Smith
This year’s annual Clergy Conference figures to be an enlightening one, as spiritual leaders look to reenergize the Episcopal Church’s mission to call people to Christ.
The 2018 Clergy Conference is set to run Monday, Oct. 22, through Wednesday, Oct. 24, at the Canterbury Retreat & Conference Center in Oviedo. The three-day event will feature Dr. James K.A. Smith, a philosopher professor at Calvin College who has become a riveting public speaker and thought leader in creating connections between the academy, society, and the church.
Registration opens at 3 p.m., Oct. 22. The conference concludes with lunch at noon, Oct. 24.
Attendance at the conference is mandatory for all parochial priests – rectors, vicars, full-time assistants, priests-in-charge, and priests overseeing diocesan facilities and serving as full-time chaplains, according to the Rev. Canon Dr. Justin Holcomb, Canon for Vocations for the Diocese of Central Florida. Deacons and non-parochial and retired clergy also are welcome to participate.
“One purpose of the conference is continuing education for the clergy in the diocese,” Holcomb said. “The other is collegiality and being together for fellowship and also to hear updates from Bishop (Greg) Brewer and the diocesan team.”
Brewer, who this summer participated in a historic General Convention in Texas, will preach and celebrate at the Holy Eucharist at 5 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 23. The renewal of ordination vows and consecration of oils will be part of the service, so participants are asked to bring their oil containers for refilling.
This year’s participants also will be challenging themselves on how they can help Christianity go forward and make a meaningful impact in today’s society.
“It might be easy for our neighbors to imagine Christianity is just another interest group,” Holcomb said. “The American church has given them ample reason to believe this. But that, of course, is only if—or because—the church has abandoned its mission, our calling to glorify Christ and His kingdom for the life of the world.
“Renewing our mission requires learning to dance between the prophetic and the pastoral—reenergizing worship as the heart of the discipleship in order to form a “peculiar people” who bear witness to God’s advent of love and justice,” Holcomb said. “Our conversations at this retreat will consider the centrality of liturgy and ecclesiology for this calling–not worship or mission but worship for mission—and why a secular age may be surprisingly hungry for the scandalous message of grace.”
Expected to invigorate discussion on the topic is Smith, who holds the Gary and Henrietta Byker Chair in Applied Reformed Theology and Worldview at Calvin College. Trained as a philosopher with an emphasis on contemporary French thought, Smith has helped convey ideas for individuals in the academy, society, and church to learn and build upon.
Smith also is an accomplished author. He has written books and is a regular contributor for publications such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Christianity Today, and more.
Canterbury Retreat & Conference Center is located at 1601 N. Alafaya Trail, Oviedo. For more information, call 407-392-9138.