A sold-out crowd of parish leaders from around North America and beyond recently gathered at 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology during the final weekend of April for the fourth annual . This year鈥檚 conference was themed 鈥淩ooting & Linking鈥� and featured an impressive collective of speakers doing kingdom work in neighborhoods and communities around the world, including keynote speakers Christena Cleveland, Rev. Alexia Salvatierra, Noel Castellanos, Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil, Michael Frost, and Shane Claiborne.
Dwight Friesen, co-creator of Inhabit Conference and co-facilitator of The Leadership in the New Parish Certificate program, said that this was the most exciting gathering yet, noting the rich sense of communion among participants, both seasoned and newcomers. Breakout sessions included talks entitled 鈥淔rom Slow Food to Slow Church鈥� with John Pattison, 鈥淟iving Sustainably in Place鈥� with Mark Scandrette and Dani Scoville, and 鈥淟oving Neighbors Through Entrepreneurship鈥� with Leroy Barber.
Panel discussions explored questions such as 鈥淲hat practices of spiritual formation are most crucial for parish renewal?鈥� with Mark Scandrette and Christine Sine and 鈥淗ow do we find unity amongst the ongoing culture war?鈥� with Alexia Salvatierra and Al Tizon.
In between sessions, participants connected with like-minded attendees, seeking to link together and learn from one another for the sake of their own communities and for the kingdom of God.
The weekend ended with the announcement that Inhabit Conference will be coming to the United Kingdom this October. Taking place in the city of Birmingham, Inhabit UK will bring together innovative, missional practitioners from across the UK to empower, encourage, and engage one another. Like the annual Inhabit Conference in Seattle, this premiere conference will showcase artists, community organizers, and entrepreneurs compelled by their faith to pursue reconciliation, including keynote speakers Martin Robinson, Juliet Kilpin, Rev. Dr. Kate Coleman, Ann Morisey, and Inhabit co-creators Tim Soerens and Paul Sparks.
Image by聽Melissa Marie Rudin Yakey