Hoping Together conference coming to Columbia Seminary April 1-5

Event joins PC(USA), Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren

by Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service

The Vernon S. Broyles Jr. Leadership Center on the campus of Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. (Photo by Gregg Brekke)

LOUISVILLE — Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia will be the site for the April 1-5 conference “Hoping Together,” the partnership conference of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the 117,000 member Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren.

The Czech church dates back six centuries to the work of church reformer Jan Hus and his followers. According to its website, the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren has been actively involved in the ecumenical movement since its inception in 1918.

The upcoming conference follows previous conferences held in Prague in 2008, Annapolis, Maryland in 2012 and Prague again in 2016.

According to conference material provided by Sewickley Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, Pa., the conference is held to foster or strengthen:

• The existing partnership between Czech and U.S. congregations
• The mission of the churches carried out by outreach projects
• Theological exchange in the common quest for appropriate forms of witness
• New ways of doing things doing things together.

The conference will include reflection and appreciation of the past 28 years of partnership. It will feature theological reflections on both the partnership and the present situation of churches on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. The conference includes opportunities to worship together.

The event will take place at the W. Frank Harrington Center on the Columbia Seminary campus. The cost is $425 for a double room and $625 for a single room and includes housing, meals, local ground transportation and program materials.

The registration deadline is March 1. More information is available by emailing Linda Rogers of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Athens, Ga. Her email is lrogers@uga.edu.