View - and Register for - Our Educational Events
If you wish to register for any of these interesting educational events, you can register and where appropriate pay online by clicking the "register and pay" icons below or you can print out the registration form and send it with a check or your credit card information to: Educational Outreach Events, c/o Yvette Law, Hartford Seminary, 77 Sherman Street, Hartford CT 06105.
If you have any questions, please call Yvette Law at 860-509-9555 or email her at events@hartsem.edu.
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2008 and 2009
God's Word in Greek: Reading The Gospel of Matthew
With The Rev. Edward F. Duffy
Tuesdays, September 9, October 14, November 11, December 9
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
“God's Word in Greek” is an annual continuing education workshop. This workshop will conduct monthly translation sessions of selected texts from the New Testament, this term continuing the reading of “The Gospel of Matthew.” Participants will be encouraged to fine tune their New Testament Greek reading skills as well as explore the readings in light of their faith understanding. Reading the Greek text together with other colleagues will enhance understanding of New Testament issues. Participants should have basic proficiency in New Testament Greek; at least a one-year course in basic Greek should suffice.
The workshop resumes in January on the following dates: Jan. 13, Feb. 10, March 10, April 14, May 12, and June 9.
The Rev. Edward F. Duffy is adjunct professor of New Testament Greek at Hartford Seminary. He is minister of the First Presbyterian Church of Fairfield, CT. From 1994 to 2004, he was minister of the First Congregational Church in Litchfield. He received his B.A. from Princeton, an M.A. in musicology from Columbia, and the Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary. He completed his Ph.D. in 2000 from the Graduate Theological Foundation. His dissertation was a translation and commentary on Didymus the Blind's Job commentary.
Cost: $80 for the fall series (four classes); $175 for the full year (10 classes)
The Bible Institute: Understanding the Bible
With Uriah Kim and Efrain Agosto
Friday, September 12
6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
AND
Saturday, September 13
9 a.m. – noon
Hartford Seminary’s Bible Institute provides a critical introduction to the sacred texts that form the foundation for Christianity and Judaism. With some attention given to the content of the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament, this seminar exposes participants to the historical, cultural and political forces that shaped the Bible. Students who are enrolling in Bible courses and individuals who are interested in the Bible will find this two-day seminar a valuable experience.
Uriah Kim is Professor of Hebrew Bible at Hartford Seminary. He is the author of “Decolonizing Josiah: Toward a Postcolonial Reading of the Deuteronomistic History.” Efrain Agosto is Academic Dean and Professor of New Testament at Hartford Seminary. He is the author of “Servant Leadership: Jesus and Paul.”
Cost: $35 for the general public; free for students entering the Black Ministries Program (To request an application for the program, call 509-9512.)
A Drumming Circle
With Jan Gregory
Mondays, September 22, October 13 and 27, and November 10 and 24
Basics: 6:30 p.m. - 7:15 p.m. on Sept. 22 and 6:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. in October and November
Beyond Basics: 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Those who are interested in participating in African hand drumming should enroll in this facilitated drumming circle.
African djembe drums, along with other African hand percussion, will be used. When you register, please indicate whether you will bring your own drum or will need to borrow one.
The 6:30 class will focus on instruction for people new to African drumming and drummers who want to review their skills. Participants will learn basic rhythms and drumming techniques. The first session will be 45 minutes, followed by half-hour sessions thereafter.
Experienced players will join the circle at 7 pm. We will build upon basic skills and learn more complex rhythm sets including rhythms from Belize. Each rhythm set will have easy and more difficult parts to fit all levels of skill. Experienced players are welcome to attend the Basics program to brush up their skills if they wish.
Please note that the Drumming Circle will take the winter off and resume in March 2009. The spring dates in 2009 are March 16 and 30, April 13 and 27 and May 11 and 18. The spring circle will consist of one 90-minute session only, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
The instructor/facilitator will be Jan Gregory, owner of the Renaissance Center: A Conservatory of Music in Southbury, and Director of Music Ministry, Congregational Church of Easton, UCC.
Cost: $100 for fall semester (five sessions); $200 for full year (11 sessions)
A Sacred Trust: A Fall Forum on Religion and the Environment
Religion and Ecology: The Problems and the Promise
Keynote Address: Dr. John Grim
Wednesday, September 24
4 p.m. to 9 p .m.
