Journey in the Wintertime

Stephen Lewis at the 2009 event

Epiphany Explorations 2009 was held in January 22-26, 2009.

People came to renew friendships and refresh their souls in beautiful Victoria.

The conference offered five days of spiritual nurture, continuing education and music with internationally recognized speakers Stephen Lewis, Rita Nakashima Brock, Tom Long, Marty Haugen, Raheel Raza, Nancy Reeves, and others.

Here is what delegates had to say about Epiphany Explorations 2008:

"I had heard this was the best continuing education ever and I wasn’t disappointed."

"This is the best opportunity available for continuing education in Western Canada. It is the most accessible financially as well as content – a wonderful opportunity for ministry personnel and lay people alike."

"This is the best symposium organized by a church in North America."

"I experienced Epiphany Explosion – lots to take back and implement, lots of soul food."

"This is the richest, most deepening event I’ve ever experienced in the church. It’s one more thing for which I now have to budget!"

The lineup of speakers for the 2009 conference included:

Stephen Lewis, former UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, is one of Canada’s most respected commentators on social affairs, international development and human rights.

His 2005 international bestseller, Race Against Time: Searching for Hope in AIDS-Ravaged Africa, is an insightful and passionate look at how the world is failing the UN’s eight Millennium Development Goals. Lewis was a Commissioner for the World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health.

Rita Nakashima Brock, author, international lecturer and professor of religion, is director of the fellowship program at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and Fellow at the Harvard Divinity School.

She is co-director of "Gather Heart" , a program of Faith Voices for the Common Good. Her work interweaves faith questions with issues of justice around the world. She and Rebecca Ann Parker are authors of two critically acclaimed books: Proverbs of Ashes, and Violence, Redemptive Suffering, and the Search for What Saves Us.

Tom Long, named one of the 12 most effective preachers in the English speaking world by Baylor University, is Bandy Professor of Preaching, Emory University (a position formerly held by Fred Craddock). He was the Director of Congregational Resources and the Director of Geneva Press.

Dr. Long was Editor of Theology Today, and serves as Associate Editor of Journal for Preachers and Senior Homiletics Editor for the New Interpreter’s Bible. His books include: The Witness of Preaching, (2nd Edition), Beyond the Worship Wars: Building Vital and Faithful Worship and Testimony: Talking Ourselves into Being Christian.

Raheel Raza – author of Their Jihad…Not my Jihad, is an award-winning writer, speaker, diversity consultant and interfaith advocate. Raza received a standing ovation for her presentation to Members of Parliament and international diplomats at the House of Commons. She is a recipient of the City of Toronto’s Constance Hamilton award and is the first South Asian woman to narrate a CBC documentary on "Passionate Eye."

A fervent advocate for human rights, Raza is the first Muslim woman in Canada to lead mixed gender prayers. She has spoken to the government departments, school boards and universities.

Ted Hughes is a former Saskatchewan judge who has been a Chief Adjudicator with respect to settlement of Indian Residential School claims. Ted has been a treaty negotiator and also served on numerous commissions of inquiry for the federal government and the governments of B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon & the Northwest Territories.

Highly respected for his integrity, this former conflict-of-interest commissioner for BC, recently was selected to review the province’s child protection system after the provincial government announced that 713 child death reviews were never properly completed.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond was appointed BC’s first Representative for Children and Youth in 2006. She has been a Saskatchewan Provincial Court Judge, a professor of law at Dalhousie and has taught at the universities of Toronto, Notre Dame, and Saskatchewan. She holds a master’s degree in international law from Cambridge University and a doctorate of law from Harvard Law School.

Time named her one of the 100 Global Leaders of Tomorrow in 1994, and one of the Top 20 Canadian Leaders for the 21st Century in 1999. She is a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation.

Marty Haugen is a liturgical composer and pastoral musician. For the past 20 years he has presented workshops on music and the renewal of worship across North America, Europe, Polynesia, Asia and Central America. He has more than 400 published compositions.

His music is included in hymnals for Christians of many denominations in a number of countries. Marty is currently composer-in-residence at Mayflower UC of Christ in Minneapolis.

David Wilson was appointed editor of the United Church Observer in 2006 after working for many years as the magazine’s associate editor. His articles have won dozens of church press awards in Canada and the U.S., and he is a three-time National Magazine Awards finalist. In his off-hours he plays keyboards in a Toronto rhythm-and-blues band.