SVS 2016 Conference Update

The theme of the Seventh Annual Society of Vineyard Scholars conference is “Hospitality, Holiness, and the Kingdom of God.”

The broad, interdisciplinary conversations at the SVS 2016 conference will focus around scholarly reflection on the following themes:

• Hospitality, Holiness, and the Kingdom of God: Bridging Theory and Practice
• Hospitality and Multiethnicity in the Kingdom of God
• Hospitality and Public Theology: Equipping the Church to Engage in Public Spaces
• Hospitality, Worship, and the Arts: Welcoming Strangers, Entertaining Angels

While there is much to the conference that is still in development, we are thrilled to announce that our plenary speakers will be:

• Dr. Luke Bretherton, Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke Divinity School and author of Hospitality as Holiness: Christian Witness Amid Moral Diversity.
• Dr. Christine Pohl, Professor of Church and Society/Christian Ethics at Asbury Theological Seminary, and author of two books on the practice of Christian hospitality: Making Room and Living Into Community.
• Dr. Charles Montgomery, Pastor of the Vineyard Columbus East Campus in Columbus, OH.

Luke, Christine, and Charles will be speaking on the theme of Christian hospitality, in theological, ethical, biblical, and practical perspective. As the Program Committee prayerfully begins to assemble the final program in early 2016, we will share more about each of their specific topics, as well as tons of other plans for conference worship, prayer ministry, topical roundtables, shared meals, and more.

Participants from outside the USA are especially encouraged to attend the conference. This year, for the first time, conference fees will be waived for non-US participants, and local housing will be arranged, free of charge, for as many international participants as we can accommodate. All details on this housing arrangement, made possible by the generosity of the Raleigh Vineyard community, are forthcoming. However, if you are an international participant and you know you would like to secure housing for yourself, please do write to .

Also, in keeping with our theme of hospitality, we are planning a dinner together on site during the conference, prepared by the excellent chef on the Raleigh Vineyard staff. Having just visited the church for a different event, I can tell you that this is going to be a real treat!

There is so much more to say, but for now, the main thing is to consider what you will bring to the table at SVS 2016. This conference is not designed for spectators, but for participants. It works best when you bring your voice into the mix.