London gathering 22nd May
I've put this at the top of the page again in case anyone missed it. We'll meet in Waterloo mainline station at 3.00 pm on the concourse above the Eurostar entrance. This map shows the location. Since ericboehmer is passing through London in May on his way to Mozambique, we'll take the opportunity to have an informal gathering of people in the vicinity who are interested in open source theology, emerging church, NT Wright, London pubs, risky encounters with people they've only met on the web, etc. We've fixed on Sunday 22nd May for the date, but time and location are open. I imagine it would be best to meet in central London. Afternoon? Evening? Afternoon and evening? If it's just 4 or 5 people, an evening in a pub would be fine. If there's more interest, perhaps we could find a room and do something a bit more organized with lectures, seminars, coffee breaks, powerpoint presentations, corporate sponsorships, T-shirts (OST-shirts?) - the possibilities are endless. Let me know what you think. |
Comments
Sorry
Sorry Eric - that was where Andrew & I had a cappuccino and Danish pastry yesterday. But it’s pleasant enough: quiet, away from roads and noise, possibility of sitting out in the sun in concert hall square.
Re your visit: how about mid-afternoon on 22 May (3.00pmish?)
And somewhere in that region - South bank of the Thames? Nice for an afternoon stroll - pleasantest part of London really: convenient for London Eye, London Aquarium, views of Houses of Parliament, views from the Oxo tower, millennium footbridge, St Paul’s, Tate Modern art gallery, Globe Theatre. Just suggestions. Anyone else got any ideas?
Time to meet
I’m sorry to be a pain, but my wife was wondering if we could set the meeting time for this sometime soon. The 22nd is our first anniversary, so we would like to plan the day, but need to know when we will be with you all!
Dissertation King (for the moment),
Eric
Dinner and friends
3pm sounds great! I thought about asking you to serenade, but I have no idea what the quality would be like. Can OST go audio?
Emergent Americans meet the Brits
OK. So we are set for 3 pm, eh? Where would you like to meet? Very excited about the event, even if it is just Andrew and Peter, my wife (Heidi, who is also excited about it) and I.
BTW, I had my closed defense two days ago and it went splendidly. Open defense is 16 May, 4 days before we leave Chicago! Has kept me quite busy and unable to contribute to the site at all. Title of my dissertation, for those who are curious: “The effect of age on the mouse macrophage response to inflammatory stimuli.”
eric
If only...
…western Canada were not so far from London. I’m working on a few more tracks using Tom Wright’s voice and hope to come to London in the next year or two. No need to" go to London to visit the Queen" though, she’s in Canada right now.
Have a great Gathering
http://members.shaw.ca/pseburn/gods_holy_land.mp3
peace
Paul Seburn
more wright tracks
i played your other one for some of the members of our housegroup … they loved it. we have been studying matthew and the kingdom of heaven, etc. so it was quite appropriate.
eric
Afternoon tea with OST
I don’t suppose anyone had any particular idea why we were doing it, but the OST London gathering was one an extraordinary gathering of people from all kinds of backgrounds and walks of life.
There were (I think) nine of us who met at the statue of Thomas Cuneo above the Eurostar terminal at Waterloo station, London. We made our way to the cafeteria in the Royal Festival Hall, and sat down to a cup of tea and … well, what? What on earth were we doing there?
For me, it was a great chance to meet others from the website - especially Eric and Heidi (Boehmer) from the US, en route to Mozambique to visit their adopted children. Alex, Celia and Leeroy, were from the Prayer House in Canning Town (E. London) - with a story about their flight from a ‘Jesus Only’ sect, to form their own ‘truth-seekers’ group; Simon, from All Nations College, training to be a missionary in Japan; Nathan - ‘Nate’ on the website, a business consultant in voice-over I.P., and member of the Transformational Business Network - and, for those who know anything about it - son of Ron George, leader of the People International mission (mainly to the former Soviet republics of Central Asia). There was Andrew, pulling the threads together as a genial host, and myself.
It was an opportunity to hear each others’ stories, to share thoughts on emerging church and emerging church theology/ecclesiology, and do what emerging church does best: network with an amazing variety of people. It also served a practical purpose: Eric and Heidi found somewhere to spend the night before their flight the following day.
I came home with thoughts buzzing in my head, hoping for further contact, and further events of this sort. For some who came, there may be practical opportunities of further contact and development. For everyone, there is value in meeting others outside the normal networks and forums which tend to be provided for us, to get a fresh look at what we are about as Christian people in today’s world. I certainly learned a lot from this brief two hours or so together.
Royal Festival Hall
Peter has suggested Royal Festival Hall near the Waterloo station. Any comments?
Eric