Bishop Dr. Heinrich Bedford-Strohm - January 11th, 9am
Creatio ex Amore and the Mission of the Church Now
Bishop Dr. Heinrich Bedford-Strohm
The St. Paul Center for Theology and Prayer announces an upcoming special event:
Creatio ex Amore and the Mission of the Church Now - An online seminar with Bishop Dr. Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, Moderator of the World Council of Churches.
In this time of climate crisis, what difference does our faith make? How does our understanding of God, and the meaning of God's creating work, ground and equip us to pray, serve, and act in this time? This seminar will deepen our capacity to preach and teach our claim that "God creates out of love," and enliven us for working with our faith communities for God's purposes.
Registrants may choose to explore advance readings, given below. They will also be invited to a follow-up conversation, hosted by the Rev. Dr. Kapya Kaoma, Rector of Christ Church, Waltham, author and theologian, expanding our grounding in this topic with wisdom from African Christian theology of creation.
This is an online only event, which will be hosted on Zoom. The structure of the event will be as follows:
9:00 am - Opening prayer & introduction of our guest speaker
9:10 am - Remarks from Bishop Dr. Bedford-Strohm
9:45 am - Breakout room conversations
10:10 am - Plenary discussion with Dr, Bedford-Strohm
10:35 am - Closing prayer
10:45 am - Adjourn
Please register for this event, using the form below. The Zoom link will be sent to all who have registered, 48 hours before the event.
Recommended Reading:
For those without much time to prep: Bishop Bedford-Strohm's remarks on "The Doctrine of Creation," from the March 2024 Laudate Si Assisi Conference, especially the paragraphs on "The Protestant Tradition." Click here to access the document.
For those with a bit more time to prep, add: Bishop Bedford-Strohm's article "Public Theology of Ecology and Civil Society." Click here to access the article.
For those with a desire and time to go further: Jurgen Moltmann - God in Creation: A New Theology of Creation and the Spirit of God (This book can be ordered online, or from your local bookseller.)
About our Speaker:
Bishop Bedford-Strohm is a leader in the international, ecumenical movement to establish a Feast of God the Creator in our liturgical calendars. He is an honorary professor for systematic theology and contemporary theological issues at the University of Bamberg, and an honorary professor at the University of Stellenbosch/South Africa. He was awarded the Albert Schweitzer Medal of the German Albert Schweitzer Center, the Augsburg Peace Prize, and the James I. McCord Award from the Center for Theological Inquiry at Princeton University for Outstanding Contributions to Ecumenical Scholarship, among many other honors. He was also awarded honorary citizenship of the city of Palermo for his commitment to the sea rescue of refugees.
We look forward to gathering online with you all in January! If you have any questions, please email us.
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