Eikon Church - Little Rock, AR

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home sweet home: announcing our new meeting space Posted by Ryan Byrd 02.08.2010 8:54 am

confessional booth

several days ago we made the exciting announcement that this coming sunday, february 14, we’ll be kicking off weekly gatherings. we’ll begin this new phase of our community with a series called confessional booth that will take a look at the guiding theologies of our church. think eikon meets postsecret. it should be a really great time to learn about this thing called eikon and connect with a new faith community.

as promised, we’ve got a few new details to share between now and then and this is the biggest. we’re incredibly excited to announce that after meeting in temporary spaces for the past several months, we have a new, (semi-)permanent home. since the inception of eikon in mid-2009, we’ve built a relationship with r street community church and have begun the process of finding ways to build partnerships with them in order to better connect with little rock. so, just as any other good friend does, r street is letting crash on their proverbial couch for a little while. :)

so, beginning this sunday, our new meeting space will be at r street community church’s building, located on the corner of r st. and university ave. in the midtown/heights area. it will be more than sufficient for our growing community and should be a great space until we transition into our own space in the late summer/early fall.

one of the things we’re particularly excited about with this new space is the fully functional children’s areas. whereas we’ve been limited with our childrens’ activities due to our previous meeting spaces, this new space will allow for us to begin to fully realize our commitment to families with children. so, if you have children, know that your child(ren) will have a space committed to them with competent and caring workers.

we’d love for you to partner with us in getting the word out and making this a big night. so, feel free to forward this blog post on to friends, twitter it, post it on facebook or—as crazy as this sounds—have an actual real life conversation with friends and coworkers. :)

see you on sunday, february 14 at 6 p.m. for confessional booth!

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Posted in announcements, childcare, core values, gatherings, information, worship | 4 Comments »



i do confess: our biggest announcement yet Posted by Ryan Byrd 02.02.2010 8:47 am

confessional booth

last june, this thing called eikon kicked off, publicly, with a little cookout with some burgers, some beers and a handful of sorted people. since that time, we’ve connected with new friends and grown over the course of informational meetings, guided conversations and, over the last few months, a handful of worship gatherings. in just the last 6 or 7 months, we’ve come a long way in the initial phases of forming this thing we call a church.

now, we’re incredibly excited to share with everyone that we’ve reached the next step in the process of fleshing out our growing community. on sunday, february 14, we’ll take a big step forward by kicking off weekly gatherings. as mentioned, so far we’ve had worship gatherings every few weeks, but now, we’re ready to move to something more regular that will help to foster a more fluid community.

along with the announcement of moving to weekly gatherings, we’re also excited to announce that we’ll be kicking things off with a 6-week series called confessional booth. one of our deepest convictions at eikon is that the church—in the universal sense—has certainly made innumerable positive contributions to the world, but we’ve also helped to create quite a bit of warranted mistrust, division and disbelief (among other things). throughout this series, we want to take the opportunity to address and confess some of these shortcomings and dream together about some ideas that will hopefully help to chart a new course. no doubt, we at eikon will do our fair share of screwing things up, getting things wrong and even adding to the problem at times, but we hope, throughout the themes of the series, to share our values that offer an alternative to those missteps.

as opposed to the typical scenario where the “congregant” confesses to a clergy member, the thrust of our series will be us confessing to you. we want to be honest and offer a sense of humility as we talk frankly and openly. at the same time, we’re excited to offer everyone a chance to bear their soul a little. now, we’re not going to have an actual confessional booth or some kind of awkward moment where we call people out, but we think we’ve come up with some creative ways to “come clean”. think confessional meets postsecret. that’s the idea, so we hope you come out to experience it!

over the next several days, we’ll trickle out some other helpful details, so be sure to check back regularly. throughout this and upcoming related announcements, the general theme—in the end—is that we’re incredibly excited and we would really love for you to be a part of this important time for our growing community.

we’d love for you to partner with us in getting the word out and making this a big night. so, feel free to forward this blog post on to friends, twitter it, post it on facebook or—as crazy as this sounds—have an actual real life conversation with friends and coworkers. :)

see you on sunday, february 14 for confessional booth!

