Multi-seminary Sponsored Conference Explores Crossroads of Worship and Theological Justice

July 24, 2018—Paying close attention to how worship shapes us for justice, the new conference Just Worship: Toward a Faithful and Vibrant Future will examine the way churches approach worship planning, leadership, and participation so that they may fully be the Church living into Christ’s command to “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”

Martha Moore-Keish, J.B. Green Associate Professor of Theology at the seminary, chairs the planning group. “A group of colleagues interested in worship and theology have been pondering the concept of ‘just worship’ for a while,” she explained. “We wondered what worship looks like when our feet rest on the ground of Christian traditions, with head uplifted to see one another clearly, and arms spread wide to embrace the whole world that God so loves. Our ideas led to this conference.  We invite everyone to join the conversation as we explore together what it means to ‘just worship!’”

Plenary sessions and workshops scheduled throughout the three-day conference will seek to answer the following questions:

1. Where might God be leading us in the present and future of worship?
2. How does worship call and shape us to act justly, resisting evil and seeking peace?
3. How does God call us through worship to be holy and whole?

Workshops and plenary sessions include:

• Just Worship combined opening worship/plenary session led by Paul Roberts, President of Johnson C. Smith Seminary; Tony McNeill, Program Director at Johnson C. Smith Seminary, musician and educator; and Eric Wall, Assistant Professor of Sacred Music and Dean of the Chapel at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary (public invited)
• Body and Soul in the 2018 Book of Common Worship workshop led by David Gambrell, associate for worship in the Office of Theology and Worship of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); and Kimberly Bracken Long, co-editor of Call to Worship, pastor and former faculty at Columbia Theological Seminary
• Centrality of Marginality: Justice and Korean American Worship workshop led by Kevin Park, Associate Dean for Advanced Professional Studies, Assistant Professor of Theology and Interim Director of Korean American Ministries
• “…And God will delight…” workshop led by Eric Wall
• Worship Service of Word and Table Aisha Brooks-Lytle, Executive Presbyter, Presbytery of Greater Atlanta, preaching (public invited)
• Prophecy and Protest in the 2018 Book of Common Worship workshop led by David Gambrell and Kimberly Bracken Long
• Just Worship in Multicultural Immigrant Community workshop led by Gad Mpoyo, pastor of Shalom International Ministries in Stone Mountain, GA
• The Work of the People: The Formative Power of Worship workshop led by Tony McNeill
• Worship and Justice workshop led by Aisha Brooks-Lytle
• Just Worship plenary session led by Jennifer L. Lord, The Dorothy B. Vickery Professor of Homiletics and Liturgical Studies at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
• Desiring Disability (Justice) in Worship workshop led by Rebecca Spurrier, Associate Dean for Worship Life and Assistant Professor of Worship at Columbia Theological Seminary
• Evening Prayer led by David Gambrell
• Just Worship! Plenary Address by Kimberly Bracken Long
• Closing Worship (public invited)

Conference sponsors are Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Columbia Theological Seminary, Johnson C. Smith Seminary, the Presbyterian Association of Musicians and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Theology and Worship, and will be on the Columbia Seminary campus September 13-15, 2019.

Click HERE to review the schedule and register for Just Worship: Toward a Faithful and Vibrant Future.

For more information about the Center for Lifelong Learning and their other courses and certificate programs, visit www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning or email the CLL at LifelongLearning@ctsnet.edu.

Columbia Theological Seminary is “Cultivating faithful leaders for God’s changing world.”  As an educational institution of the Presbyterian Church (USA), Columbia Seminary is a community of theological inquiry and formation for ministry in the service of the Church of Jesus Christ. Columbia offers six graduate degree programs and up to 60 courses and events each year as a resource for church professionals and lay people through The Center for Lifelong Learning (CLL). The Center for Lifelong Learning offers three other certificate programs including training spiritual directors, two scholars programs, and a post-graduate Pastoral Excellence Program that is focused on clergy leadership development. Over 800 persons attended CLL’s programs last year. For more information, please visit www.ctsnet.edu.