SVS 2020 CANCELLED

The eleventh annual Society of Vineyard Scholars Conference,
“Hearing, Seeing, and Remembering As The People of God,”
has been cancelled in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Letter  From Caleb Maskell, Chairperson, Society of Vineyard Scholars. 

It is with deep regret that I write to inform you that SVS 2020, scheduled to be held in Chicago, April 16-18, has been cancelled.

SVS is not alone in this cancellation. Over the past weeks, the leadership of VineyardUSA have been closely monitoring worldwide developments related to COVID-19. With many countries and regions recommending self-quarantine and many institutions strongly recommending travel restrictions and appealing for social distancing measures, VUSA has chosen to be proactive. On the advice of VUSA legal counsel, and in broad consultation with relevant authorities, all VUSA-sponsored events are cancelled through April 30th, 2020.

I’m of course gutted to have to make this announcement. Many have worked very hard to organize SVS 2020, most especially our hosts at Evanston Vineyard and the 2020 Program Committee: Matte Downey, Bethany Joy Kim, Matt Croasmun, Kyla Morgan Young, and Caleb Maskell. Our thanks are due to those folks for their investment, though we will not immediately enjoy the fruits of their labors.

We understand that many people may have already made flight and hotel reservations, perhaps incurring significant expenses. These potential financial losses make the current circumstances all the more regrettable.

Refunds
SVS will refund all conference registration fees. You do not have to specifically request a refund. We will take care of it for you.

Rescheduling
We will not be rescheduling SVS 2020, because there is simply no space in the calendar – in light of VUSA regional conferences this summer and the academic calendar in the autumn. Instead, we will look forward to SVS 2021.

Donations
SVS will experience some financial setback due to loss in conference revenue. If you would like to help to defray that cost, please consider making a donation to SVS. You can do this at http://svs2020.eventbrite.com. We will leave this site open for a month, for those who might like to contribute.

Obviously this stinks. We all wish it could be different. However, I am grateful for the proactive leadership of the VUSA national office, whose decision I understand as a tangible social expression of love for our neighbors and love for the stranger.

Thank you for your understanding, and see you at SVS 2021!