So right out of the gate we should level with you: We do not have this all figured out. We have some stories of real difficulties from the past, some current challenges all mixed with some real concerns about our near future. There are no easy answers or tried and true simple formulas for being the church in a challenging urban neighborhood. It takes a lot of hard work and massive amounts of patience to try to get things going and about half of the things we’ve tried didn’t make it. We just wanted to be very upfront about that.
Now if you’re still reading after that glowing marketing effort we also want to tell you that God has done some astonishing things with our little trials and errors. He has called a small army of dedicated servants who are trying to be faithful to this plot of earth and the people that inhabit it. We’ve been at it, quietly but persistently for over 15 years now and we’ve learned a few things about how to be present to our neighbors and rooted in this neighborhood.
At Sustain you’ll hear the stories of these trials and errors as well as our fears and future hopes. You’ll learn from practitioners who are digging into the soil of this neighborhood and planting gardens, starting businesses, restoring homes, creating welcoming spaces… and doing it for the long haul.
Please join us for this one day event on Thursday, September 29th from 12 Noon till 6:00 pm.
You can register now by clicking here. We’ll save a place at the table for you and we promise to do our best to tell the stories with as much honesty and hope that we can muster.
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This pre-conference event is hosted by the Norwood Collective and Vineyard Central and curated by Episcopal
Village in partnership with the Diocese of Southern Ohio.
Visit missioconference.org for more information about missio.