From @austinseminary ... "The Reed" for November 2019

• For all the saints of God we give thanks

Click here for a list of people who were honored by a gift to Austin Seminary during our annual All Saints Remembrance week.

• MidWinter Lectures, February 3-5, 2020

We're delighted to welcome these esteemed Christian leaders and thinkers to campus in February for our 2020 MidWinters series:

Currie Lecturer: Luke Powery, Associate Professor of Homiletics at Duke Divinity School
Luke Powery is the author of Rise Up, Shepherd! Advent Reflections on the Spirituals, and he is a general editor of Connections, the new biblical commentary from Austin Seminary and WJK. In 2008, the African-American Pulpit named him one of 20 outstanding black ministers under the age of 40 who "are helping shape the future direction of the church." In 2014, he was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse College for his ethical and spiritual leadership in the academy, church, and broader society. His Currie Lectures are titled "Searching for Common Ground."

Jones Lecturer: Dana Hughes, Transitional Presbyter for Denver Presbytery
A graduate of Columbia Seminary, Dana Hughes has found a calling in interim ministries; she served churches and the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta before moving to Denver in 2018. A lover of language, the title of her Jones Lectures is "A Net of Words: Pursuing the Sacred by Human Means."

Westervelt Lecturer: Robert Schnase, Bishop of the Rio Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church
Before becoming bishop of the Rio Texas Conference in 2016, he was bishop of the Missouri Conference and served congregations in Harlingen, Texas, and in Great Britain. He is the author of the bestselling books Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, Five Practices of Fruitful Living, Practicing Extravagant Generosity, Seven Levers: Missional Strategies for Conferences, and Just Say Yes: Unleashing People for Ministry. Bishop Schnase's Westervelt Lectures are titled "Border Crossing: The Power of Narrative to Open Hearts and Change Conversations."

MidWinters Preacher: Keatan King, Associate Pastor of St. Philip Presbyterian Church, Houston
A graduate of Louisville Seminary, Keatan King has served at St. Philip since 2013. A native of Austin, Texas, and a life-long Presbyterian, King serves as a trustee on the Board of Austin Seminary following in the footsteps of her father, Carter King (MDiv’70), who served on the Seminary faculty and board.

Read More, and Register for MidWinters!

• Earn a Certificate in Jewish Christian Relationship

Enrollment is open for the Austin Seminary's new Certificate in Jewish Christian Relationship. The winter course is "Reading Exodus Together: Jewish and African American Witness" (registration deadline November 22) and the spring course is "Exploring Women in the Bible and Theology'" (registration deadline February 28); both courses are team taught by a rabbi and pastor.

"Exploring Women" reviews Jewish and Christian texts from feminist perspectives. Reading from Genesis and the Gospel According to Luke, participants are invited to examine the lives of Eve, Hagar, Mary, and others, asking how a feminist reading of scripture informs the roles of women in religion today. We discuss feminist theologies that help all persons connect with Judaism and Christianity.

Read About and Enroll in this Interactive Interfaith Dialogue HERE!

• Memoir recalls Bob Shelton’s final years

Fran Shelton (MDiv’93, DMin’07), wife of Austin Seminary president and professor Bob Shelton, has published a memoir about her experience of the last years of his life. No Winter Lasts Forever: A Memoir of Loving Bob and Loathing Alzheimer's was published this fall by Interbang Books. The book is "a journey through shock, disbelief, anger, pain, joy, humor, grief, and letting go. It is a story of trusting in God and living in the moment while being grateful for every day." Bob Shelton retired in 2002 after a thirty-one year career teaching homiletics at Austin Seminary, culminating in his presidency (1997-2002).

More About This Book ...

• CONNECTIONS: Lectionary Year A, Volume 1

Professor Cynthia Rigby, one of the general editors of the Connections commentary series, is pleased to report the publication of the series' fourth volume, Year A, Lent through Pentecost. "Year C (three volumes with purple covers) was published over the course of the last year; Year A (maroon covers) is being published now and into 2020; Year B (green covers) will be published in 2020-2021. Pastors are giving Connections high marks for its usefulness in sermon preparation. One reviewer praises it for providing "enough material for several cycles of use [by including] multiple essays for every Sunday, with attention both to scripture and to the world." Another user agrees: "Amazingly well-written and perfect for busy lectionary preachers who want the best biblical scholarship and preaching helps in easily digestible form that represents the best of evangelical/mainline biblical scholarship and pastoral theology."

More About This Book ...




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• Highlighted Workshops

"Writing the Body: Welcoming Joy", December 6, featuring author and journalist Donna M. Johnson.

• For a complete listing of the 2019 lifelong learning events offered from Education Beyond the Walls, CLICK HERE.

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