Awhile back, I wrote here about the Chinese artist He Qi. Near the end I mentioned that “there’s a chance we may be bringing his work to campus for an exhibition in the fall.” Several commented that they hoped it would come to pass.

Well, after a few months of hard work, it has become a reality. “Look Toward the Heavens: The Art of He Qi,” an exhibition of 43 artist proof giclee works, is now open on the Concordia Seminary campus. The exhibition is housed in the gallery of Concordia Historical Institute, the first building on the left on the Seminary Drive entrance into campus from Clayton Road. It is the first (only?) time He Qi’s art has been exhibited in the St. Louis area.

Moreover, He Qi (pronounced huh chee) will be here “in the flesh” on Thursday and Friday. His exhibition is a stunning collection,…

The American Kantorei, under the direction of Robert Bergt

Recent events notwithstanding, the arts—in particular, classical music—will continue to be alive and well on the Concordia Seminary campus. (In case you don’t know, both KFUO stations broadcast from the Concordia campus, even though they are owned by The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.)

Case in point, the just-announced 18th season of the renowned Bach at the Sem series will premiere on October 25. Bach at the Sem features presentations of J. S. Bach’s music by The American Kantorei, under the direction of Robert Bergt. But as you’ll see below, Bach isn’t the only composer whose music bellows the gracious space of the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus. In the best cultural tradition of St. Louis-Forest Park, there is no admission charge and no tickets are issued. So, be warned, the seats go fast.

The 2009-2010 Bach at the Sem season is as follows:

Sunday, October 25, 3:00 p.m. Psalm 130:…

Spencer Tracy, courtesy of TCM Photo Gallery. (Everything I ever needed to know about reporting I learned from the movies. Sort of.)

There have been reductions in the number of reporters who write about religion full-time at all of the nation’s biggest newspapers [...]. The surviving newspaper religion sections are getting smaller. And at many small and mid-sized newspapers, reporters now juggle coverage of religion with other, often unrelated, subjects, and religion often gets short shrift.

So wrote Michael Paulson of the Boston Globe last month, in an article about the annual meeting of the Religion Newswriters Association entitled “Religion reporting: An endangered beat?”  He went on to note that on-line writing about the subject, especially blogging, has increased, but that

Much of the on-line work is focused on a particular faith group, and is written from a particular ideological or theological perspective, which differentiates it from traditional religion journalism. At the most recent denominational…

The Fates are traveling to St. Louis for two concerts–one in the folkie haven of MoKaBe’s coffee shop,  one at the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Center for Spirituality and Sustainability.

The Traveling Fates is the latest collaboration of S.J. “Sooj” Tucker, Ginger Doss and Bekah Kelso. All three have independent recording careers. The trio last appeared in the St. Louis area in July while on their way to another event. As they so often do to earn extra cash between official gigs, they set up in a friend’s living room for a few sets. It was the first time I’d heard Tucker live. And the first time I knew she’d teamed up with a couple other singers. (That sound you hear is my friends deleting several “cool points” from my tally.)

The Traveling Fates are S.J. Tucker, Ginger Doss, and Bekah Kelso. Photo courtesy Traveling Fates.

As I love three-part harmony, folk music,  alternative bluesy…

Concordia Seminary’s 20th annual Theological Symposium is September 22-23, and this is the issue at hand. “Science and theology” isn’t necessarily anything new, although the dialogue between the two has often been tenuous at best. But the “new questions and new conversations” certainly is. The symposium will walk the cutting edge of where science and theology intersect today, as well as the ethical implications that these intersections leave us with.

Behind all this is the attempt to get beyond the stereotypically American preoccupation between evolution and creationism. There are simply too many interesting questions out there on which both science and theology can provide answers that are mutually beneficial and enriching. And it is on those questions that we will be focused September 22-23.

To do that, the primary plenary speakers will be leading scientists from diverse backgrounds:

Benjamin Schumacher on “Elusive Reality: Quantum Physics and Theology.” Dr. Schumacher is a physics professor at…

Luther Tower, home to Concordia's landmark carillon

TOMORROW (Wednesday, Aug 12) at 7:00PM, Jacob Bodden, a 10 year-old boy from Amersfoort, Holland, will give a free carillon concert at Concordia Seminary.

After taking carillon lessons for only a year and a half, Jacob has played concerts at the Belgium Monument in Amersfoort, the Munt Tower in Amsterdam, and the tower in Hilvarenbeek. Last summer, he was interviewed and filmed in Amersfoort for being the youngest carillonneur in the Netherlands.

A carillon is a series of bells housed in a tower and played on a keyboard, like an organ, only more difficult. Concordia Seminary’s carillon (housed in Luther Tower) contains 49 bells, ranging in size from 17 pounds to 2.5 tons. The carillon is played for special events and for a regular concert series every Tuesday evening in June.

Guests are invited to bring lawn chairs, blankets, and picnics to enjoy in the main quad or…

That’s the title of a summer workshop I will be leading later this month (July 27-29) at Concordia Seminary. It’s a topic I’ve studied, talked, and thought about for a long time. Peter Mead, senior editor at Creative Communications for the Parish, will lead some of the presentations too. Even if you’re not interested in the workshop, it will feature a public reading at 4:00PM on Tuesday, July 28.

