The Fourth Annual Provincial Conference will take place on October 10 - October 13 in Glendale, CA (a suburb of greater Los Angeles, CA).

We are delighted to move the Conference to the West Coast for this year and are grateful to our sisters and brothers in the LA Chapter for their offer to host us. We'll gather at St. Mark's Episcopal Church (1020 N Brand Blvd) in Glendale, CA, with the Very Rev. Canon Mark A. Weitzel serving as our hosting rector.

Following our custom over past conferences, this year's conference will begin with Evensong and Benediction on Wednesday the 10th.  We'll end the evening of the 12th and say goodbye after a simple said Morning Prayer on Saturday, October 13th, giving everyone ample travel time to get home.

We look forward to seeing many of you in Los Angeles! For those who were able to make it in previous years, please feel free to share your thoughts on the bulletin board about your time there.

The conference begins on Wednesday, October 10th, from 4:00-5:30 with registration and social hour followed by Solemn Evensong with Benediction at 5:30pm. The schedule will be updated below once it is decided. What is produced below is the general Conference Schedule from previous years. It will be updated.

Wednesday 10/10
4:00-5:30      Registration and Social Hour
5:30              Solemn Evensong and Benediction
6:30              Dinner (Provided)
7:30              Welcome & Thoughts, Fr. Bill Carroll, Society Convener
9:00              Sung Compline

Thursday 10/11
8:00              Morning Prayer
8:30              Opening Meditation
10:00            Presentation 1, Dr. Derek Olsen
Noon            Angelus
12:30            Lunch (Provided)
2:00              Presentation 2, Dr. Charles Stang
4:00              Break
5:30              Evening Prayer
5:45              Solemn Mass and Induction of New Members
7:00              Dinner (Provided)
8:00              Panel Discussion ~ Priestly Spirituality & Social Witness
9:30              Sung Compline

Friday 10/12
8:00              Morning Prayer
8:30              Presentation 3, Mtr. Julie Morris
10:30            Break
10:45            Society Business Meeting
Noon            Angelus
12:30            Lunch (Provided)
2:00              Presentation 4, Fr. Bill Carroll
4:00              Break, then Directed Conversations by Chapters (including Chapterless Members)
5:30              Evening Prayer
5:45              Solemn Mass
7:00              Evening Free to Explore Los Angeles

Saturday 10/13
8:00              Morning Prayer and Low Mass

The Divine Double: "Twinning" in the Eastern Christian Tradition
Dr. Charles Stang, Associate Professor of Early Christian Thought at Harvard Divinity School

Dr. Stang will be exploring the contours of early Christian traditions surrounding "twinning," a concept wherein a person's relationship to Christ becomes so deep that an almost "twin" relationship is formed. In particular, he will explore the way this concept developed with the Apostle Thomas in early texts from Christian communities and considering whether and how this ancient tradition might be retrieved for contemporary spiritual formation. •

Dr. Stang's research and teaching focus is on the history and theology of Christianity in late antiquity, especially Eastern varieties of Christianity. His recent research centers on the development of the ascetico-mystical tradition in Eastern Christianity, and focuses on the early sixth-century writer Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. His first book, Apophasis and Pseudonymity in Dionysius the Areopagite, was published by Oxford University Press in 2012. He is currently at work on a second book on the theme of the divine "twin" or "double" in early Christianity and in adjacent philosophical and religious traditions.

The Abundant Table Community: A Conversation Between Holy Eucharist and Food Systems
The Rev. Julie Morris, Abundant Table Farm Project

The Abundant Table began as an Episcopal/Lutheran campus ministry at California State University, Channel Islands and has developed into a Christian community engaged in food systems transformation.   The Abundant Table includes a house church, a year-long internship program through the Episcopal Service Corps, a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, and a variety of farm-to-school and farm-to-faith education and reflection programs.

Since being ordained in 2001, Mother Morris has worked as an assistant rector, a college chaplain, and a rector in Ventura County, CA. She is a founding member of the Abundant Table Farm Project and currently serves a chaplain to nursing home residents.

Social Transformation and the Christian Year:  The Witness of Vida Scudder
The Rev. Bill Carroll, Ph.D, Rector of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Shawnee, OK

Vida Dutton Scudder (1861-1954), a laywoman and English professor at Wellesley, is one of several well-known proponents of Christian Socialism in the Anglo-Catholic tradition.   Both in a tract from the Anglo-Catholic Congress published in 1925 and in a longer book, she reflects on Christian social teaching in light of the liturgical year.   Her reflections are deeply grounded in the meaning of the seasons and the lessons appointed, as well as the fact of their corporate observance year by year.  These thoughts are potentially useful not only to avowed Christian socialists but to any who would take the social and material implications of the Catholic faith seriously.

