Tevis Austin

Emergentia - November 4-7

About a year ago I found myself preparing to head off to Portland, Oregon for a gathering called Emergentia.  It was a very valuable opportunity for me to engage in conversation with friends and others who are exploring what it means to be a Christian, Missional, and Holiness people in today's culture. 

 

I have worked with several of the individuals who are facilitating this gathering for a number of years now.  As a result of our conversation, the dream for Emergentia started taking shape.  There was even a paper that was written regarding the emerging church and The Church of the Nazarene.  Here is a link to the paper titled "Is There Room at the Table."

  

Emergentia is just a couple of weeks away, and I am finding myself wishing I could attend again this year.  However, I am not able to attend due to some other responsibilities.  For anyone who might be interested, I have placed some basic information below.  All the details can be found at www.paxsumma.com.   

 

Where, What, When & How Much

 

Where:
The Community of Adsideo, In the Sellwood Neighborhood of Portland Oregon

What:
A few days of conversations for those questing to discover how to live and minister as Christian, Missional and Holiness people in an emerging, post-modern world. A time of listening, conversing, grappling and drinking obscene amounts of coffee while seeking the right questions and maybe even some answers for your local context.

When:
Emergentia November 4th-7th 2009

Registration:
No later than November 1st

How Much:
The Cost of the Experience is $30.

Another Barnyard Hoedown

We decided to have the Barnyard Hoedown again this fall.  It was for all three of our locations, and for all ages.  We added more activities this year including pumpkin decorating, a pumpkin egg hunt, a pumpkin toss, a candy hunt, and games like corn hole, ladder golf, and volleyball.  We still had a hayride, bobbing for apples, a chili-cook off, live music, and some square dancing. 

I have to admit that a hoedown actually puts me a little bit out of my comfort zone.  I don't really listen to country music, and I definitely don't know how to square dance.  Thankfully, I was outside of the barn when they were teaching how to to do Hannah Montanna's Throwdown Hoedown.

But this event really wasn't about my comfort zone or my ability to dance.  It wasn't even about drinking lemonade out of an "unused" toilet which really has nothing to do with a hoedown.  It did bring some good laughs though. 

It was about people coming together to have fun and get to know others.  It was about parents and kids spending time together.

 

It was about laughing together and memory makers that come from doing crazy things like a pumpkin toss.

 

 

 

It was about conversations around a campfire. 

 

It was about getting to know others while you feel like you are in jail on the hayride.  Okay, you didn't really feel like you were in jail.  It just looks that way.

This event was more about gathering people together with the intention of helping kids, teens, young adults, parents, and grandparents build community and in some cases be family.  

Promotion Sunday? - Looking Back

I was looking at some pictures from Promotion Sunday that took place last month.  Someone asked me if I really wanted to have a "Promotion Sunday?"  For anyone who is not familiar with this concept, as a child, Promotion Sunday was the one Sunday at church each year when every grade moved to the next grade.  As I have served at different churches, Promotion Sunday has meant trying to decide which Sunday works best for everyone.  Should you do this before school starts?  Should you do this at the end of the school year?  Should you promote right after school starts?  Should you do this in the middle of the summer to help kids and teens transition?  My head starts spinning when I think about it.

Okay.  Back to the original question.  Did I really want to have Promotion Sunday?  My answer was that it sort of seems a little old school.  I don't know that I am about Promotion Sunday, but I am very much about the opportunity to intentionally use certain times of the year as teaching moments. 

 

That is what we did this year with our kids and parents.  Of course we celebrated students moving on to the next grade, but it was really about giving kids an opportunity to be able to read God's Story and to talk to parents about the opportunity they have to teach their kids God's Story.

We have found that many kids and parents not only do not have a Bible (especially one they understand), but they don't even really know the stories of the Bible.  Promotion Sunday was about teaching parents about the different tools and resources that we are using and have designed to help them read, understand, engage, and live God's Story.

It was about taking time to pray a blessing on kids and their families. It was about taking time to challenge the faith community surrounding these kids to be spiritual grandparents, aunts, uncles, and brothers and sisters.  It was a time to remind us that together we are family.