Religion: Where It Came From, Where It’s Heading, and How It Continues to Change the World

We are beyond pleased to present this three-part series led by Michael Spath D.Min., Ph.D., which explores why understanding religion is important for our faith today, as we continue to search for meaning and understanding of our place in the universe.
Michael Spath is the founder and executive director of the Indiana Center for Middle East Peace. He holds a Ph.D. in Historical Theology and a Doctor of Ministry degree in New Testament.
We sincerely hope that you enjoy it!
Should you wish to view each part of the series separately, please click one of the links below.

First video in series- April 13th, 2023- Click HERE.

Second video in series- April 20th, 2023- Click HERE.

Third video in series- April 27th, 2023- Click HERE.

 

***In addition to support from Chautauqua Wawasee, other participating organizations are:
College Mennonite Church, Assembly Mennonite Church, Eighth Street Mennonite Church, Goshen College Campus Ministries,
Lifelong Learning Institute of Elkhart, and the Greencroft Communities.

Chautauqua-Wawasee invites you to apply to our juried fine arts festival. To apply as an exhibiting artist, please complete the application by May 1, 2023, or take advantage of the Early Bird Discount and submit your application prior to April 1, 2023. 

Booth space: 12’x12’ $125 per space, plus $25 application/jury fee (per medium).

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT: $100 per space, plus $25 application/jury fee if received by April 1, 2023.

• Artists will be considered pre-juried if they were juried for any previous Wawasee Fine Arts Festival and will be displaying the same medium in the 2023 Festival. Only juried artwork will be allowed to be exhibited.

• Artist set-up on Saturday, May 27th begins at 6:00 a.m. Booth set-up MUST be complete by 8:30 a.m., and please allow yourself enough time to be completely torn down by 5:00 p.m. You will be able to drive right up to your booth area to set up and tear down, however, we ask that you PLEASE have your cars off the lawn at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the festival (8:45 a.m.)!

• Early set-up on Friday, May 26th is available from 4:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Because of other events held at Oakwood, it is very important that we stick to these times.

• All artists will transact their own sales and are responsible for complying with state and local sales tax regulations.

• White tents are preferred but not required.

• Special needs requests will be accepted but not guaranteed.

• Cancellations must be made in written form (mail or email). Cancellations prior to May 15th, 2023 will receive a 50% refund. No refunds will be made for any act of God, local authority or weather-related cancellations of the event.

• Volunteer booth sitters will be available for your short-term needs / breaks.

• Wawasee Fine Arts Festival at Oakwood takes place rain or shine.

• No security for Friday night setup.

• Sorry, no access to electricity is available

 

Art Festival Application 2023

Chautauqua-Wawasee and the Syracuse-Wawasee Historical Museum will once again enjoy local historian Ann Garceau as she narrates a cruise of Lake Wawasee highlighting “Points of Interest” aboard the SS Lillypad II.

This event is always popular so get your tickets early. Ann will share her knowledge about historic hotels, events, property owners, restaurants, entertainment venues, boat taxis, marinas, other points of interest and little-known facts as the SS Lillypad proceeds around the shoreline of the lake. Snack food will be provided along with a cash bar.

Date and time:

Location:

The Frog Tavern 1116 South Harkless Drive Syracuse, IN 46567

Tickets for this event are SOLD OUT.  Please keep your eyes open for details on our fall cruise in September!

WACF Earth Day

Love Nature? Love butterflies? This is the topic to be explored at one session of the upcoming Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation’s Earth Day Festival on May 6th, 2023. WACF is organizing more than twenty educational, fun, hands-on programs and activities to be held outdoors at WACF Education Center south of Syracuse.

Plan to stop by the Chautauqua-Wawasee booth because they need your help to save the Monarch butterfly!

You will learn from the butterfly lady herself, Cindy Gackenheimer, Flutterby Gardens, Claypool, as she shares about the metamorphosis of a butterfly, the Monarch migration pattern this year, and practical steps you can take to help the Monarch. The booth will provide a “kid-friendly” hands-on learning
experience where participants can play a migration game. Also, a special craft is offered which involves stamping the butterfly life cycle on a take-home canvas bag, along with free pollinator seeds to plant which attracts butterflies to your garden or landscape for years to come.

