Greetings Episcopal Churchmen of Tennessee, I hope this day finds each of you well and enjoying God’s Blessings,

I am excited to announce that registration for the 75^th Annual Laymen’s Conference, to be held in-person at DuBose Conference Center, is now open!  Please register today at this link:  https://tnchurchmen.org/register/

Since last year’s all-virtual Laymen’s Conference, the board has been preparing for the 2021 conference with great excitement and anticipation.  We are confident the 75^th Annual Conference will give laymen the opportunity to enjoy an in-person conference experience on the mountain, following the prevailing public health guidance in August, 2021. 

For those unable to attend in person, we will also offer the opportunity to virtually participate in a limited conference experience.  This will look very similar to last year’s conference when we uploaded pre-recorded content of the bishops and music, as well as the keynote speakers.  Registration for the virtual conference will not be open until in-person registration has closed.  The conference brochure is at the printer and should be mailed to Key Men in each diocese within the next few weeks.

I think we have a tremendous lineup of speakers this year, all addressing the conference theme:  “Life After…a look at the Christian perspective on dealing with life transitions and how we approach, embrace, and thrive after them”.  Our Scripture link to this year’s theme is Romans 8:28 “In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose”

Our keynote speakers will be:

• Mr. Willie Roaf (brother of Bishop Phoebe), NFL Hall-of-Famer on “Life After the NFL” (Pre-Recorded)
• Dr. Peter Doherty, Nobel Laureate in Infectious Diseases on “Life After COVID” (Pre-Recorded)
• Bob Corker, former U.S. Senator on “Life After Politics”  (IN PERSON)

In addition to our standard keynote speakers, we are also planning on adding informal “campfire discussions”, on theme-related topics, to be led by laymen Friday and Saturday nights.

Also new in 2021:  a Friday afternoon tailgate and Friday night fish fry, moving the BBQ contest to Saturday to hopefully allow for more participation, and a beer brewing contest.  Additionally, we are also coordinating with the 3 Bishops to include a new Friday afternoon offering called “Episcopal 101”.  Plus we will have all the other regular activities on the mountain that we have enjoyed at the conference over the years.

I don’t need to tell each of you that 2021 is a pivotal year for this conference.  Not only is it our 75^th Anniversary, but obviously we are anxious to come back from last year with a stellar conference experience.  Please consider joining us at DuBose Conference Center August 20-22^nd, and also consider bringing friends from your parish this year.

I look forward to gathering on the mountain with you on August 20^th.

Peace,

Rob Clark, President
Episcopal Churchmen of Tennessee
901-596-5168