No Cohort in December - Help us Rethink & Renew

Hello.

We are canceling the December cohort.

We feel the cohort has reached the end of it's first wave or you might say, first era...we'd love your help in imagining where it will go next...

When the cohort started, emergent ideas were still incubating in NYC and soon many of them were born into real life...many of the people who became friends through the cohort are now super busy running what they've started...but now many more new things, and new leaders are emerging - note the NYC Faith & Justice group announcement below.

But still, if you are like me, you spend a lot of time explaining to new people just what this emerging church thing is, and so we are still in the early days of the emerging church and there is much room for many more expressions and new ideas - and thus a place where people can come together to talk about them and urge one another forward.

Please comment below with your thoughts or ideas about the future of the cohort, what you would like to see, what you would be willing to do, or contact Jeff and Bowie by email.

We'll be seeing you in some way in 2008!

Shane Claiborne w/ NY Faith & Justice, SUNDAY

New York Faith & Justice Presents...

SUNDAY December 2, 2007: The Bridge AND Christianity and Transformational Development!

1) The Bridge has MOVED to 5pm service at All Angels Church, All Angels Church (251 W. 80th Street & Broadway. The first 30 RSVPS for the Bridge (at 5pm) will be receiving vouchers for the Community Meal after the service. RSVP to pheltzel@nyfaithjustice.org ASAP.

2) After The Bridge, Join us for Shalom, Reconciliation and Non-Violence: Extremists for Love - All Angels Church (251 W. 80th Street & Broadway) 7.30 - 9.30pm

Speaker: Shane Claiborne, prominent Christian activist and bestselling author of ‘The Irresistible Revolution’

Love wins. Death dies. Amid the hells of war and poverty, Shane will share about the triumph of love and scandalous grace amid war zones and ghettoes. Building upon the wisdom of Christian radicals throughout history, we will consider how to live our faith in ways that prophetically interrupt the destructive patterns of our world.

NOTE: For others attending the Bridge, we encourage you to catch dinner in the neighborhood and come back @ 7:30pm to hear from Shane Claiborne.

Please RSVP to suzana.s.andrade@gmail.com for Shalom, Reconciliation and Non-Violence: Extremists for Love

Rising from The Ashes: Rethinking Church by NYC's Becky Garrison

Rising from The Ashes: Rethinking Church is available in at many Barnes & Noble bookstores, select Episcopal and other church bookstores and Amazon.com (US and UK).

The NYC church leaders interviewed for this book:
Elise Brown, Advent Lutheran/Common Ground (http://www.myspace.com/advent_commonground)
Isaac Everett (www.isaaceverett.com)
Jahneen Otis (http://www.jahneen.com>
Rev. Kevin Bean/Rev. Elizabeth Garnsey, St. Bart's Church (http://www.stbarts.org)
Nancy Hannah, Calvary/St. George's Episcopal Church (http://stgeorgesnyc.dioceseny.org)
Rt. Rev. Catherine Roskam, Episcopal Diocese of New York

Marilyn Haskel, St. Paul's Chapel (http://www.trinitywallstreet.org)

Also, the Latino Leadership Circle is listed in the resource guide (http://latinoleadershipcircle.typepad.com)

If anyone would like to check out any of these leader's services, email Becky Garrison (bgthedoor@aol.com) and we'll arrange a time to get together.

* Press Release *

RISING FROM THE AHES: RETHINKING CHURCH TAKES AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT
EMERGING WORSHIP FOCUSING ON MAINLINE LITERGICAL CHURCHES

This First American Look at the Subject Features Contributions
from Many Leading Thinkers on the Topic

NEW YORK (September 7, 2007) – Author Becky Garrison describes her new book, Rising from the Ashes: Rethinking Church (Seabury), as a “salon where voices come to the table” to discuss ways to reach those for whom church is not in their vocabulary.

The alternative worship/emerging church movement has been underway in various incarnations throughout the UK for more than twenty years, and has impacted the U.S. evangelical community since the 1990s. However, these influences are just now beginning to emerge within the mainline liturgical churches. What impact do these new ways of worshiping God have on the contemporary mainline church?

Rising from the Ashes engages these questions through interwoven oral history-style interviews with people working with mainline churches who at the forefront of exploring what it means to “be” the Church in the 21st century. Several worship leaders who do not self-identify with the emerging church movement are also included.

The diverse array of voices range from High Church Celtic Christians to Evangelical Anglicans, as well as a few spiritual souls who consider themselves to be post-church. The contributors to this book include: Diana Butler Bass, Jonny Baker, Kester Brewin (Signs of Emergence), Shane Claiborne, Brian McLaren, Peter Rollins, Phyllis Tickle, Karen Ward (Church of the Apostles, Seattle), and NT Wright.

