The Board of Directors for Eighth Day Institute has been hard at work over the last six months. Today I’d like to share with you some of the fruit of that work. But first let me express my deep gratitude to each Director of the Board for all the time and energy and money they have invested into EDI. Many thanks to Fr. Geoff Boyle (President), Rex Casner (Treasurer), Anthony Jacobs, Stephanie Mann, Jesse Penna, Adam Rorabaugh (Secretary), and Joshua Sturgill! And many, many thanks to all former directors of the board who helped carry us thus far. Now, here’s what we’ve been up to:
1. We hammered out our first official Mission Statement:
The mission of Eighth Day Institute is to bring all Christians together for a dialogue of love and truth by returning to the common heritage of ancient Christianity through events and publications to overcome divisions and renew culture through faith and learning.
2. We also put together a slightly more developed explanation of Eighth Day Institute, which we’re calling our Elevator Pitch. If somebody asks you what EDI does, here’s how you can answer them:
In an isolating secularized culture where the church’s voice is muffled through her many divisions, Christians need all the help they can get to strengthen their faith in God and love toward their neighbor. Eighth Day Institute offers hope to all Christians through our adherence to the Nicene faith, our ecumenical dialogues of love and truth, and our many events and publications to strengthen faith, grow in wisdom, and foster Christian friendships of love.
3. We’ve also put together a new Advisory Board
that includes Hans Boersma, Warren Farha, Vigen Guroian, Jessica Hooten Wilson, Christian Kettler, Alexis Torrance, and Ralph Wood. We’re in the process of creating a new webpage that will provide more information about EDI’s leadership, i.e. brief bios on the board of directors and the advisory board members. For now, I’ll share with you what we envision for the advisory board:
The Advisory Board will comprise of professional theologians, historians, literary critics, and others who share our commitment to cultural renewal through faith and learning. It is our hope that this Advisory Board would contribute toward the mission of EDI in two particular ways:
1) By attending an annual meeting in January, aligned with our annual EDI Symposium, to brainstorm and advise the Director in at least two ways: a) continuing to fulfill and remain true to our mission; and b) determining themes and presenters for the three main events held in the upcoming year (Symposium, Florovsky-Newman Week, and Inklings Festival).
2) By annually contributing at least two pieces of writing of 800-2500 words, one of your own choosing pertinent to our mission and the other pertinent to one of the three event themes.
While the Governing Board will handle the day-to-day operations of EDI, the Advisory Board will foster the substantial direction for the mission of EDI.
4. We have begun recording an Eighth Day Podcast, which is scheduled to be launched at the Inklings Festival. The podcast will be published weekly and will appear in four forms (official titles still to be determined): 1) After Hours Hall of Men; 2) That They All May Be One (dialogues for overcoming doctrinal divisions); 3) Patristic Word; and 4) Great Conversations (with Authors and Event Speakers).
5. We have taken some small steps toward the formation of Hall of Men Chapters
and are slowly but consistently working toward that finally becoming a reality. It will include the publication of a book on cultural renewal, the veneration of saints, and a defense of the Hall of Men as a foundation for cultural renewal; it will also include a guide and resources to help you form your own chapter.
6. We are still working on the creation of a New Membership Site, which will host the Digital Library, the Premium Blogs (Florovsky Archive and The Moot), video content of our events, and Digital Downloads of all past publications. The site will also provide the ability for members to engage one another (and EDI content) with forums, comments, and messaging, sort of like our own (sane) version of Facebook. We’ll be launching later this fall so stay tuned.
7. We are making a few changes to the Digital Synaxis:
Beginning October 1, all email subscribers will receive Microsynaxis
on Thursdays. This is the short version, which consists of three parts (plus any extra news): 1) Bible & the Fathers; 2) Books & Culture; and 3) Essays et al.
Beginning October 4, all
Eighth Day Members
will receive
Synaxis
on Sundays. This is the much longer and beefier (and time-consuming to produce) weekend version everyone has been receiving for the last couple of months. It consists of 8 parts, plus an epilogue: 1) The Bible; 2) The Liturgy; 3) The Fathers; 4) Books & Culture; 5) Poetry; 6-8) Essays et al; and Epilogue: The Dreher Roundup.
For the month of September, I’ll be sending both Microsynaxis
and Synaxis
to all email subscribers so everyone can see the sort of content that will be included in each digital publication. This will help you make a more informed decision about what you want to receive come October.
I’m a visionary and a creator. For my first decade with Eighth Day Books I envisioned. For the second decade (and beyond) I founded Eighth Day Institute and have been creating, creating, creating. For the last two years the EDI Board of Directors has been trying to reign me in, working with me to clarify our mission, to focus our work, and to execute it with consistency and excellence. Let me end today’s email by offering you a concise overview of the events and publications we produce in an effort to overcome Christian divisions and to renew our dying culture:
Local Community Groups:
- Hall of Men
- Sisters of Sophia
- Others (Cappadocian Society, New Moot, Preachers Colloquium)
Featured Events:
- Eighth Day Symposium (Jan)
- Florovsky-Newman Week (June)
- Inklings Festival (Oct)
Feasts:
- St Patrick (Mar)
- St John of Damascus Award (Aug)
- Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Dec)
Other Events:
- Eighth Day Seminars
- Eighth Day Retreats
- Running for Renewal
Publications:
- Microsynaxis
- weekly on Thursdays
- Synaxis
- weekly on Sundays
- Eighth Day Moot
- tri-annually released at each featured event (Jan, June, Oct)
- Catechetical Word from the Fathers
- tri-annually released at each feast (Mar, Aug, Dec)
- The Christian News-Letter
- annual report with excerpts from EDI work (Nov/Dec)
- Eighth Day Blogs: Essays, Patristic Word, Book Reviews, Liturgy, Poetry
- Premium Eighth Day Blogs: Florovsky Archive, The Moot
- Podcasts forthcoming: After Hours Hall of Men, That They All May Be One, Patristic Word, Great Conversations
I hope and pray the work of Eighth Day Institute will bless you and strengthen you, and that it will contribute to the unity of the Church and promote the renewal of our culture. May God strengthen you and bless you richly in these crazy times.
In Christ,
Erin "John" Doom
Founder & Director, Eighth Day Institute
