February 9, 2012

ELGIN, IL – A one-day workshop and webinar titled "Changing World, Future Church, Ancient Paths" will be led by Stuart Murray Williams and Juliet Kilpin on March 10, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (Pacific time). The event will address the question, "What does it mean to follow Jesus in a changing culture, in which the Christian story is no longer familiar and the church is on the margins?"

The event is jointly sponsored by the Church of the Brethren's Congregational Life Ministries and Urban Expression North America, in collaboration with the Church of the Brethren's Pacific Southwest District, the Pacific Conference Brethren in Christ Board of Evangelism and Church Planting, and the Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference USA.

Explaining that "post-Christendom is well advanced in most western societies and this is the emerging reality in the US too," Congregational Life Ministries staff Stan Dueck outlined other questions that the event will cover:

• What role does church planting play as we search for relevant ways of being church in this emerging culture?

• What can the Anabaptist tradition offer – a tradition with centuries of experience on the margins in which many are finding inspiration and fresh perspectives?

Stuart Murray Williams is author of "The Naked Anabaptist: The Bare Essentials of Radical Faith." For more than 10 years he was an urban church planter in East London. He served as Oasis Director of Church Planting and Evangelism at Spurgeon's College, London, and currently is an associate lecturer at the college. He holds a doctorate in Anabaptist hermeneutics and is chair of the Anabaptist Network.

Juliet Kilpin is coordinator of the church planting agency Urban Expression UK.

The presenters will lead three sessions with discussion: Session 1: The challenges and opportunities of post-Christendom; Session 2: Anabaptism: A movement whose time has come? Session 3: Church planting: A vital response to post-Christendom.

The Saturday, March 10, event will be hosted by Madison Street Church in Riverside, Calif. Cost is $40 for onsite attendance, which includes lunch, or $35 for webinar attendance. The link to attend online will be sent by e-mail to those who register.

There are two registration options, by mail or online. Send registration forms by mail, enclosing payment by check or credit card information, to Congregational Life Ministries, Church of the Brethren, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120. To register and pay fees online go to http://www.brethren.org/webcasts. The deadline to register is March 7.

For more information contact Stan Dueck, director of Transforming Practices, at 717-335-3226 or sdueck@brethren.org. For registration information contact Randi Rowan, program assistant for Congregational Life Ministries, at 800-323-8039 ext. 208 or rrowan@brethren.org.

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its faith in community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2008. It counts some 123,000 members across the United States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Nigeria, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and India.

Newsline: Church of the Brethren New Service