Lecture Descriptions
Lecture A: Rev. Dr. Lisa Dahill
Title: Eco-Reformation: Toward the Next 500 Years
Outcomes: Participants in this session will experience a) key themes in Lutheran theology and spirituality that offer insight towards today’s ecological crises; b) ideas for ways to explore these themes in personal and communal prayer and worship; and c) an open door into the world, both to get to know one’s own bio-region and to speak and act, as Luther did, with political/ theological courage today.
Bio: Lisa E. Dahill is Associate Professor of Religion at CLU and an ELCA pastor rostered in this synod. A native southern Californian, she came to CLU in 2015 from Columbus, OH, where she had taught worship and Christian spirituality at Trinity Lutheran Seminary since 2005. She has served as president of the international Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality and is a scholar of Lutheran spirituality and a translator of Bonhoeffer’s works in the Fortress Press Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works series. Most recently, she is exploring a Bonhoeffer-ean ecological spirituality and the sacramental implications of moving worship outdoors. Her most recent book is a co-edited volume of essays for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, exploring eco-theological themes with 15 other terrific Lutherans; the book is titled Eco-Reformation: Grace and Hope from a Planet in Peril (Wipf & Stock, Cascade Books, 2017). She loves to be outdoors in all seasons, especially on her bike, hiking with friends, or swimming in the ocean.
Lecture B: Rev. Dr. Colleen Windham-Hughes
Title: Tending the Changing Church with “a living, daring confidence in God’s grace”
Outcomes: Participants will a) re/connect to the deep spiritual work of reform and change by b) listening to the faithful witness of young people and c) engaging this cultural moment with honesty and hope.
Bio: Colleen Windham-Hughes is an Associate Professor of Religion at California Lutheran University. She teaches in two primary areas: Religion and Public Life and Practical Theology. In both areas she leads students in Academic Service Learning, in which students prepare academically, engage in service on and off campus, and reflect on deep connections between thinking and doing. Dr. Windham-Hughes is active in ecumenical dialogue and collaborates with faculty, staff, and students on projects related to vocation and interfaith. She has written for the Practice Discipleship initiative of the ELCA and supervises student interns in the Theology and Christian Leadership program. Ordained in the United Methodist Church, Dr. Windham-Hughes is involved in faith formation across the lifespan in both Methodist and Lutheran contexts.
Lecture C: Rev. Dr. Raymond Pickett
Title:Jesus and Our Communities
Description: This workshop will focus on using a community organizing lens to interpret the Gospel narratives. From this perspective Jesus is depicted as leading a popular prophetic movement responding to a social and economic crisis during the reign of Herod Antipas. Jesus was gathering and galvanizing people around a vision of the world ordered according to God’s purposes. He proclaimed and enacted the Kingdom or Commonwealth of God, which put him into conflict with powerful elites. The arts of community organizing provides a strategy and a set of practices for following Jesus in the context of our own communities by building relationships, developing leaders and working for justice.
Bio: A professor, ordained pastor, and community organizer now serves as the first rector of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary of California Lutheran University beginning his duties on June 1st. In his position Raymond will work with external constituencies and oversee the life and administration of the seminary.
For the past four years, Pickett and a group of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America leaders have engaged in community organizing to build relationships with neighbors and work together with a variety of partners to address issues such as racism, economic inequality and environmental problems. For three years, he chaired the committee that developed LSTC’s curriculum for preparing leaders for a church that is more engaged in communities and the struggle for justice. His research interests include political theology and political, cultural and economic interpretations of biblical texts.