The New Heaven, New Earth: Anarchism and Christianity Beyond Empire conference brought close to 250 people together to talk, dance, learn, sing, worship, and fellowship. There were rich presentations on civilization and anarcho-primtivism, explorations in anarcho-primitivist parenting, forthright conversations on race, racism and being anti-racist activists, personal stories of living out God’s gift economy, insights into understanding and practicing jubilee, and an introduction to gospel nonviolence and anarchism to name a few. The group was the largest we’ve had in the conference’s seven year history and it was also one of the most diverse geographically, racially and gender-wise, though we continue to work to better integrate the voices of those who have been marginalized more fully into the conference. Still, the quality of the conversations and the spirit of community as we learned, grew and discovered new ways of doing God’s radical work in the world helped make this gathering one of the best we’ve had.
Some personal highlights:
As one of the organizers, it would be easy for me to go on about how amazing the conference was, but instead I’ll stick to a short (but by no means exhaustive) list of significant impressions and experiences.
- Ewuare Osayande was a deeply meaningful presenter for me as a Christian, an anarchist and a woman of color. Ewuare really pushed us to see the importance of being anti-racist in this movement, challenged us to read the cleansing of the temple from the perspective of Jesus’ social location as an oppressed Jew, and encouraged us to relate Jesus’ rebellion to acts of resistance from oppressed people throughout history into the present. This summary doesn’t do justice to the session but hopefully when the MP3s are done you’ll get what I mean.
- Layla AbdelRahim’s analysis of the alienating and domesticating power of civilization and the ways in which parenting as it is currently practiced train us to accept this unnatural and unhealthy system was nothing short of revolutionary for me. As someone who is new to the anarcho-primitivist conversation and who thinks about parenting quite a bit, this was an excellent introduction to these issues. Getting to know Layla and her daughter Ljuba throughout the conference also gave a concrete example of the alternative kind of parenting relationship anarcho-primitivism calls us to embody.
- In spite of the large number of attendees, the conference remained a space to have great connections and discussions–which is really why we do this thing in the first place. Speaking with presenters over dinner, connecting with new folks over lunch, talking about next steps for people looking to sharpen their praxis and theology, introducing people with similar ideas and goals to one another, supporting one another during difficult conversations, discussing theology until the wee hours of the morning–all of these things created a kind of fellowship that energizes me during the days we come together and throughout the months that follow.
- Some meaningful snippets: meeting and listening to John Zerzan, hanging out at Caritas Village with workers and people from the neighborhood, the sweaty, wonderful and wild Saturday night concert, practicing foot-washing together, conversations with other anarchists and Christians of color, a sincere call for gender neutral bathrooms, a holy moment of silence between sessions, going from having barely enough food to having too much…I could go on.
The 2009 conference proved to be a formative and inspiring event for many people so we’ve put out a call for attendees to share their stories and their photos to give a broader picture of our experiences. In the meantime, I just want to express my deepest gratitude to this year’s speakers for teaching and challenging us, to Caritas Village for their hosting, to Evergreen Presbyterian Church, Pilgrim Hostel, and Bash Back Memphis for their housing hospitality, to theillalogicalspoon, Lessar Beggars, and Seth Martin and friends for their rich and inspiring music, to all the attendees for participating so fully in our discussions and pitching in where help was needed and to each of the other organizers (Brenna, Elbon, Natalya, Onie, Tawd and Eric) for an event that will stretch and unsettle us as we return to life unusual.