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Posted in announcements, core values, events, gatherings, information, theology, worship | 2 Comments »



CONNECT worship gathering evaluation form Posted by Ryan Byrd 02.01.2010 3:58 pm

connect an eikon worship gathering

last night, many of you attended our worship gathering at sticky fingerz and helped to make it a big success! we had a great time and we hope you did as well.

certainly, there were plenty of places where things didn’t go as planned or that we would have loved to have a re-do, but all in all, we were well pleased. to ensure that we make it the best we possibly can, we ask you to sacrifice just a few minutes of your time and fill out this evaluation. it will greatly help us to improve these types of gatherings and provide a better experience for everyone.

**also, as a sidenote, we have what is likely our biggest announcement to date coming up by day’s end or first thing tomorrow morning. so, make a point to check back soon as we’re really excited to share it with you!**

thanks in advance!!

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one more chance to CONNECT Posted by Ryan Byrd 01.26.2010 7:45 am

connect an eikon worship gathering

a couple weeks ago, we gathered, once again, to worship together at sticky fingerz. all in all, we had a great time of connecting, continuing to build community and engaging in a great conversation. through this series of gatherings called CONNECT, we’ve looked at the various ways that eikon is looking to focus on and build connections. we’ve looked at our focus on connecting with our city and connecting with each other and now we hope to add another layer.

so, we’re excited to announce CONNECT: an eikon worship gathering. on sunday, january 31 at 6:00 pm, we’ll be gathering, once again, at sticky fingerz (see map here).

for those who have joined us at our past worship gatherings, you’ll notice we’ve expressed ourselves in a number of ways including the following: engaging in conversation, singing, listening, sharing stories, praying, eating, drinking, watching, hearing, thinking and, ultimately, connecting with god and each other. one of our values in regards to our gatherings is that we want to create a sense of familiarity, but not predictability. so, for this gathering, while you’ll notice many of the same elements as those in the past, we will certainly be employing some new modes of expression and connection. in the end, we think everyone will find something in which they can connect with both god and each other.

as with our other gatherings, we’re excited to once again offer free, quality childcare. we’ll have some more info very soon here on the blog about childcare and how you can RSVP your children for those services.

so, mark your calendars, invite some friends, retweet this, put it on facebook. this should be an incredible night to CONNECT with both god and each other.

see you on sunday, the 31st at sticky fingerz!

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Posted in announcements, events, gatherings, information, worship | 2 Comments »



RSVP: worship gathering childcare Posted by Ryan Byrd 01.15.2010 6:13 pm

connect an eikon worship gathering

this sunday night, we’ll once again be gathering for a time of worship at sticky fingerz. if so inclined, you can find all the details here. much like our other gatherings, we’re excited to once again offer free, quality childcare.

since our worship gathering will be at sticky fingerz, the space won’t lend itself to onsite childcare. fortunately, though, our (ryan & christen’s) house is only 5 minutes from the venue, so we’ll be hosting the childcare in our home (google maps link).

having our own children and understanding parents’ concerns, we are committed to having quality, competent care in a clean, child-friendly space. so, a qualified (trained with background checks) worker will be taking care of the children. if you have any questions about our home or the type of care your children will receive, please feel free to contact me at 501.551.8118 or christen at 501.551.8117.

we ask that you drop your children off at our home between 5:30 and 5:50 pm (at the very latest) and pick them up within 30 minutes of the gathering ending. we ask that anything you bring—diaper bags, bottles, food containers, pacifiers, etc—be clearly marked with your child’s name.

an RSVP email is required for attendance. using the form on our contact page, please include the following information:

  1. primary parental contact name
  2. children’s name(s) and age(s)
  3. parent/guardian phone number

address

see you sunday night!

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Posted in announcements, childcare, events, gatherings, information, worship | 1 Comment »



an open invitation to lend a hand Posted by Ryan Byrd 12.31.2009 4:46 pm

eikon START teamover the course of the last 6 months, we’ve begun the process of the actual physical formation of eikon. we’ve had an incredible response and we’ve been able to connect with so many different kinds of people that we would have never guessed. over the last couple months, we’ve offered people a chance to marry their verbal intentions with a physical means of carrying them out. that process has been called the START team. in essence, it’s just a group of volunteer people who have committed to learning more about eikon and taking an active role in the start of the church.

