• Alumna attends UN conference on climate change in Poland
By Erica Nelson (MDiv‘18)
In December, I travelled to Katowice, Poland, to attend the Conference of the Parties (COP) 24, the United Nations annual conference on climate change. It was at such a COP where the Paris Agreement was written in 2015. At COP 24, the follow-up to the Paris Agreement was written; the Katowice Rulebook was put in place as the guidelines to implementing the Paris Agreement.
I attended with a contingent of people from Texas Impact. We attended the conference as observers to report back to the people of faith of Texas to help them understand why we should care about climate change and what was being done on the international stage. The short summary is that our world is quickly reaching a dangerous level of temperature change from which we will not be able to turn back. As people of faith, charged with caring for God’s good creation, we must act now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and move toward clean energy.
The hopeful message was to see national and international leaders from the major Christian denominations actively engaged in this work. Even more hopeful was to see how much of a presence the United States had, despite President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. The biggest thing that Texans will need to focus on is the commitment to Just Transition; that is, that we are caring for those who will otherwise be disenfranchised as we move toward clean energy use. From the coal miners and oil rig workers, we have a moral obligation to ensure that we are not leaving them behind.
This experience was tremendously powerful and engaging. It really helped me to understand that we are not alone in our fight for a better world. There are things we can do to make a change and those actions must be taken now if we are to have any hope for God’s creation and God’s people. Learn more here ...
• Austin Seminary books receive top awards from Academy of Parish Clergy
At its annual meeting in February, The Academy of Parish Clergy announced that the 2018 Book of the Year Award was awarded to Preaching about Racism: A Guide for Faith Leaders and Anxious to Talk about It: Helping White Christians Talk Faithfully about Racism, both written by Professor Carolyn B. Helsel, assistant professor of homiletics (Chalice Press, 2018). The Book of the Year Award is given to the book—in this case books—published in the prior year (2018) that best speaks to the needs and interests of parish clergy.
The Academy also presented the Reference Book of the Year Award to Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship edited by Joel B. Green, Thomas G. Long, Luke A. Powery, and Cynthia L. Rigby. The committee reviewed the first volume—Year C, Volume 1: Advent through Epiphany—published by Westminster John Knox Press in collaboration with Austin Seminary, recognizing this first volume, but also the potential value of the entire series. Dr. Rigby, The W.C. Brown Professor of Theology at Austin Seminary, is one of four general editors of this series. Austin Seminary faculty who serve on the editorial board include Gregory Cuéllar and Suzie Park (Old Testament), Carolyn Helsel and Jennifer Lord (homiletics), William Greenway (theology), and, until his death, Blair Monie.
• Austin Seminary and the African American Experience: Toward Beloved Community
We set aside two days in February to reflect on the African American experience at Austin Seminary. The first day—remembrance—featured a panel discussion, the Martin Luther King Commemorative service, with Daryl Horton (MDiv’15) preaching, and a presentation on the history of African Americans at Austin Seminary by Hierald Osorto (MDiv’18).
The second day—hope—featured a community-wide art project and the filling of a time capsule. The day concluded with a Eucharist service in the Vickery Atrium. Archivist Kristy Sorensen and her team memorialized the project with a presentation in the Archives Digital Collection.
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