Big Tent!

A couple of weeks ago national denominational leaders decided that the Indiana immigration control bill had been watered down enough that the PC(USA) could go ahead with the Big Tent 2011 mega-conference up the road in Indianapolis, as planned. The conference will take place at the J.W. Marriott hotel in downtown Iny.

A number of Crescent Hill folks are involved in the conference, for work. The conference includes some dozen speciality conferences, along with joint sessions and worship services. A focus of the Big Tent for some Crescent Hill folks might be the World Mission Matters conference, which starts Thursday night (June 30) and goes through Saturday morning (July 2). A special dinner for this event will take place Friday night at 6:00 p.m. ($40 each), with mission workers and local partner leaders from Thailand speaking. A world mission cafe and video screening will start at 8:00 p.m.

Among the other sessions that are part of the World Mission Matters conference are:
- Crescent HIll's own Hunter Farrell's lunchtime talk on "Global Discipleship: From Loaves and Fishes to Changing the World" Friday at 12 noon
- "Congregational Care and Support for Mission Workers" workshop at 4 p.m. Friday
- "Mission Trips: From Tourism to Partnership" workshop workshop, also at 4 p.m. Friday
- Crescent Hill's own Tricia Lloyd-Sidle and Christine Coy Fohr's workshop on "Adressing the Root Causes of Poverty," also at 4 p.m. Friday
- Crescent Hill's own Bruce Whearty and partner's workshop on "Talents and Treasure: Funding Mission Co-workers," at 10 a.m. Saturday
- Crescent Hill's own Martha Bettis Gee's workshop on "Human Trafficking: Modern-Day Slavery," also at 10 a.m. Saturday
- "Arts for Mission" workshop, also at 10 a.m. Saturday
- some-time Crescent Hill worshiper Chris Iosso's workshop on "Short-term Trips, Long-term Understanding: Using the PC(USA) Globalization Policy with Young People," also at 10 a.m. Saturday

There are also some special events for youth and young adults, including special World Mission Matters conference events for young adults.

-Perry