Friday January 27th Late Afternoon Coffee

Today we had the first of the Science and Religion monthly faculty luncheons.
Eleven of us gathered at WTU. First we caught up with each other over lunch in the Board room; then we did business--such as a possible speaker for our March luncheon [this luncheon is open to the public].

Before one o'clock we got to the heart of the meeting:

1. Dr. Larry Fagg, physicist from Catholic University [our group of about 30 is evenly divided between theologians and scientists], gave a fine summary of several of the talks given at a recent symposium honoring Teilhard de Chardin, the well-known Jesuit paleontologist. I would liked to have heard more--later we decided to try to have a presentation next fall on Teilhard.

2. Then Dr. Fred Ware of the Divinity School at Howard explained his proposed paper on Black Pentecostalism, Contemporary Science, and Narrative Constuctions of Reality. This proposal was filled with great ideas. It precipitated a lengthy discussion--I told him afterward that he will have to write 3 books to deal with all the ideas that came out on the table. The discussion actually continued in pairs and triads for another 20 minutes after the meeting broke up at 2:00.

The group decided to meet again on Friday, Februay 24 at WTU for lunch and another paper.

There is always lots of food for thought--or at least several cappuccinos.

John

Essay Contest Results
Congratulations to the winners of the Washington Theological Consortium Student Board Essay Contest!
We received 21 entries--a large number for the first year of a contest! The essays were judged by a panel of faculty experts in ecumenism, all of whom are affiliated with the Ecumenism Committee of the Consortium's Board of Trustees. This was a blind judging process: the judges were not given any information that would identify the contestants.

The essays were evaluated both on their ecumenical content/ potential for advancing Christian unity, and on their scholarship/ publishable quality. Because of a tie, the judges awarded four prizes instead of the three prizes that were originally planned. The winners, in alphabetical order by title, are:

Love's Dynamic Attunement: A Theological Aesthetic Perspective of "Assurance of Salvation" by Brother Ignatius Schweitzer, OP, of the Dominican House of Studies
Muslim Dispute Resolution in America: A Challenge of Religious Pluralism by Jane Juliano of Wesley Theological Seminary
Pastor Aeternus in Perspective: Vincent Gasser and John Henry Newman on Papal Infallibility by Jay Carney of The Catholic University of America

Yves Congar and Stanley Grenz on the Work of the Holy Spirit in the Church by Laurie Mellinger of The Catholic University of America

Congratulations to the authors of the winning essays, and to all who took part in the contest. Special thanks to the hardworking, anonymous faculty judges--you know who you are--Thank You! And thanks and congratulations to Katherine Case, Student Board Chair, and to all the members of the Student Board, who have really outdone themselves this year.

Essay Contest Results

Congratulations to the winners of the Washington Theological Consortium Student Board Essay Contest!

We received 21 entries--a large number for the first year of a contest! The essays were judged by a panel of faculty experts in ecumenism, all of whom are affiliated with the Ecumenism Committee of the Consortium's Board of Trustees. This was a blind judging process: the judges were not given any information that would identify the contestants.

The essays were evaluated both on their ecumenical content/ potential for advancing Christian unity, and on their scholarship/ publishable quality. Because of a tie, the judges awarded four prizes instead of the three prizes that were originally planned. The winners, in alphabetical order by title, are:

Love's Dynamic Attunement: A Theological Aesthetic Perspective of "Assurance of Salvation" by Brother Ignatius Schweitzer, OP, of the Dominican House of Studies

Muslim Dispute Resolution in America: A Challenge of Religious Pluralism by Jane Juliano of Wesley Theological Seminary

Pastor Aeternus in Perspective: Vincent Gasser and John Henry Newman on Papal Infallibility by Jay Carney of the Catholic University of America

Yves Congar and Stanley Grenz on the Work of the Holy Spirit in the Church by Laurie Mellinger of the Catholic University of America

Congratulations to the authors of the winning essays, and to all who took part in the contest. Special thanks to the hardworking, anonymous faculty judges--you know who you are--Thank You! And thanks and congratulations to Katherine Case, Student Board Chair, and to all the members of the Student Board, who have really outdone themselves this year.

Essay Contest Results

Congratulations to the winners of the Washington Theological Consortium Student Board Essay Contest!

We received 21 entries--a large number for the first year of a contest! The essays were judged by a panel of faculty experts in ecumenism, all of whom are affiliated with the Ecumenism Committee of the Consortium's Board of Trustees. This was a blind judging process: the judges were not given any information that would identify the contestants.

The essays were evaluated both on their ecumenical content/ potential for advancing Christian unity, and on their scholarship/ publishable quality. Because of a tie, the judges awarded four prizes instead of the three prizes that were originally planned. The winners, in alphabetical order by title, are:

Love's Dynamic Attunement: A Theological Aesthetic Perspective of "Assurance of Salvation" by Brother Ignatius Schweitzer, OP, of the Dominican House of Studies


Muslim Dispute Resolution in America: A Challenge of Religious Pluralism by Jane Juliano of Wesley Theological Seminary

Pastor Aeternus in Perspective: Vincent Gasser and John Henry Newman on Papal Infallibility by Jay Carney of The Catholic University of America

Yves Congar and Stanley Grenz on the Work of the Holy Spirit in the Church by Laurie Mellinger of The Catholic University of America

Congratulations to the authors of the winning essays, and to all who took part in the contest. Special thanks to the hardworking, anonymous faculty judges--you know who you are--Thank You! And thanks and congratulations to Katherine Case, Student Board Chair, and to all the members of the Student Board, who have really outdone themselves this year.

I enjoyed a very pleasant prelude to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which begins today. Yesterday I met our Board member Rev. James Somerville for lunch. The time wasn't half long enough--no time for coffee at all. But pleasant indeed.

Rev. Jim is the Chair of the Consortium's Board of Trustees' Communications Committee. Naturally he is among the people to whom I report. We did discuss business, and after that we were able to really focus on the real business of the Consortium: ecumenism.

Rev. Jim is the Pastor of First Baptist Church here in DC, and I am Roman Catholic. We had a lot to discuss regarding our differing points of view. Jim thinks, and I agree, that an important part of ecumenical dialogue is for each participant to explain the meaningful aspects of his/ her own tradition.

It was an interesting discussion, amiable and well-intentioned. I understand him better, and in retrospect I understand my college friendships, one of which was with a Baptist "Preacher's Kid," better as well. I enjoyed the chance to put into words my love for the Eucharist--the heart of my faith as a Catholic.

Next time I see Jim it will be on a new level of respect than when we met yesterday. That is already a great deal. For the rest, I ask you to join me in asking the Holy Spirit to bless and improve all our efforts for unity and cooperation in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Mulling over things with a little cappuccino--

Last Wednesday I was over at Howard for the Orientation Luncheon for new students. I sat with a couple new students--they both said they took a number of years to say 'yes' to the call. One was a little unsettled about going back to school after a break of several years. I tried to be reassuring--it will just take a bit of adjustment!! This is what I think--the experience of life [this woman had been in the military] grounds us and the study skills come back. A little prayer helps too!

This morning--January 12--I stopped by Wesley to have breakfast with a former student and talk about an independent study course on Virtue EThics. This was a great experience. He is sharing his reflections on the virtues in his Conference newsletter. I think it is good if our academic work can translate into a benefit for our community.

Coffee has run out!!