Very happy to announce the schedule for our event next month in Tyler, TX (May 6-8th!) is now up at mbirdtyler.com! Truly an embarrassment of riches.
As a reminder: this will be our first time live-streaming an event to those who can’t be there in person. If you plan to take advantage of that (free) option, we still ask that you pre-register by selecting one of the virtual tiers.
It’ll be part outdoors, part streaming, part distanced indoors, and all Gospel. Preliminary details are up on that site, and we hope to finalize the schedule by March 15. #surprisesintheworks. Hope you can join us May 6-8!
After consultation with our hosts in New York, we’ve made the decision to cancel this year’s spring conference in NYC, which would’ve taken place April 24-26. Ugh. The restrictions to keep people safe were simply prohibitive. Needless to say, 2022 will be a blowout!
We’ll be getting in touch over the coming weeks with all those who rolled over their 2020 registration about possible refunds and/or further rollovers. But for now, know that:
We are moving forward with an event in Tyler, TX, May 6-8, 2021. It’ll be part outdoors, part streaming, part distanced indoors, and all Gospel. We’re calling it “Refreshed! The 7th Annual Tyler Mockingbird Festival.” Details about pricing, line-up, and registration forthcoming, but we could not be more excited.
Thank you, as always, for bearing with us as we negotiate this strange new world of ours.
Some Painful Cancellations, and Some Exciting New Series, As Well
Hard to believe we’re closing in on two months out from our annual conference in New York City (4/23-25)! The details are coming together beautifully – the lineup is pretty much set (not including a couple surprises we can’t disclose until the event itself), and the menus should be up in the next few weeks.
Anyone who’s curious about why we asked author-not-actor Tom Holland to keynote this year should run not walk to the interview we got to do with him for the special new episode of The Mockingcast, devoted to The Future Issue of our magazine. You’re in for quite a treat! I’m not sure we’ve ever gotten so much feedback on a podcast so quickly, especially of the it-made-me-genuinely-excited-to-be-a-Christian variety. Oh and while you’re at it, grab a copy of his book Dominion.
Also on the episode, Ethan speaks with NY Times tech columnist Nellie Bowles, and once-and-future Mbird authority Will McDavid mines the fertile ground at the intersection of Marcel Proust and the Left Behind series. A goldmine!
It’s our 6th annual gathering, and our contributors list is growing! Our keynote speaker will be Will Willimon, and he’ll be joined by Carrie Willard, Jacob Smith, David Zahl, Leigh Hickman, and Jason Micheli among others, with more music guests and a mini-market this year.
Thank you to Brad Wofford with BW Design for another year of beautiful graphics!
Register by March 15 for the “EarlyBird” discount at mbirdtyler.com and receive 15% off.
Several weeks ago in June, when this old world was just slightly younger, some of the Lord’s own rabble met in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for Mockingbird’s first ever conference for pulpit-lurkers: “Grace, Peace, and Personal Survival for the Preacher”. It was not a terribly large group, but the food and wine were plentiful, and the talks […]
This preview for our upcoming conference in Lancaster, PA, was written by Nick Lannon:
Compassion, both for our congregations and for ourselves, is perhaps the most important thing for pastors to develop, protect, and remember. It provides the medicine that will keep our ministries alive, and its absence will destroy them. It is only when we see our people—and ourselves—as basically (and always) in need that we can serve them—and ourselves—in an enlivening, Gospel-rich way.
Note: In order to get an accurate count for meals, we need all registrations by June 7th. Hope to see you there!
This preview of our upcoming conference in Lancaster, PA, comes from Adam Morton:
16th-century books do not, as a rule, simply materialize in Pennsylvania church basements. The exception is more interesting than the rule, however, and so attendees will have a hands-on look at a small stack of Reformation books, including the first published collection of Martin Luther’s writings from October 1518, which were uncovered in the archives of Holy Trinity in Lancaster a few years ago. Even more, we will have a chance to consider these as artifacts with something to say to our own day and ministry, evidence of a live wrestling with dangerous, and even violently divisive, words.
Below is a preview for our fast-approaching Mockingbird conference in Lancaster, PA (June 11-13). This particular conference aims to minister to those who minister—though all are welcome. Do register promptly so we can be sure to know you’re coming! The following sneak-peek comes from speaker Tasha Genck Morton:
For those who don’t speak Game of Thrones, the answer to the question, “What do we say to the God of death?” is a very inspiring, “Not today!” But ministry and life force us to say “today” over and over again as parishioners, family, and friends die. Facing death on a regular basis seems to demand that we who are left live better and fuller lives than those who went before. Every death whispers “earn it” to the living. In this session, we will explore what the Gospel has to say to us in the face of the impossible demands of “near death experiences.” Heads up: major spoilers will be discussed for perennial Mockingbird favorite TV show The Good Place, so what are you waiting for? Watch it!
Many thanks to all who attended and helped pull off the 12th annual Mockingbird conference in NYC! For all who couldn’t make it, and also those who could, each year we like to put together a virtual book table, with the various recommended readings and resources written by our speakers and guests. (Last week we […]
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Once again, we’ve uploaded all of the recordings to our TALKINGBIRD podcast feed–your destination for talks given at Mockingbird events, past, present and future.
If you’d rather go a la carte, the individual files are now available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, and our Resources page for you to listen to, download and share–minus Alfie Kohn’s which was an in-person-only deal. Videos will start rolling out in the next couple weeks.
Please note: As always, the recordings are free. We only ask that those who were not able to be there in person *consider* making a donation to help cover the cost of the event.
Major thanks go to Margaret Pope, Meaghan Ritchey, Melina Smith, and Chelsy Haynes for all their incredible work behind the scenes, to Mark Babikow, Lino Martinez, and Thomas Sireci for making our AV dreams come true, and to the super talented Casey & Travis Squyres at Stellate Photography for capturing it all on camera! A few highlights below:
