|
|
|
|
|
|
Dear Colleagues, Greetings from Lenoir-Rhyne College and the Center
for Theology as we begin the sixteenth year of service in
providing a rich program of continuing education for the college,
the community, and the church at large.
This year’s program will include: ·
Monthly Colloquia:
First Thursdays (except when the college is not in session), 4:00
p.m., Bears’ Lair of College Cromer Center. ·
Special Course:
“The Life and Teaching of Dietrich Bonhoeffer,” FALL SEMESTER
2006, Monday evenings 7-9:00 p.m., beginning August 28th,
·
Aquinas/Luther Conference,
October 20. A one-day
conference again this year. · Weekly Preaching Seminar for Pastors: Tuesdays at 1:00 p.m. (when classes are in regular session).
·
And other Special
Events. The program of the Center
continues in the following dimensions: ·
Monthly Colloquia –On
the first Thursday of the month (unless college schedule alters, as
with January 11, which is a second Thursday; or the church’s
calendar intrudes, as in April, re. Maundy Thursday), an ecumenical
group gathers in the Bears’ Lair of the The first such Colloquium is scheduled for September 7th.
Dates for the colloquia, in addition to September, are:
October 5, November 2, and December 7, 2006; and January 11,
February 1, March 1, and April 12 (first Thursday in April is Maundy
Thursday), 2007. To
receive the monthly papers in advance of the meetings, simply let us
know you’d like papers mailed to you.
If you have an e-mail address, please share it with us, so
that we may save postage whenever the paper is available
electronically. Each
session meets from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m., in the Bears’ Lair. · Special Course. For the past nine years, the Center for Theology has offered, normally during the Fall semester, a course to area clergy and laity at no cost except for textbooks. Bishop McDaniel taught courses in the Lutheran Confessions (Fall, 1997), Reformation Theology (Fall, 1998), and Science and Religion (Fall, 1999). I have taught Ancient Christian Theology (Fall, 2000), an introductory course on The Christian Faith (Fall, 2001), American Religion (Spring 2003), the Christian Perspective (Fall 2003), a study of “Selected Works of C. S. Lewis” (Fall 2004), and, last fall (2005) “Ethics: A Study of Major Ethical Theories in the Western Philosophical Tradition,” which Marianne co-taught with me. This fall we explore “The Life and Teaching of Dietrich
Bonhoeffer.” The
year 2006 is the centennial of the birth of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
(February 4, 1906), the brilliant young German theologian who was
executed – martyred – by the Nazis at Flossenburg on the 9th
of April, 1945. We will
read and discuss Bonhoeffer’s chief theological and ethical works,
as well as explore his contributions to his own time, his legacy for
theological discourse, and the implications of his life and work for
our time. Join us on Monday evenings at 7:00, in Newton Hall at You can register for the course by calling Beverly Hefner at
828-328-7376 or through e-mail at hefnerb@lrc.edu.
The course will begin on Monday evening, August 28th, and
continue Monday evenings through the semester, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. ·
Annual Aquinas/Luther Conference.
The
thirteenth Aquinas/Luther Conference is slated for October 20.
The highlight of each year, these unique explorations of
Aquinas and Luther provide a forum for growth in understanding
Christianity. Over sixty
internationally distinguished scholars have served as leaders, and
people of widely varying educational backgrounds and vocations
regularly attend and demonstrate interest.
(Over 200 people attended last November, with 70 registering
for the entire Conference!) This
fall’s event – October
20, 2006, again a one-day conference – addresses a key topic in
today’s churches and religious life:
"Aquinas
and Luther on Spirituality, Holiness, and the Saints"
After
two years of examining topics of considerable controversy in the
church – “Aquinas and Luther on Marriage and Sex” (2004) and
“The Authority of Scripture, Hermeneutic, and Magisterium”
(2005) – the subject matter turns to inner spiritual life and
expression. The conference day (October 20) is Friday only. This schedule
makes the conference especially congenial for pastors and laity who
live within driving distance. The conference is co-hosted by four You can register for the conference by calling Beverly Hefner
at 828-328-7376 or through e-mail at hefnerb@lrc.edu.
There is no cost for participants this year.
On-site registration begins on Friday morning (20th) at 8:30,
in the foyer of the Belk Centrum on campus.
Morning prayer (Matins) begins at 9:00. · Weekly Preaching Seminar. Each Tuesday afternoon throughout the year (when regular classes are in session), at 1:00 p.m., area pastors meet in one of the seminar rooms of the Center for Theology (in the Russell House) to study the lessons for the coming Sunday. Pastors of all denominations, especially those using the Revised Common Lectionary 1992 Consultation on Common Texts, are welcome to attend without cost. ·
Publication of 2005 Aquinas/Luther Papers. The proceedings (papers) from
the 2005 Conference, Aquinas and Luther on the Authority of
Scripture, Hermeneutic and Magisterium,
are printed in the current (Pentecost 2006) issue of Lutheran
Forum. Copies will
be available at the October 20, 2006 conference. *
*
* I wish to express my gratitude to each of you for your
prayers, contributions, and personal participation over the past
years. As we go forward together, the continued support of our
friends is vital. The college expects the Center for Theology to raise $10,000 annually for operating
costs, apart from endowment yield.
I am happy to report that the endowment currently stands at
over $250,000. I invite you to consider helping either in the current
operation or in the long-range endowment growth, which we hope
eventually will totally support the program.
Please join or continue in the growing number of those whose
patronage makes possible the continuing efforts of the Center
to provide thoughtful theological and ethical reflection as we live
at the beginning of the Third Millennium of the Christian faith. Sincerely yours in Christ, The Rev. J. Larry Yoder, PhD,
STS Director
|