C-67 Conference update

Latest info on C-67 conference

This updated information about the Confession of '67 Conference has been provided by the Rev. Christian Iosso, for the 3rd Way Project, and January 7, 2002. It includes bio information on the speakers, including Professor George Hunsinger of Princeton Theological Seminary, who has been added to the roster.

Click here for the schedule of the conference.

[1-7-02]

Dear Friends:

First, brochures on the February 3-4, 2002 Conference at Stony Point Conference Center, THE HOPE OF RECONCILIATION, are available by calling 914-941-1142. We can even fax one to you from our Fax, 944-0027. We are delighted in the strength of this line-up and thank God for the willingness of so many to help. As stated in the brochure, "At this conference we will celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the Confession of 1967, update its concerns, and reclaim the full confessional heritage of a reconciling church. The Confession of 1967 understood the Word of God to be Jesus Christ, witnessed through the Scriptures to a Church guided by The Book of Confessions... Through this conference ... we seek to develop strategies that make for wholeness in church and society: peace, racial justice, economic progress, environmental stewardship, ecumenism and inclusive church leadership."

Second, since the brochure, we have added one more speaker to our roster, Professor George Hunsinger of Princeton Theological Seminary. Prof. Hunsinger adds to the variety of viewpoints already present among the speakers. Several additional participants will be leading the worship with which the conference will conclude, and others are working on additional papers for publication.

Third, the Third Way Project, sponsor of this conference, is a group of congregations in the Presbyteries of Hudson River and New York City. We welcome wider support as we address additional concerns that deepen our church's thinking and "serve the kingdom" or reign of God. We are grateful for the support of the Challenge to Change Fund of Hudson River Presbytery, in addition to the congregational support.

Fourth, while we are most concerned to strengthen pastoral reflection and adult education in the presbyteries in our region, we also hope that this conference will prompt presbyteries, seminaries, and affinity groups in other regions to develop their own conferences. How do you understand the mission of reconciliation today?

Speakers are listed below in alphabetical order, with summaries of bio information.

PAUL E. CAPETZ - Associate Professor of Historical Theology at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul). A graduate of Yale Divinity School (M.Div.) and the University of Chicago Divinity School (Ph.D. Theology, Church History). Author of Christian Faith as Religion: A Study in the Theologies of Calvin and Schleiermacher (1998) and many articles and papers, including an influential essay on the Confessions and ordination in the 2000 Spring Journal of Presbyterian History. Dr. Capetz was a minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) until passage of Amendment B prompted his resignation.

LEWIS C. DALY - Director of the Religion and Democracy Program at the Institute for Democracy Studies, New York, NY. A graduate of Union Seminary (NY) (M.Div.) and the State University of New York at Buffalo (Ph.D. English Literature). A minister of the United Church of Christ, Dr. Daly has studied common elements in the internal politics of "mainline" Protestant churches. A Moment To Decide: The Crisis in Mainstream Presbyterianism (IDS, 2000) is one product of that study, corroborated in Leon Howell's Faith, Politics, Money & The Churches (2001) and the observations of recent General Assembly Moderators.

HEIDI HADSELL - President of Hartford Seminary, Hartford, Connecticut. A graduate of the University of California (Berkeley) (B.A.), Union Theological Seminary (NY) (MA), and University of Southern California (Ph.D. Social Ethics). Dr. Hadsell has taught at: the University of Santa Catarina, Brazil; McCormick Seminary (where she was also Dean); and the Ecumenical Institute of the World Council of Churches, Switzerland (where she was also Director). Her academic work has focused on globalization, environmental change (in Brazil in particular), and ecumenism, including leadership in the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC)--Roman Catholic Dialogue.

RICHARD HONG - President, Hawk Scientific Systems, a chemical engineering software company based in Kinnelon, New Jersey. A graduate of Princeton University (B.A.) and current student at Union Seminary (NY), Mr. Hong has worked extensively with the pharmaceutical industry in the area of computer applications. He is also developing a contemporary worship congregation as he begins seminary as a dual career advanced student.

GEORGE HUNSINGER - Hazel Thompson McCord Professor of Systematic Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary. Formerly, Director of the Center for (Karl) Barth Studies, and prior to that, Professor of Theology at Bangor Theological Seminary. A graduate of Stanford (A.B.) and Harvard Divinity School (B.D.), his Ph.D. is from Yale University. Dr. Hunsinger served at Theologian-in-Residence for the Riverside Church Disarmament Program under William Sloane Coffin, Jr. Author of several books on Karl Barth's theology and the recent, Disruptive Grace (2000). His academic work has included extensive study in Germany, and study of the ethics of peace and war. Dr. Hunsinger is also the chief author of the draft catechisms under study in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and a paper, Social Witness in Generous Orthodoxy, published by the Theology and Worship Unit of the Presbyterian Church. In addition to his work on denominational assignments, he has served on the Boards of American Christians for the Abolition of Torture and the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship. He is currently working on a theological commentary on Paul's Letter to the Romans.

