2009 Spring Clergy Conference
April 29 - May 1, 2009
_____________________________
Back to the Future:
Anglicanism and the Great Emergence
_____________________________
with The Reverend Howard Anderson, Ph.D.
$100.00 (includes lodging and meals)
Payment Methods: Check or Credit Card (VISA/Mastercard)
Scholarship assistance available
As we concentrate strategically on “The Next Generations of Faith” I have asked Howard Anderson to come and spend time with us at Clergy Conference. Howard is known to a number of you from his time in the Province, and is the father of Kesha Brennom, our former Youth Missioner. I have asked him to help us think together about being a community of faith that is open and free to embrace the current movements of the Spirit, of people called to faith by God in our 21st century contexts.
In seeking to better equip for congregational ministry and contemporary evangelism, the Diocesan team and I have studied the Church of England “manual” – “Becoming a Mission Shaped Church” out of which many of the so-called fresh expressions have been emerging. We recently read Tickle’s book “The Great Emergence” and have also been pointed to the book “Why we’re not emergent - by two guys who should be” which offers an alternative perspective. I suggest these titles as helpful preparation for our time together.
+ Alan
Every 500 years the Church has a giant rummage sale.!" says Bishop Mark Dwyer. Phyllis Tickle's new book, “The Great Emergence” gives proper gravitas to what the Spirit is doing in the world and the Church. There is a new reformation taking place. The Spirit appears to be doing a new thing, but it is so new that few have gotten a read on what that is. In the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury is placing resources in the hands of "emergent" communities which are led by C of E clergy and meeting in pubs, night clubs, homes and coffee houses. The Fresh Expressions experiment in the C of E is teaching us as much what not to do as what to do to take advantage of this "emerging" spiritual reality. Young adults and teens seem to be as scarce as hen's teeth in Mainline Churches. But they do seem to be showing up in significant numbers in "emerging" and "emergent" spiritual communities. The emergent communities are so loathe to be labeled that there is not even an agreed upon way to refer to these rapidly proliferating cohorts of Christians.
But, we Anglicans need not be afraid of this new thing the Spirit is doing. Many of these new communities use the BCP for their worship. For the past five years I have been meeting with these groups, gathering their leaders and wonder of wonders, much of what they talk about doing, I quietly say to myself, "this sounds so familiar." Why it sounds familiar is that so much of what these young Christians value and strive for, we Anglicans have been doing since the 16th Century English Reformation. Update the language, and the writings of Hooker, Jewell, Andrews, Tyndale, Maurice, Temple and others could pass for what the leading lights of the Emergent movement are writing and saying.
I hope to point us all toward a strategy to be responsive to what the Spirit is doing, by suggesting that we go "back to the future." I have found a number of ways in which I see that what the younger generations are asking for, that the emergent/emerging communities are offering, we Anglicans have valued since the 16th Century.
At the very least, we will have fun exploring my hypothesis and looking at how the Diocese of Iowa might be THE Church for the 21st Century simply by being true to the core tenets of classical Anglicanism.
The Rev. Howard Anderson, Ph.D.
All helpful in putting Anglicanism and Emergent together in Anglimergent:
How Not to Talk to God by Peter Rollins
Emerging Churches by Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger
Christianity for the Rest of Us by Diana Butler Bass
Anglican Identities by Rowan Williams
You are also encouraged to Google the Anglimergent website
The Reverend Canon Howard Anderson became Rector of St. Matthew’s Church in Pacific Palisades, CA in 2008. He served as Warden of the Cathedral College of Washington National Cathedral from 2004 till 2008. Prior to that, he served as Rector of St. Paul’s in Duluth, MN for ten years. He also held various positions in the Diocese of Minnesota, including Staff Officer for Stewardship and Congregational Development. He was the Founding Executive Director of the Native American Theological Association, and founded Committees on Indian Ministries in the Dioceses of Minnesota and North Dakota.
He has an extensive background in church, civic and academic affairs, and has taught at seminaries, universities and secondary schools. He has served the National Church as a deputy to General Convention, a member of the Executive Council and on several standing commissions. He holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in American Studies from the University of Hawaii and a B.A. in American Studies from Hamline University. He is highly regarded as an educator, preacher, and leader of conferences for both clergy and laity.
His daughter Kesha Brennom was recently ordained as a transitional deacon in Iowa and will be serving an Episcopal parish in Oxnard, CA. He and his wife, Linda, adopted their son Clarence Roy, who is an Ojibwa and currently lives with his wife in Minnesota.
______________________________
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
| 5:30 pm |
Dinner |
| 7:00-9:00 pm |
Welcome and Introductions |
| |
Session I - Howard Anderson |
| 9:00 pm |
Compline |
| |
Snacks |
Thursday, April 30, 2009
| 7:30 am |
Morning Prayer |
| 8:00 am |
Breakfast |
| 9:30-11:00 am |
Session II – Howard Anderson |
| 11:15 am |
Eucharist |
| Noon–3:30 pm |
Lunch followed by Free Time |
| 3:30-5:00 pm |
Session III – Howard Anderson |
| 5:00 pm |
Evening Prayer |
| 5:30 pm |
Dinner |
| 7:00pm-9:00pm |
Session IV – Howard Anderson |
| 9:00pm |
Compline followed by Social time |
Friday, May 1, 2009
| 7:30 am |
Morning Prayer |
| 8:00 am |
Breakfast |
| 9:00-11:00 am |
Session with Bishop Scarfe |
| 11:15 am |
Eucharist |
| Noon |
Lunch and departure |
______________________________
From the South, West or East, take Hwy 20 to Exit 224; go north on Hudson Rd (about 8 miles) to Hwy 57; go West or left (about 3 miles) to Union Road. Turn North or right for 1.9 miles. AMRH is on the right.
From the North on Hwy 218, watch for mile marker 193, about ½ mile further take a right or West on County #57 (about 3 miles); to T75 (Union Rd. N) turn South or left for about 4.3 miles. AMRH is on the left.
Open to retreatants the year-round, the Retreat House has 59 individual bedrooms, which are furnished with lavatory, single bed, desk, chair and fan. The towels and bed linens are provided. Showers and restrooms are shared.
Established in 1960 by the Roman Archdiocese of Dubuque, under the direction of the late Archbishop Leo Binz, the Retreat House is officially dedicated to the North American Martyrs, Saints Isaac Jogues, Rene Goupil & John Lalande. The location is in the beautiful Cedar River Valley, surrounded by 75 acres of trees and uninhabited beauty, creating an atmosphere of peace and serenity, which is an ideal setting for rejuvenation of the spirit.
______________________________
Cancellation Policy—
Please submit any cancellation via email to
diocese@iowaepiscopal.org, or call on our business phone at 515-277-6165.
Email cancellations must contain the following: First name, last name, order number, and email address. This information must be identical to the information originally submitted on your registration. Please provide contact information so that we may contact you if we have questions in regards to canceling your registration.
Every effort will be made to accommodate the cancellation of your registration.
_____________________________
Questions? Contact—
Episcopal Diocese of Iowa
225 - 37th Street
Des Moines, IA 50312-4305
515-277-6165
diocese@iowaepiscopal.org
