Colleges host talks on race and church
Hendrix College in Conway and Philander Smith College in Little Rock will co-host a series of talks on race and the church beginning at 7 p.m. Feb. 21.
The series, “Faith in Black and White: The Church and Race in ‘Colorblind’ America,” will begin with a talk by the Rev. F. Willis Johnson, who serves as senior pastor of Wellspring Church in Ferguson, Mo. Johnson, author of Holding Up Your Corner: Talking About Race in Your Community, was one of the community leaders who responded to the needs of the Ferguson community after the police shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, in 2014. The talk will be in Mills A in the Mills Social Sciences Center at Hendrix, 1600 Washington Ave., Conway.
Nyasha Junior, assistant professor of religion at Temple University in Philadelphia, will speak at 7 p.m. March 14 in the Kendall Nugent building at Philander Smith, 900 W. Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive. Junior, author of An Introduction to Womanist Biblical Interpretation, will discuss “The Bible in Black and White.”
The final talk will feature Emilie Townes at 7 p.m. April 5 in Mills A at Hendrix. Townes, dean of Vanderbilt University Divinity School in Nashville, Tenn., and author of Womanist Ethics and the Cultural Production of Evil, will discuss “(In)Justice.”
The events are free and the public is welcome. Information is available by contacting Robert Williamson at williamsonr@hendrix.edu or (501) 505-1559 or the Rev. Ronnie Miller-Yow at rmiller-yow@philander.edu or (501) 370-5344.
— Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Wisdom theology is seminar subject
A winter seminar, “An Introduction to Wisdom Christianity,” will be held March 3-4 at the Arkansas House of Prayer, 20900 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock. The program will be led by the Rev. Steven Bonsey, co-founder of the Leadership Development Initiative, co-director of Wisdom and Money and former canon pastor of the Cathedral of St. Paul in Boston.
The seminar will begin at 7 p.m. March 3 with a lecture by Bonsey — “A History of Wisdom Christianity” — followed by a reception. Donations will be accepted.
The program will continue 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. March 4 with “An Introduction to Wisdom Christianity” and teachings on centering prayer, lectio divina and sacred chant. The program will also include time for meditation in the Arkansas House of Prayer. Cost is $75 and includes a vegetarian lunch.
Registration is available online at arkansashouseofprayer.org/events. Information is available by calling (501) 821-7773.
— Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
‘Centering Prayer’ focus of retreat
St. Scholastica Retreat Center, 1205 S. Albert Pike Ave., Fort Smith, will host a retreat on centering prayer March 9-12. The retreat, “Centering Prayer: The Journey Continues,” is for anyone interested in deepening their centering prayer practice. The program will be led by Nick Cole, who has been practicing centering prayer and teaching others about it for more than 20 years.
Participants are urged to read Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening and The Heart of Centering Prayer, both by Cynthia Bourgeault in preparation for the retreat, which will offer teaching suitable for beginners and those already practicing centering prayer.
The retreat will begin with a meal at 5:30 p.m. March 9 and end after lunch March 12. Cost is $235 and includes lodging and meals. Registration is available online at stscho.org/retreat-registration or by calling (479) 783-1135. Deadline to register is Feb. 23.