Cost: Free
When: Saturday, May 6,  10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Where: Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation, located at 11586 IN-13, south of Syracuse.

Check back here, or on Facebook for updates, or feel free to give us a call at 574-377-7543.

Religion
RELIGION: Where It Came From, Where It’s Heading, and How It Continues to Change the World

Michael Spath, DMin, PhD

This interactive three-part series explores faith, spirituality and religion – their origins, how they shape and were shaped by the environment, the development of the brain and human social patterns. Why is this important for our faith today as we continue to search for meaning and understanding of our place in the universe?

April 13, 2023 – Religion Before Adam and Eve. Between 50,000-10,000 years ago, Europe experienced an “Upper Paleolithic explosion,” the presence of religious thinking in human burial sites, cave art, and figurines. What do these primitive signs of religion tell us about what our earliest ancestors believed? What are the unconscious and conscious implications for us as people of faith today?

April 20, 2023 – The Creation of Modern Religion: Where Our Faith and Values Were Born. Between 800-200 B.C.E., modern religion was born throughout Greece, India, China, Persia and the Levant, a period scholars call the “Axial Age.” There was a revolution in human thought – a shift toward transcendence, contemplation of humanity’s place in the universe, and understanding of meaning, morality, and mortality.

April 27, 2023 – Religion Present & Future and What It Means to be Human. Is humanity on the verge of a second “Axial Age?” Because of globalism, rapid technological advancements, Artificial Intelligence, and more, we as a species are beginning to take control of our own evolution (homo evolutis). How are these developments changing us, and what are the moral implications of such advancements for our faith?

All sessions will be held from 7:00-8:30 p.m. in Jennings Auditorium, Greencroft Goshen Community Center, 1820 Greencroft Blvd., Goshen, Indiana 46527.

Michael Spath is the founder and executive director of the Indiana Center for Middle East Peace. He holds a PhD in Historical Theology and a Doctor of Ministry degree in New Testament.

In addition to support from Chautauqua Wawasee, other participating organizations are the College Mennonite Church, Assembly Mennonite Church, Eighth Street Mennonite Church, Goshen College Campus Ministries, and the Greencroft Chaplaincy.

Chautauqua Wawasee Programs Set for 2023

By: Mark Knecht, President, Chautauqua Wawasee

After many months of planning, the 2023 programs are now set. All the favorite annual programs are returning, plus a number of new ones. The intent is to balance programs across the four Chautauqua pillars (Arts, Education, Faith, and Recreation). Here is a snapshot.

The 2023 season begins February 10 with the Ball State University Singers whose newest member is Syracuse’s own Devin Van Lue! The Purdue Varsity Glee Club performs in Syracuse every other year and will return in 2024.

In April, Michael Spath will lead a 3-day series to be held in Goshen. The first of the three programs is titled Religion Before Adam & Eve, followed by The Creation of Modern Religion, and the third program Religion: Present & Future. The series explores why understanding religion is important for our faith today, as we continue to search for meaning and understanding of our place in the universe.

In May, the popular S.S. Lilypad Points of Interest Historical Cruise returns, narrated during Wawasee cruise by local historian Ann Garceau. The Wawasee Fine Arts Festival returns for the 9th year at Oakwood, followed by the annual Taps Across the Water Memorial Day weekend tribute to veterans and those who’ve sacrificed their lives for America’s freedom. To celebrate Independence Day, Abagail Adams and Martha Washington present First Ladies, First!, performed by Kim Hanley and Carol Spacht, members of the American Historical Theatre. Later the same day, the annual Fort Wayne Philharmonic Patriotic Pops concert will perform on the lawn of the Oakwood Resort Inn.

In July, a new program titled Wawasee – Walk Down Memory Lane, will be of particular interest to those who have a long history with Syracuse and/or Wawasee. The program will feature three old film clips: a 1937 film cruising around Wawasee’s shoreline, a Spinks Hotel promotion, and short clip of the Chinese Gardens. After viewing the film clips, attendees will have the option (via an open microphone) to share memories. Also, old family home movies will be solicited for showing at a 2024 program.

