Epiphany Explorations
Registration Options
2016 Registration Form
Full Conference
Note: If possible, please register online at
epiphanyexplorations.ca
If registering by mail, each participant requires a
separate form. Take photocopy from this form or
print one from our website
epiphanyexplorations.ca
Please print clearly and make a copy of your
completed form before mailing it in.
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Regular (Early Bird: $275; after Nov 30: $325)
Full-time students/low-income ($50 - Mail in only)
Blanket Exercise Thurs 1:00 - 3:00 pm - Fellowship Hall
No Charge
Level Ground Trading Presentation Thurs 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Rm 200 No Charge - first come/first served basis
Livestreaming
Livestreaming Option Only or Individual Session
registrant add on:
($150 single user; $275 for use with groups).
Email contact required.
Livestreaming add on Full-time Registrants:
($50 single user; $100 for use with groups). Email
contact required.
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Lunch
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Individual Sessions
Individual sessions as indicated below:
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Subtotal $___________
$18 per day
Jan 22
Jan 23
Regular
Vegetarian
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Explorations and related events, including the brochure.
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I acknowledge that Epiphany Explorations will be
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Is this your first time at Epiphany Explorations?
$___________
S01 Jennifer Henry — Decolonizing the Heart
S02 Paul Bramadat — Religion After Religion
S03 Ross Lockhart — Lessons from Laodicea:
Missional Leadership in a Culture of Affluence
S04 Tom Axworthy — Canada’s Cold Amazon: the
need to protect the Mackenzie River Basin
S05 Betty Davies — Lessons Learned with Grieving
Children
S06 Linda Mulhall — Resting in the Arms of the
Beloved
S07 Anna Carter Florence — Paying Attention to the
Verbs
S08 Meagan Rohrer — Transfiguration: Sacred stories
across the gender spectrum
S09 Douglas Todd — Standing up for liberal
Christianity: 12 things to celebrate about this
creative “middle way”
S10 Leonard Sumner — REZ Poetry: Reflections and
Music
S11 Will Weigler — From the Heart: A Creative
Journey of Reconcilation
S12 Tom Axworthy — Tolerance: An
Underappreciated Virtue
S12 Arthur Black — Canada: Still under construction.
We Apologize for any inconvenience.
S14 Ron Klusmeier and Friends — A musical
celebration
S15 Naomi Tutu — One Body, One Family, One World
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Epiphany Explorations
...discover the extraordinary
in the ordinary...
Epiphany Explorations 2016
Thursday, January 21
Noon – Registration begins
1:30 – 3:00 pm – Optional activities
3:30 pm – Official Opening
3:45 – 5:00 pm S01 Jennifer Henry Decolonizing the Heart
In today’s Canada, settler Christians must enter into a
process of decolonization, one that will rattle settler
ancestry and religious identity as privileges and narratives
of superiority are necessarily unpacked. It is a process that
is neither dispassionate nor disembodied – we must
decolonize our hearts to recover our humanity. Jennifer
Henry is Executive Director of KAIROS, a coalition of 11
Canada Church groups striving for social justice and human
rights. She has worked for KAIROS for 20 years including
manager for Dignity and Rights. She serves on the Primate’s
Commission on Discovery, Reconciliation and Justice.
Originally from Manitoba, Jennifer was influenced by the
Mennonite tradition of living out faith and the Catholic idea
of working in solidarity with others, and the strong commitment to the social Gospel.
6:45 – 7:15 pm Sing-Along with Ron Klusmeier
Ron Klusmeier has composed hundreds of our favourite
hymns – in fact, he has more compositions in Voices United
than any other composer, living or dead! Ron has worked
with 2000 congregations throughout Canada, much of the
USA and beyond, offering seminars, concerts and worship
celebrations. See www.musiklus.com/
7:15 – 9:00 pm S02 Paul Bramadat Religion After Religion
Demographic evidence shows us that we are in the middle
of an unprecedented period of change in Canada. In particular, what it means to be religious, to belong to a religious
group, and to believe in anything – all of these things are in
flux. What does it mean for you? For Canada? For religion?
