Tuesday, September 09, 2014

Bethany Seminary represented at environmental stewardship events

By Jenny Williams

Bethany Theological Seminary will be represented at two upcoming events devoted to environmental stewardship. The annual Seminary Stewardship Alliance Conference will be held Sept. 11-13 in Winston-Salem, N.C. Founded to help reconnect Christians with the biblical call to care for God’s creation, the alliance promotes and facilitates sustainable practices, scholarship on creation care, and networking and accountability among its member schools. It is sponsored by the educational nonprofit organization Blessed Earth. Bekah Houff, coordinator of outreach programs, will attend the conference as Bethany’s liaison.

Bethany joined the Seminary Stewardship Alliance in spring 2014, noting that its principles fit within the values of the Church of the Brethren and the seminary’s mission. A news release from the alliance stated that the conference will help seminaries integrate creation care and Sabbath values into their courses and campus cultures, with the hope that students who graduate from these institutions will share these values with the churches they pastor. Approximately 65 attendees are expected, with 27 seminaries represented.

Houff and Scott Holland, Slabaugh Professor of Theology and Culture, will be joined by Bethany students at Rooted and Grounded: A Conference on Land and Christian Discipleship, held Sept. 18-20. Sponsored and hosted by Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Goshen, Ind., the conference will emphasize the connection between the environmental crisis and humanity’s increasing detachment from the land.

Speaking from the perspective of theology and ethics, Holland will present the paper, “The Urban Gardener and an Emerging Anabaptist Poetics of Space.” Three keynote addresses and a wide variety of papers and workshops are scheduled in the additional areas of biblical studies, spirituality, history, education, watershed discipleship, and land issues. Attendees also will be able to explore nature preserves, alternative farming practices, and other sustainability projects in the region. AMBS is a fellow member of the Seminary Stewardship Alliance.

-- Jenny Williams is director of communications and alumni/ae relations at Bethany Theological Seminary. For more about Bethany go to www.bethanyseminary.edu.

Source: 9/9/2014 Newsline

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