Father Carroll did his undergraduate study at Harvard in Philosphy, and then received his Ph.D from the University of Chicago Divinity School, where he wrote a dissertation on 13th Century commentaries on John's Gospel by St Thomas Aquinas, St. Bonaventure, and Meister Eckhart.  Fr. Carroll is currently serving as Rector of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Shawnee, OK and working on a book about Thomas Merton's teachings on spiritual poverty and humility. He is a life professed member of the Third Order Franciscans and convener of the SCP in North America.

Attentiveness: Liturgical and Scriptural Formation and the Anglo-Catholic Social Tradition
Dr. Derek Olsen, Theologian-in-Residence at Church of the Advent in Baltimore, MD

How does social consciousness relate to a movement best known for elaborate liturgy and ceremonial? What is the role of liturgical prayer in solving the ills of the world outside our naves? Drawing on Scripture and the Anglo-Catholic tradition of liturgical prayer, Dr. Olsen will discuss how a vibrant liturgical spirituality draws us into--rather than away from--engagement with and advocacy for justice and reconciliation in the political and social orders.

Dr. Olsen received a Ph.D. in New Testament from Emory University with a dissertation on the liturgical and homiletical  interpretation of Scripture in early medieval English monasticism. Currently serving as Theologian-in-Residence at the Church of the Advent, Baltimore, he writes on liturgical spirituality, medieval monasticism, Anglican history, and related issues on his blog at http://haligweorc.wordpress.com/ and is the creator of the on-line St. Bede's Breviary. His writing also appears on the web and in print at The Episcopal Cafe, The Living Church, and the Washington Post. Married to SCP member Mother Meredith Kefauver Olsen, they have two wonderful daughters. He is delighted to be presenting again at the conference for a third time!

Opening Meditation
The Rev. Tom Carey, SSF, Vicar at Church of the Epiphany, Los Angeles, CA

Father Carey, SSF, is Vicar of the Church of the Epiphany, the oldest continuous Episcopal Church in the Diocese of LA and the cradle of the Latino rights movement in LA and beyond.  Fr. Carey is a person of multiple talents, having graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Spanish, followed by 13 years of teaching theater to inner city children and poetry for the NYC Public Schools. He became a brother of the Society of St. Francis in 1988, serving within the order in multiple roles, and after graduating from CDSP in 2002, as deacon and priest at St. Patrick's, Deer Park, NY and Church of the Redeemer, Astoria, Queens, NY.  He is the author of two published books: a collection of poems called Desire (1997 Painted Leaf Press) for which he was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award, and a novel of Mexico, entitledSmall Crimes (Blazevox Books, 2011).

Conference Fee Includes

Your registration fee for the Conference includes dinner on Wednesday and Thursday evenings as well as lunch on Thursday and Friday, costs for presenters, and other administrative costs associated with the Conference. The registration fee also includes your annual dues for FY2013 (July 2012-June 2013).

If you have any dietary restrictions, please be sure to note that in the registration form. 

Lodging

The Conference Hotel is the Hilton Hotel (100 W Glenoaks Blvd) in Glendale, CA. Rooms may be reserved either as single king beds or as two double beds. The room rate for our Conference is $145 per night, a discount of over 33% of the current room rate. Furthermore, with each room reservation, the Hilton Glendale is including, free of charge:

• Complimentary Shuttle Service to and from Burbank Airport.
• Complimentary full cooked breakfast with cooked to order omelet station.
• Complimentary high speed internet access in guest roooms.
• Also, for thsoe who would like to upgrade to the Executive level, they may do so at a reduced cost of an extra $30 per night. Simply indicate such to the Hotel when you make your reservation.

You can book your room online by going to: http://tinyurl.com/bpbvbhc. Or, if you prefer, you can call the the Hotel and give the group code "Society of Catholic Priests." The room block is limited, so book early to ensure you get our group rate!

If you would like to find a roommate, we commend the Society listserv as a resource. If you are not already on the listserv, you can contact our Communications Director, the Rev. Chris Arnold at for assitance.

Travel to Glendale, CA

Though we are in the Los Angeles area, LAX will not be the most convenient airport for this Conference! Most people will want to fly into Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, CA (airport code: BUR). If you are staying at the Hilton Glendale (the Conference Hotel), they will arrange complimentary shuttle service for you to and from the Burbank Airport. 

If you are flying in but for whatever reason are not staying at the Conference Hotel, a taxi from the airport will cost around $25.00.

Financial Assistance with Registration Fee

For those clergy or seminarians for whom the registration fee would be prohibitive, there are limited funds available to assist. There are also a limited amount of scholarships available to cover travel costs for those who don't have funds for such. Please send those requests or any other questions regarding registration to the Society's Treasurer, the Very Rev. Jared C.Cramer at jcramer@thescp.org