Entitled "Here in this Place: Anarchism and Christianity in our Context," the weekend's program focused on "how to put your faith and ideas into practice in the belly of the Empire." Workshop sessions included a panel on living in intentional community settings, a dialogue on technology in modern life, and a lecture on the role of Orthodox Christian liturgical tradition in the shaping of Russian anarcho-communism. Local activists contributed to panel on community monitoring of police (see Community Court Watch), gave a tour of the facilities of the Urbana-Champaign IndyMedia Center, and presented a history of the Industrial Workers of the World -- the union to which Catholic Worker founder Dorothy Day belonged.

Worship and prayer was also an important component of the weekend. The opening service included a ceremony of footwashing, which Jesus did for his disciples on the night before his execution, just before they shared "the last supper" together. (Christians re-enact this meal as the sacrament of communion, but most do not re-enact the footwashing.) Several rousing performances were given by the nomadic performance group Psalters, which weaves tribal rhythms and punk-style music into an intense form of prayer-song (see pictures here).

Participants came from a range of Christian backgrounds -- from Mennonite to Methodist, Russian Orthodox to Universalist -- and several non-Christians attended out of curiosity as well. Not everyone agreed on the finer points, and -- as is often the case with both anarchists and Christians -- not everyone agreed on even the basic points! Deliberations filled the weekend on such topics as how to interpret Romans 13, whether to use "king" and "he" to refer to God, the legitimacy of property destruction as an act of resistance, the distribution of money and resources in intentional communities, and the relationship between God's authority and human authority in any form, be it government-building or movement-building. Silences were slightly louder than words around questions of gender roles and male dominance, sexuality, and racism and white privilege.

The thread that drew the group together was a deep belief that empire-like authority that the US government claims is false and not of God; the acts perpetrated in its name are increasingly heinous; and that in order to live a consistent life of faith, Christians must resist this empire and all of its manifestations. The final plenary called the gathered to this task, drawing on a well-known quote by Dorothy Day: "All of our troubles stem from our acceptance of this filthy, rotten system."

CD recordings of the conference will be available for purchase soon. Last year's conference is also available at jesusradicals.com.