In my earlier blog post, I noted that a registration link was coming. The registration link, along with detailed information about the conference is now in place. Registration for the Saturday conference is very reasonable and includes continental breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snacks.
Webinar on Creation Care, Justice, and Formation
I mentioned the Friday evening, October 18, and Saturday morning, October 19, lectures that our keynote speaker Dr. Sylvia Keesmaat would be giving.
Beyond these two lectures, there will be a webinar at noon (Eastern time) in which Dr. Keesmaat will be interviewed by Dr. Marlena Graves, assistant professor of spiritual formation at Northeastern Seminary, on the relationship of creation care and justice to moral and spiritual formation. Attending the webinar is free, but registration is required.
Call for Papers Extended
The Call for Papers (on the topic of the conference, from any disciplinary point of view) is now extended to September 27. You are cordially invited to submit a proposal for a paper.
Golisano Community Engagement Center
The keynote lectures for the conference will be held in the Golisano Community Engagement Center, on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan University. Breakout rooms will be assigned for paper presentations.
Our keynote speaker will be New Testament scholar, farmer, and activist, Dr. Sylvia Keesmaat.
Sylvia Keesmaat
Sylvia teaches online at Bible Remixed (www.bibleremixed) and is the author (with Brian Walsh) of Romans Disarmed: Resisting Empire, Demanding Justice (Brazos Press, 2019) and Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire (IVP, 2004). She also authored Paul and His Story: (Re)Interpreting the Exodus Tradition (Sheffield Academic, 1999). Sylvia is currently writing a book on climate grief, tentatively titled, A Fountain of Tears: Ecological Grief in the Biblical Story. She lives on a farm in the Kawartha Lakes with her husband, Brian Walsh, and a fluctuating number of people and animals.
A longer up-to-date biography for Sylvia Keesmaat with more details can be found here.
Dr. Keesmaat will give two lectures in connection with the conference, a public lecture open to all and a keynote lecture for the conference.
Friday Evening Public Lecture
Sylvia’s Friday evening public lecture, October 18, 2024, is titled: “Torn Between Grief and Hope: Biblical Wisdom and the Climate Catastrophe.”
Lecture description: We are often so weighed down with grief over creational destruction that it is difficult to look to the future with hope. This talk will explore not only the ways that this grief is present in the biblical story, but also how a future of possibility and renewal shaped the biblical imagination of those who lived with that grief.
This is a free public lecture open to the entire community. Registration for the Saturday conference is not required to attend. More information about time, location, and directions will be forthcoming.
Saturday Morning Conference Lecture
Sylvia’s Saturday morning lecture for the conference, October 19, 2024, is titled: “The Lament of the Land and the Tears of God.”
Lecture description: The lens of trauma and grief offers a relatively new approach for interpreting biblical texts about creational destruction and land loss. In this talk we will explore a few texts that highlight the grief of both the Creator and creation, alongside an imaginative hope that calls us to be servants of restoration.
This is the keynote lecture for the conference on “Creation Care and Justice”; registration is required. Stay tuned for the registration link on the Northeastern Seminary website.
Registration (through the Seminary) will soon be available (I will post a link when it is).
Call for Papers
In line with the topic of Dr. Keesmaat’s lectures, we invite submission of high quality papers on any topic related to the broad theme of “Creation Care and Justice.”
We welcome papers from the theological or the scientific side (including the social sciences), especially those that explore intersections of a biblical-theological vision with issues of scientific interest.
Papers should be scholarly but not highly specialized presentations of about 25 minutes, aimed at an audience of students, pastors, and faculty from across the spectrum of theological and scientific disciplines.
A PDF of the full Call for Papers (including deadlines) for the October 2024 conference can be accessed here.
I was recently interviewed by Jason Estopinal, who runs a website called “The Laymen’s Lounge.” The website hosts podcasts and other resources dedicated to addressing issues of faith, theology, and biblical interpretation that have a direct bearing on the everyday lives of Christians. This is theology for ordinary laypeople, not for pastors, professional theologians, or scholars (but that doesn’t mean anything is dumbed down).
The Laymen’s Lounge is a resource for everyday Christians (those who make up the majority of the Church) to learn how to do everyday life with other everyday theologians. Theology is for laymen too: all people of faith need to seek understanding of how work and play, at home, the office, the garden, or anywhere else, relates to the God of the gospel and the gospel of God.
Theology is about paying attention to God’s presence and activity in all areas of life. Here in the Lounge you will find help in answering key questions, such as “What is the gospel?” and “what is God like?” We will bring scholars, professors, pastors, and missionaries into the lounge to help us wrestle with questions and issues that are part and parcel of daily living.
This site is for anyone who wants to think harder about the Christian faith and how to live as Christians.
Please feel free to stay as long as you like, and encourage others – friends, family, and even grandma (if she knows how to log on to the internet) – to visit. If they do, they’ll find everyday theology for everyday Christians living everyday life.
Listen in as we sit down with Dr. J. Richard Middleton to discuss the forest and the trees of being image-bearers, God’s purpose for the world, God’s generosity, the great change that took place the moment God resolved to create humanity and good Jamaican and world reggae for your listening pleasure.
Jason lives in Hawaii, so it was great having him welcome me at the start of the podcast with Aloha!
He is also a music fan and knows quite a bit about reggae. He posted links to three reggae songs (two from Jamaica, one from South Africa) on his website right below the interview.
CREATION to ESCHATON 