The Ekklesia Project logo 

 

October 2011

 
In this

Issue:

 
Endorser Contact Information Now on EP Website 

 

Meet the EP:  Daniel Hartner 

  

New on bLOGOS:

"The Deeper and Richer Life of Gratitude"   

C. Christopher Smith 

 

Christian Seasons Calendar Now Available

 

Gathering 2012: Slow Church, Fast Friends

 

New Book from Mike Budde 
 All Saints 
They will hunger no more, and thirst no more;
the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat;
for the Lamb at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
 
Revelation 7:16-17
 
All Saints Day
Find your Fellow Endorsers on the EP Website

 Those who have endorsed the Ekklesia Project can now access contact information for fellow endorsers on our website.  To protect privacy, this feature is available only to those who have endorsed.   

 

Endorsing the Ekklesia Project is an expression of our commitment to God, the Church, and the friendship we share in Christ. Recognizing that friends ask things of one another, we therefore ask of ourselves and our fellow endorsers that we:

  • maintain vital prayer lives
  • participate in the worship and missional life of our local congregations
  • practice the traditional works of mercy (e.g., feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, welcoming the stranger)
  • observe a regular fast (from food, technology, or other good) as a form of resistance to the idolatries of our culture
  • support the work of the Ekklesia Project with our prayers and, as we are able, with our monetary gifts

We know that we will need to rely on each other to be faithful in these things-to give and to receive strength and encouragement. We trust in the goodness of God to see us through.  To endorse the EP, please follow this link. 

 

Meet the EP:  Daniel Hartner

 

I live in Harrison Township, Michigan and have been a member of St. Peters Roman Catholic Church for my entire life. I'm currently a Junior at Oakland University where I'm studying Philosophy and Theology. When I'm not in the library (which from September to April is hardly ever) I enjoy playing soccer. I am also an avid backpacker, having now backpacked roughly 150 miles on thebackpack Appalachian Trail, and canoed part of the interior of Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario Canada. After my undergrad is completed (2013) and depending on which school I get into for my graduate program (as of now De Paul, Notre Dame, Loyola, and Northwestern are the schools I'm looking into) I plan on through-hiking the entire Appalachian trail.

 

I was first introduced to the Ekklesia Project's Gathering this past spring from my religion and philosophy professor Dr. Tristin Hassell. With my interest in Christian theology and ethics, Dr. Hassell recommended I attend a Gathering. It was a chance to see Christians of all denominations engaging with Christ's love in all of their activities, and 2011's Neighbors Near and Far was my first Gathering. Harrison Township is located in Southeast Michigan, and only a short 40 minute drive from Dearborn, which hosts the largest Muslim community in the nation. The Gathering was a great place to meet fellow Christians who embrace all people regardless of religious or cultural backgrounds. And it was an even better marketplace for discussion and ideas as to how to best follow in Jesus' teachings.

 

New on bLOGOS    

    

The Deeper and Richer Life of Gratitude

by C. Christopher Smith

  

"And yet, gratitude is one of the most difficult virtues for us to cultivate in the Western world.  Why iplants this? Above all, we are extraordinarily wealthy; wehave the resources and technologies to take care of almost all our needs, and thus it is easy for us to lose sight of God's provision. Additionally, we are immersed in a sea of advertising every day that fuels our ingratitude by remindingus of all the things that we don't have, but that we should want.  We also are so far removed from agriculture that we easily lose sight of God's providing through creation for our most basic need, food."  READ MORE 

Christian Seasons Calendar for 2011/2012 Now Available 

 

Our friends at University Hill Congregation in Vancouver are once more offering their Christian Seasons Calendar.  This unique calendar helps to inform and shape Christian identity as it turns with each new Christian Season. Beginning with Advent the Christian Seasons Calendar moves through Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter and the Season after Pentecost. The story of the Christian Year is told with the help of art from nine contemporary North American artists.      page1

Once again this year single copies of the calendar cost $15.95 (plus applicable taxes and shipping). Orders of ten or more copies receive a 20% discount while orders of twenty-five or more copies receive a 40% discount. Many congregations order multiple copies in order to encourage the use of the calendar as a way of encouraging Christian discipleship among young and old. Displayed in the home and office the Christian Seasons Calendar is a distinctive reminder of the Christian way of life. The 2011/2012 Christian Seasons Calendar can be viewed and ordered online at www.thechristiancalendar.com . 

The Christian Seasons Calendar is a mission venture of University Hill Congregation in Vancouver, BC. We are grateful for your help in spreading the word to friends, colleagues and others who may share your interest in the Christian Seasons Calendar.

 

Slow Church: Abiding Together in the Patient Work of God

 

slow church sign

The 2012 Gathering planning team has given considerable thought to the theological vision at the heart of the idea of 'slow church.' The refined title and subtitle for the Gathering reflects their sense that slow church is less a reaction to a culture addicted to mobility, motility and media, and more the way we participate in--abide together in--the action of the Triune God.

  

Slow Thoughts:

"In a world addicted to speed, violence, and the immediate we worship the God who walked with his people for forty years across the wilderness, sat with his people for seventy years in exile, attends to the impoverished and down-and-out, considers the lilies of the fields, loves this world enough to become human, died on a cross rather than kill, and took three days to be resurrected. Known among us in broken bread, poured-out wine, and a gathered people, we abide in him, and in so doing we are learning to abide with others, and with all creation." - Kyle Childress

 

 

 
Borders of BaptismNew Book by an Old Friend
In The Borders of Baptism: Identities, Allegiances, and the Church (Cascade, 2011), Mike Budde invites us to live into "the conviction that 'being a Christian' is one's primary and formative loyalty." After exploring the outer and inner realities of ecclesial solidarity, he examines a series of hard cases, including national identity, immigration, race, managerialism, and martyrdom. EPers will find here a strong theological account of our unapologetic claim that "All other loyalties - familial, political or ideological - derive their meaning by participating in the Body of Christ and bearing witness to his Kingdom."  EPers will also enjoy the serendipity of knowing that 2 chapters originate in EP settings: "Border Crossings" (chapter 5) was first presented at a conference sponsored by Grace Urban Ministries , and  "Race to Divide:The Limits and Hopes of Ecclesial Formation" (chapter 7) was a plenary address at our 2008 Gathering, Crossing the Divide: Race, Racism and the Body of Christ.