FEEL THE CURRENT

August 4-6, 2006 Bingemans * Kitchener, ON Ni'dus : (Latin) Nest. Expressions of faith & arts & action & prayer & interaction. Empowering and mobilizing young adults and others to take action against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

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* faith * arts * justice *

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nidus festival 2006: feel the current

Nidus is a festival for people from all streams of Christian faith with music, arts, keynotes, worship, dialogue, drama & dance. Several thousand youth, young adults, families and others will gather in Kitchener, ON for 3 days in August.

It will be a unique opportunity for people to come together to express faith, celebrate through arts and seek justice to stop AIDS.

Some of our early confirmed guests (Feb 1) include: Brian McLaren, Frederica Mathewes-Green, Bruxy Cavey, The Toronto Mass Choir, Susan Aglukark, Steve Bell, Critical Mass, Kevin Prosch and others.

• Flow and Current Stages: Rock to Gospel. Folk to Choirs.
  Singer-Songwriter to World. Hip-hop to Bluegrass.
• Streams Stage: Talks and playshops mobilizing us against the HIV/AIDS pandemic and other faith and justice issues.
• Club Nidus: late nights with Hip Hop and Electronic music.
• Together Venue: Prayer and worship ranging from Taize to Vineyard to Emerging Church. Orthodox vespers, Anglican Eucharist, Catholic Mass, Praise and Worship.
• Wave: A Nidus Gallery of art
• Molecules: Interactivity and on-site Labyrinth Prayer
• Torrent: A funky fair of artisans and ministries.
• Plus: Buskers, Drama, T-Shirt and banner making (Stop AIDS!) and more.

Camping, food and waterpark options available from $75. Earlybird and volunteer rates too.

"But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream." - Amos 5:24
"Those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty' - Jesus, in St. John 4:14

Sponsored by the Canadian Council of Churches Mission:

NIDUS MISSION

Nidus is a grassroots Christian multidisciplinary arts festival convened to explore diverse expressions of creativity, faith, service and justice. By bringing people together to share in a broad spectrum of expressions of Christian faith and art, we seek to further Christian unity in the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

EXTENDED MISSION STATEMENT:

We seek to offer a pilgrimage that empowers people, especially younger people (ages 18-35), to enter into a deeper, sustainable level of commitment and enthusiasm for their faith in Jesus Christ, and develop a greater zeal for an engaged Christian life.

We seek to prayerfully and responsibly provide a forum for people to celebrate and explore their own traditions, as well as to share with those from different places on the Christian spectrum. We also seek to be a place for those without traditions, and those curious about the Christian story of redemption. Together, we will seek to respectfully share our stories and grow together in faith, hope and love, in a distinctly Canadian context.

We desire to bring people together from a variety of communities, parishes, congregations, para-church organizations, traditions, and denominations as well as individuals with no particular organizational affiliation. Together, we will demonstrate and share in diverse expressions of the Christian faith. These forms of expression will encompass traditional and new forms of worship, liturgy, art, music, talks, storytelling, contemplation, play, cultural engagement, and invitations to a lived faith.

We endeavour to be a diverse and inclusive gathering of believers from across ethnic/cultural and tradition/denominational divisions. Welcome, Catholics and Protestants, Orthodox and Evangelicals. Welcome, Mainliners. Welcome, Charismatics. Welcome, Anabaptists and those from traditional Peace Churches. Welcome, doubters and skeptics and seekers. Welcome, First Nations and Aboriginal Christian Communities. Welcome, Historic Black Churches. Welcome, Ethnic and Linguistic Ministries or Congregations. Welcome, Emerging Churches. Welcome, Para-church organizations, Christian Camp Leaders and Campus Ministries. Welcome, Monastic Movements. Welcome, Grassroots Ministries, and Social Justice Ministries. Welcome, also, to those who have no formal connection to any of the above. Welcome, post-denominationalists, and those whose connections to a multiplicity of these ORGANIZATIONS leave them wonder about their identity and role in the larger Christian world.

We strive to foster unity amidst our Christian diversity and divisions through acts of mutual hospitality offered in the name of Jesus Christ. We invite others to join us in our quest to learn about and experience one another's faith expressions. We do so in the name of one unchanging God; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We will celebrate together. We will learn together. We want to disarm assumptions and challenge stereotypes to better appreciate our ancient faith, our rooted spiritual traditions, and the emerging spiritual-cultural realities of (younger) Christians living in a rapidly changing world.

