Presbyterians are invited to attend — either in person or virtually — an upcoming series of conversations about what it means to be the Church shaped and formed missionally and liturgically.

The Colloquium on Ecclesiology will be April 23-25 at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. It will include will include presentations and conversation starters on the nature of the Church and Q&A for those gathered at Austin and via the live web stream, teleconference and Twitter feed (see below for more details).

“Christ’s enduring call upon the Church for all generations in every place is to continually be about gathering around Spirit, Word, and Sacrament; then to be sent out to be Christ’s witnesses; then to re-gather; and then to be sent, ad infinitum,” said the Rev. Neal Presa, moderator of the 220th General Assembly, in a column. “This will be a focused conversation on just that: our Christ-given identity of being the Church of Jesus Christ, Christ’s ‘gathered-sent community.’”

Presenters include:

  • Darrell Guder, Henry Luce Professor of Missional and Ecumenical Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, N.J.
  • David Stubbs, professor of theology and ethics, Western Theological Seminary, Holland, Mich.
  • Heidi Worthen Gamble, mission advocate for Hunger, Poverty and Peacemaking Concerns, Presbytery of the Pacific, Los Angeles
  • Teresa Stricklen, associate for Worship, Office of Theology, Worship and Education, Presbyterian Mission Agency, Louisville
  • Marney Wasserman, pastor, Trinity Presbyterian Church, Tucson, Ariz.
  • Allen Permar Smith, pastor, Kenilworth Presbyterian Church, Asheville, N.C.
  • Thomas Smith, pastor, Presbyterian Chapel of the Lakes, Angola, Ind.

The colloquium is a partnership between the Presa, Austin seminary and the Committee on Theological Education.

The event is free and open; participants are asked to register in advance at: pcusa.org/colloquium.

How to participate via technology:

  • On Twitter:  follow #ModCE
  • Live Teleconference:
    • Dial (610) 214-0000
    • Passcode: 116604
    • Followed by pound key “#” then the number 1
  • The live stream for this event will be broadcast here.