About the Author: Becky Garrison's first book Red and Blue God, Black and Blue Church: (Jossey Bass, April 2006) received a starred review in Publishers Weekly. Her book The New Atheist Crusaders and their Unholy Grail will be released by Thomas Nelson in January 2008. She began writing for The Wittenburg Door in 1994 and currently serves as Senior Contributing Editor. Her additional writing credits include work for The Ooze, God’s Politics blog, Christian Retailing, Prism, Stackpole Books, Bibal Press, Episcopal Life, and The Living Church.

Cohort Tuesday - We don't need to read it!

We are going to discuss a book we haven't even read!

The Cohort this Tuesday will discuss Pete Rollins book, How (not) To Speak of God - and most of us haven't even read it! What you say?? That's right, we have been having book discussions on well known emergent books by reading reviews and short excerpts - are we academically challenged? No, just super busy and we recognize all of you are too, so we're making it easy. After one of the dialogs, you might find that you can't wait to read the book, or that you got enough and you can budget that precious time for another book.

I would say this has been the book that has been the most talked about and created the most excitement in emerging church circles in the last few years. It is a true work of new emerging theology. Brian Mclaren wrote the forward and gushed in his praise for it. I am hearing it's ideas seeping about in emerging conversations, and feeling it affecting my thinking regularly in some areas, or beginning a process of challenging me and making me think in others - and I haven't even read the book! I've read so many brief reviews or heard people talking about it that I've kind of gleaned some of it's main ideas - you know a book is good when that happens.

But you are all just as busy or more than me, so you also may have not read it - so below are a few reviews to link to, but especially an excerpt from the publisher.

Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 6:30pm

Origins Church Office
581 9th Ave #3B (corner of 42nd and 9th Ave.)
above the papaya dog.
Enter next to the hotdog place on 9th ave.
look for the ORIGINS poster in the door and buzz number 3B...


Reviews:

The best I think is to read this excerpt of the book: http://site.paracletepress.com/samples/exc-hownot_a01.pdf

Here's a good blog review, you have to link to his five posts on the book - so I won't reprint them all in this email.
http://ifgodislove.blogspot.com/2007/01/reading-how-not-to-speak-of-god.html

Here's a short one, not very comprehensive:
http://www.bethquick.com/2006/11/review-how-not-to-speak-of-god-by.html


Here's the link to the Next-Wave Ezine review:
http://www.the-next-wave-ezine.info/issue97/index.cfm?id=20&ref=ARTICLES_REVIEWS_307


--
The Cohort Team

John Bell @ Advent Lutheran, Thurs OCT 18th

John Bell, a member of the Iona Community, is giving a worship workshop at Advent Lutheran (Broadway and 93rd Street) on October 18th at 7pm in the Sanctuary. I spoke with Pastor Elise Brown and she would like to extend a warm invitation to anyone who would like to attend this evening.

Here's how he describes himself in the Greenbelt bulletin. I heard him talk and hung out a bit with the folks at Iona when I went to Greenbelt UK this summer to speak - I was blown away.

Passing this info. along in case you can make it. Highly recommended.

Becky Garrison (photo from Greenbelt this past August)

Oct 9th - Signs of Emergence - book (& book review) discussion

Our next second Tuesday Cohort is coming up on October 9th.

This month, we’ll be discussing Kester Brewin’s book, Signs of Emergence: A Vision for Church That Is Always Organic/Networked/Decentralized/Bottom-Up/Communal/Flexible/Always Evolving – via some online reviews that will give you a good sense of the book (see links below). If you've read the book, bring it along (!) and it’s a fast read for those of you who might want to see how far you can get by next Tuesday ;-)

A main theme of the book is urban ministry, apt for those of us living in the NYC metro area. Kester is from London, and part of our discussion may look at “emerging” ideas jumping across the (big Atlantic) pond.

The best two online reviews I found...

• The first review by Ryan Bolger, co-author of Emerging Churches, is a succinct, well-written, 2-pager.

• The second review by Jordon Cooper, is about 6 pages, two-thirds chucky block-quotes right out of the book. This blog review suffers from lack of a copy editor (some typos, etc), but is well structured and gives a very good and enthusiastic sense of the book’s message.

Additional posts from NYC Cohort Members

• A short interview with Kester on The Ooze, by Becky Garrison

• Bowie’s four favorite Brewin quotes, on www.Transmissioning.org

Kester Brewin’s Blog

Signs was published by “emersion”, an Emergent Village imprint of Baker Books, in July 2007. It was previously published in the UK as The Complex Christ in 2004.

As usual, we’ll be meeting at 6:30 pm at the Origins Office, 581 9th Ave #3B @ 42nd St.

Look forward to seeing you there!

The Cohort Team

Brian McLaren on Staten Island, Oct 3rd

The Everything Must Change National Book Tour begins...