Co-Sponsor: Interreligious Eco-Justice Network
Location: First Church of Christ, Congregational, West Hartford
For decades, environmental issues were considered the concern of scientists, lawyers, and policy makers. Now, the ethical dimensions of the environmental crisis are becoming more obvious. What is our moral responsibility toward future generations? How can we ensure equitable development that does not destroy the environment? Can religious and cultural perspectives help solve environmental challenges? Our challenge now is to identify the vision and values that will spark a transformation toward creating a sustainable future. Such a multiform planetary goal requires not just managerial or legislative approaches - the saving of forests or fisheries. Undoubtedly, these are necessary, but our goal needs a vision of that future, evoking depths of empathy, compassion, and sacrifice for the welfare of future generations. We are called to a new intergenerational consciousness and conscience.
John Grim comes from the Missouri drift plains of North Dakota where he grew up leaning against the winds until they blew him east to study with Thomas Berry in the history of religions at Fordham University. His area of scholarly exploration is indigenous traditions and in those studies he undertakes field studies in the summer with Crow people in Montana, and in the winter with Salish peoples in Washington state. Currently he is a Senior Lecturer and Research Scholar at Yale University and Environmental Ethicist-in-Residence at Yale’s Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics. With Mary Evelyn Tucker, he is the co-founder of the Forum on Religion and Ecology and series editors of World Religions and Ecology, a 10 volume publication from Harvard University Press and the Center for the Study of World Religions. In that series he edited “Indigenous Traditions and Ecology: The Interbeing of Cosmology and Community.” He has been a professor of religion at Bucknell University, and Sarah Lawrence College. His published works include: “The Shaman: Patterns of Religious Healing Among the Ojibway Indians” and edited volumes with Mary Evelyn Tucker entitled, “Worldviews and Ecology” and a Daedalus volume entitled, "Religion and Ecology: Can the Climate Change?"
The forum includes displays and workshops.
$30 (includes dinner)
Corintios: ¿Modelo para iglesia y liderasgo hoy?
[Corinthians: Appropriate Model for Church and Leadership Today?]
With Dr. Efrain Agosto
Tuesday, September 30
7 p.m.
Las cartas del Apostol Pablo a su iglesia en Corinto representa unas de los intercambios mas intensivos and extensos entre una comunidad de fe y su lider en todo el nuevo testamento. El Dr. Efrain Agosto, Profesor de Nuevo Testamento y Decano Académico del Seminario de Hartford, acaba de publicar un comentario en español sobre estos escritos. En esta conferencia explorará los aspectos de liderasgo y ministerio presentes en 1 y 2 Corintios, y como se aplican a la situación corriente de la iglesia Latina en los Estado Unidos. ¿Sera Corintios el mejor modelo para ministerio en el presente?
Luego de la presentación habra oportunidad para comprar su copia del libro, Corintios, y que el Profesor Agosto lo firme.
The Apostle Paul's letters to the Corinthians represent one of the most intense and extensive exchanges between a community of faith and its leader in all the New Testament. Dr. Efrain Agosto, Professor of New Testament and Academic Dean of Hartford Seminary, just published a commentary, in Spanish, about these writings. In this lecture, which will be given in Spanish, he will explore aspects of leadership and ministry present in 1 and 2 Corinthians, and see how they apply to the current situation of the Latino Church in the United States. Is Corinthians the best model for ministry today?
After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to purchase the book, “Corintios,” and have Professor Agosto sign it.
Cost: Free
Know Where You Preach:
How Sermons Connect with Contexts
A workshop with James Nieman, Ph.D.
Wednesday, October 8
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Everyone agrees that preaching should relate closely to its setting, but exactly why should that be so? More importantly, how can that be achieved? We need new ways to be more aware of our contexts, ones that don’t resort to pandering, marketing, and otherwise betraying faithful proclamation. This workshop builds on Professor James Nieman’s new book, Knowing the Context: Frames, Tools, and Signs for Preaching (Fortress Press, 2008). Various resources for contextual preparation, study, and interpretation will be introduced. Participants also will reflect on where they preach and begin to rethink their present sermon strategies, all in conversation with others highly committed to improving their proclamation.
This is an essential program for all preachers seeking guidance on how they can better engage their ministry settings…and for those who listen to their sermons as well.