And can something like “spirituality” save the day? Paul
Bramadat is Director of the Centre for Studies in Religion
and Society at the University of Victoria. His articles have
appeared in many leading academic journals. His books, as
author or co-editor, include The Church on the World’s Turf,
which examines the ways religious sub-cultures can thrive in
largely secular environments; Religion and Ethnicity in
Canada and many others.
2:00 – 3:15 pm S05 Betty Davies Lessons learned with Grieving Children
Many adults are challenged by having to deal with dying
and death, but even more so when the situation involves
children. Drawing from her personal and clinical
experiences in pediatric palliative care, and from her
research findings about sibling bereavement, Betty offers
suggestions for accompanying grieving children—the
lessons apply to children experiencing other types of loss as
well. Betty Davies is Adjunct Professor, University of
Victoria and Professor Emerita, University of California San
Francisco. She is internationally recognized for her expertise
in the areas of dying, death and bereavement, particularly
in pediatric palliative care. Her research is reported in
nearly 200 scientific and popular publications. She is
co-founder of Canuck Place, North America's first freestanding hospice for children, in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Dr. Davies has contributed to numerous professional
organizations; she is a past-president of the International
Work Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement.
3:45 – 5:00 pm S06 Linda Mulhall Resting in the Arms of the Beloved
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will
give you rest. Matthew 11:28. Jesus promises us rest, not
more work! How do we rest in the Beloved in the
frantic, busy world we live in? How is rest an essential part
of our spiritual journey? What spiritual practices might help
us ‘rest in the arms of the Beloved’? Linda Mulhall has
been providing spiritual guidance, as well as leading retreats
and workshops, at First†Metropolitan United Church for the
past six years. She leads a bi-weekly meditation group,
focusing on the Sufi poet, Rumi; and facilitates the
“Navigating Life’s Transitions” program. Her approach is
InterSpiritual: drawing on the mystical traditions of
Christianity, Judaism, Metis-First Nations, Buddhism and
Sufism. She combines spiritual practices with personal
reflection. Visit Linda’s website at www.spiritcall.ca.
7:00 – 9:00 pm S07 Anna Carter Florence Paying Attention to the Verbs
If you do a quick survey of any Bible passage, you’ll find that
what is true in life is also true in scripture: the verbs
dominate. Not adjectives; verbs. It’s what we do and don’t
do that preoccupies human beings. And it’s the verbs we
cannot imagine for ourselves (live, liberate, forgive,
resurrect) that the church offers, and that we reach for. So
what happens when we read scripture and let the verbs
lead? Anna Carter Florence is the Peter Marshall Associate
Professor of Preaching at Columbia Theological Seminary in
Vancouver School of Theology. He is the author of two
books, including one which features spiritual profiles based
on interviews with John Irving, Bruce Cockburn, Mordecai
Richler, Robertson Davies, Carol Shields and others.
2:00 – 3:15 pm S10 Leonard Sumner - REZ
Poetry: Reflections and Music
Leonard is a young Anishinaabe artist whose creative work
emerges directly from conversations with First Nations
young people on reservations and in Winnipeg, where he
now resides. Leonard Sumner is originally from the Little
Saskatchewan First Nation located in the Interlake Region of
Manitoba. Featured in numerous Folk Festivals, including
Vancouver and Calgary, and in Winnipeg’s Aboriginal Music
Week, Leonard provides a fresh perspective from his
generation of First Nations. Vancouver Folk Festival says:
He’s heralded as one of the most important and vital new
voices on the First Nations roots music scene today, and is
making waves beyond…Sumner’s music is a rap-roots fusion
with a strong indigenous perspective – a new sound he
describes as “straight from the Rez.” His lyrics and message
are truthful, insightful, and direct – story-songs that often
meld the political and the personal.
