VIRTUAL RETREAT MARCH 2021: HABITS AND PRACTICES FOR A NEW NORMAL
Special Guest: Luther Smith & Brian McLaren
When: March 3-6, 2021
Where: via Zoom
The pandemic has disrupted our old habits, and in our haste to get back to more familiar rhythms of work and relationship, we may miss an opportunity to learn from these months of external constraint. We have had to enlist inner resources to withstand the anxiety and stress of isolation. Rather than rushing back to our prior assumptions about how to live well, what new habits might we consider to help us live into a new normal? In this virtual retreat, our presenters Brian McLaren and Luther Smith will draw on their own work as well as the writings of Howard Thurman and others to help us consider personal and social practices good for our souls, our neighbors, and our planet.
Luther E. Smith, Jr. is Professor Emeritus of Church and Community at the Candler School of Theology of Emory University. He writes, teaches, and speaks extensively on issues of church and society, interfaith cooperation, child advocacy, congregational renewal, Christian spirituality, and the thought of Howard Thurman. He is the author of Howard Thurman: The Mystic as Prophet, Intimacy and Mission: Intentional Community as Crucible for Radical Discipleship, and editor of Howard Thurman: Essential Writings. He is Senior Consulting Editor for the four-volume publication of the Howard Thurman Papers Project. He is an ordained minister of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, cofounder of the Interfaith Children’s Movement, and Coordinator for the “Pan-Methodist Campaign for Children in Poverty.”
Brian McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former college English teacher and pastor, he is a passionate advocate for "a new kind of Christianity" - just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good. He is an Auburn Senior Fellow, a contributor to We Stand With Love, and a leader in the Convergence Network, through which he is developing an innovative training/mentoring program for pastors and church planters. His recent projects include an illustrated children’s book (for all ages) called Cory and the Seventh Story and The Galapagos Islands: A Spiritual Journey. His newest book is Faith After Doubt (January 2021), and his next release, Do I Stay Christian? will be available Spring 2022.