Tuesdays, 7 PM at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church, Decatur, in Room 422.

 

You are welcome to participate in all, a few, or even just one workshop!

May 25 - Dietrich Bonhoeffer & Marcus Borg - Crisis of Belief & Biblical Interpretation
June 1 - Walter Rauschenbusch - Crisis of Society
June 8 - Reinhold Niebuhr - Crisis of Sin and Biblical Interpretation
June 15 - James Cone - Crisis of Racism
June 22 - Katie Cannon - Crisis of Racism and Sexism
June 29 - Sallie McFague - Crisis of Sustainability (Ecology and Economy)
July 6 - Crisis of Thinking it All Over

Through the 20thcentury to present, Christianity has undergone vast changes. It is in fact probably more accurate to speak ofchristianitiesthan Christianity. Scientific knowledge, globalization, industrialization, and oppression have catalyzed this splintering as Christianity reacts to the varying crises of history. Our main question for the workshop will be:

 

How has the U.S. progressive Christian tradition responded to crises, i.e. of belief or social turmoil?

This summer's workshops will highlight several progressive Christian voices of the 20thcentury as they respond to varying crises. Workshops will include readings and discussions of the following areas: belief, biblical interpretation, oppression, racism, sexism, economy and ecology. We will examine these varying crisis through the following theologian-ethicists: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Walter Rauschenbusch, Reinhold Niebuhr, James Cone, Katie Cannon and Sallie McFague. These voices, moreover, tell the arching narrative of progressive Christianity in the U.S. - which is formed out of another question:

How does Christianity respond to modernity?

Discussions will be flexible, fun, and open to ideas. Participants are encouraged to speak from their own experience and to think about how these voices speak (or don't) to their faith and journey as a Christian.

Materials & Meetings:

Participants will be given short, accessible readings for discussion. Meeting time will predominantly be discussion of material, but will also include introductions to each theologian-ethicist, context to their writing and potentially other media, i.e. video or audio of the theologian-ethicist.

Instructor Biography:

Preston Davis is the Summer Fellow at Glenn Memorial United MethodistChurch. He is currently a Masters of Divinity candidate in the fields of constructive theology and social ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. In 2006 Preston graduated from Davidson College, where he was a religion major and four-year varsity soccer player. He is now a candidate for ordination as an Elder in the UMC Western Conference of N.C. Preston is also about to become an honorary Northside Driver this summer when he marries Dorsett Clark, daughter of Patti and Jordan Clark.

[SEND WEB REGISTRATIONS TO: predavis@gmail.com]