Windows on the World
Windows on the World is intended to stimulate personal involvement in and knowledge of some of the crucial and controversial issues facing Christians today. Through these forums, the campus community is exposed to Christian thinkers and activists who model our motto of “the whole gospel for the whole world.”
Presentations are Fridays, 10 a.m. in McInnis Auditorium (St. Davids campus) unless otherwise indicated.
Sponsored by the Office of the Provost
Open to the public.
Click here to download PDF of the schedule
Spring 2013
*followed by informal lunch - see endnote
January 18*: MARTIN LUTHER KING JR COMMEMORATION: Dr. Clarence Lusane, Associate Professor of Political Science in the School of International Service at American University. “King, Obama, and the Arc of Justice”. Dr. Lusane’s presentation will focus on the link between Dr. King’s vision of a just and equal world and the campaign and hopes engaged in the election of our first (and policy progressive) black president, and what remains to be done. (see http://clarencelusane.blogspot.com)
January 25*: Chris Heuertz, Senior Strategist for Word Made Flesh (www.wordmadeflesh.org). "Re-Membering Community”. Our notions of community are filled with unrealistic idealizations and expectations. These expectations often lead to disappointment, and in turn we find ourselves perpetually transitioning in and out of communities looking for the “perfect one”. If we stay in a community long enough, we will experience challenges which include failure, doubt, betrayal, the mundane, a loss of identify, messy transitions... Chris will lead us in considering the possibility of using these inevitable challenges as a reason to stay rather a reason to leave. Can these challenges be invitations to discover unexpected gifts?
February 1: Michael Brix, Executive Director of Yes, And...Collaborative Arts (www.yesandcamp.org). “Art in the Age of Trayvon”. How can collaborative arts encourage participation in the global conversation?
February 8 *: Faith Forum: David Kinnaman. David Kinnaman is the president and majority owner of Barna Group. He is the author of the best-selling books unChristian (2007) and You Lost Me (2011), both of which explore the attitudes of 16- to 29-year-olds in relation to Christianity, church and culture. David frequently speaks publicly on topics of spiritual and cultural trends, teenagers and young adults, vocation, calling, and leadership. David Kinnaman will be our Faith Forum Speaker (on the St. Davids campus) from Feb 6 – Feb 8. This will be a significant event for our university.
February 15*: Barbara Shaiman, Founder of Champions of Caring. “Live Your Legacy Now”, co-sponsored with EU’s Multicultural Student Initiative (MAC). Barbara Shaiman is a noted educator, businesswoman and social entrepreneur who empowers others to create social change. In 1995, she founded Champions of Caring, a non-profit organization that has empowered over 10,000 youths in Philadelphia and South Africa to become leaders in public service and active, engaged citizens. The overwhelming success of Champions of Caring has led her to create her newest venture, Embrace Your Legacy. She is the author of two books, Live Your Legacy Now: Ten Simple Steps to Find Your Passion and Change the World, and her newest book, Live Your Legacy Now! My Portfolio, to share her message and encourage adults of all ages and backgrounds to embrace and live their legacies. As the daughter of Holocaust survivors, Shaiman knows the importance – and the accompanying sense of responsibility – that comes with legacy.
February 22: Dr. Tara Stoppa, EU Assistant Professor of Psychology. “On the Journey: The Religious and Spiritual Development of Emerging Adults”. Emerging adulthood, the period between ages 18-24, is a critical time for the formation of attitudes and behaviors, including those related to religious and spiritual development. Tara will discuss what is currently known about religious and spiritual development among young people during this important period, as well as associations with other salient areas of development, and potential practical implications.
March 1: Spring Break Commissioning. This will be a formal commissioning of Eastern students who will spend their Spring Break on Eastern-sponsored service trips (academic, athletic, missions).
