2017 President Greg Champion from East Tennessee has set the dates and theme for the 71st annual laymen’s conference. The theme is:

The Mission of the Church is the Mission of Christ
“Don’t be afraid from now on you will fish for people” Luke 5:11

We hope to see you on the mountain August 18-20, 2017!

Dear Brothers in Christ,
As the summer begins, I hope that each one of you is planning to come to the mountain for the 70th Annual Conference of the Episcopal Churchmen of Tennessee–which we’ve all come to know as the Laymen’s Conference–August 19-21, 2016. Hopefully, you already received the registration flyer in the mail.
The theme of this year’s conference is “Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.” (Ps. 96:1). One of the things that I always enjoy about the Laymen’s Conference is when we lift up our voices in the pavilion and in All Saints’ Chapel on Sunday morning. I found three speakers–Gary Morris, Phil Madeira, and the Rev. Geoffrey Butcher–for whom music has been an integral part of their Christian faith and how music likewise has shaped us in our lives in Christ. As always, we will also have our famous rib-cooking contest Friday evening and our Saturday recreation time.
Register online at www.tnchurchmen.org — we look forward to seeing our old friends, making new ones, and celebrating our common life in Christ.
Shelton Clark
Christ Church Cathedral, Nashville
President, Episcopal Churchmen of Tennessee
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2016 ECT President Shelton Clark has set the theme for the 70th Annual Conference.  With a focus on music, the theme for this year is “Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.” Ps. 96:1.  Look out for more information, or learn more about the speakers here.

• Each team must be associated with a parish.
• The entry fee of $25 is to cover the cost of trophies.
• There will be two categories for trophies – ribs and sauces.
• Each team is to provide (at its own cost) and cook a minimum of 10 slabs of pork ribs – your choice of baby back, spare, St. Louis, etc.  You may cook more if you like.
• Each team must provide its own smoker, wood, charcoal, tables, utensils, sauces, refreshments, etc.
• All ribs must be cooked on site (no pre-cooking, except that if you par-boil your ribs as a first step, you may do so off site and then smoke the par-boiled ribs on site.)  Sauces may be prepared off site.
• The judging will be by “People’s Choice.”  Attendees purchasing tasting tickets will receive one ballot each for ribs and for sauces for each $5 in tickets purchased.
• A ballot box will be maintained at the ticket sales table, All ballots must be placed in the box by 5:00 pm CDT Friday afternoon.  At 5:01 pm CDT, the table cashier will remove the box and, in the presence of one attendee from each of the two sections of Tennessee the table cashier does not represent, will tally the ballots.  The results will be presented to the President of the TN Episcopal Laymen in a sealed envelope, signed over the seal by each of the three tellers.  The President will cause the winners to be announced and trophies presented at the Friday evening dinner.

For questions, contact Eric Haralson at habitatnut@aol.com .

Download Rules Here

The 69th Laymen’s Conference theme is from Mark 4:34 “But without a parable spake he not unto them – The power of stories to inspire and transform”.  This theme was chosen to highlight the importance of Jesus’s style of using parables to influence his followers, in his time and today.