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Embodied Ecclesiology
“BEING SURPRISED BY GOD”
EMBODIED ECCLESIOLOGY IN LOCAL CONTEXTS
UTRECHT, The Netherlands
June 21-24, 2010
Hosted by:
- Ecclesiological Investigations Research Network
- International Research Consortium Congregational Studies and the Social Sciences
- Ecclesiology and Ethnography Network
- Protestant Theological University, Utrecht-Kampen-Leiden NL
- Protestant Church in the Netherlands
- Co-funded by: MF Norwegian School of Theology, Oslo
THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE:
Gerard Mannion, Paul Collins, Harald Hegstad, Pete Ward, Rein Brouwer and Henk de Roest
The conference is open to all interested participants
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CONTENT
Themes of parallel sessions:
- The theological meaning of empirical research on the local church
- Research on New and or Alternative Ways of Being Church
- Research on Lived Faith in Local Settings
We are specifically interested in ontological and epistemological questions.
Can we discern God-in-action?
What does it mean to do ethnography from a theological perspective?
How do we evaluate new ways of being church?
What methods facilitate a combined empirical and theological approach?
How are systematic ecclesiological reflections embodied in the local church?
How are theology and the social sciences related when they focus upon the church in local contexts?
The sessions will be structured so that systematic theologians, practical theologians and congregational studies researchers can meet each other.
Publication
The keynotes and a selection of parallel papers will be published in a volume.
The conference is to bring together different methodologies. We hope for contributions that combine empirical and theological approaches/perspectives, but systematic and historical papers will be permissible. We also invite papers that explicitly look at bridging the disciplinary divide across the three areas.
POSSIBLE PERSPECTIVES:
- From systematic theology/ecclesiology: How do we interpret the local congregation in its empirical reality from a theological perspective? What forms of ecclesiology and which methods facilitate an approach to 21st century ways of being church/congregations and ecclesial communities in this way?
- From congregational studies/ethnography: What do we seek to know about local congregations, what are the characteristics of local congregations as faith communities, in comparison with other groups? What sort of developments/changes are going on? What is the future of the local congregations as perceived by differing branches of congregational studies? What is the relation between theology and empirical research?
- From practical theology/congregational development: How might we develop theologically appropriate and constructive models for congregational development? How might this area be developed further as a scholarly field?
The three days are not driven by disciplinary groups (systematics, etc.) but rather by a few invited keynotes on themes and then various papers on the research projects people have to discuss.
There will have to be ample time for conversation; informal discussions, networking and social interaction and we try to build in some cultural/historical/informal social activities that involve the main body of people in attendance.
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CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
| Monday |
June 21 |
| 16.00 |
Conference beginning: Registration - Reception |
| 18.00 |
Dinner |
| 19.30 - 22.00 |
Opening address: ds. Arenda Haasnoot, vice-president General Synod of the Protestant Church in The Netherlands
Plenary session 1
Prof. dr. Alister McGrath (King’s College, London):
'Theology, Worship, and Ministry: The Consummation of Theology in the Life of the Church' |
Tuesday |
June 22 |
| 09.00 - 10.00 |
Parallel sessions 1
Mark Beach: The Ecclesiology of John Tiller – ideal blueprint or concrete reality
Robert Calvert: Ecclesial patterns among migrant churches in Rotterdam
Rein Brouwer: Rooted in the order of creation: koinonia theologically and empirically
Henk De Roest: God at street level
Hans Maat / Casper van Dorp: Integral youth ministry as model for post-modern congregational development. |
| 10.00 - 11.00 |
Parallel sessions 2
Silve Björndal: Church in a Secular Society
Pete Ward / Doug Gay: Festivals as Ecclesial Life? A study of Greenbelt
Jakob Thorsen: “Have You had Your Personal Encounter with Jesus?” Methodological Reflections about a Fieldwork among Charismatic Catholics in Guatemala
Erik Borgman: But can we call it Church? How the wrong question produces aporetic answers |
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| 11.30 - 12.30 |
Parallel sessions 3
Erling Birkedal: Congregational development in folk church parishes
Veerle Rooze: Space for Theology, Place for Innovation
Kees de Groot: On sociological preferences in ecclesiology
Jos de Kock: Church being a community: implications for catechesis from an educationalist point of view
Leo Koffeman: The role of church law in congregational development |
| 14.00 - 15.00 |
Parallel sessions 4
Pat Kiefert/Pat Taylor-Ellison: Doing theology in, with, under, against, and for local churches
René Erwich: The impact of the ‘liquid church’ discourse in Dutch evangelical churches. A practical-theological analysis,
Andrew Root: Exploring a Forgotten Method of Relating Theology and the Social Sciences: Examining Bonhoeffer’s Sanctorum Communio for its Theological Interdisciplinary Implications
Gerard Mannion: Negative Subsidiarity and the Clerical Abuse Crisis: Shifting Responsibility for the Sins of the Universal Church onto the Local
Gerben van Manen: Meeting Point for Individuals. The Local Church as Liberating Community round the Word |
| 15.30 - 17.15
| Plenary session 2
Prof. dr. Harald Hegstad (MF Norwegian School of Theology):
'From Congregational Studies to Congregational Development. On the Different Modes of Ecclesiology' |
| 18.00 |
Dinner |
| 19.30 - 22.00 |
Plenary session 3
Mary McClintock Fulkerson:
Redemptive Disruptions and the Social Implications of Eucharistic Memory |
Wednesday |
June 23 |
| 08.30 |
Morning Prayer |
| 09.00 - 10.00 |
Parallel sessions 5
Rothney Tshaka: Towards a more engaging church for the changed and changing South african context
Reggie Nel: How does one develop grounded, bridge-building ecclesiologies? A reflection on using the praxis cycle of Holland and Henroit in a small local community, in Johannesburg, South Africa,
Paul Collins: What masks does the local church wear?