March 15*: Dr. Glenn Hinson. “Fire In My Bones”. Dr. Hinson is a folklorist and a cultural anthropologist who has studied African American Pentecostal worship services. As an ethnographer, he emphasizes the validity of religious experience and describes the ways in which that experience enriches the lives of believers. He has written a book entitled, Fire in My Bones: Transcendence and the Holy Spirit in African American Gospel. Currently he is studying “dream songs” or “gift songs” that come from the Holy Spirit. Also at 3 p.m. in Gough Great Room: As part of the third year of the On Knowing Humanity colloquia series, Dr. Hinson will respond from a secular perspective to a paper by EU professors Eloise Meneses, Ben Hartley, Lindy Backues, David Bronkema, and Eric Flett. Their paper is titled Engaging the Religiously Committed Other: Anthropologists and Theologians in Dialogue and is available upon request from Dr. Meneses at emeneses@eastern.edu.
March 22: Calenthia Dowdy, Associate Professor of Youth Ministry. “Youth, Faith, and Activism in Rio de Janeiro: Reworking global identities while undoing local violence”. Rewind to 1993 when a critical event marked a climax of violence against poor black and brown youth who were being murdered daily in the streets of Rio. The city’s image of paradise on earth, and Brazil’s self-narrative of racial democracy were suffering the effects. In resistance, favela (shantytown) youth responded by creating alternative spaces, worldviews, and identities. Faith, and re-imaging space became tools these young people used to disrupt structural violence and re-work local and global identity.
April 5: Jonathan Yonan, Dean of Templeton Honors College. “Catholicity and Civility: The Hope and Practice of Christian Unity”. The norms of Christian orthodoxy, from the Scripture to the great ecumenical creeds, talk of one Church, which is the one body of Christ (Ephesians 4). In the Apostles’ Creed and thereafter, that body is depicted as the “holy catholic church” – notably singular. The Nicene Creed opens with credium (we believe) while the Chalcedonian Creed opens with docemus (we teach), making Christian orthodoxy the unified, public profession of the whole Church, stated with one corporate voice. Yet, despite all this, as of 2001, World Christian Encyclopedia reported that there are upwards of 38,000 Christian denominations. What then can we say and do for the unity of The Church?
April 12: Franklin Oikelome, Assistant Professor of Organizational Leadership in the Campolo College for Graduate and Professional Studies. “Getting a Fair Shake: The Experience of Migrant and Minority Workers Across Three Continents”. Based on his new book co-authored with Geraldine Healthy, Franklin’s presentation will provide a global perspective on the working experience of international migrants and minority workers across three continents, in particular, the UK, USA, and Nigeria.
April 19*: Taryn Deaton, Palmer Seminary Alum and current Director of Development of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty in Washington, DC, with Executive Director, J. Brent Walker. “Directing Traffic at the Intersection of Church and State”. Religious liberty is always one generation away from extinction. A recent survey found that only 28 percent of respondents could identify religious freedom as one of the five freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment. Mr. Walker and Ms. Deaton will talk about the Baptist Joint Committee’s work in our nation’s capital to educate policy makers and citizens alike about religious liberty and the institutional separation of church and state. They will also discuss current church-state issues.
April 26*: Dr. Omri Elisha. “Urban Evangelical Prayer Movements and Protestant Revivalism”. Dr. Elisha is a cultural anthropologist who has studied the church experience and outreach efforts of evangelical megachurches. His work reveals the tensions between the values placed on unconditional love and on accountability in the evangelical sub-culture. He has written a booked entitled, Moral Ambitions: Mobilization and Social Outreach in Evangelical Megachurches. He is currently studying the strategic methods of citywide prayer movements. Also at 3 p.m. in Gough Great Room: As part of the third year of the On Knowing Humanity colloquia series, Dr. Elisha will respond from a secular perspective to a paper by EU professors Eloise Meneses, Ben Hartley, Lindy Backues, David Bronkema, and Eric Flett. Their paper is titled Engaging the Religiously Committed Other: Anthropologists and Theologians in Dialogue and is available upon request from Dr. Meneses at emeneses@eastern.edu.
* After this presentation, the Provost’s Office will host a luncheon in Baird Library to extend the conversation over a meal. These informal Windows luncheons are held from 11:30 until 1 or so in Baird Library in Walton Hall (2nd floor). Participants go through the Dining Commons line and bring their lunches back to Baird Library. Any guests who do not have a meal plan just give their names to the Sodexo cashier outside the Dining Commons (mentioning the Windows Luncheon).
