Developing Ministries with Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship-

A Learning Party 

"God's promise is for everyone, and so the church must blow open the power structures that have held so many of God's children captive.  Let this be our reformation." - Emily Scott

What will it take to step boldly into God's future?

There are countless opportunities for faith-fuelled, liberating ministry in our neighbourhoods.  How will we respond?

This Learning Party is all about opening our eyes to what God might be showing us, and unleashing our imagination of what our neighbourhoods, cities, and world might look like if we responded to that call.

Facilitated by The Revd Emily Scott, founding pastor of St Lydia's Dinner Church in the Gowanus neighbourhood of Brooklyn, New York, this Learning Party will give you (and your co-conspirators) an opportunity to develop theological, imaginative, and practical foundations for developing, sustaining and multiplying new ministries in your community.

Joined by local church planters from St Brigids, Salal + Cedar, St Hildegard's Sanctuary, and The Abbey, we'll ground everything we learn in the lived experience and context of ministry right here in British Columbia.

This event will also serve as a launch point for those who wish to dig deeper and learn more by joining the Diocese of New Westminster's Missional Learning Cohort that will gather four times per year to share stories and learn new skills for developing new ministry.

About Emily Scott

The Revd Emily Scott is a Lutheran pastor (ECLA).  She believes that Christian practice holds out rich possibilities that call us to reach out across boundaries in love, learn through discomfort, and build relationships that bring God's realm close.  Emily is committeed to building communities of faith that dismantle fear and hate, affirm LGBTQ people, and confront racial injustice.  From 2008-2017 Emily served as the founding pastor of St Lydia's, a Dinner Church in Brooklyn, New York, where communion is shared at the dinner table.  After saying goodbye to this beloved congregation, Emily travelled the USA in a camper van named Edith Van Trundle! She is currently consulting with congregations and working on a writing project.  A graduate of Yale Divinity School, Emily received the Alumni Award for Distinction in Congregational Ministry in 2016.  She was the Director of Worship at The Riverside Church, New York City, from 2007 to 2009, and a cofounder of Music That Makes Community.  Her work at St Lydia's has been covered by The Atlantic and The Wall Street Journal.

Date: Saturday, 10 March 2018

Time: 9:00 am Registration opens; Learning Party runs from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm

Location: Diocese of New Westminster Synod Office, 1410 Nanton Avenue, Vancouver (two blocks south of King Edward, just east of Granville)

Cost: $35 per person, lunch included

Registration Deadline: Friday, 2 March 2018.   Registration must be paid by PayPal or credit card.  Please have your credit card handy when you click the Register Now! button below.  Please note that cancellations received after Friday, 2 March will not be eligible for a refund.

For more information about the programme for this event, please contact Andrew Stephens-Rennie at andrew@thecathedral.ca or 604-682-3848 ext 27.

After-Gathering! The organizers would like to invite all participants in the Learning Party to carry on the conversation at an After Gathering at the rise of the conference.  It will be held at the BierCraft Bistro on Cambie Street in Vancouver.  Please contact Andrew Stephens-Rennie at andrew@thecathedral.ca for more information and to reserve your spot.

Register Now!