Annual Theology Conference
“Discipleship in the Shadow of Empire: Lament, Resistance, and Hope”
Theme Speaker: Dr. Sylvia Keesmaat
How do we grapple with the many interlocking uncertainties that surround us globally, nationally, and locally? How do we find space to step away from the anxious voices to be held by the calm places that can grant us rest?
Over four sessions, Sylvia Keesmaat will delve deeply into the wisdom of the biblical story to explore how those who lived in the shadow of empire in biblical times created communities of lament, resistance, and hope. Each session will weave together biblical texts in dialogue with a current crisis: environmental collapse, genocide, abusive political power, and the oppression of the marginalized.
Drawing also on the wisdom of Indigenous writers and Palestinian Christians, we will dare to dream of a community where lament helps to carry our grief, hope enables us to imagine a healing future, and resistance binds us together in love.
Workshops Include:
Music and Meditation: Improvisation, Lament, and the Practice of Resistance: Peter Woods and Nick Gummeson (Field Notes Collective)
“I Am About To Do a New Thing”, The Theology of Toward 2035: Growth Animator Greg Smith-Young
The Fibres That Bind: Rev. Dr. Christine Johnson
Make your Church Website Sing!: Rev. Stephen Fetter
For Further Information about the Conference, Workshops, How to Register to attend either in person or on line, and other details, see: https://annualconference.ca/