Brian McLaren

Book signing Event (Discussion, Q&A, signing)

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2007 – NEW YORK, NY
7:00 p.m. ET

Barnes & Noble

2245 Richmond Ave.

Staten Island, NY 10314

Fall Cohorts begin Tuesday

Welcome to the new year! Along with the rest of NYC coming back to life for the fall season, the cohort is beginning it's new year.

The Big Change - Meeting on Tuesdays now!
(the second Tuesday of the month)

This Tuesday, Sept. 11th at 6:30pm

Origins Church Office
581 9th Ave #3B (corner of 42nd and 9th Ave.)
above the papaya dog.
Enter next to the hotdog place on 9th ave.
look for the ORIGINS poster in the door and buzz number 3B...

We had a great time in late August with Tony Jones and we look forward to your input on new discussion topics or books to read or things to do together for the fall.

We took a poll, we had two discussions and we voted to change to the second Tuesday of the month - sorry to those who can't make it that night, but we're excited about some who couldn't make it this whole last year that will be able to now.

Why don't you bring some food on Tuesday, Sept. 11th to the first gathering and some drinks and maybe one go-getter will even bring ice!

If you've been thinking of coming, but haven't gotten around to it, or if you came once and have been wondering if it's something you should do once a month, let me give you a small inspiration...

...The cohort is about friendship.
It's not often that we have a chance to gather with such likeminded people, who've all experienced the joys and agonies of Christian leadership and who have incredible hopes for the future and enjoy talking about them with passion and intelligence.
Our world is in the throes of incredible change - the church is poised to undergo a major reformation that will enable her to be an instrument in God's hand to fulfill his plans to love the people of the earth in the yet understood future.
We need to be with one another to hear one another, and the Lord within one another to be able to respond to his leading in days where "the norm" is out the window.
Come and be together in an environment of people listening to the new wind God is allowing to mysteriously move amongst us.....

SPECIAL COHORT with Tony Jones, Aug 23

Come join us for a special NYC Cohort Conversation with Tony Jones, National Coordinator of Emergent Village and editor of An Emergent Manifesto of Hope.

TOMORROW night, Thursday, August 23rd from 7-9 pm.

We'll be gathering at Stone Creek Bar & Lounge

* 140 East 27th Street between Third Avenue and Lexington

Meet Tony on YouTube (he's the guy on the left)

Read About An Emergent Manifesto of Hope

Check out Tony's Bio - from www.emergentvillage.com

As the national coordinator of Emergent Village, Tony connects people within the network, helps to organize events and initiatives, and is responsible for things like maintaining this website. Tony is in the process of getting a Ph.D. in practical theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. Previously, he was the Minister to Youth & Young Adults at the Colonial Church of Edina in Minnesota, the church where he grew up. Educated at Dartmouth College and Fuller Seminary, Tony is the author of Postmodern Youth Ministry (YS/Zondervan, 2001), Soul Shaper (YS/Zondervan, 2003), Read, Think, Pray, Live (NavPress, 2003) Pray (NavPress, 2003), The Sacred Way (Zondervan, 2005), and the editor of several books. Tony serves on several boards, and he is a regular columnist in The Journal of Student Ministries. Tony lives in Minnesota with his wife, Julie, and their three young children.

NEED SPACE FOR TONY JONES MEETING

Any Ideas??

Thursday, August 23rd at 6:30pm

(comment below and we'll get it)

August Special Cohort w/ Tony Jones

*****UPDATE: Can't meet at normal space - any ideas for alternate space??******

Hey everyone. Because August is such a strange month in NYC, we've been wondering if we should take the month off, but then a wonderful opportunity came up - Tony Jones is in town on August 23rd (Thurs.) and so he is going to spend the evening with us.

If you don't know, Tony is the national coordinator of emergent village and speaks all over the world to groups large and small about what's happening in emergent land.

We haven't confirmed whether we will stay in the regular space or go somewhere else, so stay tuned for an email on that - and of course no regular cohort on the second monday of August.

Come with questions for Tony and let me know if there's anything you'd like him to cover and we'll let him know ahead of time. It's going to be a great night.

Then it will only be a few weeks until we start the new year of cohorts on the second Monday of September - come out this year and make friendships with people that will walk alongside you as you endeavor to do new things in the Kingdom. Consider cementing the second Monday of each month into your calendar this year.

So many things are happening this year that you will enjoy being a part of. Bowie is helping organize the big "Greenbelt" style festival that EV is working on along with a few other groups. I am going to be participating all over the country in Brian McLaren's eleven city, "Everything Must Change" tour (more on that exciting development soon). Samir has finally arrived and is preparing to launch Faith House. Sean Callaghan and family are ready to go and are just awaiting visa's to move here and plant in Tribeca. Jose Humphreys of Latino Leadership Circle is planting MetroHope in Harlem and Belinda is on his team (and I am in talks with them about being involved:)

Doing new things is hard. I can't stress enough how helpful it has been for all of us who are regulars to build the friendships we have in the cohort. Don't fight your fights alone, don't try to come up with all those new ideas alone - come join our happy family one night a month.

