Mediamouse.org was sent the following report back from a local individual who attended the 2008 Jesus Radicals Conference:

This past weekend, over 90 people met at the St. John Episcopal Church in Columbus, Ohio for the 2008 Jesus Radicals Conference. Jesus Radicals is a Christian anarchist website and organization founded about eight years ago. The conference started Friday afternoon after registration and housing arrangements had been made.

The first event was a Service of Prayer and Protest. The conference participants piled on to the Psalter's band vegetable oil tour bus and drove to a local defense supply company on the east side of Columbus. Across the street from the entrance of the plant, we held a short liturgy and communion service.

After returning to the church, people could choose between two concurrent sessions: Anarchism and Christianity Primer or Christianity and the Nation-State. I attended the primer that was facilitated by one of the founding members of the Jesus Radicals website. The session included an overview of the Judeo-Christian scriptures focusing on anti-state passages, a brief description of the basic tenants of anarchism, a Christian anarchist response to Romans 13 and on open discussion.

Following a vegan dinner, the opening plenary session was Dorothy Day's granddaughter describing the life of her grandmother. Dorothy Day was a Catholic convert, radical journalist and dedicated pacifist who established the Catholic Worker newspaper. Dorothy Day lived a life of voluntary poverty and provided housing to the poor through "houses of hospitality," a movement that continues to this day. The session included an in-depth biography of Dorothy Day and readings of her passages regarding issues of Christianity, social justice and anarchism.

Friday ended with the screening of the movie, A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash. This documentary film interviewed a variety of people connected to the oil industry and Washington D.C. who are fully aware that oil production will peak and the American age of cheap gas will come to an end.

Saturday started with breakfast and two more concurrent sessions: Jesus' Beatitudes: A Blueprint for Anarchists and Opting Out: Refusing to Vote as Political Resistance. Since I had already decided not to vote in this year's presidential election, I attended the session on the Beatitudes. The presenter offered an interpretation of the "blessed" statements that describes a process of both individual and social transformation that continually confronts our personal and shared idols.

Immediately following were another two concurrent sessions: Remedying an Unhealthy System of Care and Imagining a Stateless World. I attended the latter. The presenter connected faith, politics, privilege and praxis. He described how privileged radicals could best foster an alternative society through listening to the materially poor in the world and following their directions.

After lunch, two options were again offered: a radical bike tour or an open forum. I had access to a bike and went on the tour of Columbus. Stops included a Sudanese refugee housing and an adjacent abandoned parking lot that is being eyed by developers. We prayed that this land would remain green space and be offered to the Sudanese community for agriculture and recreation. We also biked to one of the Mount Caramel Medical Centers and the Ohio Rehabilitation and Corrections Facility. Spoken words calling for reform along with prayer were offered at each location.

The final plenary session of the conference was a panel of three speakers addressing Christianity, Anarchism and Black Liberation. The first presenter discussed the connection between the Christian abolition movement and its shift towards anarchist thought. The next presenter gave a Black anarchist critique of white privilege, racism and class conflict. They described four tenants that a Christian anarchist movement should include: 1) the movement must be anti-racist, 2) white privilege must be confronted, 3) the movement must be in solidarity with other oppressed peoples, and 4) the Black critique of society must be acknowledged. The final presenter concluded the session by stressing that Christianity, anarchism and Black liberation are not opposed but quite compatible.

This was the first time I had attended a Jesus Radicals conference. I was encouraged to find a wide variety of people subscribing to both Christian and Anarchist beliefs. The conference participants were primarily from the Midwest, but there were people from as far away as Texas, California, Florida and New Mexico. The interaction I had with other people in the conference was challenging, yet inspiring. I had a great time and was reluctant to leave.

For more information and copies of this year and past year sessions, go to: Jesusradicals.com

- A Grand Rapids Christian Anarchist