3:45 – 5:00 pm S11 Will Weigler From the Heart: A Creative Journey of
Reconciliation
Drawing on examples from the award-winning theatre
production, From the Heart: enter into the journey of
reconciliation, director Will Weigler will show how different
“settler” Canadians in Victoria created their own
performance pieces to meet the question: what does
decolonization mean to me in my own heart, head and
spirit? His groundbreaking “how-to” manual on helping
groups translate issues into theatre received the
Distinguished Book Award from the American Alliance for
Theatre and Education. Trained at the National Theatre
Institute (US) as well as with teachers from Dell ‘Arte
International; Norway’s Odin Teatret; and NYU’s Circus
Training Program, Will has a PhD in Applied Theatre from
University of Victoria. In 2013, he produced and directed
From the Heart: Enter into the journey of reconciliation, in
which an ensemble of non-Indigenous Canadians tells the
transformative stories that had deepened their understanding about the lived experience of Indigenous peoples in
Canada. It won Best New Play at the Victoria BC Critic’s
Choice Spotlight Awards.
Friday, January 22
9:00 – 10:20 am S03 Ross Lockhart Lessons from Laodicea: Missional Leadership in a
Culture of Affluence
The #occupy movement raised awareness in North America
of the power of the 1% over the 99%. For many affluent
(including middle class) Canadians, however, it is easy to
forget our need to rely on the grace and mercy of God when
we "think" we can provide for ourselves. What does
missional Christian leadership look like in the midst of
"lukewarm" spirituality? What lessons from Laodicea might
we need to hear in this peculiar time and place as we seek
to follow Jesus? Ross Lockhart is the Presbyterian Director
of Denominational Formation at Vancouver School of
Theology and Director of Ministry Leadership & Education, a
new initiative at St Andrew’s Hall. Ross is a graduate of
Emmanuel College and holds the DMin degree from
McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago. He has a
passion for shaping disciples for Christ whose leadership
creates “scholarly evangelists” in both pew and pulpit.
Ross’ articles have appeared in The Observer. Until recently,
he ministered at West Vancouver United Church and has a
record of highly effective congregational ministry.
11:00 am – 12:20 pm S04 Tom Axworthy Canada’s Cold Amazon: the need to protect
the Mackenzie River Basin
The majority of water in Canada flows north, much of it
through the Mackenzie River Basin…one of the last mighty
rivers of the world where we have a chance to get it right.
Tom Axworthy is President and CEO of the Walter and
Duncan Gordon Foundation which focuses on Fresh Water
and the Arctic and supports democratic participation of First
Nations. Dr. Axworthy also is the Secretary General of
the InterAction Council which is "an international
organization whose objective is to address long-term, global
issues facing humankind.” Co-chaired by Jean Chrétien, it is
composed of over 30 former heads of state. As Senior Policy
Advisor and Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Pierre
Trudeau, Axworthy was a key strategist in the Repatriation
of the Constitution and the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms. His remarkable career includes several
prestigious teaching positions in the US and Canada. At
Harvard, he co-drafted the Universal Declaration of Human
Responsibilities with Hans Küng. Tom also has held
leadership positions at several Canadian Foundations.
Plan to join us in Victoria!
Decatur, Georgia. She holds degrees from Yale College and
Princeton Theological Seminary. A popular presenter at the
Festival of Homiletics, her research focuses on testimony,
feminist theology, the role of experience in preaching, and
the history of preaching women. Her books include
Preaching as Testimony and Inscribing the Word. She
edited Inscribing the Text: Sermons and Prayers of
Walter Brueggemann. Anna is a frequent teacher and
lecturer internationally. Her Lyman Beecher Lectures on
Preaching at Yale Divinity School are the basis of her recent
book project.