July Cohort!

It's cohort time!

This month the cohort gets hit by the shockwave called Samir! Faith House is the new church that is emerging that Samir and his family are starting here in NYC. We've been praying for them and eagerly anticipating their arrival and now they are finally here. Come welcome this national emergent leader to our local fold.

If it's your first time, we gather monthly to build friendships and talk about all things emerging.

Jeff is back from his month in Argentina where a simple vacation became meeting after meeting with emergent hungry pastors and seminary leaders - all of it leading to the formation of a new emergent network in that country. What a wonderful miracle, come hear about it.

See the post below and continue to pray for Shane Clairborne and his community.

Also pray for Sean Callaghan and family, the other long awaited addition to the cohort that are stuck in South Africa waiting for their visa's to be granted. We eagerly anticipate them and their new work in Tribeca.

Also, a brief mention to whet your appetite, in the fall, a musical group which is nationally beloved by emergent village folks, The Cobalt Season is coming to NYC and we are looking for ways to combine their visit with a cohort gathering and any other creative ideas we could do together. More info soon.

Fire at Simple Way: Please Pray and Donate

Official Fire Update from The Simple Way in Philly, PA

This morning, a 7-alarm fire consumed an abandoned warehouse in our Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia. The Simple Way Community Center at 3200 Potter Street was destroyed as well as at least eight of our neighbors' homes. Over 100 people were evacuated from their homes, and 400 families are currently without power. Despite this developing tragedy, we are incredibly thankful to share that all of our community members and every one of our neighbors is safely out of harm's way.

This fire will forever change the fabric of our community. Eight families are currently homeless, and in many cases have lost their vehicles as well as their homes. One of our neighbors, the Mahaias Family, lost their three cars as well as the equipment one family member uses for her massage therapy business. Teenager Brian Mahaias is devastated not because he has lost his belongings, but because he fears that this fire will force him to move away from this neighborhood that is his family as well as his home.

The Simple Way has lost a community center that was home to our Yes! And… afterschool program, community arts center, and Cottage Printworks t-shirt micro-business as well as to two of our community members. Community members Shane Claiborne and Jesce Walz have lost all of their belongings, Yes!And…'s after school studio and library were ruined, and community member Justin Donner's Cottage Printworks equipment and t-shirts were destroyed.

We are thankful that we are able to help each other during this time of need, and we will continue to keep your informed about today's events.

We have established funds to support the families who have lost their homes, the Yes! And… afterschool program, and the Simple Way community.

A fund to support the families has been established through a partner organization, EAPE. Tax-deductible donations can be made at https://www.tonycampolo.org/donate.php#ssl. Please make sure to put "Kensington Families Fund" in the memo section.

Donations to the Rebuilding Fund can be made via PayPal to contribute@awip.us.

-The Simple Way Community

Worship Tricks!

Hello cohort -

For June and July we're trying some "workshop" cohorts, instead of our regular topical discussions.

We had planned to do a "Music Monday" in June, but a couple of the musicians who regularly attend cohort will be out of town, so we're moving that to July. Let us know if you want to play!

THIS MONDAY we'll be doing "Worship Tricks" inspired by Johnny Baker's list. Isaac and I will be bringing "Communion By Numbers" kits from our Easter at Avalon Service, and I was wondering if any of you have a 10-15 minute worship component that you could bring in to do with the group, followed by some discussion, brainstorming, etc.

An innovative approach to prayer, to confession, to reading scripture, whatever... The only limitations I can think of are that it should take less than 20 minutes (tops!) and should be something that anyone who shows up can participate in.

We may also end up sharing stories about interesting worship approaches we've experienced and maybe even trying some worship approaches extemporaneously...

Hope to see you there!

JUNE – Mobsby on the 7th & Music Cohort on 11th

MON, June 11 –

Since it's summer, let's kick back, chill, and listen to tunes from our Cohort community! Cohort-connected musicians will have about 10 minutes to play a couple of original songs (live or recorded) and share a little about how their music creation jives with their emerging understandings of worship.

So far I've spoken with Christy Merry, Nate Jackson, and Isaac Everett about playing... but, I'm sure there are more of you out there – and perhaps some of you work with a musician – who would like to play!

Please email back and I'll happily add folks to our roster. There will hopefully be a guitar, keyboard, and stereo for those who don't want to lug instruments (but please let us know ahead of time if you'll have equipt needs). Also, please select pieces on the criteria that they have been – or could be – used in a worship setting.

As usual, we'll meet @ 6:30pm in the Origins Church Office 581 9th Ave #3B (corner of 42nd and 9th) above the papaya dog.

