Brite Divinity School sponsors several lectures and other lifelong learning opportunities throughout the year for both clergy and laity. Here are three coming up:
Finding Hope in the Midst of Communal Suffering
Thursday, September 23, 2016- 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (with lunch)
University Christian Church, Fort Worth
How does one respond with care and hope when tragedy or disturbing events strike a community at large? Join Dr. Keri Day and Dr. Barbara McClure in delving into real life case studies that challenge one’s ministerial practice in the face of communal suffering and the search for hope. This workshop engages participants in the theological and pastoral care issues inherent in responding to difficult situations both in congregations and in the public arena. The goal is for participants to work together in honing self-reflectively our pastoral and theological skills as we seek to minister hopefully to communities in the midst of suffering.
Keri Day, Associate Professor of Theological and Social Ethics & Black Church Studies, focuses her research on how black religion addresses political and economic injustices, especially among poor women of the African diaspora. Her articles and essays have been published in a number of nationally regarded journals such as Princeton Theological Review Journal, Black Theology: An International Journal, and The Journal for the Society of Christian Ethics. She has published two books,Unfinished Business: Black Women, The Black Church, and the Struggle to Thrive in America (2012) andReligious Resistance to Neoliberalism: Womanist and Black Feminist Perspectives (2015).
Barbara J. McClure, Associate Professor in Pastoral Theology and Practice, is interested primarily in the meaning of and means toward human flourishing. She has pursued this question in a variety of contexts including institutions of work, worship and learning, as well as within the context of a counseling practice. Prior to joining the Brite faculty, McClure taught at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. She has written two books: Moving Beyond Individualism in Pastoral Theology, Care and Counseling: Reflections on Theory, Theology and Practice (2010) and Emotions and the Flourishing Life (Forthcoming, 2017).
Brite Divinity School’s mission to educate women and men to lead in the ministry of Christ’s church, the academy, and public life as witnesses to God’s reconciling and transforming love and justice is understood to be a life-long effort involving clergy, laity, and seekers. Brite offers a diverse and vibrant lifelong learning program in the North Texas area – on campus and in local churches.
Registration is $55 for the day and includes a box lunch. Registration is $10 for Brite students. For more information call 817.257.7582 or email e.theilig@tcu.edu.
How Buddhism Sheds Light on Christian Life, Thought and Practice
Tenth Jean and Patrick Henry, Jr. Seminar
Saturday, October 1, 9:00 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.
Northway Christian Church, Dallas
Ruben Habito, Professor of World Religions and Spirituality, Perkins School of Theology, Dallas, TX
Encounters with Buddhism have brought forth new challenges and opened new horizons in Christian life, thought and practice. We will look at the Buddha (“the Awakened One”) and the basic features of his teachings on the problematic of human existence, on ultimate reality and on human ultimate destiny, as these developed in history, and in comparison with Christian views of the same. We will then explore how theological approaches to Christian doctrinal themes may be enriched in the light of Buddhist insights, and also how the Christian contemplative tradition may be deepened and broadened as informed by Buddhist praxis. In conclusion, we will reflect on how Christian mission and ministry may be given renewed vitality through Buddhist insight into the interconnectedness of all beings, naturally flowing into compassionate action toward healing our wounded Earth community.
Presented by: Stalcup School of Theology for the Laity, Brite Divinity School
Registration is $35 and includes a light lunch. (Scholarships available)
To register or for more information: www.brite.edu/stalcup/ or 817.257.7580
A Visit to the Ancestors: Some Characters in the Christian Story and our Stories
Eleventh Fay and Alfred C. Grosse Seminar on Religion and the Literary Arts
Saturday, October 22, 9:00 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.
Northway Christian Church, Dallas
Randi Walker, Ronald Soucey Professor of Transcendental Christianity & Professor of Church History, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA
The study of history is a spiritual discipline. It is a visit to people we may think we know, but usually do not fully understand. As we reconstruct their stories, we find ourselves weaving our own stories into theirs. Holding up the mirror of the ancestors, we may gain wisdom for living our own lives. This workshop will focus on four interesting ancestors you may not know very well: Augustine of Hippo (d. 430); Hildegard of Bingen (d. 1179); Mother Walatta Petros of Ethiopia (d. 1642); and Kanzo Uchimura of Japan (d. 1930). These ancestors illuminate different kinds of Christianity and different approaches to Christian life.
Presented by: Stalcup School of Theology for the Laity, Brite Divinity School
Registration is $35 and includes a light lunch. (Scholarships available)
To register or for more information: www.brite.edu/stalcup/ or 817.257.7580