Saturday, January 23
9:00 – 10:20 am S08 Megan Rohrer Transfiguration: Sacred stories across the gender
spectrum
As the first Lutheran transgendered minister, Megan Rohrer
has heard some remarkable sacred stories not always
affirmed in some circles…including her own. Be inspired
and surprised by this pioneer, gifted storyteller and activist.
Megan Rohrer is the pastor of Grace Evangelical Lutheran
Church and Executive Director of Welcome - a communal
response to poverty in San Francisco. Pastor Rohrer was a
2014 honorable mention by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as
an Unsung Hero of Compassion, received an Honorary
Doctorate from Palo Alto University, Distinguished Alum
award from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, won
the Award of Merit at the Accolade Global Film Festival, and
was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award in transgender
nonfiction. Her online justice-based Bible studies inspire
3600+ participants per month. She is an author, artist,
activist and educator who speaks on issues of homelessness, sexuality and gender. See www.meganrohrer.com
11:00 am – 12:20 pm S09 Douglas Todd Standing up for liberal Christianity: 12 things to
celebrate about this creative "middle way"
Douglas Todd is an award-winning Vancouver Sun writer on
spirituality, ethics and diversity. Todd has twice taken first
place in the Templeton Religion Reporter of the Year Award
for top religion reporter in the secular media in North
America. He also has won three awards for opinion writing
from the American Academy of Religion. In addition, Todd
took first place for the James O. Supple Religion
Feature Writer of the Year Award, which honours the best
in-depth writing and analysis of religious issues on the
continent. He received a National Newspaper Award for a
feature on his father’s struggle with mental illness. Douglas
received a Doctor of Divinity, Honoris Causa, from the
7:00 – 9:00 pm S12 Tom Axworthy Tolerance: An Underappreciated Virtue
A comparison of the exclusion ideology of ISIS and similar
movements with the contrasting tradition of inclusion and
understanding (Locke, Gandhi, etc). This session is based on
presentations recently given in the Middle East and
Azerbaijan.
Sunday, January 24
9:00 – 10:00 am Reflective Communion Worship
Naomi Tutu preaching
Julia Cunningham, Harp
11:00 am – 12:00 pm Worship
Anna Carter Florence preaching
2:00 – 3:15 pm S13 Arthur Black Canada: Still under construction. We apologize
for any inconvenience.
A look at life in the country Voltaire once dismissed as ‘a
few acres of snow’. Author of numerous books, including his
recent 50 Shades of Black, Arthur Black is a three-time
winner of the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for
Humour. The longtime host of “Basic Black” on CBC Radio,
he is regularly featured in Zoomer magazine and his humour
column is syndicated to 50 Canadian newspapers.
3:45 – 5:00 pm S14 Ron Klusmeier and Friends –
a musical celebration of folk, bluegrass and soul
7:00 – 9:00 pm S15 Naomi Tutu One Body, One Family, One World
Growing up during apartheid in South Africa, Naomi Tutu
had firsthand experience how the prayers and support of
the worldwide church are a real means of support and
encouragement for struggling and suffering people. This
experience is the basis of her presentation, that explores
the requirements and benefits of living in the world as
people who are connected one to one another and the
whole of creation through God’s grace.
Two Optional Activities on Thursday
The Blanket Exercise - National attention on the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission makes this inter-active activity a
powerful insight into historical treaty-making, colonization
and resistance that resulted in the nation we call Canada.
Level Ground Trading Presentation - owned by four
Vancouver Island families, with a mission to trade fairly
and directly with small-scale famers in developing countries
and a vision to alleviate poverty through trade.
Two ways to register:
1. Preferred method: register and pay online at
epiphanyexplorations.ca
OR
2. Complete the registration form (one per registrant)
in this brochure and mail with your credit card
information or cheque to First†Metropolitan United
Church. No post-dated cheques, please. Additional
forms may be printed from our website.
