Eric Atcheson BA ’08

08/03/2023

Eric Atcheson BA ’08 accepted a job as an associate chaplain for the health care system of Ascension St. Vincent’s Birmingham (Alabama), where he ministers to patients and their families in intensive care and emergency situations. He has also started writing his third book on the impact of the “great resignation” and surviving professional and spiritual burnout.

08/03/2020

Eric Atcheson BA ’08 writes that he “has accepted a call” to become the seventh senior minister of Valley Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Birmingham, Alabama, after completing a two-year interim stint at First Presbyterian Church in Vancouver, Washington.

02/01/2018

Eric Atcheson BA ’08 recently stepped down as pastor of First Christian Church in Longview, Washington, after more than six years of service. He is continuing his doctor of ministry studies at Seattle University. His book, Oregon Trail Theology: The Frontier Millennial Christians Face—And How We’re Ready, is slated for release in fall 2018 by the publishing arm of the Episcopalian Church.

10/09/2017

Eric Atcheson BA ’08 recently signed a contract for his first book, Oregon Trail Theology: The Frontier Millennial Christians Face–And How We’re Ready. It is tentatively slated for distribution in fall 2018 by the publishing arm of the Episcopalian Church. He continues in his work as pastor of First Christian Church in Longview, Washington, and as a doctor of ministry candidate at Seattle University’s School of Theology and Ministry.

12/04/2018

To Eric Atcheson BA ’08 and his wife, Carrie Atcheson, daughter Sadie Lou Atcheson, October 17, 2018.

Posted 08/03/2020

Eric Atcheson BA ’08 critically examines Biblical texts, church history, and present-day events and experiences in this guide for pastors, activists, and concerned citizens that offers tools for understanding and addressing the economic disparities around us, as well as ways to initiate hopeful conversations. On Earth as It Is in Heaven is a powerful resource for any of the faithful interested in building a more just and equitable kingdom in the face of increasingly powerful opposition. Church Publishing, 2020. 168 pages.

Posted 12/04/2018

Eric Atcheson BA ’08 discusses the generation known as millennials and their unique approach to religion and faith. Born in the 1980s and 1990s, and often described as an inexplicable enigma by the media, millennials come across to some as a frustrating cadre of narcissists. Though likely to check the “none” box when asked about religion, they have entered into adulthood with a great deal of thought devoted to God, faith, and organized religion. Many also crave spiritual richness and inclusive community and are willing to move heaven and earth to find a place—online or in real life—to feel at home, much like the pioneers who set out on the original Oregon Trail. In this book, the iconic Oregon Trail computer game from MECC—and absorbing pursuit and a highly influential game for millennials born in the decade of the 1980s—is used as a template throughout to illustrate the journey of faith in which they, “the Oregon Trail generation,” now find themselves engaged as adults. While books have been written about ministering to millennial Christians, the perspective of Atcheson, a millennial pastor whose life story spans the gamut of the historic Oregon Trail, offers a fresh take on an oft-written-about concern for the wider church. Church Publishing, 2018. 160 pages.