Here’s the blurb I wrote for the brochure:

This workshop will delve into various kinds of creative writing—poetry, storytelling (for “page” and “stage”), and creative nonfiction—and what it means to write in these genres as a person of faith. What role does faith play in the creative process? What makes a piece of writing religious? How is faith expressed through creativity? Questions like these will be explored through presentations, close readings, conversation and creative exercises. Although not required, participants are encouraged to bring…

Concordia Seminary will honor faculty members who have recently published books next Tuesday, May 19, 4:00-6:00PM, in the Seminary’s Koburg Hall (map and directions).

The celebration will include the requisite fine wine, hors d’oeuvres, and lively conversation. And the writers will be present to sign books. We’re not elitist at Concordia, so we want to celebrate with anyone who’d like to raise a glass to good writing and/or good theology. Everything is free but the books.

The following writers and their books will be feted:

• Charles Arand and Robert Kolb: The Genius of Luther’s Theology (Baker)

• Charles Arand, Robert Kolb and Robert Rosin: essays in The Pastoral Luther (Eerdmans)

• Kent Burreson: editor for He Was Crucified (Concordia)

• Robert Kolb: Martin Luther: Confessor of the Faith (Oxford)

• Reed Lessing: Concordia Commentary: Amos (Concordia)

• David Maxwell: an essay in In the Shadow of the Incarnation (Notre Dame)

• Francis Rossow: Gospel Patterns in Literature (Kirk House)

• Quentin Wesselschmidt: Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Psalms 51-150 (InterVarsity)

We plan to make this an annual…

Walter Wangerin, Jr.

Last Wednesday, Concordia Seminary hosted the visit of renowned writer and preacher Walter Wangerin, Jr. as part of the Seminary’s annual “Day of Homiletical Reflection.” Among his dozens of books are the National Book Award winner The Book of the Dun Cow, and his bestseller The Book of God. His visit held special meaning for me since I was his writing student as an undergrad at Valparaiso University.

But it was significant for another reason. It was the first viewing of the short film based on Wangerin’s short story/parable, “Ragman,” directed by one of St. Louis’ best indie film-makers, Dale Ward. Since it first gained popularity in the mid-80s, the powerful story of the Ragman has had a “viral” history, even before the Web gave us the term. One can track its circulation in church newsletters, sermons, dramas, discussion groups, and online. But aside from Wangerin’s own book, Ragman and Other…

Isidore of Seville is the Patron Saint of the Internet. Photo courtesy of www.bc.edu

Online conversations are great, but sometimes they’re no substitute for the real thing.

So, in the spirit of real (as opposed to virtual) interaction and engagement, you might want to stop by Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Webster Groves this Sunday for our Adult Forum. The topic? “Faith Online: The Pleasures and Perils of a Religion Blog.” Yup, that’s right, a few of the contributors from Civil Religion will be showing up “live and in person” to talk about the intersection of faith and technology, and more specifically the pros and cons of being a part of what goes on in these pages.

Confirmed panelists include Tim Townsend, religion reporter for the Post-Dispatch and founder of this blog; Travis Scholl, an editor at Concordia Seminary and an ordained Lutheran minister; Khalid Shah, a small business owner and teacher who…

Photo courtesy of the Episcopal School for Ministry

A group of students and friends of the Episcopal School for Ministry gathered at Eden Seminary on April 18 for a lecture entitled “Living the Resurrection” and given by the Rev. Dr. Ralph N. McMichael, Jr., Canon for Ministry Formation in the Diocese and Dean of the School.  I’m including an account of the lecture below, but first a few words about the the Episcopal School for Ministry are in order.  ESM meets monthly on the campus of Eden Seminary in Webster Groves and is still accepting registrations for the summer term, which gets underway properly on May 15 & 16.

This is a school for anyone who understands ministry to be an integral part of life, rather than being exclusively aimed at those whose ministries play themselves out in a professional or institutional capacity.  My experience of the place is that it’s about ministry as discipleship, not ministry as…

Capitol image courtesy of www.mo.gove

In an earlier post I wrote about the Rally for a Compassionate Missouri Budget coming up tomorrow, April 5, at the Old Courthouse.  More details have been announced, including that the speakers will include Dr. David Greenhaw, President of Eden Theological Seminary, F. Sessions Cole, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics at Washington University and Chief Medical Officer, Director of Newborn Medicine at Children’s Hospital, the Rev. Janet Scurlock, and Rabbi Susan Talve. Also, the Community Gospel Choir and a group called Disability Rap will perform.

The organizers are promising this will be a quick and focused rally.  Their press release reads, in part:

The Missouri House of Representatives passed on March 26 its version of the state budget which cuts $250 million from the safety net of vital state services. This is depsite hundreds of million dollars from the federal government in an emergency stimulus package designated specifically so sates (like…

Old Courthouse photo courtesy of www.mo.gov

They say that if you want to know a person’s real priorities in life, look at their checkbook.  “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” and all that (Matthew 6:21, for those who are wondering).  Well, what holds true for individuals often holds true for the state as well, and today Missouri’s leaders are faced with difficult choices about how to spend our money.