In the spirit of Jesus' prayer in the Gospel According to St. John 17: 20-23, we want to increase mutual understanding and further unity among the various traditions and expressions of the Christian faith. We desire that participants will forge, foster, and strengthen ongoing relationships rooted in the love of Jesus Christ.

This we offer as a living prayer.

For the official Nidus Website, click here www.nidus2006.ca

Planning Team:

• Douglas Romanow - Artistic Director (Christian Reformed Church) (Toronto, ON)
• Rob Shearer - Festival Coordinator (Roman Catholic) (Toronto, ON)
• Julie Churchill - Worship Coordinator (Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada) (Toronto, ON)
• Christopher Jones - Strategic Planner (Anglican Church of Canada)
• Amy Brown - Volunteer Co-Coordinator (Brethren / Brethren-in Christ) (Simcoe County, ON)
• Suzanne Bender -Volunteer Co-Coordinator - (Mennonite Church Canada) (Waterloo, ON)
• Lindsay Ann Cox - Fair Coordinator (United Church of Canada)
• Professor Richard Schneider -Official Ecumencial Consultant to the Festival (Orthodox Church in America) (Toronto, ON)
• Mindy Vaksdal - appointed from Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (Vancouver, BC)
• Rick Garland - appointed from United Church of Canada (Toronto, ON)
• Karen Bridges - appointed from United Church of Canada (Edmonton, AB)
• Darren Degraff - appointed from Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec (Toronto, ON)
• Julie Dick - appointed from Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (London, ON)
• Rick Mast - appointed from Christian Reformed Church (Edmonton, AB)
• Chris Godwalt - appointed from Reformed Church in America (Cambridge, ON)
• Archdeacon A. Paul Feheley - appointed by Anglican Primate, Anglican Church of Canada (Toronto, ON)
• Simon Chambers - appointed from Anglican Church of Canada (Toronto, ON)
• Spencer Edwards - appointed from Presbyterian Church - Southwestern Synod Staff (Hamilton, ON)
• Becky Machnee - appointed from Orthodox Church in America (Edmonton, AB)
• Nicolas Pappalardo - Roman Catholic - Youth Member of CCC Governing Board / (Toronto, ON / AnnArbor, MI)
• Kristin Kaasa - United Church of Canada - Youth Member of CCC Governing Board (Toronto, ON)
• Geoff Moulton - Salvation Army member of CCC Governing Board (Toronto, ON)
• Zoe Fay - Salvation Army - planned SARoots Festival (Toronto, ON)
• Pedro Geuverra-Mann - Roman Catholic - planned Catholic World Youth Days (Toronto, ON)
• Gonzalo Duarte - (Kingston) - director of Futurequest Youth program (Kingston, ON)
• Brenda Grunau - Mennonite Church - Canadian Mennonite University admissions (Winnipeg, MB)
• Janaya Letkeman - Mennonite Central Committee Staff (Winnipeg, MB)
• David Wagshall - Orthodox Church in America (staff) / Member of CCC Governing Board (New York, NY)
• Rev. Hollie Woodruff - Christian Church (Disciples of Christ, Tenessee)
• Rev. Danielle Ayana James - United Church of Canada (Alberta)
• Steve Green - Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada / Chaplain (Chatham, ON)
• Joe Abbey-Colborne - Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec (Toronto, ON)
• YoungDo Kang - Korean United Church (Scarborough, ON)
• Rev.Guenther Dahle - Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ex-officio) Ecumenical Festivals Coalition (Kitchener, ON)
• Beth Baskin - Primates World Relief and Development Fund (Anglican Church, Toronto)
• Jeanette Romkema - Primates World Relief and Development Fund (Anglican Church, Toronto)

CCC STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS

• Rev. Dr. Karen Hamilton - General Secretary of CCC (Toronto. ON)
• Peter Noteboom - Associate Secretary for the CCC Commission on Justice and Peace (Toronto, ON)
• Dona Harvey - CCC Communications and Development Ctte. (London, ON)
• 2 CCC Field Placement Students (Lindsay and Gerry)

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These articles were written by Youth members of The Canadian Council of Churches. They reflect the diversity, thoughtfulness and ecumenical commitment of those Youth members and their churches.

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