Plug for Ecumenical Advisory Days and Transformation Conference

Hey all,

Hope you are well and getting ready for spring despite the snow/cold weather. I know that I can't wait! I wanted to bring you to your attention two upcoming events that you may want to participate in -

 The first is Ecumenical Advocacy Days, an annual event that is held in Washington, D.C. It began in 2003 by representatives of the ecumenical Christian community from various denominations and faith-based organizations whose goal is to strengthen the Christian voice and mobilize for advocacy on a variety of U.S. domestic and international policy issues through worship. theological reflection and opportunities for learning and witness. The theme varies annually and this year's theme is "A Place to Call Home: Immigrants, Refugees and Displaced Peoples." As you are aware there is much discussion around all three issues in this country. Even abroad, we hear of displaced peoples in places such as Darfur, Haiti, and Palestine. I had the opportunity to see it firsthand when I visited a displacement camp in Colombia. This issue affects all of us in one way or another and it is a chance to learn more about U.S. and International policies and what the faith-based community is doing to speak of behalf of those who have no place to call home. Last year over 100 Presbyterians joined more than 800 people who participated in advocacy, training and workshops. The dates for this year's event are March 19 - 22, 2010 and will be held at the DoubleTree Hotel in Crystal City, VA. For more information or to register click here.

 The second event is for all who are interested in Church Transformation (and God knows we can use it ;-)). The Presbytery of Des Moines is sponsoring "Plugged in Without Shorting Out", a conference focused on change in our churches. Topics that will be covered are the use of technology, emergent church conversation, the use of media and worship, and spiritual disciplines, to name a few. Keynote speakers are Michael Bausch, author of Silver Screen, Sacred Story: Using Multimedia in Worship (The Alban Institute, 2002); White Rabbit Group CEO Mike Wagner and Adam Walker Cleveland. Other leaders include Meredith Kemp-Pappan, Susan Phillips, Keith Robinson, and Andrew Yeager-Buckley, among others. The event will be held at the Downtown Marriott in Des Moines, IA from April 16-18, 2010. Sounds like a great conference and clink on the links above. Check it out!

Hope you will all have a great weekend and thanks for listening!