Tag: Sandra Van Opstal

One Week Till Deeply Rooted!
Faith · Workshops

One Week Till Deeply Rooted!

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Deeply rooted starts one week from today! We are busy putting the final touches on all the things. We can’t wait to see you there! We have been praying that the Lord would nudge women who need to be here, especially those feeling lonely, discouraged, stuck, or lost. Also, women who are experiencing a Holy Spirit kick inside and want to keep the flame lit. 

We’re so excited about the speaker lineup, workshops, and our first-ever bookstore! We have a number of sponsors this year, including Paraclete Press, Loyola Press, InterVarsity Press, Grrr Records, Jesus People USA, Wilson Abbey, and Everybody’s Coffee! (If you haven’t attended before, EC is connected to Wilson Abbey! We also serve their signature roast:) 

Every time we put on Deeply Rooted (this is our 5th year AND 9th Gathering) we feel moments of discouragement and defeat. We’ve had speaker cancellations, low registration, and budget challenges, as well as personal setbacks that have brought us low. 

We always remind ourselves that even if nobody shows we’ll just see it as a retreat for a small group with fantastic facilitators:) The truth is we just love to bring women together for celebration, worship, food, and fellowship and if we can be challenged and inspired along the way, even better! 

Please don’t let finances be the reason you don’t come. 

We’ve made it accessible for every budget (even NO budget!) You can stay overnight with us for free. You can come for the whole thing or just Friday or Saturday. Or for a few hours. You can pay at the door. We are totally flexible and want to make it work for whatever stage of life you’re in! Nursing babies and girls 13 and up are welcome! 

WORKSHOP TITLES!

Cultural Intelligence (CQ): How knowing your values helps you deepen intimacy in diverse friendships: Sandra Van Opstal

The Soul Tells a Story Writing Workshop (2 Sessions): Vinita Hampton Wright

Racial Righteousness: Christine Moolo & Tiana Coleman

The Power of One Faithful Woman: Wendi Kaiser

Hospitality 101: It’s Beyond Teas and Dinner Parties, Y’all: Rebekah Byrd

FREE STUFF!

We’re going to have some fabulous giveaways, including books, coffee, and CDs! Check out what our sponsors have given us for YOU!

Please pray for us as we gather, that the Lord would be powerfully present, and the Holy Spirit would be moving among us. 

We’d love for you to join us. 

Tammy & Joy

 

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Meet Sandra Van Opstal
Speaker · Workshops

Meet Sandra Van Opstal

Tammy PerlmutterLeave a comment

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Morning Session and Justice Workshop:

Cultural Intelligence (CQ): How Knowing Your Values Helps You Deepen Intimacy in Diverse Friendships

Sandra Maria Van Opstal, a second-generation Latina, pastors at Grace and Peace Community on the West Side of Chicago. She is a preacher, liturgist, and activist who is re-imagining the intersection of worship and justice.

In her fifteen years with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Sandra mobilized thousands of college students for God’s mission of reconciliation and justice in the world. Sandra served as Director of Worship for the Urbana Missions Conference, Chicago Urban Program Director, Latino National Leadership Team (LaFe), and Northwestern University Team leader (Multiethnic fellowship).

Sandra’s influence has also reached many others through her leadership and preaching on topics such as worship and formation, justice, racial identity and reconciliation, and global mission. She has been featured at Wheaton College, North Park University, The Justice Conference, Evangelical Covenant conferences, Willow Creek Association conferences, and various churches. Sandra serves as a board member for Evangelicals for Justice and the Christian Community Development Association. Sandra was also the Worship Director for the IFES World Assembly in Mexico 2015,  Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering in Jarkarta 2016, and Global Gathering in South Africa 2018.

In addition to her ministry experience, Sandra holds a Masters of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Illinois and has been published in multiple journals. She has authored God’s Graffiti Devotional, Still Evangelical, The Mission of Worship and The Next Worship.

 

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Gathering Together
Faith

Gathering Together

Tammy PerlmutterLeave a comment

Communities are truly communities when they open to others, when they remain vulnerable and humble; when the members are growing in love, in compassion, and in humility.

The fundamental attitudes of true community, where there is true belonging, are openness, welcome, and listening to God, to the universe, to each other and to other communities. Community is the breaking down of barriers to welcome difference.”

Jean Vanier, Community and Growth

Larry Crabb, in his book, Connecting: Healing Ourselves and Our Relationships, writes, “I have come to believe that the root of all our personal and emotional difficulties is a lack of togetherness, a failure to connect that keeps us from receiving life and prevents the life in us from spilling over into others.” The question then becomes, “Are we receiving life from others? Is the life in us spilling over into others?”

Our theme for November is Together.  

Let’s transform this lack of togetherness into true connection.

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Our Speakers for May 21, 2016
Speaker

Our Speakers for May 21, 2016

Tammy PerlmutterLeave a comment

 

Elyssa Salinas
Sandra Van Opstal
Velda Love

 

Elyssa Salinas works with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s World Hunger outreach as the program assistant for Hunger Education. This Fall she starts her Ph.D at LSTC in systematic theology and sexual ethics, where she plans to focus on body/sex shaming and how to embrace our bodies as God embraces each of us. Poetry has been a vehicle to explore her own challenges with body image and her identity as a Latina. She has been performing poetry for the past few years at various open mic performances in Philadelphia and Chicago along with using poetry as part of her academic career. Elyssa is working on a book of poetry from the point of view of biblical women, especially Old Testament women such as Hagar, Dinah and Jael.

Sandra Van Opstal pastors at Grace and Peace Community in Chicago and is the author of The Next Worship and The Mission of Worship. A liturgist and activist, she is passionate about mobilizing Christians for reconciliation and justice. She frequently consults, speaks, and writes on topics of racial identity and global mission. Sandra serves as a board member for Evangelicals for Justice and the Christian Community Development Association.

She has written two books for InterVarsity Press on multiethnic worship. Here’s the book trailer:

 Rev. Velda Love is the director of justice and intercultural learning in the Office of Diversity’s Collaboratory for Urban and Intercultural Learning at North Park University. Velda collaborates with various academic schools to develop curricular and co-curricular opportunities with an emphasis on social justice related issues.

Velda completed a MATS from North Park Theological Seminary and is Ordained to Specialized Ministry in Social Justice in the Evangelical Covenant Church. She is a pastoral assistant at Second Baptist Church in Evanston, Ill., and serves on various boards and task forces that address interfaith dialogue, homelessness, and youth incarceration. She is completing her DMin in social transformation from Chicago Theological Seminary.

We hope and pray you will join us. We can’t wait to meet you.