Thursday Evening Opening Celebration
How intricately and
beautifully God made the universe within and outside us!
Celebrating this identity and unity from the tiny atom to the vast
universe will set the context for our weekend exploration of “New
Heaven, New Earth. Speaker Grace Wolf-Chase is a member of
the Astronomy faculty at the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy
Museum
and
a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Astronomy and
Astrophysics at the University of Chicago. Her work combines
academic research on the formation of stars and planetary systems
with education and public outreach. As part of the ELCA Task Force
on Education she has helped draft the proposed social statement on
education for the August 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.
|
 |
Friday morning
Plenary speaker Vítor Westhelle was called to the Lutheran School of Theology
at Chicago in 1993 as associate professor and promoted to
professor of systematic theology in 1999. Before joining the
seminary's faculty, Dr. Westhelle was on the faculty of Luther
Northwestern Theological Seminary and Escola Superior de Teologia,
Brazil. He was visiting professor at the University of Natal,
South Africa, and the University of Aarhus, Denmark.
Westhelle's book, available from Augsburg Fortress.
Friday Evening
Plenary speaker Immaculée Ilibagiza is a survivor
of the Rwandan genocide and author of the book Left to Tell:
Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust. Four years
after the Rwandan tragedy, Immaculée
immigrated to the United States and began working for the United
Nations in New York City. She’s currently a member of the United
Nations Development Program and is accompanying Wayne Dyer, author
of The Power of Intention, during his public television special
Inspiration: Your Ultimate Calling world tour. Founder of the Left
to Tell Charitable Fund, Immaculée helps others learn to forgive
and heal from the long-term effects of genocide and war.
http://www.lefttotell.com
Ilibagiza's book, available on Amazon.com.
Saturday morning
Come learn how 66 million Lutherans make a difference by
working together globally through the Lutheran World Federation,
celebrating its 60th birthday. Ms Priscilla Singh, LWF Executive
Secretary for Women in Church and Society (WICAS) in the
Department for Mission and Development, will introduce the work of
the LWF. A panel of participants, including LWF Council Member
David Pfrimmer of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, will
deepen the discussion. LWF North American Officer Kathy Magnus
will facilitate the discussion.
Priscilla Singh has served as the Lutheran
World Federation
Secretary for the Desk for Women in Church and Society for the
past eight years. Her advocacy work involves mobilizing the
churches to say no to violence against women, highlighting a
faith-based approach to water issues and in lending our expertise
to ecumenical and international organizations such as the UN
Commission on Status of Women.
Priscilla comes from the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church in
India and is trained as a theologian, a teacher and with an
emphasis in women studies. Prior to joining the LWF she served the
11 member United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India in a
similar capacity. She is married and has two adult children.
Sunday Morning
ELCA
Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson (also President of the Lutheran
World Federation) will preach Sunday morning.
