AUGUST 22-24 | CHICAGO

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GUEST SPEAKERS

Leading the fellowship

Paul VanderKlay

Pastor Paul is the founder of the Estuary™ movement and Pastor of Living Stones Church. Gathering in-person and online, Paul facilitates a wide range of conversations with people interested in and struggling with the deeper aspects of life. He is well known for both his wide-ranging discussions on the modern world and his deeply personal conversations with all kinds of people on his YouTube channel.
Paul's YouTube channel

Jonathan Pageau

Jonathan Pageau is a French-Canadian icon carver, YouTuber and public speaker on symbolism, religion and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. He is the editor of the Orthodox Arts Journal, the host of the Symbolic World blog and podcast and founder of Symbolic World Press.
The Symbolic World

John Vervaeke

John Vervaeke, PhD is a philosopher and cognitive scientist. He is an associate professor and award-winning lecturer at the University of Toronto, teaching in the Department of Psychology. His work and research is far-ranging, including topics such as human intelligence, rationality, wisdom, and AI.
John's YouTube channel

Elizabeth Oldfield

Elizabeth Oldfield hosts The Sacred podcast and is the former director and now senior fellow of the think tank Theos. She appears across the media, including BBC Radio and television, UnHerd, the Financial Times and beyond. Oldfield is also a contributing editor at Comment magazine, Chair of Larger Us and a coach and consultant working with purpose-driven individuals and organisations. She lives in an intentional community in South London with her husband and children.
Elizabeth's Website

Rod Dreher

Rod Dreher is a senior editor of The American Conservative, and writes a widely-read daily blog on the magazine's website, focusing on the intersection of religion, culture, and politics. Dreher is author of the New York Times bestseller The Benedict Option: A Strategy For Christians In A Post-Christian Nation, as well as How Dante Can Save Your Life, The Little Way of Ruthie Leming (2013) and Crunchy Cons. Dreher lives in Baton Rouge with his wife and three children, and worships at St. Matthew's Orthodox Church.
Rod on Substack

Kale Zelden

Kale teaches literature at Portsmouth Abby School in Rhode Island.  He is also a content creator on YouTube and Substack under the name The Underneath, where he discusses current topics in the light of ancient wisdom.
Kale's YouTube channel

GUEST SPEAKERS

Leading the fellowship

Paul VanderKlay

Pastor Paul is the founder of the Estuary™ movement and Pastor of Living Stones Church. Gathering in-person and online, Paul facilitates a wide range of conversations with people interested in and struggling with the deeper aspects of life. He is well known for both his wide-ranging discussions on the modern world and his deeply personal conversations with all kinds of people on his YouTube channel.
Paul's YouTube channel

Jonathan Pageau

Jonathan Pageau is a French-Canadian icon carver, YouTuber and public speaker on symbolism, religion and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. He is the editor of the Orthodox Arts Journal, the host of the Symbolic World blog and podcast and founder of Symbolic World Press.
The Symbolic World

John Vervaeke

John Vervaeke, PhD is a philosopher and cognitive scientist. He is an associate professor and award-winning lecturer at the University of Toronto, teaching in the Department of Psychology. His work and research is far-ranging, including topics such as human intelligence, rationality, wisdom, and AI.
John's YouTube channel

Elizabeth Oldfield

Elizabeth Oldfield hosts The Sacred podcast and is the former director and now senior fellow of the think tank Theos. She appears across the media, including BBC Radio and television, UnHerd, the Financial Times and beyond. Oldfield is also a contributing editor at Comment magazine, Chair of Larger Us and a coach and consultant working with purpose-driven individuals and organisations. She lives in an intentional community in South London with her husband and children.
Elizabeth's Website

Rod Dreher

Rod Dreher is a senior editor of The American Conservative, and writes a widely-read daily blog on the magazine's website, focusing on the intersection of religion, culture, and politics. Dreher is author of the New York Times bestseller The Benedict Option: A Strategy For Christians In A Post-Christian Nation, as well as How Dante Can Save Your Life, The Little Way of Ruthie Leming (2013) and Crunchy Cons. Dreher lives in Baton Rouge with his wife and three children, and worships at St. Matthew's Orthodox Church.
Rod on Substack

Kale Zelden

Kale teaches literature at Portsmouth Abby School in Rhode Island.  He is also a content creator on YouTube and Substack under the name The Underneath, where he discusses current topics in the light of ancient wisdom.
Kale's YouTube channel

What is Estuary?

The Estuary movement was started by Paul VanderKlay and John Vandonk with the goal of creating a welcoming place for serious conversation and personal growth. These groups meet regularly to practice a structured form of dialogue with a focus on meaningful topics to help give people a space and community to talk about the things in life that are most important for people who have no such place in their lives.
Learn more at 
estuaryhub.com

LOCATION

Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church

149 W Brush Hill Rd, Elmhurst, IL 60126Directions

SCHEDULE

Main event is Friday and Saturday.  A more detailed schedule will be available closer to the event

Thursday, Aug 21

Pre-events
Paintball 4 Jesus
BBQ dinner in the park
Thursday events are not included with ticket price.  
They are being organized separately.  
Details and contact info coming soon.

Friday, Aug 22

Morning coffee
• Speaker sessions
• Estuary groups
• Breakout sessions
Lunch provided
• TLC Music
• Roundtable discussions
• Q&A with speakers
Dinner provided

Saturday, Aug 23

Morning coffee
• Speaker sessions
• Estuary groups
• Breakout sessions
Lunch provided
• TLC Music
• Roundtable discussions
• Q&A with speakers
Dinner provided

Sunday, Aug 24

Paul VanderKlay preaching at Elmhurst CRC

HOST

Chicagoland Bridges of Meaning

We are a non-profit based here in Chicago with a mission to support our meetup group here and run conferences like this. Sam Tideman is President, Moises Pacheco is the Vice President, and Dan Wagenmaker is the Secretary and Treasurer.

The Theme: The Fellowship of the Spirit

While many are looking for community, perhaps what we are really looking for is fellowship. A "spirit" of a group can take many forms. Schools can have "school spirit" and a city like Chicago can have its own spirit centered around the fellowship that unites the identities of these sorts of groups. But what would it mean to seek after fellowship in the highest, most eternal, and most universal Spirit? How can this be fostered? How does it sometimes get snuffed out? 
Join us as we seek the fellowship of the spirit.

TICKETS

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Scholarships are available for this event. Contact us and put "Scholarship" as the subject line.

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