ISM Family Reunion 2013 Update

A few of the characters you might run into at Asheville 2013.

It has been three weeks since the announcement of the July 5-8, 2013 ISM Family Reunion in Asheville, North Carolina and thing are already moving along.

To date, 45 people have said that they are coming and 60 have said maybe.  Already, the group represents the gamut of the Independent Sacramental Movement, from traditionalists with pontifical buskins to those who prefer to say Mass barefoot.

This is shaping up to be an event not to miss and, though there are ten months to go, I suggest you start planning now.

Find local information at exploreasheville.com.

Remember:  any and all events are participant organized.  There is no central committee or schedule of official events and venues.  If there is something you would like to see happen or some particular affinity group you'd like to see come together, feel free to make it happen.

Check the ISM Family Reunion Facebook page for updates, further information, and to find those with similar interests. 

Independent Sacramental Movement Family Reunion 2013

Joseph René Vilatte.

Yesterday tentative dates were announced for an Independent Sacramental Movement Family Reunion, which dovetails nicely with the post from a couple weeks ago on finding fellowship in the ISM. 

Some of us from fairly diverse corners of the movement gave the idea of creating some unstructured space to get to know one another a test run over my ordination weekend and found we liked it.  John Plummer, known to many of you as the popularizer of the term ISM, suggested that we try it on a bigger scale.

You'll find full information on an invitation page on Facebook. 

You might think of the proposed weekend as being closer to Burning Man than to a church convention.  There will be no central organization or official events.  People are invited to come to Asheville, North Carolina over the July 4 weekend and organize worship, social time, and interest groups either before hand or on the spur of the moment.  The purpose is simply to strengthen the bonds of fellowship, not to conduct business or make grand proposals.

Here's a bit more information from the Facebook page:

Where:  Asheville, North Carolina
When: Friday, July 5, - Monday, July 8, 2013 -- Or thereabouts. Come and go as you wish!


* The Independent Sacramental Movement (or Independent Catholicism, Old Catholicism, Autocephalous/Non-canonical Orthodoxy, Free Sacramentalism, Alternative Anglicanism, the world of the Wandering Bishops, etc.) is a big, complicated, and sometimes dysfunctional family – and we love it! Despite our considerable differences, we are related to each other, sharing a history and a devotion to sacramental practice. Some of us thought it would be fun to vacation in the same place with the intent of hanging out together. The best opportunities for support and collaboration often arise from friendship, regardless of jurisdictional membership or theology.