May 2018 Newsletter

​Join Us At CNU26 In Savannah!

Just a week away, many of us will be convening in Savannah, GA, for the annual Congress. We have a few events planned for, or led by, members of the Christian Caucus. Please join us to meet and connect with other Christian urbanists! Below is a list of Christian Caucus events at CNU26:

• Members Christian Caucus Breakfast and Annual Business Meeting 
  • Thursday, May 17, 7-9 AM, Sapelo
• Religion in the Public Squares
  • Thursday, May 17, 12:30-1:45 PM, Reynolds
• Open Innovation Session: Nexus of the Faith-Based and New Urbanism
  • Thursday, May 17, 3:30 PM, Chippewa
• Book Presentation - The Embrace of Buildings: Lee Hardy
  • Friday, May 18, 4:30 - 5:00 PM, Madison Ballroom Backstage

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​What We've Been Up To
Call to Action on Cities Statement - Invitation to Sign & Support

In February at UN-Habitat's 9th World Urban Forum (www.wuf9.org) the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) released The Gospel and the Future of Cities: A Call to Action statement. As the world’s population currently living in cities grows from 50% to 70-75% within 20-30 years giving rise to enormous urban, spiritual, social, economic, and environmental challenges, the Call to Action on Cities charges the church to deeply understand, love, and care for cities and their inhabitants from God’s perspective, and to become better equipped and effective for urban presence, ministry, work, and witness. CNU-MCC members will be interested to learn the statement explicitly refers to the Charter for the New Urbanism as a practical resource for the church, and fully quotes the Charter's introduction.

The CNU-MCC's leadership team were asked to sign and support the statement, which they did. You too can read and personally support the statement at this link The Gospel & Future of Cities: A Call To Action statement. To read the WEA’s press release on the statement go to this link

UN-Habitat Faith Based Urban Thinkers - Singapore

​Over a one week period in Singapore in the late fall of 2017, CNU-MCC members Dr. Chris Elisara and Jay Hokstra helped lead two separate, but related global gatherings with significant urban implications from a Christian perspective. The two events were the Urban Shalom Forum, which was explicitly for Christians, and the second was the first ever UN-Habitat Faith-Based Urban Thinkers Campus—which was a multi-faith event. The purpose of these two historic gatherings was to engage with Habitat III’s New Urban Agenda (NUA) from a faith-based perspective, and explore faith-consistent ways and means for implementation.  To read more click this link.
 
Challenging Pastors to Re-envision Sacred Space as Public Space
Last October, Sara Joy Proppe, CNU-MCC Member and leader of Proximity Project, was a speaker at the Twin Cities' Made to Flourish Pastors Network's fall conference - Churches for the Common Good. Focusing on three of the most commonly underutilized spaces on the church properties - parking lots, playgrounds, and yards - she challenged churches to think creatively about how they can use these "sacred" spaces as public spaces on their properties to serve the common good of their neighborhood. A video of the talk is available here.
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Bridging Church and Urbanism Through Walkability
Member Eric Jacobsen was the featured speaker at an event called “Walkability” in West Palm Beach in October. What made the event especially interesting was the fact that it was co-sponsored by secular and Christian communities within the city of West Palm Beach. The event was organized by UniverCity. UniverCity is an initiative of a church plant called Provedencia that puts on classes and workshops focusing on topics of interest for the city of West Palm Beach. It was co-sponsored by the West Palm Beach Downtown Association and hosted by a co-working space called Palm Beach Tech Association. In his talk, Jacobsen engaged the mixed audience with questions about the philosophical/moral issues that lie underneath the walkability vs. automobile oriented development debate. It was a lively conversation and a great example of how good urbanism can provide both an appropriate setting and subject for dialogue among Christian and secular neighbors.  

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Events

Christian Community Development Association Annual Conference:  Nov. 1-3, 2018 (Chicago)

Micah Global Triennial  - Urban Shalom Forum: Sept. 10-14, 2018 (Philippines)

FILE THIS AWAY: UN-Habitat 10th World Urban Forum: 2020 (Abu Dhabi) Details TBA.

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Get Involved

SEEKING A CAUCUS LOGO:
We are actively seeking someone interested in designing the CNU-MCC logo. This Pro-Bono effort will impact our community greatly. Reach out to us.

CNU-MCC EDITOR:
CNU-MCC is now a regular contributor on urban design in the New Urban World Journal published biannually by The Urban Shalom Society. We are looking for someone with writing and editorial experience to plan and manage the content for each issue. To read the current issue of the journal go to this link. If you are interested in this service opportunity please reach out to us.
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SEND US YOUR NEWS AND EVENTS:
If you have news or an event you'd like members to know about please send that information to [email protected] so we can include it in our newsletters.

HELPING HANDS NEEDED:
Interested in helping the CNU-MCC with web and communication needs? Contact us!