You Are Invited…

Just Elders began with this invitation!

February, 2017

Dear Friends/Colleagues:

For the past year or so, a group of us has been meeting virtually on a monthly basis to stay connected, to reflect on the directions of our lives, and to encourage each other in our various efforts for justice.  Last month, we met face-to-face for a day and decided to convene a retreat of people with whom we have shared interests and values, who are dear to our hearts and for whom we have great respect.   You fit that bill and are on our list of invitees.

The accompanying Convening Statement of Just Elders offers a sense of what we hope to achieve in this retreat.  Frankly, we will consider it a success simply to have some extended time together with interesting, courageous people whose friendship and collegiality have been critical to our life journeys.  We want to hear each other’s stories; to reflect on this stage of our lives amidst deeply troubling realities in our nation and world; to encourage each other in our current engagements for justice; and to discern whether/how God might be calling us into a communal effort (perhaps even a national movement) of elders utilizing both relational organizing and social media tools in the ongoing struggle for justice.

While the retreat will be strengthened by the experiences of participants in organizing, we want to be clear that Just Elders is an emerging, independent movement that has no ties to any organizing network.

The retreat will be at the Cenacle Retreat and Conference Center, 513 W. Fullerton Pkwy, Chicago, starting at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, April 25 and concluding at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 26.  Attendees pay for their own accommodations and travel.

single rooms (which includes lodging, meals, and meeting space, including tax) $125.00/night.
double room (that includes lodging, meals, and meeting space, including tax) $100.00/night.
commuter rate (which includes meals and meeting space) $47.50/day.

Scholarships from a modest travel fund will assist those flying from a distance who need financial help to attend.  Up to $250 per person is available until the fund is exhausted.

But remember it is our agenda. It will be about us. We have the stories. We will discern how God might be calling us to live and act in this time.

With hope that you will be able to join us!

Rev. Don Burton, Rev. Susan Engh, Gregory Galluzzo, Mary Gonzales, Rev. Dennis Jacobsen, Rev. Bruce McKay, Rev. Charles Mock, Rev. Keith Olstad, Dr. Ann Smith