First†Metropolitan United Church
932 Balmoral Rd. Victoria, BC V8T 1A8
250 388-5189
epiphanyexplorations.ca
Important Information
Our preferred accommodation partners are:
Best Western PLUS Carlton Plaza, 642 Johnson St.
www.bestwesterncarltonplazahotel.com Toll free phone:
1 (800) 663-7241, speak to Cheryl Groulx and request the
First†Met rate of $75 plus taxes for a studio suite (with up
to 3 persons sharing and a kitchen) or a traditional guest
room. Book before December 22.
Chateau Victoria (Hotel and Suites), 740 Burdett Ave.
www.chateauvictoria.com. Call 1 (800) 663-5891 toll free or
email [email protected]. When reserving,
confirmation # is 31200 booked under Epiphany Explorations 2016. Rate: $99 plus taxes per night single/double
guest room, $110 plus taxes per night 1-bedroom suite.
Shuttle available. Book before December 21.
Special Needs
Whether you are a first time attendee, previous registrant
or First†Met member/adherent, let us know of any
accommodations you require, by email or calling
250 388-5189. A planning team member will call to plan for
your needs. While we do our best to accommodate special
needs, we cannot guarantee to meet every need. Please
bring an Attendant (at no charge) if you have complex
needs.
Cancellation Policy
A cancellation fee of $40 will be applied to requests for
registration refunds received before Jan 2, 2016. After that
date, refunds are not available, but those cancelling will be
given access to livestreaming of the conference at no
charge. No refunds are given for registrations for four single
sessions or fewer. Exceptions to this policy may be made on
compassionate grounds.
Transportation
Transportation is the responsibility of the registrant.
Schedule at a Glance
Thursday, January 21
Noon - Registration begins
1:30 - Optional Activities
3:30 pm - Official Opening
3:45 - 5:00 pm S01 Jennifer Henry - Decolonizing
the Heart
6:45 - 7:15 pm Sing-Along with Ron Klusmeier
7:15 - 9:00 pm S02 Paul Bramadat - Religion After
Religion
Epiphany
Explorations
January 21
21–
–24 2016
Friday, January 22
9:00 - 10:20 am S03 Ross Lockhart - Lessons from
Laodicea: Missional Leadership in a Culture of
Affluence
11:00 am - 12:20 pm S04 Tom Axworthy - Canada’s
Cold Amazon: the need to protect the Mackenzie
River Basin
2:00 - 3:15 pm S05 Betty Davies - Lessons Learned
with Grieving Children
3:45 - 5:00 pm S06 Linda Mulhall - Resting in the
Arms of the Beloved
7:00 - 9:00 pm S07 Anna Carter Florence - Paying
Attention to the Verbs
Saturday, January 23
9:00 - 10:20 am S08 Megan Rohrer - Transfiguration:
Sacred Stories Across the Gender Spectrum
11:00 am - 12:20 pm S09 Douglas Todd - Standing up
for liberal Christianity: 12 things to celebrate about
this creative “middle way”
2:00 - 3:15 pm S10 Leonard Summer - REZ Poetry:
Reflections and Music
3:45 - 5:00 pm S11 Will Weigler - From the Heart: A
Creative Journey of Reconciliation
7:00 - 9:00 pm S12 Tom Axworthy - Tolerance: An
Underappreciated Virtue
Tom Axworthy
Naomi Tutu
Anna Carter Florence
Douglas Todd
Sunday, January 24
9:00 - 10:00 am Reflective Communion Worship Naomi Tutu preaching /Julia Cunningham, harp
11:00 am - 12:00 pm Worship - Anna Carter Florence
preaching
2:00 - 3:15 pm S13 Arthur Black - Canada: Still under
construction. We apologize for any inconvenience.
3:45 - 5:00 pm S14 Ron Klusmeier and Friends a musical celebration
7:00 - 9:00 pm S15 Naomi Tutu - One Body, One
Family, One World
Early Bird Deadline
Register by 30 November 2015
- and Save!
Photo credit: Haida Gwai courtesy of C Dillman