Registration extended for national gathering grappling with today’s tough questions
VALLEY FORGE, PA (9/1/15)—American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) announces that registration has been extended for its national “Space for Grace” gathering planned for Los Angeles this November.
The early registration deadline—featuring a discounted price—has been extended to Sept. 30, and the regular registration deadline to Oct. 30.
The event seeks to promote healing conversations about the great divides—race, religion, culture and class—that separate individuals, neighborhoods and communities today, too often resulting in violence and loss of life, as evidenced by the recent spate of racially-motivated violence, including tragedies in Ferguson, Mo., and Charleston, S.C.
The time is ripe for individuals of all faith traditions to take part in dialogue that seeks to bridge gaps of diversity by exploring how faith can be lived in the midst of today’s racial, religious and cultural dynamics. When can God’s grace nurture a teachable moment that leads to transformed hearts, minds and spirits?
Theologian, author, speaker and activist Brian D. McLaren will lead the Space for Grace gathering’s daily Bible study. McLaren’s dozen-plus books include “A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions that Are Transforming the Faith” and “Naked Spirituality: A Life with God in 12 Simple Words.” Profiled in The Christian Century, Christianity Today and The Washington Post, McLaren has been named one of 25 influential Christian leaders in America by Time. He has been featured on CNN’s “Larry King Live” and ABC’s “Nightline” along with FOXNews, PBS and NPR.
The event’s roster of powerful, thought-provoking worship leaders and presenters will include the Rev. Dr. Raphael Gamaliel Warnock, activist and senior pastor of Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church; the Rev. Susan Sparks, professional comedian and pastor of Madison Avenue Baptist Church, New York City; and the Rev. Dr. Eric Law, executive director, Kaleidoscope Institute, Los Angeles.
Also featured will be small group discussion and more than a dozen afternoon learning experience offerings, such as “Consensus Building in the Midst of Diversity and Divergence,” “Extending Grace to Others in Tension-filled Moments” and “Ministering to Communities in Crisis.”
The event will be held Nov. 4-7, 2015, at the Hilton Los Angeles Airport hotel. To register, visit http://www.abhms.org/ and click the Space for Grace logo.
American Baptist Home Mission Societies—the domestic mission arm of American Baptist Churches USA—ministers as the caring heart and serving hands of Jesus Christ across the United States and Puerto Rico through a multitude of initiatives that focus on discipleship, community and justice.
American Baptist Churches is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with more than 5,200 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.