James Nieman is Professor of Practical Theology at Hartford Seminary, where he serves on the staff of the seminary’s Hartford Institute for Religion Research and directs the Doctor of Ministry program. Before joining the seminary faculty in 2005, he taught preaching for thirteen years at Wartburg Theological Seminary, a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Ordained in the ELCA, he has written and presented widely in homiletics and the study of theologies in congregations. A past president of the Association of Practical Theology, he is currently the secretary of the International Academy of Practical Theology, as well as English language editor of the International Journal of Practical Theology.
Cost: $25 (includes lunch)
Interreligious Abrahamic Dialogue:
A Tool of Transformation in the Local Church
With The Rev. Dr. Mark Heilshorn
Monday-Friday, October 13-17, ONLINE
Inter-religious Abrahamic dialogue is increasingly necessary in the local church. We live in communities that struggle with the belief systems of our Jewish and Muslim siblings. The geopolitical posture of the world commands that we understand our Abrahamic partners and the plurality in which we live. This course will look at how the local church can help churches and communities engage in the fruitful field of dialogue. The course will provide a theological basis for this work. Much of the course will discuss methods used for religious exchange in the church that have successfully raised awareness.
The Rev. Dr. Mark Heilshorn is the pastor of the First Congregational Church of Woodbury (UCC) and has been serving this community for twelve years. Mark is a recent doctoral graduate of Hartford Seminary. He writes:
“In addition to serving the parish, much of my time and energy is spent on expanding the work of my dissertation. I believe that inter-religious dialogue is a vital and important work that can be uniquely practiced in the Church. Dialogue is tool of transformation and can lead congregations to mature conversations about other important issues in the life of the church. For the last many years, the church has inspired Faith Summits, held inter-religious lectures, created forums, and invited both Jewish and Muslim leaders into the church.”
Cost: $50
An Evening with New Macdonald Center Faculty
Monday, October 20
7 p.m.
Join us for two lectures:
An Islamic “theology”? Why?
With Yahya Michot
Some consider that, in Islam, there is no better way of learning about God than through what one reads in the Qur’an and the Prophetic traditions. As distrustful of Reason as these ultra-literalists, others prefer to rely on their own mystical ecstasies. Between such extremes, is there really no room for a sound Islamic “theology,” some kind of a new philosophical “Kalâm,” appropriate to the complex challenges of our time?
Towards a Framework for Interfaith Dialogue: Globalism or Pluralism
With Mahmoud Ayoub
One of the underlying assumptions of religious belief and theological systems is that within the wide diversity of religions one, and only one, religion is true, and other faiths must either be countered or reluctantly tolerated. While this assumption is quite obvious in the monotheistic religions of the Middle East, it is implicitly present in Buddhism and Hinduism as well. Two answers have been suggested to this principle of the exclusiveness of the truth: globalism and pluralism. In this presentation, I would like to argue for the greater validity and usefulness of a theology of religious pluralism, or the plurality of the truth. I wish to distinguish between the relative truth of all religious beliefs and the absolute truth, or ultimate reality, which is the ultimate source of all truth.
Yahya Michot is Professor of Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford Seminary. He is editor of the Muslim World journal and director of the Seminary’s International Ph.D. program. Previously, Michot was Islamic Centre Lecturer in the Faculty of Theology at Oxford University in Great Britain and a fellow of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. He joined Oxford after serving as director of research and lecturer at the Institut Supérieur de Philosophie at Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium. Since 2000, Michot has participated in more than 40 international conferences. Recently he spoke on “Islam and modernity” at a course on strategic issues for senior Defense officers of the United Kingdom and participated in the 5th Doha Conference on Interreligious Dialogue in Doha, Qatar.
Mahmoud Ayoub is Faculty Associate in Shi‘ite Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford Seminary. Previously, he was a professor and Director of Islamic Studies in the Department of Religion at Temple University in Philadelphia. In 1988, he helped devise and launch a graduate M.A. level program in Christian-Muslim relations and comparative religion for the Centre for Christian-Muslim Studies, University of Balamand, Lebanon, and, since the spring of 1999, has been its visiting professor. Ayoub’s authority in both the scholarship and comparative study of Islam and Christian-Muslim relations, as well as interreligious dialogue, is demonstrated by the national and international recognition he has received. This is reflected by his numerous local and overseas scholarly engagements. Since 1999, Dr. Ayoub has participated in the U.S. Department of State’s program, serving as one of its ambassadors to various parts of the Middle East and S.E. Asia, commenting on American society and institutions, interreligious dialogue and Islam in America.
