June 29 - July 2, 2012
All events at St. John's College, University of Manitoba (map).
This conference is a product of the Anglican and Lutheran full communion; to share in the joy of our endeavour, experience fresh ideas, challenge ourselves and engage the world around us.
As a planning team, our discussions have been around what we think is needed for our worshipping communities, given some of the tensions, dichotomies and paradoxes that seem to be really all across Canada. This is not to come at things from a necessarily negative perspective; rather, it is to beg the question, what can we offer to strengthen our church, our world, and indeed, ourselves. Beyond the Fortress may be for us a welcoming environment in which we may confidently engage the changing world around us, by understanding how our worship practices prepare us to meet God’s mission in the world. Beyond the Fortress may be for us an exciting opportunity to pick-up new ideas and materials, and to share some of the fresh expressions we have been developing. Beyond the Fortress may be for us a safe environment to risk in new relationships, and build important networks for resource, study and support, especially as we find ourselves in constant visioning mode.
We sense that God is calling us into conversations about what is happening in the world around us. We sense we are being called to stretch our imaginations, embrace the richness of tradition, learn the liturgies of the street, schoolyard and workplace, and to become missional in our ministry approaches. With all this in mind, we recognize that our communities are yearning to connect to God’s mission in the world; and that all our members/participants and churches have important things to be said. We call upon our dynamic speakers Craig Van Gelder, Doug Cowling who will offer sound leadership in helping us understand our world through our worship eyes.