The decisions that our state government makes during these next few weeks regarding the 2010 budget will have real and lasting consequences for everyone in the state, but no persons will be more directly affected than the poor, the disabled, children, and the elderly.  In other words, those very people for whom we are most responsible, if we wish to be a just and compassionate society.

Lawmakers and others are pleading poverty for the state, saying that we simply can’t afford all of…

Dr. Efraín Agosto

TOMORROW night (Tues, March 31) Dr. Efraín Agosto, Dean of Hartford Seminary (Conn.) and professor of New Testament, will be speaking at Concordia Seminary on the topic of leadership, especially as it relates to the biblical letters of Paul (his area of expertise).

I just attended a lunch meeting where Dr. Agosto spoke. This promises to be a thought-provoking event at the intersections of leadership, Latino and multicultural issues, and the Bible.

The lecture will be at 7:00PM in the Seminary’s Werner Auditorium. It is free and open to the public.

(Werner Auditorium is on the north end of Concordia’s Clayton campus. DeMun Avenue dead-ends into a campus drive that leads into the north-end parking lot closest to the auditorium.)

The event is hosted by the Center for Hispanic Studies (CHS) at Concordia Seminary, and it is the fourth Annual Lecture in Hispanic/Latino Theology and Missions. The Center is also hosting a Latino…

www.reflector-online.com

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at the Church of the Immaculate Conception-414 E. 14th Street, New York City-on Tuesday, January 13, 2009, at 10 a.m.

A Christian wake in the form of a Vigil for the Deceased will be celebrated at the Church of the Immaculate Conception on Monday evening, January 12, at 7:30 p.m. Clergy who plan to attend are asked to sit with the congregation.

Tributes to Fr. Neuhaus can be found here.

socrates58.blogspot.com

December 31, 2008

Please forgive this group email, but so many have asked after the health of Richard John Neuhaus that is seemed best to send out this single message to all our friends.

Fr. Neuhaus is in the hospital here in New York. Over Thanksgiving, he was diagnosed with a serious cancer. The long-term prognosis for this particular cancer is not good, but it is not hopeless, either, and there is a possibility that it will respond to the recommended out-patient chemotherapy.

Unfortunately, over Christmas, he was taken dangerously ill with what seems to be a systemic infection that has left him very weak. Entering the hospital the day after Christmas, he was sedated to lower an elevated heart rate and treatment was begun for the infection. Over the last few days, he has shown some signs of improvement, and there is a reasonable expectation that he will recover from this present…

Monday, December 1, is World AIDS Day. According to e-alliance, the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance website, this yearly commemoration is

a unique opportunity when governments, national AIDS programs, faith organizations, community organizations, and individuals around the world come together to bring attention to the global AIDS epidemic. On World AIDS Day each of us can reflect on the ways HIV and AIDS affects us personally, how it affects our local communities and country, and how we can respond to the global pandemic. [...] Faith-based organizations have a special responsibility to encourage and highlight religious leadership in the response to HIV and AIDS.

Looking back 25 years or more, it’s clear that the religious community does not have an unblemished record on this issue. Bigotry, fear, and ignorance have all played a role in how the different sectors of our society, including faith communities, have responded to the emergence and spread of this disease. But…

“Do the good that you can do today.”

Image courtesy of the Oakland Institute (www.oaklandinstitute.org)

My priest gives this advice on a regular basis. It sounds so simple, but I think in reality we tend to disregard it in one of two major ways: either by thinking that The Problem is so large that there is no good that we can do, or by thinking we’re already doing enough when in fact with a little effort we could do so much more. Maybe we have great ideas for ways we’re going to pitch in or help out or lend a hand, but we confidently plan to do them “tomorrow” and then somehow tomorrow never comes. Either way, thinking gets in the way of action and the good remains undone.

I’d like to occasionally throw out a good idea in this blog that maybe one or two of you will actually find useful. Sometimes…

Kevin Grady at October parent forum at Normandy High. Photo by John L. White of Post-Dispatch

On Monday, November 17th from 6:30-8:00pm, Faith Communities United will convene a community forum to discuss issues related to the recent HIV/AIDS issues at Normandy High.  The event will be hosted by Normandy United Methodist church, located at 8000 Natural Bridge Road.  All are welcome and encouraged to enter into the dialogue from a perspective of faith.

Panelists include: Dr. Delores Gunn (St. Louis County Health Department), Dr. Denise Hooks Anderson (President, Mound City Medical Forum), Lawrence Lewis (Program Manager, In the Spot), Nancy Hatman (Board member, Normandy School District), Gloria Farr (Ministry Director, Normandy UMC), and L.D. McGee (Concerned Parent of a Normandy Student).  Clergy members from Faith Communities United will lead the program.

Faith Communities United, Inc. is a non-profit coalition and partnership formed by clergy, faith organizations, health professionals and advocates to raise awareness and work toward prevention of HIV/AIDS in communities…