with the dawn of 2010 (twenty-ten or two thousand ten??), we’re turning a corner in terms of the nature of the START team. whereas we’ve spent our previous sessions dealing with the theoretical aspects of eikon (i.e. why? what? who? when? etc.) and have asked for an initial, concrete commitment, we’re now asking others to join with us in the pragmatic aspect of forming a new community. what that ultimately means is mobilizing people to just do stuff. all kinds of stuff: offer further insights, seal envelopes, move chairs, fold handouts, design graphic pieces, do photography, shake hands, be a smiling face…just stuff. with the official start day (regular, weekly gatherings) for eikon coming in mid-february (be on the lookout for some more clues on that very soon), we’ve got plenty of stuff to do. and that ultimately means that we need some more helping hands. we need you! (see, i used an exclamation point to tell you that…so it must be important! see, there’s another one…)

UPCOMING MEETINGS

we’ll have 3 meetings in january (and likely 1 in february), so we’d love for anyone and everyone to be a part of those. the first one will be this coming sunday, january 3 at 6 p.m. john and shannon hardin have graciously opened their home (see map here), so it will be a very casual environment. we’ll build in some time for drinks and light snacks, so you’ll have a chance to catch up and hang out a little. also, we’ll be offering childcare on location, so feel free to bring the kids (if you plan to bring children, please drop us a note letting us know asap).

if you have any additional questions, feel free to shoot us an email at info [at] eikonthechurch [dot] com or leave a comment. see you sunday night!

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modVent 2.0 evaluation form Posted by Ryan Byrd 12.21.2009 7:54 am

modvent an eikon advent gathering

sunday night, many of you attended the second of two modVent worship gatherings and helped to make it a big success! we had a great time and we hope you did as well.

certainly, there were plenty of places where things didn’t go as planned or that we would have loved to have a re-do, but all in all, we were well pleased. to ensure that we make it the best we possibly can, we ask you to sacrifice just a few minutes of your time and fill out this evaluation. it will greatly help us to improve these types of gatherings and provide a better experience for everyone.

thanks in advance!!

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Posted in information | 1 Comment »



announcing EIKON | WHERE Posted by Ryan Byrd 10.19.2009 10:11 am

EIKON | WHERE

i’m glad to announce our next monthly big group gathering. once again this month, we’ll be hanging out at gusano’s this coming sunday, october 25 from 6 – 8 p.m. this gathering will be called EIKON | WHERE: a conversation about our community.

we had a really great, fruitful conversation with last month’s EIKON | WHO & we think this conversation will be another building block in the larger conversation about what this thing called eikon is all about. specifically, this conversation will be about little rock and, in broader terms, how people in this area—this community—view and engage the church. there’s a very particular culture here not only in little rock, but the south and the greater bible belt that informs how we do community and, ultimately, this thing called church.

as always, the conversation is incomplete without you! as cliché as that might sound, it’s very true. if i get up and spout off my feelings about the cultural and religious climate of little rock, i may certainly make some valid points, but the conversation, at best, will be incomplete. we really hope that a lot of different people will bring a lot of different viewpoints that will ultimately tell us about the community around us.

as always, i like to offer a bit of a disclaimer: NOTE TO THE INTROVERTS WHO ARE CRINGING AND DRY HEAVING RIGHT NOW (which actually includes myself, in terms of the introvert personality type): because I can certainly empathize, you don’t need to worry about being called on, called out or singled out. it’s your choice about how much or how little you contribute to the conversation. while we encourage active participation, we want to honor the fact that everyone engages in different ways. some do it by talking, while some do it by listening. so, please discontinue your dry heaving…no need to panic…you’re in good hands with eikon. :)

so, here’s the details:

where: gusano’s pizzeria
when: sunday, october 25 from 6 – 8 pm
what: EIKON | WHERE: a conversation about our community
who: everybody come out, bring some friends…the more, the merrier

for the first hour-ish, we’ll be eating, drinking and doing all things that conjure merriment. somewhere around 7ish, we’ll shift into the conversation. so, even if you just want to drink and heckle, this will be the type of gathering to attend. :)

see you this sunday!

