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Diocese Sponsors Evangelism Conference
Monday, April 21 Internationally known evangelist and author Brian McLaren will deliver the keynote address at the diocese's day-long event this spring on evangelism, marketing and communications. The evangelism conference is the diocese’s first attempt to hold a "mid-year gathering," an idea Bishop John Bryson Chane first discussed in his address to the 2007 Diocesan Convention. "There is a tremendous spirit at our conventions," Chane said. "But there is never enough time to do enough education and provide enough support for people eager to build up our congregations. That is why I called for a mid-year gathering that could focus, in depth, on some of the important tasks before us. "We’re extremely fortunate in having Brian McLaren coming to speak to us," he added. "Few people have thought more creatively about our culture, and few have been more effective in interpreting the Gospel to the seekers and doubters that we need to reach." McLaren, the author of Everything Must Change, The Secret Message of Jesus and A Generous Orthodoxy, has been invited to speak at this summer’s Lambeth Conference. In 1989, he and 10 other people founded what is now known as the Cedar Ridge Community Church. Nurtured first in living rooms, then in school cafeterias, the church now has more than 2,000 members, and owns a 63-acre campus in Spencerville, Md. The evangelism conference features afternoon workshops on individual faith sharing and on media relations and communications on the parish level. The faith sharing workshops are informed by research which suggests that personal invitation is the most effective form of evangelism. "The people in our pews are our best ambassadors,"said Jim Naughton, canon for communications and advancement, "but many Episcopalians are shy about discussing their faith." The workshops will be led by Heather Kirk-Davidoff and Nancy Wood-Lyczak, authors of Talking Faith: An Eight-part Study on Growing and Sharing your Faith (Chalice Press). The communications workshops will be led by Carol Barnwell, director of communications for the Diocese of Texas. Participants in the workshop will receive a copy of Barnwell’s well-regarded manual on parish communications and media relations which touches on topics as diverse as publicizing parish events to dealing with the media during a crisis to the effective use of photography in parish publications. "I think Carol does the best communications workshop in the church," Naughton said. Register Online today for the Evangelism Conference!
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