Great gathering last night (without Brian)

We had a great time of conversation together last night. Brian McLaren was part of the Sojourners protest in DC (see the Washington Post) and was unable to join us. We are working to find another time for him to come join us. In January, we will be discussing Brian's article, "Church Emerging." For a copy of the article e-mail: emergentbaltimore@gmail.com One suggestion last night was to post a report on the previous gathering so that discussion could happen in the comments. Here's the report, so comment away...

Brian McLaren coming on Wednesday

Who would have thought that Brian McLaren would be found in the back room of the Bare Bones Grill on a Wednesday night in December? Well, it's true. Come join us at 7pm on this Wednesday night (12/14) for conversation with Brian. Head back through the bar towards the bathrooms. Across from the bathrooms there is a door on the right. Inside will be the Baltimore Emergent Cohort. See you then, Tim

November 30th at Bare Bones Grill

For our gathering on November 30th at Bare Bones Grill at 7pm, we will discuss the writings of Brian McLaren. Please bring any books of Brian's that you have as well as any questions/reflections that you would like to discuss. See you then, Tim

Emergent in the News

In today's Carroll County Times, there is a front-page article on Emergent. There is also a long article on The Journey in Eldersburg. It's worth checking out the links. The Cohort and its web address were even mentioned in the print edition. If you want more info. after reading through our blog, contact Tim at: emergentbaltimore@gmail.com

Benefit Concert for Habitat

On Saturday night November 19th at 8pm, the ministry that my wife and I lead is hosting a benefit concert to support the work of Habitat for Humanity in Baltimore and in Hurricane Relief. Two musicians will be performing. The main act is Christopher Williams who has been a friend for years and has a folk/rock style. Christopher opened for Jars of Clay this Spring and played with them at Live 8 in Philadelphia this summer. The opening act is The Cobalt Season featuring Ryan Sharp. We met Ryan and his wife Holly through Emergent and are excited that they will be in the area on their cross-country trip. The concert will take place at the Luigi Petti Restaurant on the 2nd floor. There is no cover charge, but donations to Habitat are suggested. I hope you can make it!!

McLaren's work and then McLaren himself

For our gathering on November 30th at Bare Bones Grill at 7pm, we will discuss the writings of Brian McLaren. Brian is one of the founders of Emergent and currently serves as the President of Emergent's board. Come with your thoughts, ideas, reflections, and comments about Brian's books. If you haven't read any, I'd recommend A New Kind of Christian and the 2 other books in that triology as well as A Generous Orthodoxy and More Ready Than You Realize. For more info. on Brian, check our his website and this interview with the Dallas Morning News. On December 14th, Brian will join us for discussion. Again at the Bare Bones Grill at 7pm. All are welcome on both nights.

McLaren coming on December 14th

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone on October 26th (see post), but wanted to let you know that Brian McLaren will be coimg to our cohort at the Bare Bones Grill on Wednesday December 14th at 7pm. It will be a great time to be with Brian, learn more about Emergent, and to have some discussion around our questions. See you soon, Tim

October gathering

We will gather on October 26th at 7pm at Bare Bones Grill in Ellicott City. We meet in the back room (which is past the bar), reserved under the name: Baltimore Emergent Cohort. Please RSVP below to make sure we can meet the minimum gratuity. See you then! Special thanks to Rick for hosting the cohort in his home last month!

September, October, November, and December

It has been great to see the response and participation in our Baltimore Emergent Cohort. I have been able to identify gathering dates for the rest of 2005. Wednesdays September 28, October 26, November 30, and December 14. The Bare Bones Grill in Ellicott City is booked for next week but we have it reserved for the future dates. So for next week we will gather at the home of Rick Laribee, 11646 Sun CIrcle Way, Columbia MD 21044 at 7pm. Since we won't be meeting at a restaurant, plan to eat elsewhere and you may want to bring a beverage to share. Looking forward to seeing you, Tim

Next Gathering--August 31st!!!

Our next gathering will take place on Wednesday night August 31st again at the Bare Bones Grill in Ellicott city. Look for directions in a previous post. We have the back room reserved so make sure to RSVP in the cooments section. See you then!

July Gathering

Our July Gathering will take place on Wednesday July 27th at 7pm at Bare Bones Grill in Ellicott City. The group who was present last month enjoyed the conversations in a private room so chose to return to the same location. There is one small catch: though there is no charge to use the room, we must leave at least a $45 gratuity. So PLEASE use the comments section of the blog to indicate if you are going to be able to join us or not. We know this is cumbersome, but that way 2 or 3 people are not splitting the $45. So far we have had 10-15 people each time so it should not be a problem. Obviously, you can always come even if you did not say so first. [Some of you may have heard that we were going to meet on the 20th--well the room was booked on the 20th, but not on the 27th.] Dylan will be facilitating the discussion as I (Tim) will be at home with my wife and our soon-to-be-arriving baby.