CAROL F. JOHNSON - Assistant Professor of Theology and Culture and Director of the Faith, Wealth, and Community Leadership Project at Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, Indiana. Both projects supported by the Lilly Endowment, of which she has also served as a program director. She is ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Johnston received her Ph.D. degree from Claremont Graduate School in California; M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary in New York City; and her A.B. from Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Dr. Johnson has worked as a consultant on environmental issues for both the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Episcopal Church, and has been an adjunct professor at San Francisco Seminary and a teaching assistant at Claremont School of Theology. Her academic and church work has focused on economics and environment, Bible and nature, and the public roles of churches.

CURTIS JONES - Pastor of the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, Maryland. A graduate of Antioch College, Washington, DC (B.A.), Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div.) and United Theological Seminary (D.Min). Prior to entering seminary, Rev. Jones worked in civil rights organizing (including starting a cooperative supermarket in Philadelphia), and as a union organizer for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (ASFCME). His previous pastorate was with St. Luke Presbyterian Church, Dallas, Texas. Rev. Jones is the President of the National Black Presbyterian Caucus, and has served in many presbytery and denomination-wide leadership roles. As an entrepreneur in church-based urban development, Dr. Jones has led his congregation in starting a Senior Citizens Home, an adult learning center, a greeting card company, a Family Life Center and a youth training program. He co-chairs several affordable housing and community development programs in Baltimore. Part of his work toward this conference is to consult with Professor Gayraud Wilmore, a member of the drafting committee for the Confession of 1967, who may also be present with us if schedule and other factors permit.

DOUGLAS F. OTTATI - M.E. Pemberton Professor of Theology, Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. A graduate of the University of Chicago Divinity School (Ph.D.) and the University of Pennsylvania (B.A.), Dr. Ottati is an active elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Dr. Ottati's four books are: Hopeful Realism: Reclaiming the Poetry of Theology, Reforming Protestantism: Christian Commitment in Today's World, Jesus Christ and Christian Vision (2 editions) and Meaning and Method in H. Richard Niebuhr's Theology. Dr. Ottati is also one of three editors of the Library of Theological Ethics and has served on the Council on Theology and Culture (PCUS), and the Theology and Worship Ministry Unit. Author of numerous articles, he is also editor of The Book of Confessions: Study Edition, which may be of particular interest as background for conference participants.

ANNIE RAWLINGS - Director, the Bertram M. Beck Institute on Religion and Poverty, housed within the Graduate School of Social Service at Fordham University, New York, NY. Prior to running the programs of this research and advocacy program, Ms. Rawlings served as Executive Director of A Partnership of Faith in New York City, an interfaith organization devoted to uniting diverse religious voices on behalf of the City and its inhabitants. An elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Ms. Rawlings received her M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary (NY) and is active ecumenically and internationally. Prior to attending seminary she worked for 17 years in managerial positions in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations in New York City and San Francisco, where she participated in Architects, Designers and Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR).

DONALD W. SHRIVER - President and William E. Dodge Professor of Applied Christianity, Emeritus, Union Theological Seminary, New York. A Presbyterian minister and graduate of Davidson College, Union Theological Seminary (VA), Yale Divinity School, and Harvard University (Ph.D.). He has taught at North Carolina State, Emory, Drew and Columbia Universities and, in addition to honorary degrees, was named a fellow of the new American Academy in Berlin. Dr. Shriver has served on numerous committees of the church, while serving as both administrator and author of 12 books. These works include: The Lord's Prayer: A Way of Life, Beyond Success: Corporations and Their Critics (with economist James W. Kuhn), Is There Hope for the City? and, most recently and relevant to the Confession of 1967, An Ethic For Enemies: Forgiveness in Politics. He notes that his wife, Peggy Leu Shriver, has recently co-authored The Divided Church: Moving Liberals and Conservatives from Diatribe to Dialogue.

EUGENE TESELLE - Professor of Historical Theology, Emeritus, Vanderbilt University Divinity School, Nashville, Tennessee. A graduate of the University of Colorado (BA), Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and Yale University (Ph.D.). After being an assistant minister at the First Presbyterian Church of East Orange, NJ, for three years, went to Yale. Taught at Yale College during the Sixties, then at Vanderbilt Divinity School. Dr. TeSelle's scholarly activities have focused on Augustine and Aquinas and on various issues in theology. At Vanderbilt, he taught the course Theology in the Reformed Tradition for a number of years and thus got a fairly thorough acquaintance with our tradition, including the many ways it is far more than Calvin and Barth. In Nashville, he has been active with community organizing, neighborhood and school desegregation, and affordable housing. Dr. TeSelle also served on a General Assembly-related task force on Christian ethics and nuclear arms, 1968-88.

PHILIP L. WICKERI - Flora Lamson Hewlett Professor of Evangelism and Mission, San Francisco Theological Seminary. Perhaps the only Westerner ordained in China by the Chinese Christian Church in the last 60 years, Dr. Wickeri is a member of the Presbytery of the Hudson River, PC(USA) and the Episcopal Diocese of California. A graduate of Colgate University (BA), with the M.Div. and Ph.D. degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary, Dr. Wickeri taught extensively in China while also serving as Overseas Coordinator of the Amity Foundation, the international arm of the Chinese Christian Churches. Based in both Hong Kong and Nanjing, Dr. Wickeri had a major role in the development of a printing press to resume the publication of Bibles in China. His academic work, in Chinese and English, focuses on international evangelism, mission and ecumenics.