Calendar
March 28-30, 2008: 2008 Convocation. St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, LA. Hosted by both St. Charles Avenue and Northminster Church in Monroe, LA. More.
March 30-April 1: Children and Youth Ministry Retreat
For both lay leaders and professional clergy who work with children and youth. The retreat will be held at Solomon Episcopal Conference Center (www.solepisc.org) in Loranger, LA, approximately one hour north of New Orleans. More.
Friday, March 28: Clergy Day Apart. 9 a.m. - 3:30
Dominican Conference Center
Using the art of Giotto in the chapel of Scrovegni in Padua, Joan McCaskill will guide participants in exploring how their personal journeys may parallel the images of the Christian story as depicted by Giotto. More.
Sunday, March 30 through Tuesday, April 2: Endorsed Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors
The chaplains and pastoral counselors will meet for a retreat after the convocation. More.
July 14-19: "The Way that Leads to Peace."
A Conference sponsored by the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America John Abbott College (Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada) July 14-19, 2008
You are invited to gather this summer for a focus on what each of us can do in our own personal lives to create peace -- starting with peace within ourselves and circling out to our ways of being in our families, churches, neighborhoods . . . and the world.
All people who long for peace are welcome. Come to add your own insight and to enrich your own journey!
We will begin Monday night, July 14, with a keynote address by Jim Loney. Jim is a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams who, along with three others, was held hostage in Iraq for months in 2005-2006. His peaceful witness before, during, and after his capture has received worldwide attention and opened many hearts to the idea of living life in a peace-filled way, even in the midst of immense violence.
Our mornings (Tuesday through Friday) will include music, morning prayer, Bible Study, and workshops.
Lawrence Martin will begin our day with prayer. Wapistan (Lawrence) is a member of the Cree First Nation from Moose Factory Reserve, located on James Bay in Ontario. Wapistan is a story-teller, an environmentalist, a vocalist and drummer and a Juno award winning musician -- he won the very first Canadian Aboriginal Juno Award. He plays many instruments and in a style that is a blend of indigenous, country and folk music. He is a father and grandfather and husband to aboriginal artist, Betty, with whom he owns and curates Ehkwateh Art Gallery in Cochrane, where he is also the mayor.
Lawrence is currently the Interim Executive Director of the Misiway Milopemahtesewin Community Health Centre in Timmins, Ontario.
We'll be led in Bible Study by Glen Stassen, Lewis Smedes Professor of Christian Ethics at Fuller Thelogical Seminary. Focusing on the practices of peace outlined in his book Just Peacemaking: Ten Practices for Abolishing War, Glen will explore both international and personal implications for his practical research into the actions that truly move us toward peace.
Workshops will cover a wide variety of topics -- everything from creating peace within your marriage to supporting the just recovery of New Orleans or addressing lasting issues of injustice toward First Nations people and communities. Workshops leaders who are artists, dramatists, human rights workers, environmentalists, social justice trainers, parents, teachers, pastors, and more will share their wisdom and gather ours.
Children and youth will spend the mornings in their own programs designed to join them into a transformative community and offer them real-life skills for creating peace.
Youth work veterans Mary Meadows and Julie Reiswig will coordinate the youth morning sessions. Hector Aristizabal -- artist, human rights worker, therapist, and actor -- will serve as a special resource leader with the youth program, using inovative theatrical techniques to teach conflict transcendence and life affirming group processes.
Long-time children's leader Elaine Pennington, will once again coordinate the morning program for children, drawing on various conference leaders to share their skills of art, drama, story-telling, music, conflict transformation and more to help our children develop as peacemakers.
A special afternoon workshop series called "Transforming Conflict: Transformed by Conflict" led by Dwight Lundgren will be offered for adult participants desiring intensive training.
Other afternoon offerings will include family-friendly field trips in the Montreal area, intergenerational peacemaking activities, and a peace and justice film series.
We'll worship together each evening. Our preachers will include Mary Hammond of Oberlin, Ohio, USA and Lee McKenna of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Nightly worship will include music, dance, drama, and sermons examining the life of peace from the inside out.
After hours events will include plays, concerts, and open mic events in which all attendees are invited to share their talents. Hector Aristizabal will present two one-man plays "Nightwind" and "IN-TE-A-RRO-R-GATOR."
Lawrence Martin will be in concert.
A wide variety of additional leaders will help us to encounter and live the way that leads to peace.
Through music, worship, art, workshops, speakers, programming for children and youth and young adults, we as ordinary people will be empowered to live our ordinary lives in an extraordinary way.
Plan now to enrich your life and your personal journey toward peace by joining us July 14-19, 2008.
Email LeDayne Polaski for more information or visit the BPFNA web site.