Re-Mind & Re-New Conference
"Faith and Civil Discourse"
January 23 & 24, 2013
Re-Mind and Re-New Conference, Wednesday and Thursday, January 23-24, 2013
What should people of religious faith do to contribute to civil discourse in the United States?
Wednesday, January 23, at 1:00 p.m. to Thursday, January 24, at 4:00 p.m.
at Phillips Theological Seminary, 901 N. Mingo Road, Tulsa
Cost: $90
We’ve taken a bold, experimental approach to Re-Mind & Re-New this January. We invited any person, lay or clergy, 18 years of age and older to
submit proposals to address the above question. We received 27 proposals for 9 slots. To date, we've accepted 9
proposals for presentations of 25 minutes each, to address the
conference question. [Each presentation will be followed by a conversation period.]
See the Speaker Tab for the selected speakers and their topics, all chosen to address the theme of the conference: faith and civil discourse. Examples of speakers include a state conference of churches
director, public policy advocates--professional and ordinary citizens
who decided to get involved, a youth minister, a college professor, a city
councilwoman, and an architect. They'll talk about disaster relief, using feminist theology with youth being raised in an evangelical setting, learning humility, and working to build bridges in a state where political forces tore them down--to name a few.
Those of us living in the U.S. just came through a frustrating, unenlightening super-PAC money-driven presidential campaign season. Within religious groups in the U.S., perhaps especially within Christianity, people of faith have been at least as divided by the issues of the day as has the general public. Indeed, some Christians might be justly accused of fueling divisions. Furthermore, the rhetoric of religious leaders addressing religious and public issues can be at least as divisive as the voices on talk radio, niche-specific cable opinion shows, and in Congress.
The speakers for the R&R Conference this year are all actively modeling ways of disagreeing, finding common ground, staying in relationship, and doing important work together despite deep differences.
Re-Mind & Re-New is an annual conference hosted by PTS in January. The purpose of R&R is to gather religious professionals and interested publics for thought-provoking and spirit-renewing presentations, conversation, and worship.