A BOOK...

          AN EVENT...

                        A PHENOMENON...

“'The Great Emergence' refers to a monumental phenomenon in our world, and this book asks three questions about it. Or looked at the other way around, this book is about a monumental phenomenon considered from the perspective of three very basic questions: What is this thing? How did it come to be? Where is it going?”

So begins Phyllis Tickle’s extraordinary new book, The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why. In this much-anticipated book, Tickle brings her encyclopedic knowledge of American religion to bear on current shifts in the Christian landscape. Paired with her Southern wit and charm, The Great Emergence promises to be the bellwether book in emergent Christianity.

The Event
The Great Emergence National Event is a unique and freshly designed event built on both innovative adult learning techniques including interaction and participation, and inspiring content on the current state of and future possibilities for Christianity.

Around the four main sessions with Phyllis Tickle, participants will also enjoy the daily office—thrice daily times of prayer—based on Phyllis Tickle’s bestselling book, The Divine Hours, in the majestic and historic Cathedral of St. Mary in Memphis, Tennessee, which will be bedecked with Advent greenery.

Memphis and St. Mary's Cathedral hold a pivotal place in American history. Memphis was the scene of much racial strife during the Civil Rights Movement, culminating with the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968. The next day, hoping to quell a burgeoning riot, many of the city's pastors, priests, and rabbis gathered at the Cathedral. In an impromptu move, the dean of the Cathedral took the processional cross from the church's altar and led a procession of the city's clergy down Poplar Avenue to city hall, where they petitioned the mayor to end the sanitation strike that Dr. King was in town to protest. As an important location of the emergence of civil rights in 20th century America, Memphis and the Cathedral are a poignant place to discuss the emergence of the church in the 21st century.

And there’s more! Workshops will be offered with some of the best practitioners of emergent Christianity, including Tim Keel, Peter Rollins, and Lisa and Will Samson. And don’t forget all that Memphis has to offer: Graceland, blues on Beale Street, Sun Studios, the National Civil Rights Museum, and world renowned bar-b-que!

When
Friday, December 5 (8:00am) - Saturday, December 6 (3:30pm)

Where
St. Mary’s Cathedral, Memphis, Tennessee
Address: 629 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee 38105

Map to St. Mary's | Images of the Cathedral | History of the Cathedral

Price
Regular Registration: $195
Early Bird Registration (before November 5): $145
Student Rate: $125
Group Rate (five or more): $125

What's Included
All sessions and workshops, two lunches and five coffee breaks, and a signed copy of The Great Emergence.

Pre-Conference Events

Thursday, December 4 - See description for specific times and locations.
Pre-conference events are $50 each and include lunch on Thursday and are available only to those who are registering for the conference. Pre-conference registration starts Friday, October 17.

Minding the Gap – A Meeting of the ‘Hyphenated’ Minds

Find yourself with an emerging ethos in a denominational setting? In the language of The Great Emergence you may well be among the ‘hyphenateds’ around the country who are struggling to ‘mind the gap’ between these oftentimes divergent identities. Join this landmark dialogue between Anglimergents, Presbymergents, and other ‘hyphenateds’ as we consider how we embrace the best that both emergent and individual denominations bring to the table and how we navigate the waters of change in the American Christian Church. In the morning, Phyllis Tickle will frame the conversation and representatives from emergents within several denominations will share their experiences. The afternoon will provide an opportunity for denominations to meet and consider how to engage the emergent conversation in their particular setting.

Thursday, 8:30 am to 1:00 pm and 1:00 pm to 5:00pm
Host – Wendy Johnson – wendy.j@episcopalmn.org
and Troy Bronsink – troybronsink@mac.com

New Monasticism and Resurrection of American Christianity

Statistics and denominational budgets suggest that Christianity is in decline as new generation of Americans find little need for church. But under the radar of popular religion, on the margins of society, God is stirring a new monastic movement of people who are experimenting in the truth of Jesus' way. Join Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove of Rutba House and Geoff and Sherry Maddock of Communality for an afternoon of story-telling and conversation about what new monasticism is and what it means for the future of the church.