THURS, June 7th –

Come hear an amazing and long-time Emerging leader in the UK, Ian Mobsby, talk about "Trinitarian Mysticism and Mission" at Trinity Wall Street. Just how can Rublev's Icon and a Trinitarian ecclesiology enable us to be emerging, experimental, and do mission?

Ian is a founding member of Moot, an emerging church community in London, UK and has been doing emerging church stuff in the UK for the last 14 years, is sweet, and totally rad (Bowie and Isaac from Transmission adore him!). Also, here's an interview between Johnny Baker and Ian about his new book.

• Refreshments and fellowship begin at 6:30 pm; the workshop begins at 7 pm – FREE
• To sign up, please email Ali Lutz at alutz@trinitywallstreet.org or call 212-602-0800.
• Sponsored by the 20s30s fellowship group at Trinity-St Paul's, and open to all.

He's doing a bit of a tour around the country. Spread the word and check out his West Coast and PA gigs.

blessings, Bowie

PS Please email the blog or cohortnyc@gmail.com if you have events you'd like announced.

PPS Samir Selmanovik, who is moving to NYC this June to start Faith House, is wondering about health insurance for Church Planters. Anyone have any ideas?

New Sanctuary Movement Launches + Argentina

The relationship between the Latino Leadership Circle and the NYC Emergent Cohort continues to grow and this week after a few months of hard work, Jeff and Belinda helped launch the New Sanctuary Movement - churches offering hope and sanctuary to wonderful people in danger of being separated from their families by aggressive deportations.

There are just so many verses about welcoming the stranger, offering them hospitality and making them one of your own. Plus all we know of how God sees humans and not borders - and when one group of people has many they are called to share with those that have want. The inequity of our current world economy where a past history of colonialism and a current reality of the richer countries continuing to get richer often at the direct exploitation of the poorer countries must lead Christians to stand up and call out for justice. Let justice flow like rivers, and our God will be happy. But when he looks down upon our selfish inequities it breaks his heart.

Doing this work - a thing which is very new to me, and doesn't seem on the surface as "spiritual" as other things I've done - has really opened me up to a new understanding of God. I have sensed his pleasure in my actions - his smile as he sees me, his child, working for what he so desires. It has been deeply spiritual.

Now I am about to leave for one month living in a rented apartment in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I've always wanted to go there and a window has opened for me, so I'm off. If you know of any church or emergent connections in Buenos Aires I'd love to get together with some folks down there. jkursonis@yahoo.com

Enjoy the cohort on Monday!

Blessings, Jeff

Trinity Wall Street's Emerging Events

How Radical is Your Welcome?
Saturday, April 28th, 10 am to 3 pm – $10 includes lunch
74 Trinity Place, 2nd floor

What, exactly, does it mean to be welcoming? The Rev. Stephanie Spellers, author of Radical Welcome: Embracing God, The Other and The Spirit of Transformation, leads a one-day workshop on "radical welcome." She'll introduce concepts that help lead communities through fear and beyond mere diversity to truly welcome the gifts and power of marginalized groups. And if that's not radical, what is? Register by contacting the Congregation Office at 212-602-0800 or email Ali Lutz at alutz@trinitywallstreet.org.

Stephanie is also the pastor for The Crossing, an emerging church worship community, in Boston MA. and she rocks.

Heads Up!

Ian Mobsby – an evening at Trinity Wall Street talking about how Rublev's Icon and a Trinitarian ecclesiology can enable us to be experimental and do mission.
Thursday, June 7th, evening (details to follow) – FREE

Ian is a founding member of Moot, an emerging church community in London, UK and has been doing emerging church stuff in the UK for the last 14 years, is sweet, and totally rad. You can also read this interview between Johnny Baker and Ian about his new book.

p.s. Please email the blog or cohortnyc@gmail.com if you have events you'd like announced.

LLC Films Start! + Cohort News

We just got the info and the much awaited premiere of the Latino Leadership Circle's film series.

They'll be at the American Bible Society just north of Columbus Circle on Broadway.

The first one, Dying To Live will be Tues, Jan. 24th at 6:00pm with a panel discussion afterwards - they're free but you have to link to their website and register.

"Dying to Live" is a profound look at the human face of the immigrant. It explores who these people are, why they leave their homes and what they face in their journey. Drawing on the insights of Pulitzer Prize winning photographers, theologians, Church and congressional leaders, activists, musicians and the immigrants themselves, this film exposes the places of conflict, pain and hope along the US-Mexico border. It is a reflection on the human struggle for a more dignified life and the search to find God in the midst of that struggle.

*********More Cohort News*************

Please pray for Elise who is in the midwest recovering from some pretty serious eye surgery. She developed a problem while at her sister's wedding and has had to stay out there for the treatment and recovery.