Good news. . .

Thanks to Jason, we will NOT have to change locations mid-gathering this month! We will gather on this Wednesday, the 22nd at 7pm at Bare Bones Grill, in Ellicott City. The phone number there is: 410-461-0770 and directions are: Bare Bones is located at 9150 Baltimore National Pike in Ellicott City on Route 40 West, one quarter mile west of Route 29. We have a room reserved for us under the name: "Emergent Cohort". Our topic will be: "What is Emergent?" We will discuss various definitions of what it means to be 'Emergent' or 'Emerging' as well as how you see your faith community in relation to those definitions. If you are interested in some pre-cohort reading, check out the Emergent Village website and in particular: the Emergent Order. See you on Wednesday for some great ribs and conversation . . .

WORSHIP IN THE SPIRIT OF JUSTICE------5 weeks of outdoor worship for Darfur, Africa. June 12-July 10, 2005

As I mentioned on Wednesday night, some folks at Cedar Ridge Community Church in Spencerville had a dream to worship at 5 public sites in Washington, DC for the sake of justice in the Sudan. Check out their website: http://www.crcc.org/ for more info. They'll be at the Lincoln Memorial, Capitol Reflecting Pool--Congress, Freedom Plaza--Press Club, Sheridan Circle--Sudanese Embassy, and LaFayette Park--White House in the coming weeks. Anyone want to go together one (or more) weeks? We could bring people from our communities with us as well.

Recap of 5/25

A dozen of us gathered for more food, friendship, and conversation on Wednsday night. In addition to many informal conversations around the tables, we shared some ideas of possible future discussion topics. In no particular order, they were: What is "Emergent"? How to kindle spiritual hunger and assist people in integrating their faith and life? How to connect with postmoderns and maintain Christian distinctives? What is postmodern? Liturgy and modern for and with non-churched people Read a book and discuss it together How are we each doing as "emergent" Where do we seen ourselves being in 5 years with the Emergent conversation? How do we fight spiritual consumerism? The benefits and perils of on-line community Ministry preparation in the local church What kind of common mission(s) could we be about in Baltimore? Sharing what God is doing in each of our ministries Tim volunteered to select a topic for next month and Jason volunteered to find us a better location. NEXT GATHERING: Wednesday June 22nd, 7pm -- Columbia, MD check back for the precise location

Topics for Wednesday night

If you have any ideas for a discussion topic for Wednesday night's cohort gathering. . . and for future gatherings, leave a comment and/or bring them on Wednesday . . . or use the bulletin board that Daniel set-up. See you at 7pm at Donna's. (For directions, see Daniel's comment on the previous post.)

Great to get together

We had our first meeting and it was great to be together. The people were wonderful but we'll have to find a better meeting place. We decided that we would try meeting once a month on the 4th Wednesday of the month. So our next two gatherings will be on May 25th and June 22nd. We'll meet next time at 7pm at Donna's in Columbia. Donna's - Snowden River Parkway 5850 Waterloo Road, Suite 100 Columbia, MD 21045 410-465-2399 Directions: 95 to 100 West toward Ellicott City. Exit Snowden River Parkway. Turn left onto 108. Make the first right and on the right.

Our First gathering

The Baltimore Emergent Cohort will gather--for the very first time--Tuesday night (tomorrow) at 7pm at Champps Restaurant & Bar at the Mall in Columbia. Apologies to all the non-sports fans. My hope is that on a Tuesday night they will have plenty of space for us and then we can find an alternative meeting spot next month. Champps is next to P.F. Changs and near L.L. Bean. The phone number there is: 443-367-0333. See you at 7pm.

Save the Date!!!

The first gathering of the Baltimore Emergent Cohort will take place on Tuesday April 26th at 7pm in Columbia, MD The exact location is TBD so check back for an update. The first gathering will be a time for everyone to get acquainted and for us to shape what the cohort will be like. It will be a place of discussion and discovery focusing on issues of faith, culture, and ministry. Bring your ideas for discussion topics at future cohort gatherings.

Coming soon . . .

Soon the Baltimore Emergent Cohort will have its first gathering. If you are interested in participating or want more information, e-mail us at: emergentbaltimore@gmail.com Check back for an update with a specific time and place for our first gathering.