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2000-014

A call for posters by the church's young people

     (ENS) The Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief and the 
cluster of offices for Ministries with Young People have invited 
children and youth in the Episcopal Church to contribute to a 
poster display to be installed at General Convention next July in 
Denver.

     The posters will focus on the meaning of mission.

     In a letter sent to teachers and parents throughout the 
church, the fund recalled the words of the post-communion prayer 
seeking the strength and courage to love and serve the Lord. 
Children and youth are to be asked to look at ways that bring 
this weekly prayer to life, the moments when they have been 
reconcilers in the world, and how they have made God's love known 
to others.

     "The young people of our Church showed great initiative in 
the past year by working together to raise money for The 
Presiding Bishop's Fund and thus highlighting the needs of 
others. From Kentucky to California, from Connecticut to Michigan 
and all points in between, young people have shown how deeply 
they care," the letter said.

     The letter asks for posters that will inspire others to 
share their time, creativity and money to help others. The 
convention display will be organized by age groups, starting at 3 
and going through 19.

     Each poster must be no larger than 18 inches by 27 inches 
and can use any media. Each must be accompanied by a letter 
explaining the poster's story or design and accompanied by an 
entry form. Deadline for entries is April 15, 2000.

     For more information, contact Joyce Hogg of the Presiding 
Bishop's Fund at 800-334-7626, x6027, or visit the fund's web 
site at www.pbfwr.org. 

     

Intern program in North Carolina seeks applicants

     The Johnson Intern Program, sponsored by the Chapel of the 
Cross in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is a new program being 
offered for young adult Christians and beginning in August 2000.  
This internship program offers a unique blend of social ministry, 
intellectual inquiry, and Christian community living in a post-
baccalaureate year.  The Johnson Intern Program is designed to 
foster spiritual growth and development within the context of 
Christian service and fellowship.

This program asks interns to divide their time between 
working in a local nonprofit agency, pursuing serious study on a 
religious topic under the supervision of a parish mentor, and 
creating and living in Christian community.  Interns may choose 
to take one or two classes at the University of North Carolina, 
or participate in the Deacon Formation Program classes, or an 
intern may opt to create their own spiritual study discipline.  
Some of the possible opportunities for social service placements 
include working with groups devoted to easing the plight of the 
homeless, opposing the death penalty, improving the lives of 
migrant workers, prison ministry, and working with at-risk youth. 

     All interns will participate in a communal lifestyle of 
simple living, sharing meals and household responsibilities with 
other community members.  Working together, the interns must also 
undertake the serious task of developing their spiritual 
discipline as a group for the ordering of their common life.  
Another important part of the program will be weekly seminars 
devoted to theological reflection, and increasingly to vocational 
discernment as the year progresses.

     The Johnson Intern Program will be open to people ages 20-
29.  The interns will be provided with a simple living stipend, 
health insurance, and housing.  The Johnson Internship is an 11-
month commitment. Applications are now available.  The deadline 
for receiving applications is March 1.  Anyone interested in more 
information should contact the program developer, Elizabeth 
Shows, at (919) 929-2193, via e-mail at 
eshows@thechapelofthecross.org or write to Johnson Internship 
Program, 304 East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514.

     

"God at 2000" telecast features theological scholars

     Trinity Institute's 31st annual national conference, "God at 
2000," featuring the remarks of some of today's best-known 
theological scholars, will take place at Oregon State University 
on Feb. 11 and 12. The conference will examine how God is viewed 
at this moment in history, using high-tech satellite and internet 
technologies to engage in dialogue and debate.  

     Televised live nationally from Corvallis, Oregon, "God at 
2000" will bring together seven men and women from the worlds of 
Islam, Judaism, and Christianity to reveal how they see the 
sacred.  Featured speakers include: Marcus Borg, professor of 
religion and culture at Oregon State; Diana Eck, professor of 
comparative religion and Indian studies and Harvard; Lawrence 
Kushner, noted rabbi, lecturer and author; Joan Chittister, 
prominent Benedictine sister, author and lecturer; Seyyed Hossein 
Nasr, professor of Islamic studies at George Washington 
University; Karen Armstrong; acclaimed writer and television broadcaster; 
and Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and 
retired archbishop of Capetown, South Africa.

     Modeled on the highly successful "Jesus at 2000" symposium 
held at Oregon State in 1996, "God at 2000" will be telecast over 
ECTN, the Episcopal Cathedral Teleconferencing Network, to 600 
downlink communities, reaching a nationwide audience of 25,000.  
Following each speaker's talk, on-site and broadcast audiences 
will participate interactively.  

     To attend the live event at Oregon State, registrants must 
call (541) 737-6195. To view the conference at a downlink site, 
call (800) 559-ECTN.  The event can also by viewed by webcast 
over the internet at www.ectn.org.

     The conference is co-sponsored by the Hundere Endowment for 
Religion and Culture at Oregon State University, the Chautauqua 
Institution of Chautauqua, New York, and Trinity Institute, of 
Trinity Church Wall Street, Manhattan.