Cost: Free
Sacred Compass: The Way of Spiritual Discernment
With J. Brent Bill
Tuesday, October 21
7 p.m.
How do you discover God’s will for your life – every day? Join Quaker minister and author, J. Brent Bill, as he reads from his book Sacred Compass and talks about a fresh and deeper way of living a God-directed life. Drawing on the quiet beauty of the Quaker path, Bill will show how spiritual discernment is more about sensing God’s gracious presence than it is about making the right decisions.
J. Brent Bill is a Quaker minister and author. He is the executive vice president of the Indianapolis Center for Congregations and has been a local church pastor, seminary instructor, book review editor, and denominational executive.
Cost: $10
The Practice of Reconciliation Leadership
With Virginia Swain, MA and Sarah Sayeed, Ph.D
Thursday, October 30
6:30 p.m.
The best of our humanity is needed now from people from all faith traditions to address the leadership crises in community, institutional, national and global arenas. This presentation highlights and appropriates participants’ unique gifts and special calling to be Reconciliation Leaders for the United Nations General Assembly 2009 International Year of Reconciliation. Reconciliation Leadership is a distinct vocation, requiring reflection time first for new knowledge of one’s own values, gifts and talents. It arises from one’s integrity, special calling and skillbuilding in learned behaviors, a philosophy of life to be at peace in oneself and in service to our planet – acting locally or globally. You will be introduced to the personal, interpersonal, group, systemic and global competencies of Reconciliation Leadership as well as its historic, visionary and pragmatic approaches for community institutional and global challenges. A case study of Reconciliation Leadership at work in the Philippine Peace Process and with American Muslims post 9/11 will be presented. Reconciliation Leadership is a trademarked service of the Center for Global Community and World Law and has been taught at the United Nations under the sponsorship of the Under-Secretary-General for the Least Developed Countries.
Sarah Sayeed is a Program Associate at the Interfaith Center of New York, and was formerly an assistant professor at Baruch College, School of Public Affairs. Sayeed graduated from Princeton University in 1990 and earned her doctorate in communications from the Annenberg School for Communications where she specialized in public health communication. She has been involved in interfaith dialogue for several years and has also received a certificate in Reconciliation Leadership. She is currently a board member of the Muslim Consultative Network and Women in Islam, Inc. and is the author of numerous articles relating to women, Islam, and communications.
With work experience on five continents, Virginia Swain is the Co-Founder and Director of the Center for Global Community and Institute of Global Leadership. Swain’s inaugural project at the United Nations, A Celebration for the Children of the World: A Model for Global Community was later developed in dozens of local and global projects into a Peacebuilding Process of Reconciliation for Political Will and a Global Mediation and Reconciliation Service. She is the author of A Mantle of Roses: A Woman’s Journey Home to Peace.
Virginia and Sarah have co-authored two articles entitled “Reconciliation as Policy: Moving beyond the Victim–Perpetrator Lens in the United Nations Secretariat and Member States” and “Leadership and Practice to Reconcile Challenges in a Post-September 11th World”.
Cost: $15
Miriam Therese Winter Celebrates . . . .
the publication of new editions of three of her best-selling books
- The Chronicles of Noah and Her Sisters: Genesis & Exodus for Women, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008
- WomanPrayer, WomanSong: Resources for Ritual
Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008
November 19, 2008
7:00 p.m.
Come and celebrate with her. Winter will speak on women and biblical tradition and women’s ritual traditions, which are the subject of these books, adding a perspective that goes beyond what is on the printed page.
This will be an evening of reflection, conversation, and celebration to refresh both body and spirit.
Copies of these books may be purchased at the Seminary bookstore in advance (860-509-9527) or the evening of the celebration. You also may order the book through the Seminary online bookstore, www.hartfordseminarybookstore.org. Winter will sign copies during the evening.
Miriam Therese Winter, a Medical Mission Sister, is professor of liturgy, worship, and spirituality and director of the Women’s Leadership Institute at Hartford Seminary. She has published a number of books and recorded more than 200 of her original songs.
Open to the public free of charge.
InterActive Faith: Interreligious Community Building
With the Rev. Dr. Francis V. Tiso, The Rev. Bud Heckman, and Rori Picker Neiss
Wednesday, December 3
7 p.m.
