VST Public Lectures: Summer 2010
All Lectures Are Free of Charge
John Bell
Tuesday, July 6, 7:00pm, West Point Grey Presbyterian Church, 4397 West 12th Ave.
‘Scripture As A Source For Song’
Just as before the Reformation, the Catholic Church had a fair selection of songs which tended more to popular piety than to biblical spirituality, so in our present era the rise in first-person singular songs of devotion can detract from singing songs which reflect faith as witnessed to in the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament. In this seminar we will explore some psalms we love and some we almost certainly avoid, as well as songs which speak of the life of Jesus (as distinct from his birth and death) and songs which remind us of the ancestors in faith, male and female who are worthy to be praised and emulated.
John L. Bell is a hymn writer, author, and member and employee of the Iona Community.
Dr. Ross Labrie
Thursday, July 8, 7:00pm, VST’s Chapel of the Epiphany. Reception, 5:30pm, VST Library.
‘Thomas Merton On Marx And Marxism’
Thomas Merton’s view of Marx altered appreciably in the 1960s as his growing detachment from Western capitalism led him to achieve a fine balance in his perspective of the politics of East and West. This distinguished his views from those of many in his church and country.
Ross Labrie, President of the Thomas Merton Society of Canada, is Professor Emeritus of the University of British Columbia, and the author of a number of books and articles on American literature. These include two books on Thomas Merton, The Art of Thomas Merton (1979) and Thomas Merton and the Inclusive Imagination.
Co-sponsored by VST and the Thomas Merton Society of Canada.
The Rev. Karen Ward (VST Visiting Distinguished Scholar)
Friday, July 9, 7:00pm, St. Philip’s Anglican Church, 3737 West 27th Ave. at Dunbar st.
Parish as Abbey: ‘Third Place and Spiritual Space for Mission’
‘Third place perichoresis’ describes the approach to engaging God’s mission at Church of the Apostles, Seattle. This public lecture will describe an emerging missional landscape where art, espresso and the Missio Dei meet.
Karen M. Ward is an Episcopal Priest and the Abbess of Church of the Apostles, Seattle. She is the founder of anglimergent.org and the co-founder of episcopalvillage.org , initiatives for emerging church expressions.
The Visiting Distinguished Scholar series is an endowed lecture series which brings significant thinkers to Vancouver.
Ms. Raheel Raza (Iona Pacific Visiting Author)
Tuesday, July 13, 7:00 pm, VST’s Chapel of the Epiphany
‘Muslims in Canada – Is There A Crisis Of Identity?’
Can Muslims retain their faith and identity and at the same time accept and function within the secular and pluralistic traditions of North America?
Raheel Raza is an award winning writer, public speaker, interfaith and intercultural diversity consultant, documentary film maker, poet, playwright, interfaith advocate and is the author of Their Jihad . . . Not My Jihad!
