PROGRAM for JANUARY ADVENTURE 2016
January 15 – 17 Epworth by the Sea
Friday PM 2:00-5:30 Registration, Strickland Auditorium
3:30-5:00 Book Signing
5:00 Dinner
6:30 Welcome, Rev. Wayne Racz for Epworth by the Sea
Announcements — Mrs. Billie Sargent Conyers
ROBIN MEYERS – FROM GALILEAN SAGE TO SUPERNATURAL SAVIOR
(Or How I Became a Heretic With Help from Jesus)
7:30 Break
7:50 LORI WALKE — A WOMAN IN THE PULPIT
“Girls can be anything they want to be,” her parents said. Then the Church added, “Except clergy.” Gender inequality is but one place where the Church hasn’t been true to the Good News. It’s time for a makeover.
Saturday AM 6:45 Worship in Lovely Lane Chapel with Rev. Dave Hanson
Using the ancient practice of “Lectio Divina”
7:00 Breakfast
8:30 Announcements — Mrs. Billie Sargent Conyers
ROBIN MEYERS – SCIENCE AND THE DEATH OF GOD
Toward a New Definition of the Almighty
9:30 Break with coffee, tea and hot chocolate
9:50 LORI WALKE — A THIRTY-SOMETHING IN THE PULPIT
The headlines are not encouraging. Survey after survey says that fewer people identify as Christian, worship attendance is down, and no one memorizes Bible verses anymore. But how bad is it? How do we stop worrying about the future of the Church and start working on the Church of the future?
10:50 ROBIN and LORI answer your written questions
12:00 Lunch
Saturday PM 1:00-6:00 Free time (Activities Optional)
1:30-3:00 Historical Trolley Tour - $22.00/person
2:00 Ad Hoc Small group Discussions – Nalls Building
2:00 John Wesley in Georgia by Wesley Scholar
Rev. Dave Hanson – Lovely lane Chapel
5:00 Dinner
5:45 Book Signing
6:15 Martin Luther King, Jr. Remembrance
Featuring Ms. A. Patrice Butts – Soloist
Rev. Ron Leggett – “I HAVE A DREAM”
7:00 LORI WALKE — A POLITICO IN THE PULPIT
Your mother always said, “keep your elbows off the table!”, much like the Church has always said, “Keep your politics out of the pulpit!” But is Christianity just about personal piety and playing politely? If that were so, surely Jesus would have been put to death some other way than crucifixion. How can congregations reclaim the political message of the Gospel without sinking into partisanship?
7:45 Break
8:00 ROBIN MEYERS – FAITH AS RESISTANCE
To Ego, Orthodoxy, and Empire
Sunday AM 6:45 “Lectio Divina” Worship – Lovely Lane – Rev. Dave Hanson
7:00 Breakfast
8:30 LORI WALKE - WAITRESSING FOR JESUS
9:30 Break with Coffee, tea and hot chocolate
9:50 ROBIN MEYERS - ORIGINAL BLESSING
In Greek logic, any assumed or unstated premise in a deductive argument is called an “enthymeme.” The church operates with many assumed premises which determine the outcome of many theological arguments. But the granddaddy of them all is Original Sin--the idea that humans are born into sin, as one is born with red hair or left-handed. It says that we are trapped in sin, that we sin because we can't help ourselves. But this doctrine is nowhere to be found in the Hebrew Scriptures or the New Testament. It is a later invention of the church and became the ultimate spiritual monopoly. But what if it isn't true? What if, instead of being born into sin, we are born an “original blessing”? What if, instead of needing to be “saved,” we need only remember where we came from, where we are going, and to Whom we belong? This could change everything.
10:50 LORI and ROBIN and your written questions
11:30 Closing remarks by ROBIN and LORI
12:00 Lunch
Here's some info on several of the free time activity events outside the "main tent" presentations:
LECTIO DIVINA
6:45 Saturday and Sunday mornings at Lovely Lane Chapel (right across the street from our auditorium): Reverend Dave Hanson will be discussing Lectio Divina, an ancient contemplative practice which involves several readings of the same short scripture passage with guided meditations. The practice is an attempt to listen to God or to receive an intuitive feeling as the Spirit speaks to our hearts with words or phrases meaningful to our personal situation.
SATURDAY FREE TIME: 1:00 to 6:00:
1:30-3:00: Historical Trolly Tour: Enjoy the sights and stories of St. Simons Island as your guide leads you from our Epworth door to Fort Frederica, Christ Church, the St. Simons Village and Lighthouse -- 36 points of interest in all! A great way to see St. Simons! Sign up at the Information Desk. $22 per person. Click here for more details: http://www.stsimonstours.com/#!tour-sites/cyp0
2:00: John Wesley in Georgia by Wesley Scholar Rev. Dave Hanson at Lovely Lane Chapel. Rev. Hanson’s lecture on John Wesley’s 23 months in Georgia and his five visits to St. Simons Island in 1736-1737 brings alive a very human period of John Wesley’s life. It was a miserable time for Wesley, but important to his spiritual growth. To all of us who have periods of doubt and trouble, learning about this great man’s quest for religious direction is encouraging...even inspiring!
Ad Hoc Small Group Discussions: If you’d like to lead a small group discussion, prepare a sign-up sheet with the subject title, your name and the time you plan to meet and put it at the information desk. Space has been arranged at the Nalls Building.