The proliferation of interreligious initiatives in the past ten years presents new challenges to our religious communities. The book, InterActive Faith, addresses these challenges and presents the recommendations of a broad spectrum of dialogue leaders. In reality, there are many different communities of interreligious or interfaith dialogue currently active in the United States and abroad. Not all of these communities are in dialogue among themselves, making it at times difficult to sort out the different tasks that these communities have undertaken. For example, there are interreligious activists who are engaged in peace and social justice initiatives. There are interreligious NGOs with national or international mandates. An organization like the World Conference of Religions for Peace specifically seeks to occupy the interface between the international community and the religious institutions of various nations and regions of the world. Other groups are strictly local in focus and composition. Still other organizations have the task of assessment, training and oversight. In this lecture, Father Francis V. Tiso will examine the different kinds of dialogue initiatives in the light of a complementarity of mandates, visions, and strategies. As an example, he will track the evolution of the Midwest Dialogue of Catholics and Muslims from its origins (mid-1990s) to the publication of a major theological document (2006) to its recent adoption of a mission statement in service to the wider U.S. society. Responses will be offered by The Rev. Bud Heckman and Rori Picker Neiss
Father Francis V. Tiso is Associate Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, where he serves as liaison to Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, the Sikhs, and Traditional religions as well as the Reformed confessions. Previously, Father Tiso was assigned to the Archdiocese of San Francisco where he served as Parochial Vicar of St. Thomas More Church and Chaplain at San Francisco State University and the University of California Medical School. He was also Visiting Professor in the archdiocesan School of Pastoral Leadership, where he taught courses in Foundational Theology. He was also Parochial Vicar in Eureka, CA and in Mill Valley, CA. Father Tiso earned a Master of Divinity degree at Harvard University and holds a doctorate from Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary where his specialization was Buddhist studies. His teaching interests include Christian theology, history of religions, spirituality, ecumenism and interreligious dialogue. Father Tiso is a priest of the Diocese of Isernia-Venafro, Italy, where he holds a Canonry in the Cathedral.
The Rev. Bud Heckman is chief development officer at Hartford Seminary. Previously, he was executive director of Religions for Peace-USA.
Rori Picker Neiss was lead staff of Religions for Peace-USA. Currently she is program coordinator for the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance.
Copies of “InterActive Faith: The Essential Interreligious Community-Building Handbook” will be available. The book was edited by Heckman and Picker Neiss, and Father Tiso contributed a chapter. Copies of the book also may be purchased at the Seminary bookstore in advance (860-509-9527) or through the Seminary online bookstore, www.hartfordseminarybookstore.org. The evening is free, and all are encouraged to attend.
Cost: Free
The Basics of Christian Education:
A Continuing Education Course for Church Educators
With the Rev. Charles H. Ericson
Monday through Wednesday, January 5 – 7, 2009
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
This special crash course will provide students with a broad spectrum of the basic skills and tools needed to begin an effective ministry of Christian Education in the local church. It will enable new Christian Educators with no prior formal learning to achieve a foundational understanding of the Bible, identify resources that will work best in their unique church environment, serve collegially on a professional team of church leaders, and gain a basic working understanding of the major areas of Christian Education programming (Church School, Confirmation, Youth Ministry, Adult and Intergenerational Education). In a three-day seminar format, students will be engaged in a series of lecture, small group and first-hand experiential learning units.
Participants will receive the Myers Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI) Report and Guidebook and Speed Leas’ book “Discover Your Conflict Management Style.” There also will be a bibliography of additional resources.
Chuck Ericson has served as Pastor of the Bolton Congregational Church UCC for more than 24 years. During this time he has become trained as a Conflict Consultant for the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ, served as a Field Education Supervisor for Andover Newton Theological School, led workshops at Connecticut and National UCC Youth Events, and been appointed as an Adjunct Instructor in the "Design for Leadership" program at Defiance College. For the past 14 years, Ericson has been the Director of the “Associates in Christian Education” (ACE) program which is co-sponsored by Hartford Seminary and the Connecticut Conference of the UCC. He also expresses his faith through songwriting, and his music has been published and used in many UCC conference and national settings. Ericson has a B.S. in Psychology from Trinity College in Hartford, CT and a Master of Divinity degree from Andover Newton Theological School in Newton, MA.
Cost: $250, which includes $25 for course materials, which will be distributed on the first day of the class.
To register for events, you can register and where appropriate pay online by clicking on the "register and pay" icon or print out the registration form and send it with a check or your credit card information to:
Educational Outreach Events
c/o Yvette Law
Hartford Seminary
77 Sherman Street, Hartford CT 06105
