Atlanta Mainline cohort follow-on

Hi all - hope some of you are down in beautiful Atlanta at the Mainline-Emerging cohort meeting. I know one of our own is there, Steve Pankey and he has graciously offered to lead the next cohort meeting 7pm on March 12, 2007 at the Harp and Fiddle in Bethesda. I'm looking forward hearing what's happening in the mainline meets emerging world and I hope you all are too. For questions and inquiries, please contact Sara Sheppard at ssheppard@wesleyseminary.edu.

Blessings

Next meeting January 15th, 2007

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!! Our next meeting will be in '07 on January 15th at the Harp and Fiddle in Bethesda. We look forward see everyone there. The peace of Christ be with you during this holiday season.

Sara

Harp and Fiddle December 11, 2006

Hi all! Our next gathering will be at the Harp and Fiddle in Bethesda on December 11 at 7 pm. They have a sweet little back room that has served us well and may become our regular space. Come on out for a little Advent cheer and conversation. I am working on a speaker, but if anyone has a burning topic they would like to discuss drop me an e-mail.

Other tentative dates to put on your calenders are January 15, February 12 and March 12. We will meet from 7 pm - 9 pm each time.

Blessings!!

Sara

Brian McLaren, Pete Rollins and Phyllis Tickle Panel for November

Thanks to Nadia at Illif for setting up a terrific panel for us in November. We will meet Sunday November 19th - during the AAR meetings - to engage Brian McLaren, Pete Rollins and Phyllis Tickle. Keelan Downton has agreed to be the host for this DC Cohort event.

We will meet at the Capitol City Brewing Company from 7pm - 9pm (1100 New York Avenue, NW, WDC 202-628-2222) at 11th and H street. They are one block north of Metro Center.

Brian McLaren is author of many titles on the emerging movement and one of the co-founders of Emergent Village. He is also the founding pastor for Cedar Ridge Community Church in Spencerville, MD. Brian is currently traveling the world speaking on many emerging topics. For his schedule, go to http://www.brianmclaren.net/

Pete Rollins is the founder and co-ordinator of Ikon (a community which describes itself as iconic, apocalyptic, heretical, emerging and failing) as well as being a writer and freelance lecturer in Philosophy. Check out his blog at http://www.ignite.cd/blogs/Pete/

Phyllis Tickle, for many years Contributing Editor in Religion to Publishers Weekly, the international journal of the book industry, is frequently quoted in sources like USA Today, Christian Science Monitor, NY Times, PBS, NPR, The Hallmark Channel, etc., Tickle is an authority on religion in America and a much sought after lecturer on the subject. For additional information and to view her recent publications go to http://www.phyllistickle.com/

We are looking forward to this event and hope to see you all there. Let me know if there are questions. Blessings,

Sara

Tonight October 16th

Greetings - We are meeting tonight, however our speaker has the flu, so we'll engage her another time. BUT! Still come. We have dessert and coffee and good conversation happen' here. See you at 7pm at Wesley. Call me with questions 202-885-8688.

Sara

Diana Butler Bass at "Our House" Monday Oct 16th

Greetings, We are excited to host Diana Butler Bass as our guest for the next DC Emerging Cohort. We will meet this month at "our house", Wesley Theological Seminary. Dinner is available in the dining hall for $7.50 and is served between 5:30 and 6:30. We will provide coffee, soda, water and dessert during the discussion time. The seminary is located at 4500 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC. For directions click here. We will gather at 6:30 in Elderdice Hall (follow the signs) and begin the discussion at 7pm with a wrap up by 9pm.

Diana Butler Bass is joining us to discuss her new book that was published this month, Christianity For the Rest of Us. We will have few copies on hand ( read 2) if you want to purchase one and have her sign it. You may also want to go to your local book-monger and purchase it to bring with you. I also have 2 copies of one of her other books, The Practicing Congregation: Imagining a New Old Church. Let me know if you have any questions.

An Inconvience Truth: If you haven't had a chance to see this movie you have a chance back here at WTS Tuesday night Oct 17th for a FREE screening. Contact Eleanor Gease at 202-885-8611 with questions.

See you Monday! Blessings,

Sara

An evening with Dr. Don Dayton

It was great to spend the evening with renowned church historian Dr. Don Dayton. In a casual dinner conversation Dr. Dayton shared stories of his numerous experiences in religious institutions that range from the most conservative to the most liberal. He told of how he often shocks both conservative and liberal institutions with information about their own history that they have forgotten.

We spent some time discussing the "great reversal". A time in American church history where religious institutions that are now considered to be the most socialy conservative were at the forefront of social change (abolitionism, women's suffrage, etc.). If you are interested in hearing this story in some detail I highly reckoned Dr. Dayton's influential book, Discovering an Evangelical Heritage.

I am excited also for our next meeting, mark your calendars for the evening of October the 16th when author and theologian, Diana Butler-Bass will be with us to talk about her book, Christianity For The Rest of Us. Details forthcoming.

