Church series will present five authors

Lauren Winner will speak at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral as part of Insights: A Series of Lectures and Talks.
Lauren Winner will speak at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral as part of Insights: A Series of Lectures and Talks.

Five nationally known authors and religion scholars will be featured during the second season of theological discussions hosted by Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Little Rock.

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Barbara Brown Taylor will speak at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral as part of Insights: A Series of Lectures and Talks

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Donald Miller will speak at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral as part of Insights: A Series of Lectures and Talks.

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Marilynne Robinson will speak at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral as part of Insights: A Series of Lectures and Talks

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Best-selling author Rachel Held Evans will speak at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral as part of Insights: A Series of Lectures and Talks.

The series, known as Insights: A Series of Lectures and Talks, will begin Sept. 8 with Barbara Brown Taylor, author of The New York Times No. 1 best-seller Learning to Walk in the Dark. Taylor will talk about the book, which explores ways of finding hope and faith in darkness, during her visit.

Taylor, an Episcopal priest, is professor of religion and philosophy at Piedmont College in Demorest, Ga. She has lectured at various universities, including Emory University in Atlanta; Duke University in Durham, N.C.; Princeton (N.J.) University; and Yale University in New Haven, Conn. Her previous books include the memoir Leaving Church and An Altar in the World.

The Rev. Christoph Keller III, dean of the cathedral, said offering such a series is "the kind of things great cathedrals do."

Trinity Episcopal is the mother church of the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas.

Keller said the role of a cathedral is to serve its parishioners but also serve as a place for public discussion and scrutiny of theological and religious topics. He said the series is for everyone, not just for Episcopalians. He said the authors, although some are Episcopalians, have varied backgrounds, beliefs and ideas.

"These are intelligent and faithful people [who] understand that intelligence is a part of faith," he said. "It's not the whole of it. There's also heart, but they don't leave out the thinking part.

"I think people will find these presentations stimulating, will find them inspiring and occasionally will find them perplexing, but all that is to the good."

Other speakers include Donald Miller on Oct. 20, Marilynne Robinson on Feb. 22, Lauren Winner on April 22 and Rachel Held Evans on June 3. A study of one of each author's books will be held at the cathedral in the weeks leading up to their talk. All are welcome.

Miller is known for his best-seller Blue Like Jazz, which was made into a movie. He is also author of A Million Miles in a Thousand Years and Scary Close. He also writes two blogs, one on how to live a better life and the other on how to expand a healthy business. In addition to writing, Miller has served on the Presidential Task Force on Fatherhood and Healthy Families.

During his visit, Miller will discuss Scary Close.

Robinson, who writes fiction and nonfiction, won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for the book Gilead, and her books Home and Lila have won writing awards. Her nonfiction books include The Givenness of Things, When I Was a Child I Read Books, Absence of Mind, The Death of Adam and Mother Country. In 2012, Robinson received a National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama. In addition to writing, she teaches at the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop.

Winner, an Episcopal priest, serves as vicar of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Louisburg, N.C. She is author of Girl Meets God, Mudhouse Sabbath, A Cheerful and Comfortable Faith and Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis. Her most recent book is Wearing God. Winner has been a commentator on National Public Radio's All Things Considered and has written for a variety of publications, including Christianity Today, Books and Culture and Publishers Weekly.

Evans is a blogger and best-selling author who often examines faith and doubt. Her first book was Faith Unraveled (originally titled Evolving in Monkey Town: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask the Questions). Her other books include A Year of Biblical Womanhood and Searching for Sunday. She has been a frequent guest on TV news and chat shows and a speaker at universities, festivals and Christian conferences. She also serves on Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

Keller said the first season of Insights was a success with growing crowds.

"I think people recognized what we were doing was not promoting a particular agenda but the idea that theological ideas are important and need to be heard," he said. "People from all across the spectrum have come and we expect that to continue."

Each program will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the cathedral. A reception will follow in the cathedral's Morrison Hall. Attendees buying patron tickets will be able to attend a special reception prior to each lecture.

Tickets for the talks by Miller, Robinson and Evans are $25 for general seating or $100 for reserved patron seating. Admission to the talks by Taylor and Winner is free, but tickets are required. (Patron tickets for these two authors are $100.) All tickets can be bought online at trinitylittlerock.org/events/insights.

The church is at 310 W. 17th St. Information is available by calling (501) 372-0294.

Religion on 06/25/2016

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