Transmission is the new press darling with multiple coverage of their amazingly creative and provocative and inclusive Easter gathering at Avalon (formerly Limelight, formerly Episcopal church). Monday at the post-Easter cohort we heard the full story, and you can link to their website/blog (link is on the side panel) to hear about it yourself - my favorite quote from the Metro paper - "We're not really pastors, we're more like producer's".

The New Sanctuary Movement - with an innocent little invite to join other religious leaders to talk about immigration issues in our country, Belinda placed me in front of a vortex which has sucked me into a very exciting new journey that is launching nationally in the coming days - we have to be a little hush hush publicly right now, but feel free to contact me if you want to know more about how you can really be involved in helping some people that really need it - a wonderful opportunity for your congregation to be on the cutting edge of a vital national issue. Seriously, the media coverage on this is going to be huge. I was just on a conference call with incredibly savvy national religious leaders and serious national media consultants planning the launch.

Jeff on behalf of the Cohort Team

Easter Debrief (chill out and share w/ pizza and friends) 6:30 TONIGHT

Friends -

Come join us tonight for an informal evening of sharing about our lenten journeys and Easter experiences. The challenges and joys, inspirations and insights, O God moments and Alleluias!

We'll have pizza and as usual, meet...

...the Second Monday of each month at 6:30pm @ Origins Church Office 581 9th Ave #3B (corner of 42nd and 9th Ave.) above the papaya dog. Enter next to the hotdog place on 9th ave. look for the ORIGINS poster in the door and buzz number 3B... if there's a problem with the buzzer call 917-553-6843.

Bowie
on behalf of...
--
The Cohort Team

[Grid::Blog::Via Crucis 2007]

[Grid::Blog::Via Crucis 2007 ]

an invitation from Bob Carlton

Last year, more than 50 bloggers around the globe came together to share their reflections in a grid blog called Via Crucis during the week often called HOLY WEEK and in the week after EASTER. The name for this rag-tag effort comes from the Latin words for the Way of the Cross - Via Crucis. The response was astounding to this experiment in distributed global media, which was designed to draw on the creativity, diversity, and theological understanding of the blogging community to a moment in the story of folks practicing faith.

With the beginning of Holy Week (Palm Sunday – April 1) right around the corner, I am hoping you might join the [Grid::Blog::Via Crucis 2007] - if you are interested please go to http://thecorner.typepad.com/via_crucis_2007/ for a calendar of this year’s grid blog and sign up!

So, what are you waiting for?

* Sign Up! use your voice by posting on your blog reflections . You can choose the Day & the Station (see the calendar here) you will blog on – feel free to commit to more than 1. You can sign up by adding yourself to the comments on the grid blog site - please make sure you include your email and blog url in your comment.

* Name It! For consistency sake, please title your post (s): [Grid::Blog::Via Crucis 2007]

* Send It! By sending your link(s) during this window of time to me at bobcarlton@speakeasy.net

* Pass it on! Send this to at least 5 blogging pals and/or post the invite on your blog.

Emerging & Fresh Expressions of Church by Ian J. Mobsby

Ian Mobsby, a kindred spirit from the Moot Community in London, has published a new book about Emerging & Fresh Expressions of Church. All proceeds will support Moot's activities.

Buy a copy today @ www.mootique.net

The book is called "Emerging & Fresh Expressions of Church", drawing on narrative data, the book seeks to explore the theological, sociological and ecclesiological foundation to the emerging church in the UK context. It draws on the work of Sanctus 1, Moot, B1 and the Church of the Apostles in the States.

Interestingly it identifies that a reframed understanding of Trinitarian theology as a basis with the combination of a mystical communion & sacramental model of spiritual community. Fascinatingly regarding mission, the emerging church appears to be using a synthetic model of contextual theology - that seeks to reframe what it means to be Christian in post-modern post-secular contexts where people are spiritually searching with a form of techgnosis. For some in the UK context - it appears that the emerging church seeks to reframe a new approach to transcendence and imminence, and applying a 'both and' perspective to escape the binaries of catholic v evangelical of the past. It is argued that this founding principal of 'both and' is based on a Trinitarian theology which was the foundation of the original Anglican Church - so that the emerging church seeks to promote a vision of unity in diversity to escape the rigidity of much of the modern church in a post Christendom context. The book argues that the Emerging Church is reframing a new approach to ecclesiology and missiology.

To purchase a copy or learn more visit: www.mootique.net

Cohort gathers Monday with LLC

It's Cohort time again. This time we're gathering with our Latino Leadership Members (LLC) and they are guiding our dialog and helping us to see how they are emerging.

Notice on the upper right corner of the blog we have permanently placed the meeting location and time.

The LLC is a group of young progressive Latin leaders who have been meeting for 5 or more years - they were emergent before most of us heard that word.

