Elkins – Social and political issues, a deeper understanding of our diversities, and an insightful look into the parables of Jesus will highlight a lecture series this fall at Davis & Elkins College. Scheduled monthly, September through November, all presentations are free and open to the public.
International Peacemaker the Rev. Moon-Sook Lee, Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK), will deliver a public presentation at 3 p.m. Sunday, September 29 in Halliehurst. She also will participate in the worship service at 8 p.m. in Robbins Memorial Chapel. An ordained minister, Lee has served as the executive secretary of the Asian Church Women’s Conference since 2011. She is an active ecumenical advocate for gender justice – including the full participation of women in church and society and the eradication of sexual violence and sex-trafficking, ecological justice, and peace and reconciliation on the Korean peninsula. The event is sponsored by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and the Morrison-Novakovic Center for Faith and Public Policy.
The annual Phipps Lecture will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, October 17 in Madden Student Center, Timms Lounge. Dr. Amy-Jill Levine will deliver the presentation titled “Jesus the Jewish Storyteller: Hearing the Parables in Their Time and Ours.” Levin is university professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies, Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies and professor of New Testament Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School and College of Arts and Science. She also is affiliated professor at Centre for the Study of Jewish-Christian Relations in Cambridge, England. The event is sponsored by the Phipps Lectureship Endowment.
Refugees from the Middle East, along with two scholar-activists from Church World Service and the Presbyterian Church (USA), will present a panel discussion at 7 p.m. Monday, October 28 in Halliehurst. Focusing on the complexities of refugee and asylum issues, their presentation is titled “Stories of Resilience from Refugee Experience.” The event is sponsored by the Morrison-Novakovic Center for Faith and Public Policy.
On Wednesday, November 6, West Virginia State Senator Stephen Baldwin, a Presbyterian pastor in Ronceverte, West Virginia, will deliver a lecture at 7 p.m. in Halliehurst. His talk is titled “Navigating Faith and Politics: A Conversation with West Virginia State Senator and Presbyterian Pastor Stephen Baldwin.” The event is sponsored by the Morrison-Novakovic Center for Faith and Public Policy.