In August, Chautauqua’s family fun phone videos program returns at the Pickwick with the expectation of a record number of fun clips of dogs, kids, moms, dads and all kind of family silliness. Then, on Labor Day weekend the Digging Through Indiana History 3-Day Series will feature T.J. Honeycutt presenting information about the Treaty of Paradise Spring, and author Lynn Brown will present information from her book Furs and Fevers. The following week, two Miami Nation Elders, Diane Hunter and Dani Tippman, will talk about the history of Miami people, their stories, and their use of plants as food and
medicine.

November features two programs: We all say we love nature, but Does Nature Love You Back? Cliff Kindy, John Edgerton and Dani Tippman will facilitate a workshop exploring how plants teach us, feed us and heal us, and provide plants to touch, smell and maybe taste. The 2023 season ends with the annual community favorite Old Fashioned Christmas in Oakwood.

 

Stay in touch with ChautauquaWawasee on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, or get added to their e-newsletter list.

Join us for a powerful celebration of faith, hope, laughter and love with a sparkling performance from the Ball State University Singers showcasing music that is encouraging, uplifting, and inspiring!

Friday February 10th, 6pm-7:30pm
Wawasee High School Auditorium
1 Warrior Path, Syracuse

General admission seats and VIP seating is available.

Click HERE to purchase tickets.

2022 Chautauqua Wawasee Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration

Chautauqua Wawasee Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration – 2022

Chautauqua-Wawasee’s annual event for mom, dad, grandpa, grandma, and kids of all ages!

Santa, live nativity, Grinch, Frosty, plus other characters, chapel reading of the Christmas story, live reindeer, musical groups, family photo booth, caroling, and more!  Come early to enjoy the music and festivities.

What: Outdoor family Event – dress for warmth
When: November 26, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Where: Oakwood Resort, Syracuse, Indiana
Cost: Free

Visit our Facebook page or call 574-377-7543 for more details.

 

 

2022 Cliff Kindy Workshop

2022 Cliff Kindy Workshop

What if Christians had the passion for peacekeeping that warriors have for war?
Participate in an evening with author and peace-seeker Cliff Kindy, an Indiana organic farmer.
Cliff will share about his many Christian Peacemaker Team journeys (Iraq, Sudan, Iran…), and how he became part of CPTs. The workshop will explore and discuss how Christians who are passionate about peace (everywhere) can pursue the vision of peacekeeping.  Cliff’s session promises to be eye-opening and extremely moving.

Cliff’s book Resurrection Peacemaking recounts his thirty years working with Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), facing violent, unjust regimes in Iraq, Colombia, Israel/Palestine, Nigeria, Mexico, and other trouble spots around the world. Cliff and other CPT volunteers have repeatedly put their lives on the line as they chose to accompany targeted and beleaguered indigenous people who were striving to end violent occupation and warfare in their own lands.
This striving is not only for far-away peoples. It is for us.

Cliff says, “Why will people be willing to risk their lives to confront violence or injustice? For me, that willingness is grounded in the gospel story of Jesus’ resurrection. For others, it will be based in love and goodness. Nonviolence for me is powered by the spirit of resurrection on Easter; it topples empires. But it also exposes the practitioner to transformation; all parties are transformed, or better, ‘plowshared’. Are we willing to nurture our imaginations and take the risks required to replace violence with nonviolence? If so, how would this change America, in terms of policing, politics, wars, family disputes, mass killings, and criminal justice?”

What: Presentation/Discussion/Workshop
When: Sept 28, 6:30-8:30pm
Where: Oakwood Resort Event Center
Cost: Free– Please REGISTER HERE for this event

Then and Now

Local historian Ann Garceau will narrate a Historical Cruise of Lake Wawasee aboard the SS Lillypad II

Chautauqua-Wawasee is repeating last year’s successful “Lake Wawasee, Then & Now” presentation by local historian Ann Garceau of the Syracuse-Wawasee Historical Museum.

As Ann shares interesting stories about historic structures that stood around the lake, you will be able to better visualize them with the aid of a provided pamphlet, Then and Now, picturing what you are hearing about while enjoying what is built there now. Among places that Ann highlights will be the numerous hotels, marinas, entertainment venues, neighborhoods, and historic homes.

Date and time

Thu, September 29, 2022

1:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Location

The Frog Tavern

1116 South Harkless Drive

Syracuse, IN 46567

This event will sell out so click HERE to purchase tickets now!