Chestnut Ridge

Saturday, December 6

Peace Matters: Proclaiming the Prince of Peace in a World of Violence is a one-day gathering designed to embody the practices of non-violence through conversation, community networking, interactive Bible study, worship and Eucharist. Individuals and families of all faith traditions are welcome to participate.

The gathering will take place a Chestnut Ridge Camp & Retreat Center in Efland, NC on Saturday, December 6 from 8:15am to 4:00 pm. The registration fee of $15 per adult/high schooler and $10 per child includes snacks, lunch and all conference activities. Scholarships are available; request a scholarship during online registration. Childcare and age appropriate activities will be provided for preschool through middle school age students by Chestnut Ridge staff. Pre-registration is required.

The schedule for our day is:

8:15 – 8:45        Registration and Coffee

9:00 – 9:45       Centering Worship            

9:45-10:45        Biblical understanding of Peace led by Jason Byassee

10:45-11:15       Break

11:15-12:15       Communities of Peace led by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

12:15-1:30        Lunch and Community Conversation

1:30-2:30        Small Group Conversations
Facilitators:   Jason Byassee, Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove, Steve Taylor, Ken Carder, Jared Hansen

2:45            Worship and Eucharist                Bishop Ken Carder
(small groups to offer insights as part of offering; sending forth with commissioning/covenant to extend the conversation)

To register, please click on the following link: Register for Peace Matters and then remit payment in full by check or credit card. Checks should be made out to Chestnut Ridge Camp and Retreat Center with "Peace Matters" in the memo line and mailed to: 4300 Camp Chestnut Ridge Rd, Efland, NC 27243. Credit card payments may be made by calling the camp office and leaving your credit card information with a team member or on our secure voice mail line. Please be sure to indicate your payment is for the Peace Matters Conference.

Our speakers include:

Jason Byassee is director of the Center for Theology, Writing and Media at Duke Divinity School. He is also Special Assistant to Dean L. Gregory Jones and a principal writer for a web-based magazine on faith and leadership that will soon by launched by the Leadership Education at Duke Divinity program (LEADD). He was previously assistant editor of Christian Century magazine, where he wrote on such topics as theology, church history, politics, popular culture, and spiritual practices. He holds a BA from Davidson College and an MDiv and PhD in theology from Duke University. He has taught at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, North Park Theological Seminary, Wheaton College, and Northern Seminary, all in the Chicago area. His work has also appeared in Christianity Today, Books & Culture, Sojourners, and First Things. He is author of Reading Augustine: A Guide to Confessions (Cascade, 2006), of An Introduction to the Sayings of the Desert Fathers (Cascade, 2007) and of Praise Seeking Understanding: Reading the Psalms with Augustine (Eerdmans, 2007). His work has been recognized with several awards from the Associated Church Press and in 2007 with the American Academy of Religion’s first place award for newswriting for outlets with circulations under 100,000. He is an ordained elder in the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Kenneth L. Carder, Williams Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry, B.S. (East Tennessee State University); M.Div. (Wesley Theological Seminary); D.Min. (Vanderbilt Divinity School).  Dr. Carder served as bishop of the Mississippi area of the United Methodist Church from July 2000-04 and before that was bishop of the Nashville area for eight years. His pastorates in Holston Conference included the following: Church Street, Knoxville; First Church, Oak Ridge; Concord, Pleasant View, Abingdon, Va.; Elizabeth Chapel, Bluff City. He is the author of three books, Sermons on United Methodist Beliefs, A Bishop’s Reflections, Living Our Beliefs and a study guide for Who Are We? The Doctrine, Mission, and Ministry of the United Methodist Church. He has also contributed chapters in several books and authored numerous articles for journals, including Christian Century, Circuit Rider, Quarterly Review and Christian Social Action. He has preached and lectured in universities and seminaries throughout the United States as well as conferences in Korea, Austria, Mexico, England, Zimbabwe, and Finland. During the 2000-2004 quadrennium, he served as president of the General Board of Discipleship. Prior to retiring as the Presiding Bishop of the Mississippi Area, the Mississippi Legislature paid tribute to Bishop Carder for his contribution to racial reconciliation and economic justice in the state. Bishop Carder currently serves as a member of The United Methodist University Senate and chairman of the Senate’s Commission on Theological Education. He is married to Linda Miller Carder, a graduate of Emory and Henry College. They are the parents of two daughters, Sheri Carder Hood and Sandra Carder Nash, and they have five grandchildren.