Christ is a priest and a bridge builder, who stands in the gap between heaven and earth. Christ-following justice and mercy workers are peacemakers, looking to cross divides, mend gaps, pursue reconciliation, and bring close the ones who are far.
Matthew 25 Gathering 2022 will center around:
Building Bridges: Peacemaking, Reconciliation, & Conflict Resolution.
Join us in El Paso as we gather as a North American Anglican community doing justice and mercy, contending for Shalom!
Add On: Arrive early to El Paso and set aside space to be alone with God, in community. This "day in the desert" will be a guided time led by a spiritual director. The Silent Retreat takes place before The Gathering, and is an optional add-on experience.
Main Event. For all Anglicans in the ACNA to gather for a hybrid conference0-retreat, featuring speakers, panel discussions, and fellowship. Join us for a time of grappling with what it means to build bridges, make peace, and pursue reconciliation. We will share and encourage one another with rich and diverse perspectives, about what it means to contend for Shalom.
Add On: Abara Border Encounters is offering an opportunity for first-hand border awareness and an immersion experience to M25 Gathering attendees. This is a guided border encounter after The Gathering. This is an optional add-on experience.
Walter Kim is the President of the National Association of Evangelicals, and as the son of immigrant parents, having lived in major urban centers, including Vancouver Canada, and in a fading coal town at the foot of the Appalachians, his experience of America reflects the diversity of the country and of the evangelical community. His experience in bridge-building across many differences has led to collaborative leadership to connect the Bible to the significant intellectual, cultural and social issues of the day.
Cheryl Miller, out of the wealth of her own story as as a single mother on welfare seeking a better life, she now provides training on economic development for the marginalized, facilitated dialogue, and restorative justice. She is also a mediator for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Victim Offender Mediation Dialogue (VOMD). Her love for Christ and the impact of the gospel has shaped her boldness in reconciling where things seem irreconcilable
Dr. Carroll, professor of Biblical Studies at Wheaton College, is half-Guatemalan, raised bilingual and bicultural. The relevance of the biblical text for the challenges of poverty, war, and politics in Central America led him to a passionate focus on Old Testament social ethics and the social sciences. commitment to connecting careful biblical scholarship with the mission of the church as it engages today’s complex realities.
Todd Deatherage spent sixteen years in senior positions in the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government working with policy related to Religious Freedom. Now with Telos, of his most powerful stories are those of Israeli and Palestinian parents who have both lost children in the conflict, seeking reconciliation and peace. How do we define peacemaking, and what does a life of peacemaking entail?
Because of Archbishop Foley Beach's own story as a child receiving care from M25i kinds of ministries, he blessed into creation M25i to care for the vulnerable in North America. He began his ministry by serving teenagers through Young Life. Prior to serving as archbishop and bishop, he planted and led Holy Cross Anglican Church in Loganville, Georgia. The scripture verse that has most guided his ministry is Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”
Rev Capt Herb Bailey serves with Church Army USA as the Pittsburgh area director as well as Executive Ministry Director. He serves incarnationally among the vulnerable in prison ministry, recovery and advocacy outreach, with those experiencing homelessness, and speaks to our times with extraordinary skills in reconciliation and resolving conflict as he bridges many communities
Christine Warner is the Executive Director of ACNA's Matthew 25 Initiative which dreams into and helps generate works of justice and mercy among the vulnerable, marginalized, and under-resourced in Canada, Mexico, and the US. To be Christ and encounter Christ is her greatest goal as she herself stands among the weak and vulnerable as a victim-survivor of life altering traumatic events.
Read speaker bios here
***Group discount rate when you register 3 or more at a time; $10 off per person; discount automatically applied. Ends December 31st, 2021.
***Scholarships - Our hope is that all who desire to attend this event are able to. We know that costs can be a major hurdle. We also know that some are able to give extra to cover those to whom it would bless. If you need support, we have a section below where you can request it pending available funds and if you'd like to give support, we have that option as well.
***Support - If you need additional assistance before completing this form, please email: [email protected]
Silent Retreat (Holy Cross Franciscan Retreat Center) - REGISTRATION CLOSED [1 remaining]
Guided Silent Retreat held in the desert at Holy Cross Franciscan Retreat Center right outside El Paso. Private room, four meals and spiritual director guidance practicing the monastic hours. (Note: Lodging for Monday night is included in price)
The Gathering (The Church of St. Clement) [5 remaining]
For all Anglicans in the ACNA to gather for a hybrid conference-retreat, featuring speakers, panel discussions, networking, breakouts, and cross-pollination. (Note: Lodging is not included)+December 20 - February 14 | Standard Registration | $199+February 15 - February 22 | Late Registration | $219
Border Encounter (Abara Frontier) SESSION FULL [Sold Out]
Guided border encounter offering an immersion border experience, meeting with border patrol, DOJ advocates, immigration lawyers, asylees in shelters, in El Paso and Juarez. (Note: Lodging for Thursday and Friday nights are included in price)
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I would like to stay in a host-home, if available. Parishioners at St Clements have warmly opened their homes to help defray costs. (Note: currently full but happy to put you on a waiting list)
We will be providing a box lunch at the end of the conference on Thursday. Please let us know if you would like for us to order one for you and what your preferred meal is.
BREAKOUT SESSIONS [Limited Selection]
Read the session descriptions below and list your top three in order of preference. Use the letters "A thru K" to indicate your choice as it appears in the list. For example, "C" corresponds to the session, "The Ecosystems of Societal Injustice." NOTE: Several sessions have filled; we will do our best to place you in sessions you request
As Anglicans, we come by works of justice and mercy legitimately. Globally and historically, Anglicans have been engaged in social change as the gospel transforms lives and culture. But many of us don't know those stories, practices, and distinctives that Anglicans offer.
Many North American Christians consider poverty issues internationally, but often are blind to the realities in their own cities and communities that create unseen people who aren'tflourishing. This anemic awareness must change. The numbers of those experiencing homelessness have increased exponentially in North America.
In our cities, what are the often unseen-to-many realities that impact our neighbors and could be mended -- in housing, education, health, at risk children-youth, racism, at risk families, and among the elderly?
If there is one approach that a church should take, it is that of "community development", where local assets and stakeholders lead the conversation. Within the mile radius of your church, who are the invisible?
Peacemaking and bridgebuilding are skills that can be honed. The same principles that apply to extreme mediation between perpetrators and victims, apply to our contexts of work and life where the divides feel difficult to reconcile.
82.4 million men, women and children are forcibly displaced in the world. 30,600 people are newly uprooted every day. 41% are children. About half are women and girls. And this is OUR story as we a "Migrant People" in the kingdom of God. How can we welcome with vigorous hospitality?
When your ministry/organization grows, new challenges present themselves related toLeadership, Structures, Processes. And funding is always needed, so how can that happen without compromising the work that we are doing?
Shalom is the biggest story of God. As we plant our feet in the midst of our world's suffering, he invites us to engage our imaginations for the sake of communicating the kingdom gospel while also nurturing our souls.
The poor experience disproportionate suffering related to our care of the land, growing of food and accessibility, natural disasters, and industry carelessness and accidents. What can the church do?
We have become more aware of the increased numbers of those experiencing trauma as victims. There are solutions for the church to step into.
How God made us, complex-intricate-beautiful, holds both fragility and strength. In the brokenness of our humanity, how can the church build resilience and healing unto wholeness.
Over the years, due to the generosity of others, we've been able to offer a limited number of scholarships to practitioners desiring to attend. If you are in need of a scholarship, please let us know and the circumstances. As we get closer to the event, we hope to award scholarships as funds allow.