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Posted in announcements, events, gatherings, information | 1 Comment »



UPDATED: you’re invited: EIKON’s a day at the park Posted by Ryan Byrd 10.03.2009 5:29 am

UPDATE (10/3/09):

friends, allow me to share a screenshot that was taken just a few moments ago on a well-known crystal ball-esque website that we all know and love.

eikon's a day at the park

yes, indeed, this is a screenshot from weather.com that shows the weather for tomorrow—the day of our planned picnic.

to pull a verse from matthew 5 completely out of context (maybe i’ll blog or preach about this often abused verse), he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. so, given that the rain is going to fall all day tomorrow and the high will only be 59, it’s a good time to formally announce that our day at the park has been cancelled.

sadly, this is just the reality of the situation. on monday, we’ll look at the possibility of rescheduling, but we know the upcoming weekend’s are already looking tight and the parks tend to be booked for a way’s out. so, we’ll let everyone know.

we’re really sorry to anyone who might have purchased something for the picnic!! spread the word to anyone who might not happen to come across this post.

————————————————————-

eikon's a day at the park

i’m excited to invite you guys to EIKON’s a day at the park on sunday, october 4! we’ll gather at noon at murray park (map below) for lunch and an opportunity to hang out and meet some new people.

one of the things we want to do in these early days—without a regular weekly meeting space—is to balance our not-so-kid friendly gatherings with those that are conducive to children. whereas our last couple gatherings have been at places that didn’t allow for a lot of family interaction, our day at the park should be a great chance for people—whether you have kids or not—to be able to enjoy a much more relaxed atmosphere with no agenda other than to get to know some people, eat great food and maybe play a game or two of volleyball.

we’d love to make this a shared experience, so we’re asking for your help! while we could leave ryan in charge of bringing food, we’d probably end up eating a pile of totino’s pizzas and cheez-its… i think we’d all prefer maybe something a little more…

so, we’ve compiled a list of food and related items that we’ll need for lunch. we’re going to have sandwiches and a fairly light meal. we’ll take care of the main essentials, but we need your help with the rest of it. if you see one or two things on the list that you’d like to make/bring, then make sure to fill out the form below with your choices. as soon as we receive your form, we’ll update the list by marking out the taken items. if you want to bring something that isn’t listed here, there’s a space on the form for that as well. so, here’s the list:

Cheeses
Condiments: Ketchup, Mustard, Mayo
Trimmings: Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Pickles, etc.
1 Side dish
1 Side dish
1 Side dish
2 Bags of Chips
2 Bags of Chips
1 Desert
3 2-Liter Soft Drinks
1 Other Drinks (Tea, Juice, etc.)
1 Bottle Water
Plates & Napkins
Forks, Spoons, Knives
Cups & Ice (in cooler)

again, if you’d like to chip in, please fill out the following form.

in addition to food, if you have any kind of games or recreational equipment, feel free to bring it. of course, we’re always concerned with safety first, so make sure to bring out your jarts or maybe your old “name that lead paint chip” board game… we’ll be in pavilion 4, which is directly in front of the playground, but it’s never a bad idea to bring some extra games or sports equipment.

alright, we hope to see you on october 4th. spread the word. this is a great time to invite some friends.

where’s murray park? find out here.

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Posted in announcements, events, food, gatherings | 4 Comments »



announcing EIKON | WHO: venue change Posted by Ryan Byrd 09.21.2009 5:37 pm

EIKON | WHO

several days ago, we announced our upcoming gathering, EIKON | WHO, which will be this coming sunday (the 27th).

in said post, we mentioned we were waiting to hear back from the meeting place to confirm which time slot would be available. well…we heard back from the venue…and we received not-so-happy news… to make a long story short, we found out they double-booked us and we were the low man on the totem pole. :(

so, the search began for a new meeting place and we’re glad to say that gusano’s is that new meeting place. gusano’s is a great restaurant and bar, so we think it will be an equally good place to hang out and engage in a great conversation.

they have a tucked-away little room downstairs that should provide for a relaxed environment. they’ll provide some wait staff and eating and drinking is highly encouraged so that we can help to support a river market area business. to access the downstairs, you’ll need to go to the far back left corner of the building and enter a short hallway/walkway. (it will look like you’re going somewhere you shouldn’t…so don’t be freaked out…) :) take a left and the stairs will lead you down to the room.

here’s the details:

where: gusano’s
when: 6 – 8 p.m.
what: EIKON | WHO, discussing the “who?” of eikon church. more details here.
who: everyone’s invited, so come out and bring some friends. the conversation will only be better with more people.

we’ve set up a facebook event, so check that out for a few more details and let us know if you’re coming out.

see you sunday!

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