Dear Colleagues,
Vivid memories of our inspiring June conference in San Juan are still very much alive for those of us fortunate enough to have gathered for that historic event at the Caribe Hilton. It will be hard to top that conference in terms of its location and intercultural engagements, as well as the extensive efforts of the steering and local arrangements committees. But those who missed the opportunity to be with us will want to plan now to attend the 2008 conference scheduled for Los Angeles this coming June.
The steering committee held our fall meeting at the Manhattan Beach Marriott just south of LAX airport on September 28-30. After reveling in pleasant memories of Puerto Rico and reviewing your spoken and written comments about the conference, we began planning in earnest for another engaging time together next summer. More about that to follow.
Steering committee chair Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner completed her term in office after expending efforts “above and beyond the call of duty” to ensure such a delightful time for us all in San Juan. Esther Acolatse now serves as chair of the steering committee, and David Hogue (Corresponding Secretary), Daniel Hembree (Recording Secretary), and Siroj Sorajjakool (Conference Registrar), continue their service on the committee. Jeanne Hoeft of St. Paul School of Theology was elected to the committee this June, and has graciously agreed to serve as treasurer.
The steering committee begins its second year with five full members, up from the previous contingent of four. In addition to the support services we are now contracting from the ACPE office in Decatur, GA, we are sensing that the committee’s workload will become more manageable, and we hope therefore to give even greater attention to future directions for the work of the Society.
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Looking Forward to the
2008 Annual Meeting
(or What Happened to Atlanta?)
“Divine Politics, Human Politics: Theological and Clinical Constructions of Power” is the working title for our 2008 conference in Los Angeles, June 19-21. (Note that this date is the week after Father’s Day next year, and is in accordance with our bylaws.) The steering committee is hard at work developing a format that will invite more extensive and focused conversation. We are happy to announce that Dr. Archie Smith of the Pacific School of Religion, Dr. Rodney Hunter of Candler School of Theology (retired), and Dr. Pamela Cooper-White of Lutheran School of Theology at Philadelphia, (on her way to Columbia Theological Seminary during the fall of 2008) have all expressed their availability to offer plenary presentations helping us to focus this timely issue. We have asked them to make their presentations available to us for circulation ahead of time, summarize them at the conference, and then allow ample time for comments and questions from the rest of us. We are also exploring an alternative model for immersion experiences, offering pre- or post-conference options for those who would like to attend. Stay tuned for further information, but plan now to join us for a stimulating and timely series of conversations. Colleague John Carr has graciously agreed to offer our luncheon presentation.
WORK-IN-PROGRESS: Many of our members are currently engaged in pastoral theological scholarship that is critical to the present and future of our field, but that has not yet been published. Each year we invite one of our members to present that work at the annual study conference, and enjoy the rich benefits of interaction with thoughtful scholars and practitioners. The Steering Committee wants to invite members to let us know of their interest and availability to share their work at the 2008 conference. Sometimes the presentation coincides with the theme of the conference, but that is not a requirement. Contact David Hogue with a brief written description of your work so the Steering Committee can make a selection this winter.
Regular readers of this Newsletter and visitors to the website may be surprised to learn that our 2008 Study Conference will be held in Los Angeles rather than Atlanta. Members reminded the steering committee this summer that Los Angeles had been part of our last rotation, and the steering committee had agreed to add the city to our regular rotation (Denver, Atlanta, and Chicago are the other three.) Minutes of the Annual business meeting failed to record a vote of the membership on the matter, but our by-laws entrust these decisions to the steering committee. We will want to explore the matter of rotation further next June to be sure we are accurately hearing the wishes of our membership.
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Published by the Society for Pastoral Theology
2007
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