Thursday, 12 – 5 PM
Calvary Church, Memphis
Hosts - Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, Geoff and Sherry Maddock - geoffandsherry@yahoo.com, jonathanwilsonhartgrove@hotmail.com

Writer's Workshop

If you think you've got a book in you, this is the session for you. Publishing pros from the Christian book and magazine industries will talk you though the process--from building your audience, to writing a query letter and proposal, to getting your book into the hand of readers. Talk to editors and publishers about what the writing life really looks like and get solid advice from people who know the industry from the inside. If you have a manuscript or book idea in the works, bring it along and we will provide the opportunity for evaluation.

Thursday: 12-4:30, includes lunch, panel discussion, Q& A.
Calvary Church, Memphis
Host – Carla Barnhill - cbarnhill@mac.com

Theological Education in Light of the Great Emergence

While there has surely been a renaissance of interest in theological education as a part of the great emergence, many have also questioned the prevailing method thereof: the residential seminary model. Many in the emergent generation are asking that the modern seminary be significantly reconsidered. Some are suggesting a more monastic model, others are experimenting with online and new media resources, and still others want to catalyze collaboration between seminaries and the local church. Theological educators and interested pastors are invited to join in a day-long, open source conversation about the future of theological education

Thursday, 12 – 5 PM – Memphis Theological Seminary
Host – Tony Jones - jonestony@gmail.com

Schedule

About Phyllis Tickle

Phyllis Tickle, founding editor of the religion department at Publishers Weekly, is one of the most highly respected authorities and popular speakers on religion in America today. She is the author of more than two dozen books on the subject, including the recently published The Words of Jesus: A Gospel of the Sayings of Our Lord and The Divine Hours, a series of manuals for observing fixed-hour prayer. A lector and lay eucharistic minister in the Episcopal Church, Tickle is a senior fellow of the Cathedral College of Washington National Cathedral. For more information, go to www.phyllistickle.com.

Additional Presenters

Tony Jones, national coordinator of Emergent Village and author of The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier

Doug Pagitt, founder and pastor of Solomon’s Porch (Minneapolis, Minnesota) and author of A Christianity Worth Believing: Hope-Filled, Open-Armed, Alive-and-Well Faith for the Left Out, Left Behind, and Let Down in Us All

Peter Rollins, founder of ikon (Belfast, Ireland) and author of The Fidelity of Betrayal: Towards a Church Beyond Belief

J. Brent Bill, executive vice president of the Indianapolis Center for Congregations and the author of Sacred Compass: The Art of Spiritual Discernment

Lisa & Will Samson, members of Communality (Lexington, Kentucky) and co-authors of Justice in the Burbs: Being the Hands of Jesus Wherever You Live

Joseph Myers, author of Organic Community: Creating a Place Where People Naturally Connect

Tim Keel, founder and pastor of Jacob’s Well (Kansas City, Missouri) and author of Intuitive Leadership: Embracing a Paradigm of Narrative, Metaphor, and Chaos

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, co-founder of Rutba House (Durham, North Carolina) and author of New Monasticism: What It Has to Say to Today’s Church

Karen Ward is Abbess of Church of the Apostles, Seattle, an intentional, sacramental community in the way of Jesus Christ.

Sybil MacBeth is a mathematics instructor, a dancer, and a doodler. Her 2007 book Praying in Color: Drawing a New Path to God introduces a prayer practice that is meditative, visual, active and playful. She lives in Memphis, Tennessee with her husband, Andy, who is an Episcopal priest.

Nanette Sawyer is founding pastor or Wicker Park Grace and author of Hospitality—The Sacred Art: Discovering the Hidden Spiritual Power of Invitation and Welcome.

Hotels
We have blocked rooms at several hotels in Memphis, all at reasonable rates.  Please note:  these rooms will only be held until November 15.  Also note that the St. Jude Marathon is the same weekend, so hotels are filling up fast.  We encourage you to download and print this hotel registration form and follow the directions therein.

Transportation
Book flights to and from Memphis International Airport (MEM). A rideshare board will be posted soon so that participants can share rental cars and rides. Everyone who carpools to the event will receive a thank-you gift.

Event Sponsors

Baker Books
Paraclete Press
Emergent Village
ExploreFaith.org
JoPa Productions

Contact Info
1-866-950-5672 (JoPa Productions)
info@jopaproductions.com