join us and Brain Mclaren, washington DC, march 7 & 8

join us for the DC stop of the 11 city tour - a conversation about the ideas in Brian's new book.

The on-site tour experience will include:

* Four opportunities to hear and respond in dialogue to new material from Brian McLaren

* Book-signing and book-release party for Brian’s newest book, Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope, available at a special introductory price

* Guided reflection led by Linnea Nilsen Capshaw using the Nude Truths Art Exhibit in Digital form to experience the deep shifts needed individually and communally for Everything to Change (find out more)

* New music, liturgical experiences, and other resources that you can take home and use in your faith community, created with Tracy Howe (restorationvillage.com).

* Networking and conversation groups about faith, art, justice, mission, spiritual formation, worship, and community

* Stories of deep personal life change and the resulting community and global impact* Serving Just Coffee, beyond fair trade

* Local impact: A portion of the proceeds of the gathering will go to help a local peace/justice mission or charitable project (chosen with the help of our host).

* This is a “green event” – we will seek to minimize waste of resources and energy. We encourage you to carpool to the gathering, and choose the location nearest you.\You also will have the opportunity for off-site dialogue to prepare for the tour so you may have a deeper experience…go to our online store to buy the FirstShift Experience for a group of friends, or gather with a group of friends and talk about Brian’s book and what it means for your life. We will also have opportunities to follow-up with coaching and connecting after our time together.

contact any of the VA regional cohort leaders if you are interested in getting together for this event.

SW VA cohort November meeting

We're meeting Sunday, Nov. 11, at 7pm. The location is Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea, 112 Campbell Avenue in downtown Roanoke.

We haven't met as a real group yet, so the agenda largely is still to get to know one another. Everyone is welcome.

Email me (Chris) for more info.

SW Virginia cohort first meeting

I've been living in Roanoke now for almost two whole weeks. I've left my house to get a driver's licence and to go to Kroger. Other than that, haven't gotten out much. I'm hoping to meet some folks.

To that end, we're having our first meeting. The only agenda is to get to know those who have expressed an interest in emerging-church topics. Ironically, the meeting will be at our house. (Really, I do want to get out and see the area...)

If you're interested in coming, drop me an email or leave a comment. All are welcome--for this meeting, even kids are encouraged to come. (We'd love to convert your entire family to emerging-church apostasy. Short of that, they can jump on the trampoline and eat a hot dog.)

In the future, we also hope to schedule some coffee-shop-type meetings. (Does anyone remember the quote about coffee shops in "Good Will Hunting"? Ha...caramels...I love that...)

Meeting Suggestions and Changes

Peace and grace to all,

Since my last post, I have been doing some thinking (which is always dangerous), balancing it with some reading (which is beneficial), and asking for input (which is wisdom). In an attempt to promote dialogue in the area, and perhaps open the door to more participation, what are your suggestions about getting together over the internet? While there has been a fair amount of interest in meeting, scheduling and distance problems seem to be a limiting factor. Instead of having a face-to-face meeting on the 25th, perhaps we can schedule an internet meeting via one of the chat rooms, Skype, instant messengers, and/or video conferencing?

Also, I am reading R. Scott Smith's Truth & The New Kind of Christian: The Emerging Effects of Postmodernism in the Church (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005) and have corresponded with Scott via e-mail. I would like to suggest this as a topic and invite him into the dialogue.

This may even provide an opportunity to include the other cohorts in Virginia and establish a state-wide dialogue .... What do you think?

Regards,
Brett

central va cohort to host 'the cobalt season'

the central va emergent cohort will be hosting the cobalt season in for a fun night of music, fellowship, and conversation on November 5th.

they have been featured on Emergent Village and much credit goes to Brian Mclaren for a great endorsement
we will keep you posted with more details

http://thecobaltseason.com/
http://www.myspace.com/cobaltseason

http://www.emergentvillage.com/podcast/life-across-the-tracks-the-cobalt-season

Roanoke cohort

Hi there. As Scott has already mentioned, we're hoping to start meeting in SW Virginia really soon. We close on our new house July 31, so after that we'll officially be Roanokers! (Roanokians?) The high cost of living in Baltimore has driven us south, and we're excited about the area and the people we've already met.

Look for more information about our first meeting here, as well as here: http://swvacohort.blogspot.com/

We're looking forward to meeting folks in Roanoke and in other nearby areas, as well as meeting with the folks in Lynchburg. See you soon.

June Update

Howdy...

Looks like things are slowing coming together for emergent virginia.

Southwest hopes to have a first meeting in August, thanks to Chris selling his house in Maryland and buying one in Roanoke. If anyone is interested, it seems that the group is going strong through meetup.com

We have had a couple people (Laura and Todd) ask about starting a group in Northern VA - and thats pretty exciting because it means that we are well on our way to having a group in every region.

lets keep the conversation rolling!