is. 
 

Lest all this sound too high-flying or staid, I should admit that one of the most important reasons I've stayed with the EP since its inception is that EPers are fun. They know how to worship and how to play together. The summer Gathering in particular is a time for deepening old friendships and making new ones. I look forward to it as a high point of every year.  

New Title in Eerdmans Ekklesia Project Series

 

Witness of the Body: The Past, Present and Future of Christian Martyrdom,  Michael L. Budde and Karen Scott, editors.

 

witness

In an age of suicide bombers and paranoid political rhetoric, the concept of martyrdom can make ordinary Christians uncomfortable, filled at once with fascination and with dread. Christian martyrdom may seem like something far removed from common experience-something only from long ago (in gruesome stories of ancient saints and Roman lions) or far away (in troubled Africa or Central Asia or the war-torn Middle East). In this volume, however, twelve scholars from across academic disciplines demystify Christian martyrdom and resituate it within the everyday practices of the church.

 

Beginning with the persecution of early Christians by the Roman Empire, Witness of the Body explores the place of martyrdom in the church through all ages and into the future. Combining expert historical studies with clear-headed analysis, these chapters will help Christians better understand Christian martyrdom not as a quick ticket to heaven or a cheap political ploy - not as something mystically distant from everyday life - but, rather, as the firm and faithful witness of Christ's church in a hostile world. Contributors include William Cavanaugh, Brad Gregory, Emmanuel Katongole, Steve Long, Lawrence Cunningham, Joyce Salisbury, and Steve Fowl.

Meet the EP: Mark Gast

 

I live in PortlaMark Gastnd, Oregon and am familiar with the EP because of Church of the Servant King (COSK). My wife, Carol, is a member and I take part in almost all COSK activities. However, I am a practicing Catholic and very involved in the Hispanic Catholic Community as well. Also, I am an ESL teacher by profession. As you might imagine, the subject of the Church and immigration is something near to my heart.

 

COSK has put on EP gatherings twice here in Portland and I have been a part of those. This summer will be my first Gathering in Chicago. I grew up in Chicago and when I am there I usually want to spend time with my family. This time my cousin decided to join me at the EP so I can do both: attend the EP and spend time with my family! I am looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones.

 

The picture was taken at Wrigley Field last year. I am scratching my head over some crazy move the Cubs just made. Perhaps I should be wondering why I still follow the Cubs.   

 

New EP Website Coming

 

While our current website has served a valuable purpose, its limitations have become increasingly frustrating. A new and far more versatile EP Website is currently under development, with the hope that it will be up and running by mid-June. The work is being done as a pro bono gift by Dayspring Technologies, whose staff includes members of Grace Fellowship Community Church and Redeemer Community Church in San Francisco. Among the new features to be offered are better navigability, online registration for the Gathering, a newsletter archive, a redesigned EP logo, and the ability to locate fellow EPers living near you. We are also working to interface our website, newsletter and Facebook page in a manner that will enhance our overall sense of community.We are deeply grateful to Chi-Ming Chien (EP Board Member and Dayspring principal), Young-Ki Kim (project team leader), and our other friends at Dayspring for their generosity!