SLT Schedule

Monday, January 8, 2024

1:30 – 3:00 PM: Registration Open

Location: Gathering Area, 2nd floor, Seminary Building

3:00 – 3:30 PM: Opening Worship

Location: Martin Chapel, 2nd Floor, Seminary Building

3:30 – 4:45 PM: Teaching Session #1 – Introduction to the Theme

Title: Jesus, Division, and the Politics of Life

Presenter: Rev. Dr. Timothy W. Reardon, Assistant Professor of New Testament, Eastern Mennonite University

Description: On the cusp of Jesus’s birth, Zechariah prophesies about the one who will come to teach us “to walk in the way of peace” (Luke 1:79), yet the first words from Jesus as his ministry begins in Nazareth—a prophetic announcement of prisoner release and economic justice—lead eventually to his hometown crowd trying to throw him from a cliff. Though popularly known for ethical maxims about loving enemies and the golden rule, this Jesus is clear “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matt 10:34). Jesus was divisive, and he knew it. His way of peace did not always look so peaceable, nor did he flee from the political. Yet amid this, he pursued what we might call a “politics of life,” for a community of life. As we consider pursuing peace in a divisive world, what lessons can we learn from this Jesus?
 

5:00 – 6:45 PM: Dinner/Supper Break

7:00 – 9:00 PM: Worship & Keynote #1

Location: Martin Chapel, 2nd Floor, Seminary Building
Speaker: Rev. Melissa Florer-Bixler
Title: Ministry during the election cycle: politics without despair
Description: 2024 marks another election season in a climate of increased hostility and animosity. How can church leaders faithfully and hopefully lead congregations during these months ahead? What do our politics have to do with our pulpits?
 

Tuesday, January 9, 2024

8:00 – 8:30 AM: Coffee, Tea & Gathering

Location: Gathering Area, 2nd floor, Seminary Building

8:30 – 9:30 AM: Worship & Teaching Session #2

Teaching Session #2

Title: Opportunities and Challenges of Pursuing Peace

Presenter: Rev. Adam Blagg, Senior Pastor at Otterbein UMC, volunteer chaplain at Sentara RHM, serves on the Seminary CPE Professional Advisory Group, and is the Co-Chair of Valley Interfaith Action, Harrisonburg Va.

Description: In the midst of a world that seems intent on being polarized, how do we move into deeper relationships that help bridge the gap between the world as it is and the world as it should be? This session will use the framework of broad-based organizing to explore what it means to build connections across divides that often keep us separated. Practical examples of what this work has looked like in Harrisonburg & Rockingham County will help us see the potential and frustration of pursuing peace.

10:15 – 10:45 AM: Snack Break & Fellowship

Location: Gathering Area, 2nd floor, Seminary Building

10:45 AM – 12:15 PM: Workshop Session #1

Location: Seminary Building various rooms

12:15 – 1:30 PM: Lunch Break

EMU Dining Hall located in the lower level of Northlawn Residence Hall

1:30 – 5:00 PM (actual times vary): Excursions

(Pre-selection on registration is required, only ONE selection per person)

Brethren Mennonite Heritage Center: $9.00

EMU Campus option:

Bonhoeffer: Cell 92: $9.00

A Cinematic Theater production created by Jerry Holsopple & Justin Poole which depicts the life of German dissident and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was imprisoned and murdered for his opposition to Hitler and the Nazi regime in World War II. He spent one and half years in prison before being hanged in April 1945, just weeks from the end of the war.

5:00 – 6:45 PM: Dinner/Supper Break

EMU Dining Hall located in the lower level of Northlawn Residence Hall

7:00 – 9:00 PM: Worship and Keynote #2

Location: Martin Chapel, 2nd Floor, Seminary Building
Speaker: Rev. Adam Russell Taylor
Title: Where Do We Go From Here--Toxic Polarization or the Beloved Community?
Description: Rev. Adam Russell Taylor will focus on tools for overcoming polarization
in our society, our politics, and our churches, including the role that a shared moral
vision plays in that effort. Rev. Taylor will also discuss the importance of identifying and
fostering a healthier Christian engagement in public life and politics.

Wednesday, January 10, 2024

7:30 – 9:00 AM: Hot Breakfast option

EMU Dining Hall located in the lower level of Northlawn Residence Hall

8:00 – 8:30 AM: Coffee, Tea & Gathering

Location: Gathering Area, 2nd floor, Seminary Building

8:30 – 9:30 AM: Worship & Teaching Session #3

Teaching Session #3

Title: Spiritual practices for building communities of peace

Presenter: Rev. Shannon W. Dycus, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, Eastern Mennonite University

Description: Leadership in ministry invites us to develop and model healthy spiritual practices for the communities we engage. Traditional practices of prayer, fasting, or worship remain useful in our spiritual lives. This session will explore communal practices that develop and nurture shared attention to social identities and sacred response. The practices of Jesus and liberation theology guide how these emerge and are incorporated into just and shared living.

9:30 – 10:15 AM: Conversation Circles

Location: Seminary Building various rooms

10:15 – 10:45 AM: Snack Break & Fellowship

Location: Gathering Area, 2nd floor, Seminary Building

10:45 AM-12:15 PM: Workshop Session 2

Location: Seminary Building various rooms

12:15 – 1:30 PM: Lunch Break

EMU Dining Hall located in the lower level of Northlawn Residence Hall

1:30 - 3:00 PM: Panel: Keynote & Teaching Session speakers & Closing Worship

Location: Martin Chapel, 2nd Floor, Seminary Building

 
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