Let me tell you why you might come to this month's gathering if a general interest in their unique outlook isn't enough; The Latin population of America is soaring, we've all noticed their increased political presence and power, you may have heard the very interesting social comment that salsa replaced ketchup as the biggest selling condiment in this country a few years back. If you have a church, it is very likely that you will have young Latin members. You will learn insights about how to best serve them and love them by joining our dialog this Monday night. This is real important stuff.

For me, beyond ministering to people in my congregation, I just want to know the story of a people. They got some huge history and stories that will change my life if I'm listening. One thing I'm passionate about is killing and closing down the social divides in this country, whether they are ethnic, economic or religious (or the tall people/short people thing). This month's cohort is going to be one very important step in the dream of God for healing the world.
--
The Cohort Team

Church Plants Coming This Summer...

We're looking forward to the arrival of two new emerging church plants coming this summer to NYC...

1) Samir Selmanovic, his wife Vesna, and their two daughters Ena and Leta are preparing to move to New York City and start an urban interfaith community called Faith House. Bowie really enjoyed meeting Samir in Pasadena at the Christian Churches Together meeting, and some members of the group know him from the six years he spent pastoring a multi-ethnic church in Manhattan (he moved to CA four years ago, but when NYC calls...). His bio is well worth checking out.

2) Sean and Monica Callaghan and their three kids are moving here from South Africa and starting incarnate NYC in Tribeca. Brian McLaren says that, "Sean and Monica are church planters and leaders who epitomize what is good and hopeful about emerging churches" (read more).

Please keep these church planters and their children in your prayers.

The 2007 Emergent Philosophical Conversation

The 2007 Emergent Theological Philosophical Conversation

“What Would Jesus Deconstruct?
A Conversation about Justice”

a conversation with John D. Caputo,
and featuring Richard Kearney

$145 before March 1, 2007
$160 after March 1, 2007
Eastern University, Philadelphia, PA
Monday, April 16 (7 p.m.) – Wednesday, April 18 (12 noon)

REGISTER NOW!

REGISTRATION IS LIMITED TO 250 PARTICIPANTS

Find out more on the Emergent Village website & while you're there, subscribe to get announcements about upcoming events

The End of Emerge

Last night I went to the final Emerge, the 7 p.m. alt worship service at St. Bart’s on Park Avenue and 51st in New York. After the service, a friend turned to me and said, “that was sad.”

“Tragically and sinfully sad,” I replied.

Sad because it was just so damn good and sad because it’s a crying shame that St. Bart’s is shutting it down less than a year after it started.

Sinfully sad because there were more than one hundred people there last night, with visible age, ethnic, racial, and class diversity in the room. How many churches around the country only dream of that type of crowd on a Sunday morning (the majority of Episcopal churches have less)…let alone a Sunday night.

St. Bart’s, a Byzantine basilica, covered in shimmering tiles and mosaics, is one of the most beautiful churches in New York City. A take-your-breath-away holy space. For Emerge, candles created a curtain of light between the altar and the congregation. Behind the small table set up for readings and celebrating the Eucharist, a wonderful assortment of images were projected on a beveled-edged stand-alone screen.

The service followed the forms for an Episcopal liturgy with texts “crafted and adapted from several sources including Enriching Our Worship, The Iona Community Worship Book, Johnny Baker’s Alternative Worship and Common Worship 2000“. The music selections and musicians were spot on, capturing the contemplative and celebratory mood of Emerge’s tag line: “where the ancient and urban come together.” I was moved by the amount of silence in the service (allowing for entire minutes to go by, a sacred treasure in NYC) and also really glad when they invited the entire congregation to stand around the table during the celebration of communion.

There’s bits I could critique (hey, I’m a seminary-trained PK who’s starting my own emerging liturgical community) but why? I like to say: If you’re part of the solution, you’re part of the solution. Sanctuary at Epiphany, Common Ground at Advent Lutheran, and Emerge at St. Bart’s are all trying to work out some new solutions in mainline settings… and are all succeeding.

It’s tragically sad that Emerge is ending precisely because it was succeeding at doing something perceptibly new. Elizabeth, the young priest who gave the sermon, did a good job of using the story of the Transfiguration to tell the congregation that we shouldn’t try to hold on to our “mountain-top” experiences. Nor, she preached, should we “worship the worship.”

The party line reason for ending Emerge was budget cuts. At the end of the service, Bill Tully, the rector of St. Bart’s stood up and asked people to pledge. Maybe then Emerge could come back. He asked us to read through a small printed pamphlet about St. Bart’s 2007 Annual Fund called “The Heart of All We Do.” The opening message from the rector in the booklet says that “at St. Bart’s, worship is at the heart of all we do.” Tonight that statement rang hollow.