Grace and peace,
jason

A Conversation with Don Dayton

Come on out and join in a conversation with Don Dayton. Don Dayton will be our guest speaker for the September 18th Cohort gathering at Guapos - see below for details. He is in town to preach at Wesley Theological Seminary for our weekly chapel service at 11 am on Tuesday September 19. Don will also be the speaker for a Dean's forum at 12:30pm following the chapel service. His talk is entitled "Deconstructing the Conservative/Liberal Paradigm" All are welcome at either of these events on campus. Please RSVP to ssheppard@wesleyseminary.edu so I can save you a seat. Lunch is available for $7.50. Wesley is located right next to American University on Massachusetts Avenue. Our address is 4500 Massachusetts Avenue, NW. Washington, DC 20016.

Details for the DC Cohort Monday September 18 - We will meet at 7pm at Guapos in Tenleytown. The address is: 4515 Wisconsin Avenue, Washington, DC 20016. They are on the Red Line at the Tenleytown Metro stop. We will be in the upstairs room. Tell them you are with the DC Cohort - or just come on upstairs. See you there!

Change of plans... Next Cohort Meeting Monday September 18

Hey gang, change of plans - The next cohort meeting will take place Monday September 18th at Guapos in Tenleytown. We have reserved the upstairs rooms so tell your friends and neighbors so we meet the minimum required number. :)

We will have a guest speaker, Don Dayton, author of "Discovering an Evangelical Heritage" with us to talk about the emerging church. Should be really great!

Let me know if you have questions.

Peace,

Sara

Next Meeting September 11

Hi all, we will not be meeting next Monday and instead taking the month of August off. We will resume on Monday September 11, 2006 location TBD. We are searching for an appropriate location in DC for the DC cohort to meet... go figure. Let us know if there is something on your mind you'd like to discuss, a book you've read or anything in between.

Peace,

Sara

"The Story We Find Ourselves In" Conference

Curious about the emerging church, where we came from and where we are going?

Explore the exciting heritage of Protestantism in America with us in September.

Speakers include: Brian McLaren, Estrelda Alexander, Scott Kisker, Diana Butler Bass, Doug Strong, Tim Keel, Don Dayton and Ron White.

September 18-21, 2006 at Cedar Ridge Community Church

Highlights include a Love feast, a Camp Meeting in a historic outdoor tabernacle, and Emerging Worship featuring Harp 46

Rates, Registration and Conference information available at http://www.wesleysem.edu/mci/story/default.asp

Register Now!

Questions? Contact Sara Sheppard at ssheppard@wesleyseminary.edu

Lets get together!

Hey all,

Let's get together Monday night, July 10th at the Harp and Fiddle in Bethesda at 7:00. I thought we'd get a little theological and discuss atonement theory.

Hope to see you then!

Jason

Good times

Thanks to everyone who joined us last week at the Harp and Fiddle. We had an interesting conversation about denominationalism and its continued relevance. Thanks especially to Keelan who lead the discussion and let us use a paper of his as a starting point for our conversation.

The floor is open again for people to offer suggestions for our next discussion topic.

See you tonight (June 12) at 7pm

Just in case you were wondering we will meet tonight at 7pm at the Harp and Fiddle in Bethesda.

Cheers!

Discussion topic for tonight June 12

Here again is the article from Keelan. The topic is post-denominationalism.

Sorry about that! I've been out of town and just returned.


http://www.blogger.com/"a>Unity in the Trans/Post(denomi)national Future

Discussion topic for tonight June 12

Here again is the article from Keelan. The topic is being post-denominational.

Sorry about that! I've been out of town and just returned.


href="http://ecumenist.atspace.org/docs/trans-post-denominational.pdf">Unity in the Trans/Post(denomi)national Future

We will meet at the Harp and Fiddle June 12

I have found a new place with a private space for us to meet. The Harp and Fiddle is on Cordell Avenue in Bethesda, MD. It is walkable from the metro, not as convient as last time, but doable. Please continue to comment on the suggest topic from privious posts. We will send out specific directions closer to the meeting.

Blessings!

Sara

Next meeting Monday June 12

Hi all! We are working on an alternative location where we'll be able to hear each other and will announce that soon. Also, we are moving this group to the 2nd Monday of the month, which means our next meeting will be Monday June 12, 2006.

Stay tuned for the location - Does anyone have a topic they would like to discuss? Let us know what is on your minds. Thanks.

Peace,

Sara

Our First Meeting

Hello, and thank you to all of you who came to the first inaugural DCCohort! Despite the less then ideal setting, I think it was a success! Most people had a chance to at least meet each other (which was, of course, the main goal) and some good conversation was had (at least on my end of the table) despite the noisy environment.

Down on our end of the table we talked primarily about generational issues in ministry--why are twenty and thirty somethings absent from many churches? On the other hand, some of us came from churches of mostly 20 and 30 somethings, why? What is different about these churches? Is it good or bad to have churches that are primarily one age group? Can we help it?

What were other conversations that happened around the room?

Guapos This Thursday April 27

We are really looking forward to seeing everyone on Thursday at Guapos. The address, for those of you who don't know Tenleytown, is 4515 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Washington, DC. The phone number is 202-686-3588. They are right at the Tenleytown metro stop (red line). The best place to park is on the street. We'll meet at 7pm. See you there!