Thursday Sept 29

Ella Mine in Concert
“Dream War”

Friday Sept 30

Kairos Walk (12:30pm)
Main Conference Begins (7pm)

Saturday Oct 1

Main Conference 8:30am-9pm

Sunday Oct 2

Sunday Services
Optional Brunch Meetups

Special Concert

Ella Mine

“Novelist Frederick Buechner wrote ‘Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.’ Dream War is a journey through the terror-filled landscapes of devastating human experiences. It’s a search for evidences of a rooted and unshakeable beauty buried there. My hope for you as a listener is that you’ll walk with me through the wreckage of your own dark experiences, focusing on the source of your courage and keeping your eyes open wide to the burning light of the fire you tend.”

Co-hosted by Glen Eyrie. Learn more about Ella Mine.

Special Excursion - begins at 12:30pm

Kairos Walk

Journeys into the unfamiliar can be one of the most powerful and universal ways human beings experience “the eternal present.” As we encounter the strange and the new, our senses are awakened and we feel more in our bodies than we tend to amidst the routines of everyday life in this technologically-connected age. But what are the differences between travel as tourism, and the ancient practice of pilgrimage? How can the spiritual discipline of pilgrimage allow us, both as people of faith and as artists, to sit with uncertainty, wrestle with doubt, and see with creative eyes even in our most familiar landscapes?

Through this 3.5-mile creekside walk from St. George’s Anglican Church to St. Mary’s Catholic Cathedral to Holy Theophany Orthodox Church, we will explore what it means to be “the pilgrim Church on earth”–and what this has to teach us about being present to all of life.

Led by Ashlee Cowles, author of “Beneath Wandering Stars”

A Story Full of Time
Glenn Paauw

The Bible is filled with time because God’s revelation is always historical—a story of moments old and new. God reveals who he is and what he’s doing within our ongoing story, our ongoing time. The movement of the biblical narrative is always toward God entering into our time more and more. It is a story of restoration in which only through time time is conquered.

Offering Our Past to Our Children

Sarah Stonestreet, Clay Clarkson, Heidi White

We all have light and dark things in our personal past, and good and evil in our corporate past in the church (and other corporate contexts). How can we practical intentionality in how we pass it on to our children, so that the Christian identity they absorb can be a light to the world they’re growing up in?

Lament: Living Like God Can Redeem the Past

Paul Buckley

When we encounter real grief or pain, we most keenly feel the absence of preparation for the experience–whether we’re trying to understand how to handle the profound wrongness of events, or trying to help a dear friend do so. This breakout will explore (and yes, sing) Psalms of lament, and from them learn how we can learn to speak grief and hope in the same breath.

An Apocalyptic Labor: Why Your Work Now Will Matter Then

Ken Robertson

Does what you’re doing even matter? Even when the work seems so incredibly hard, our imaginations can still be gripped by the reality that our work's significance goes beyond what our eyes can see. Through Arvo Pärt's Fur Alina, gemology, and the fantastical book of Revelation, this session will explore how a right understanding of where everything is headed helps us understand where we are right now. Our labor can actually lift the veil on the glorious world to come: and we can learn to see that glory through the grit.

Putting Hope in Our Music

Matthew Clark, Ella Mine, Amber Salladin

A common frustration with recent Christian storytelling and songwriting is its inability to deal honestly with the hard things of life. But that’s not inevitable, nor is it the norm historically. In this conversation, creators of music and singing from various genres will explore how they balance hope and realism in music, and how a singing culture can be a culture that facilitates hope.

The Great Time War

Brian Brown, Michelle Drake, Matt Mellema

Avengers: Endgame. The Good Place. Doctor Who. Jason Bourne. All these stories have one thing in common: the past, present, or future pitted against one another. But is that all stories have to offer us in our quest to use our time—a great time war? In this session, take a fast-paced journey through some of our favorite movies and TV shows, looking for the Best Time Story of All…and insights into how to bring past, present, and future into harmony in our own lives.

Cultivating a 100-Year Vision

Douglas McKelvey

So what shall we do with the time that is given to us? How, practically speaking, can we put down deep roots, bear fruit, and be a part of the glory of eternity? In this highly interactive session, “Every Moment Holy” author Douglas McKelvey will help participants process the gifts of their past and their future, and shape a prayer for the moments before them.

Becoming a People of Welcome

Erik Petrik & Conor Sweetman

How can we approach life—and our families, homes, and shared spaces—with a hospitality that draws people into life together? In this session, Christianity Today’s chief creative officer Erik Petrik and Ekstasis editor Conor Sweetman will lead an interactive exploration of how to actually do one of the things the Anselm Society values so much: building lives and spaces that foster community.

Mastering the Tyranny of Anxiety: Transforming Fear of the Future while Cultivating a Life of Peace

Lancia Smith

Anxiety is one of the most crippling and common experiences we suffer as human beings. At its most difficult, it can become a tyrant that robs us of present-day strength and hope. And for many of us, escape is far more complicated than simply following well-intentioned advice. How do we learn to face the future with hope and with trust? How can we anchor in remembrance of our true identity and find daily peace while cultivating trust?

This is a practical session addressing an all-too-common struggle, and will include time-tested practices, group discussion, a generous Q&A time, and handouts with further resources.