Theodora Hawksley: “After my husband died…”: Ecclesiological Ethnography and the Hiddenness of God,
Daniel Nel: Being surprised by God after an epistemological conversion |
| 10.00 - 11.00 |
Parallel sessions 6
Ian Nell: Embodied leadership. Paradigms shifts in the leadership of a local URC Congregation
Theo Hettema: I believe in the WWW church. Ecclesiological Statements of emerging churches on the internet
Mirella Klomp: The Sound of Worship: Liturgical performance as the fleshly embodiment of faith
Theo Pleizier: Sermon-shaped church
Oliver Simon: Ordained Local Ministry (OLM) in the Church of England |
| 11.15 - 12.45 |
Plenary session 4
Nick Healy:
A (Somewhat) Chastened Ecclesiology: Ethnography, the Trinity and the Doctrine of the Church |
| 13.00 - 16.00 |
Visit Utrecht – Sightseeing |
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| 18.00 |
Dinner |
| 19.30 |
Plenary session 5
Prof. dr. Chris Scharen (Luther Seminary, Minneapolis):
Ethnographic Notes Towards a Carnal Ecclesiology |
Thursday |
June 24 |
| 08.30 |
Morning Prayer |
| 09.00 – 10.00 |
Parallel sessions 7
Tom Atfield: Empirical evidence and public theology: The Church of England’s national policy on urban regeneration and the work of local congregations
Graham Stacey: Liquid Evangelicals: the social construction of evangelical identity
Thomas Schlag: Church, youth and theology - how young people can participate theologically and surprisingly in the development of the Church
Hans Iversen: ‘Pro me’ in the Age of Authenticity. The Missiological Significance of ‘Christ in us’ and ‘We in Christ’ |
| 10.00 – 12.30 |
Plenary session 6
Clare Watkins and Helen Cameron:
Epiphanic Sacramentality: A Case Study in the Significance of Theological Action Research for Systematic Theology |
| 12.30 - 14.00 |
Final lunch
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| 14.00 – 16.00 |
Separate Network-meetings |
19.30 – 22.00 |
Meeting IRCSCSS – Advisors Local churches PCN |
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N.B. There will be separate sessions possible for PhD Students.
Research students are cordially invited and encouraged to come.
THE VENUE
The venue will be the National Service Centre of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PCN), Haydnlaan 2A, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Easy to reach from the Airport, (30 minutes train, bus 15 minutes). Utrecht is an ancient, beautiful city with canals, terraces, churches, and outstanding musea (for example the Catharijne Convent on Church History and Christian Art!).
Lodging:
- Guesthouse, 45 Euro p.p. per room
( Room, apartment shared - restricted number of rooms available; first come, first served
02/25/2010: still a few places left! )
- IBIS-Hotel, (located at 150 meters from the Venue)
93,45 Euro p.p. per room (breakfast: 10 Euro)
Reservations made by yourself, directly at the hotel
(In the IBIS-Hotel 10 rooms are kept for participants of the conference.
Reservation number te be mentioned: PKU 2010
Quick reservation is recommended!)
IBIS Utrecht
Bizetlaan 1
NL-3533 KC Utrecht
Tel : +31 30 291 03 66
Fax : +31 30 294 20 66
Email : h0880@accor.com
www.ibishotel.com
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner are served in the Restaurant of the Venue
Travelling in The Netherlands
(Schiphol Airport - Utrecht CS par example)
ECONOMY
As regards costs, the norm for the conference is that invitees will claim their accommodation and travel costs in full against their own institution/organization as what grant assistance we have thus far received is having to be prioritized to cover plenary speakers' costs and other central costs (e.g. conference administration).
Payment in advance, non-refundable after MAY 1.
Bankaccount: 65 29 15 000 - Protestantse Kerk in Nederland
mention: Conference 'Surprised by God'
IBAN: NL74INGB0652 9150 00
BIC code: INGBNL2a
ING-bank
Postbus 23432
1100 DX Amsterdam
(The Netherlands)
Conference costs (incl. conference fee, all meals, tea+coffee, internet and telephone facilities at the Venue, + sightseeing tour Utrecht): EURO 190
(PhD Students: EURO 145)
Lodging Guesthouse – total for 3 nights: EURO 135 (shared apartments)
Lodging Hotel – via hotel portal organization or directly via hotel – Prices differ.
The Conference Fee has to be paid before May 1. 2010.
Otherwise you cannot participate.
In case of withdrawal after May 1. 75% of the fee cannot be refunded.
In case you have to apply for a visa, your visa should be issued before paying the Conference Fee.
We ask you to send or email a copy of the issued visa to mrs. J.M. Florijn:
j.florijn@pkn.nl
- Anyone interested can visit a daily period of the conference.
Costs: EURO 25 a period (morning / afternoon / evening)
Use the Online Form for application for one or more daily periods
APPLICATION
Application closed
PUBLICATION
The keynotes and a selection of parallel papers will be published in a volume.
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Utrecht
National Service Centre
Guesthouse
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