[Dialogue] 50th Anniversary in Chicago

[Terry Bergdall]

As you know, 2012 marks the 50th Anniversary of Joseph Mathews accepting
his appointment as Dean of the Ecumenical Institute. This set in motion
work that has since resulted in the establishment of ICA organizations
around the world. While several decentralized events have been scheduled in
many cities (see our website for dates and locations), I have also been
asked about the celebration in Chicago. For those of you who might be
interested in participating, here are our plans.



Saturday, September 15, 2012, ICA-USA will host an important citywide
“Sharing Approaches That Work” conference on grassroots sustainability. We
anticipate that approximately 600 people from Chicago’s 77 community areas
will participate. This program, known as “Accelerate 77,” is repositioning
the public profile of ICA. For example, one of our new partners is the
Field Museum, Chicago’s world class museum of natural history. In two
weeks, the Field Museum is hosting a gathering of the “Accelerate 77”
Advisory Committee that is likewise composed of key figures from the city.
This represents a new day for us. For more info, visit our website,
www.ica-usa.org, and click on programs.


We consider it appropriate to celebrate ICA’s 50th Anniversary by “Sharing
Approaches That Work” focused on the future. For those of you who would
like to participate in this event, we invite you to join us during the
final prep work a few days before and then stay to help host participants
during the event itself. On the day after (Sunday, September 16), we will
have an internal “after party” celebration.



For those who might have more time, we invite you to consider coming to
Chicago to play a role as a “mentoring guide” during our summer intern
program in June and July. This will involve 40 students and builds upon
work we are currently doing with over 180 university students. Serving as a
“guide” requires a minimum commitment of three weeks. While I am happy to
share additional details for those who want to know more, here are some
anticipated benefits we see for those who serve as "guides:"



(1) practical engagement in an edge program that strategically addresses a
major social contradiction of the Twenty-First Century;

(2) creating the future legacy of EI/OE/ICA by integrating methods,
processes, and contextual perspectives from the past into a contemporary
program of today;

(3) an opportunity to self-consciously play the role of an elder through
sharing wisdom with, and learning from, “Generation Y;”

(4) re-experience the rich collegiality that uniquely occurs when people
share a common contextual understanding and are engaged in a significant.
and demanding, task;

(5) participation in a fulfilling program that is going to be a load of fun!


These are the 50th Anniversary activities planned for Chicago. If anyone
would like more information, please write to Seva Gandhi,
sgandhi at ica-usa.org, ICA-USA’s volunteer coordinator, or Nina Winn,
nwinn at ica-usa.org, ICA-USA’s “Accelerate 77” coordinator, and copy me,
tbergdall at ica-usa.org.
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