A new series of webinars will focus on urban ministry, co-sponsored by the Church of the Brethren Congregational Life Ministries. Dates and times, topics, presenter information, and brief descriptions follow:
April 14, 2:30-3:30 p.m. (Eastern time), “Experiencing Gentrification in the East End of London with Squatters and Anarchists,” is presented by Rob Schellert, a church planter who has worked in London’s radical anarchist and squatter communities. Increasingly, our world is becoming more urban, with over half of the planet’s population living in urban communities. As a result, cities are facing the growing problem of gentrification, in which an influx of affluent people into a neighborhood displaces poorer residents and changes the character of the area. This webinar explores how the process of gentrification has affected marginalized communities and how the church may respond.
May 5, 2:30-3:30 p.m. (Eastern time), “The Practical Struggles Faced by Asylum Seekers and How the Christian Community Can Respond,” is presented by Rachel Bee, who runs a small aid organization working with refugees and asylum seekers in Easton, Bristol, in the United Kingdom.. This webinar will examine the tensions of living with destitute asylum seekers in community, reflect on theology in light of how angry people may get as they are immersed in this world, and tell stories of courage and chaos and how nonetheless Jesus inhabits the world even when things go wrong.
May 26, 2:30-3:30 p.m. (Eastern time), “Convening Conversations with Muslim Women,” is presented by Jan Pike, who lived in the Indian sub-continent for more than 20 years before finding a home and work in Bristol, England, as an ESOL tutor mostly to Somali women.. The webinar will explore how to use conversational spaces to convene with those from culturally and socially diverse backgrounds, including questions such as: Which questions enable the glimpsing of another way of being? Can we hope for intentionally conversational spaces to be transformative for all involved? To what extent can we see conversation as a deeply contextual and radically hospitable approach to mission?
June 15, 2:30-3:30 p.m. (Eastern time), “Forming a Christian Community in the Midst of Our Struggle for Good Mental Health: Reflections from the Geoff Ashcroft Community,” is presented by Phil Warburton, part of E1 Community Church in the East End of London and a development worker with Urban Expression, an agency deploying teams to do missional work in marginalized communities.. Social isolation and associated mental health problems are likely to become one of the greatest killers in the western world. Isolation is also the enemy of Christian community. What can we do as churches to connect with each other in health ways that lead to the flourishing of church and society?
A previously announced webinar to be presented by Dennis Edwards on the topic, “Jesus and God’s Revelation,” has been moved to April 21, at 2:30 p.m. (Eastern time).
Find out more and connect with one of these online webinars at www.brethren.org/webcasts .