The committee organizing the Episcopal Church special event,

Reclaiming the Gospel of Peace: An Episcopal Gathering to Challenge the Epidemic of Violence, has issued a call for workshop proposals. 

Bishops, clergy and laity from throughout the Episcopal Church are invited to gather April 9 – 11, 2014 to explore one of the major issues in today’s society – violence in all its forms. Reclaiming the Gospel of Peace: An Episcopal gathering to challenge the epidemic of violence will be held at the Reed Center and Sheraton in Oklahoma City, OK (Diocese of Oklahoma).  http://www.episcopaloklahoma.org/

Deadline to submit workshop proposals is October 18.

From the Committee:

A Call for Workshop Proposals: Reclaiming the Gospel of Peace 2014

At Reclaiming the Gospel of Peace: An Episcopal Gathering to Challenge the Epidemic of Violence, Episcopalians will come together to renew their commitment to the Gospel call to make peace in a world of violence. Through deep conversation, prayer, and skill-building the event will empower our Church to address violence and reclaim our role in society as workers for nonviolence and peace.

As Episcopalians, we are called to ‘seek and serve Christ in all persons’ and to ‘respect the dignity of every human being.’ It is this foundation that guides our efforts to nourish and deepen our relationships in God’s unending mission. We all have our own unique identity and this gathering will engage all of God’s children from different parts of God’s world, recognizing and respecting the diversity of identity present in our Church and in the world.

Reclaiming the Gospel of Peace is focused around four pillars: advocacy, education, liturgy, and pastoral care. These four areas are key avenues that our Church can use to address the culture of violence within and outside of the Church and will be woven throughout all aspects of the event including plenary time, workshops, small group conversations, and worship.

The organizing committee for Reclaiming the Gospel of Peace: An Episcopal Gathering to Challenge the Epidemic of Violence, to be held in Oklahoma City, OK, April 9-11, 2014, invites proposals for workshops related to addressing violence in all its forms. Preference will be given to proposals that have a particular focus on education, advocacy, pastoral care, or worship & liturgy. The workshops will be an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes long.

All proposals should be submitted via the online form found here.  Please follow the instructions on the form. Submissions should include a description of the proposed session and should specify 2-3 takeaways for participants attending the session. These takeaways can include learning goals for the sessions or actual resources for participant use.

To be considered, submissions must be made via the online form by October 18. Proposals will be reviewed by the committee and notifications will be sent electronically by November 15.

The program committee will read all proposals submitted via the form on or before the October 18 deadline. The committee is particularly interested in workshops that are related to the following topics:

• Systemic/root causes of violence
• Suicide/mental health
• Hate crimes
• Gang violence
• Race and Violence
• Advocacy
• Gun violence
• Bullying
• Domestic violence/Gender-based violence
• Nonviolence

The topics listed above are only suggestions. The committee will consider all proposals relating to our culture of violence, root causes of violence, violence in all its forms, and Christian response/opposition to violence.

Please refer any questions to Mary Getz, Grassroots and Online Communications, Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations.

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