One of the hallmarks of doing post-modern worship is that it’s got to be authentic. Emerge was authentic. It succeeded in being a sacred space of mystery and transcendence. It succeeded in being a safe place for many different types of people who feel the brokenness all around us and who perhaps are made to feel broken themselves by traditional church. The service was professional and resourced and lived up to all that St. Bart’s should be doing in an alt worship service. Beautiful, mysterious, broken, and profound. It was authentic to St. Bart’s.

Orgininally posted on Transmission

New Cohort Leaders and the Schedule!

What a great cohort gathering we had this Monday. The Latino Leadership Circle (LLC) showed up in force - David, Belinda and Luis represented.

We were able to make some nice progress on organizing and scheduling things. Under group pressure and in a show of great compassion for me, (Jeff) Bowie Snodgrass and David Ramos agreed to become co-facilitators with me of the Cohort! Yeah!

I can't wait to see how their energy and wisdom transform and enrich our gatherings and our ability to communicate better and do new things.

Next month on Monday, March 12th, the LLC headed up by David Ramos will guide the dialog.

Then in April on Monday, April 9th - the day after Easter when tired pastors just want to hang out and relax, we will hang out relax, talk about whatever and have some food. Chill.

For the May Cohort on Monday, May 14th, Elise will head up a collaboration with some of the other women members of the Cohort for an anticipated dialog on Women Emergent.

Belinda Passafaro brought to our attention some very important activity on the behalf of humans who have suffered greatly and need our help. A group called Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform has been launched and they and the LLC and others have made A Call for a New Sanctuary Movement. We've posted these documents online at Google docs and spreadsheets so you can read them , but here's the main idea:

"...As an act of public witness, religious or faith communities will publicly provide hospitality and protection to a limited number of immigrant families whose cases clearly reveal the contradictions and moral injustice of our current immigration system while working to support legislation that would change their situation..."

Look what cool things happen when the LLC shows up! How would we know to help these people if no one told us? This is the kind of generative frienship that the cohort hopes to enable.

Another thing we talked about is communication of events that might interest us. We recently had some great speakers come through town that none of us knew about until it was too late, and so we really encourage you to comment here on the blog about any interesting events, and from time to time we will include them in email annoucements. We'll try to find a balance between keeping everyone informed and not sending out to many emails.

Also don't forget to send in your info for the sidebar's of this blog to cohortnyc@gmail.com or just post in a comment.

Second Monday & Peter Rollins

The NYC Cohort Community has spoken. The second Monday of the month is the desired day, and so we'll start that on February 12th - Lincoln's Birthday (sticking with the 6:30 start time).

At the January meeting we talked about different topics to cover including; women in ministry, mainline emergent, doing a study in Acts from an emergent perspective.

Books - the two books that we want to all read together and discuss are:

How (not) To Speak of God by Peter Rollins

The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian McLaren

How can we incorporate these into our dialog? From past NYC experience I am a little reluctant to "all read the book together", because with NYC lifestyles it's rare that everyone will be up to speed on the reading schedule and because new people cycle in and don't have a context. So, here's an idea...Let's say that we will all read those books starting with Rollins and that as we go over the months this winter and spring, we will always find ways to bring ideas from the book into the specific dialog we are having that month. So when it's women in ministry, we'll talk about that in general but we'll always be looking for opportunities to bring in something Peter Rollins has written that might be illuminating.

And we'll ask one another how the reading is coming and with subtle social pressure get everyone to get through that book by at least late winter and start the Secret Message in early spring.

When I was at the Emergent Coordinating Group gathering in June, someone had an advance copy of the Peter Rollins book and everyone was abuzz with how good it was. Apparently Brian McLaren really, really loves it. So, go buy it and let's do it!

There are so many more things we want to do to take our group to the next level - hey man, I'm the National Cohorts leader, so I got to have a good and inspiring group for the rest of them to get ideas from - and so that means I need all of you to get creative and think of great new things for the group and let's make it really rock. Please make me look good.

Would you like to open the meeting with a song and some prayer? Let me know. Would you like to post some thoughts to this blog? email me. Would you like to list your blog and church website on the sidebar of this blog? send it to me. Would you like a roll of twenties? Contact Elise.

So, blessings my cohortesians and let's discover on Feb. 12th that at least half of us in the meeting own a copy of the "How (not) To Speak of God" book by Peter Rollins. (Consider buying two and handing one out at the Cohort:)

January Cohort Gathering

Hey we're back here at Origins office for our first new cohort of the year this Tuesday, January 9th at 6:30pm.

We'll talk about all things emergent and catch up with those we haven't seen since before the Holidays.

Were also considering changing the day to the second Monday, so let's hear your thoughts on that.

Tuesday night at 6:30

Origins Church Office
581 9th Ave #3B(corner of 42nd and 9 Ave.)
above the papaya dog.
Enter next to the hotdog place on 9th ave.
look for the ORIGINS poster in the door and buzz number 3B...