San Francisco Theological Seminary has invited all Master of Divinity graduates from the classes of 2000 through 2010 to a combined reunion and continuing education event July 18-22, 2011 at the Tahoe Center at Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center.
"The goal of the event is threefold," said SFTS Associate Professor of Systematic Theology Gregory Anderson Love, who is leading the event. "It will provide alums who graduated in the years 2000 through 2010 an opportunity to gather again, catch up, and enjoy each other's company; to have time to share and process in a group with their peers how things are going in their ministry, and its connection with their lives and faith; and to provide continuing education useful to ministry."
Love will review his new book on atonement and the cross, Love, Violence, and the Cross: How the Nonviolent God Saves Us through the Cross of Christ. Group sharing and sessions on the book are in the morning, leaving the afternoons and evenings free. Singles and families are invited.
LOUISVILLE — Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary will host one of three events dedicated to building partnerships among interfaith communities as part of the national 2010 Festival of Faiths, which is being held in Louisville Nov. 3-9.
The Festival theme is "Sacred Soil," and three special events will focus specifically on strengthening leadership in the vital areas of global food needs, environmental issues, and interfaith cooperation. Among the trio of leadership events is "Setting the Seeds for Dialogue," a luncheon hosted by LPTS Nov. 8.
"A seminary is a seedbed for cultivating knowledge, advocacy, and action about ultimate concerns," says the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, one of the luncheon facilitators and visiting professor of ecumenical studies and global ministries at Louisville Seminary. "We are seeking to expand that environment among interfaith partners throughout our city and across the nation in an effort to enhance our students’ learning and preparation for leadership in contexts of religious difference. We are finding that these experiences have a capacity for preparing all of us for better leadership in places of diverse religious experience."
At the luncheon, LPTS' new president, The Rev. Michael Jinkins, will outline the Seminary's major commitment to interfaith cooperation and announce its new "Doors to Dialogue" initiative.
PRINCETON, N.J. — Judith Lieu, professor of divinity and fellow of Robinson College at the University of Cambridge, will give the 2010–2011 Frederick Neumann Memorial Lecture at Princeton Theological Seminary on Nov. 15. Her lecture is entitled "Between Text and Community: Christians and Jews in the Second Century."
Lieu has a broad interest in the second century as a period of creativity and ferment in the development of distinct patterns of Christian thought and practice. Within the New Testament area she conducts research interest on the Johannine literature, and has recently published a commentary on the Johannine Epistles. She also writes in the area of feminist and gender analysis of the New Testament and other early Christian literature and history. She is the author of a commentary on I, II, and III John (Westminster John Knox Press, 2008), Christian Identity in the Jewish and Graeco-Roman World (Oxford University Press, 2004), and Neither Jew nor Greek: Constructing Early Christianity (T&T Clark/Continuum, 2002).
Lieu previously taught at King's College London, where she was professor of New Testament studies and head of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies.
Established in 1983 by Edith Neumann in memory of her husband, Frederick Neumann, this annual lecture is on a theme appropriate to Neumann’s broad theological interests.
AUSTIN, Texas — Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary has called Allan Hugh Cole Jr., professor of pastoral care, to become the institution's seventh academic dean in its 106-year history, effective Jan. 1, 2011.
He succeeds Michael Jinkins, who resigned the post in July to become president of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
Cole joined the seminary’s faculty in 2003. He also serves as the associate dean for masters programs, director of the Master of Arts in Theological Studies program, and chairs the seminary’s Faculty Committee on Student Life / Student Standing.
An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Cole previously served pastorates in upstate New York and on Long Island. He holds the M.Div. and Ph.D. degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary, a masters degree from Columbia University, and a bachelors degree from Davidson College. He has been a visiting lecturer in pastoral theology at Princeton Seminary and a scholar-in-residence at the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton.
DECATUR, Ga. — Mark Douglas, associate professor of Christian ethics at Columbia Theological Seminary, was one of 11 participants in the Caux Round Table, which convened this summer in Caux, Switzerland, to address moral and ethical issues related to the current global economic crisis.
With representation from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — the Abrahamic faith traditions — the group comprised religious leaders, scholars, and legal and business professionals who collaborated in writing The Mountain Statement, a set of practical lessons for the conduct of finance and business. The statement’s release this fall month coincides with the second anniversary of the failure of private credit markets, which triggered a global economic crisis.
Explaining the perspective of the Caux Round Table, Douglas says, "We are convinced that reforms in laws and regulatory policies aren't enough to prevent another crisis. A principal factor in the current situation was poor judgment and lack of basic caution, which we believe was caused by a collapse of personal values. So, if a lack of morality and ethics contributed to the current credit crisis, morality and ethics should play a role in preventing that from happening again."
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Theological Seminary's Metro-Urban Institute is accepting applications for the Certificate in Christian Leadership Program, a program designed for individuals interested in Christian leadership in the local congregation or in urban ministry outside the walls of the church. Some in the class are there for personal enrichment, and others are seeking transfer of undergraduate credits to a local college or university.
The Christian Leadership Certificate is a non-academic program that is open to anyone with a high school diploma or beyond with the recommendation of his/her pastor or other Christian advocate. The program is open enrollment with individuals from every walk of life, occupation, and level of academic achievement studying side by side. Special consideration is given to individuals considering opportunities to complete their undergraduate education and receive a college degree.
Applications are due Nov. 16 for the next CLC program, which begins Nov. 30. Students participate in seminars in cohort groups/teams of up to 12 people twice each week — Tuesday and Thursday evenings — over a two-year period. Upon completion of the series of seminars, 36 CLC credits will have been attained and a Christian Leadership Certificate may be granted.