UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Theology

Graves Award for David Turnbloom, Theology

David Turnbloom, theology, has been announced as the recipient of the Arnold L. and Lois S. Graves Award in the Humanities. Administered by Pomona College under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies, the Graves Award is awarded every two years to humanities professors in their first decade of teaching who demonstrate unusual skill and enthusiasm as teachers and who can show that their projects will enhance their ability in the classroom.

Turnbloom’s project will study the published journals and letters of Esther Hillesum, a Dutch woman who was murdered in Auschwitz in 1943. The project will allow him to connect his expertise in Augustine Studies with the newly emerged field of Hillesum Studies to interrogate how Hillesum’s writing are influenced by and lend new shape to the writing of St. Augustine. Beyond publishing an article on exploring Hillesum’s reception of St. Augustine, Turnbloom’s project will allow him to encounter Hillesum’s work through interpersonal connections and personal experiences.

This latest award continues a history of UP Graves Award recipients: Herman Asarnow, emeritus, English; Richard Askay, philosophy; Laura McLary, German; Alejandro Santana, philosophy; Patrick Murphy, music; Alexandra Hill, German; and Joshua Swidzinski, English.

 

Theology Thursday Lecture, Sept. 28: “Climate Change and the Prophetic Vision”

The next Theology Thursday lecture will be held on Thursday, September 28, 7:15 to 8:30 p.m., in Franz Hall room 120. Carol J. Dempsey, OP, theology, will present “Climate Change and the Prophetic Vision.”

Climate change is the most significant challenge facing the world today. It raises questions about the way people live and the way they ought to live. Dempsey will examine these questions from biblical, theological, and philosophical perspectives.

For more information contact the theology department at x7274 or mackinno@up.edu.

Theology Thursday Lecture by Simon Aihiokhai, April 6

The next Theology Thursday lecture will feature Simon Aihiokhai, theology, as he presents “New Perspectives for Interfaith Dialogue in the 21st Century” on Thursday, April 6, at 7:15 p.m., in Franz Hall 120. The event is free and open to all.

Arguing for the place of religious truths in the era of globalization, this talk explores how African indigenous religions appropriate a pragmatic approach discerning the relevance of religious truths that inspire the flourishing of communal life.

Aihiokhai is a Nigerian-American theologian, currently a visiting assistant professor of systematic theology at the University of Portland. His research and publication engage religion and identity in Islam, Christianity, and African religions. His articles have appeared in Journal of Ecumenical Studies, Black Catholic Theological Symposium Journal, International Journal of African Catholicism, and in several edited books. Aihiokhai continues to be an active interlocutor in the ongoing Christian-Muslim dialogue in Nigeria and the Roman Catholic/African religions dialogue. He worked as a missionary among many cultures in Nigeria for ten years and continues to reflect on the rich experience he gained from his encounters with people of the Muslim and African religious faiths.

For ADA accommodations or event information contact Deborah MacKinnon, theology, at mackinno@up.edu or x7274.

 

“The Sacredness of the Ordinary,” with Fr. Tom Hosinski, C.S.C., April 20

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All are welcome to join the Garaventa Center in honoring distinguished theologian Fr. Tom Hosinski, C.S.C., as he offers his final lecture before retiring at the end of the spring 2016 semester. His lecture, “The Sacredness of the Ordinary,” is set for Wednesday, April 20, at 7:15 p.m., in Franz Hall Room 120.

The sacred and the ordinary are frequently distinguished and seemingly separated from each other. But reflection on divine omnipresence and on traditional ways of understanding the doctrine of creation and creaturely existence suggests a different view. In this talk, Fr. Hosinski will suggest that the sacred and the ordinary actually coincide and incorporate each other.

Fr. Hosinski has been teaching at the University since 1978. His publications include a book on the philosophy and philosophical theology of Alfred North Whitehead (Stubborn Fact and Creative Advance, 1993), a book on the contemporary understanding of God (tentatively entitled God-Talk in the 21st Century, 2017), and numerous scholarly articles.

For ADA accommodations or more information contact the Garaventa Center at 7702 or garaventa@up.edu, or visit sites.up.edu/garaventa.

Family Open Forum Series Continues with Christina Astorga on Bioethics, March 11

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The theology department and the M.A. in pastoral ministry programs continue their partnership with the intercultural community of St. Pius X Parish with their Family Open Forum Series, according to Kathleen McManus, OP, theology. The next forum is a simultaneously translated English and Spanish conversation about bioethics with theology department chair Christina Astorga on Friday, March 11, at 7 p.m., at St. Pius X Community Center (1280 NW Saltzman Rd, Portland). The forums are free and open to all. Previous sessions have engaged theology professor Rene Sanchez and St. Pius pastoral staff on the question of intercultural ministry, and McManus and St. Pius pastor Rev. Sean Weeks on incarnation and Christology.

For more information contact the theology department at 7274 or mackinno@up.edu.

“Unfolding Sacred Scripture” with Michael Cameron, Nov. 9

Staff and faculty portraitsUP theology professor Michael Cameron shares from his new book, Unfolding Sacred Scripture: How Catholics Read the Bible, on Monday, Nov. 9, at 7:15 p.m., in the Pilot House Bookstore, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of The Constitution on Divine Revelation from the Second Vatican Council. In his book, Cameron presents a distinctively Catholic way of understanding Scripture as an “audible sacrament” – a way that Christ offers himself to humankind in the form of spoken words. The event is free and open to all, and is sponsored by the Garaventa Center. Refreshments will be served.

For more information, contact the Garaventa Center at 7702 or garaventa@up.edu.

Family Open Forum Inaugurated Sept. 18

st pius copyOn September 18, Michael Cameron, Will Deming, and Rev. Tom Hosinski, C.S.C., theology, offered the opening session in St. Pius X Parish’s “Family Open Forum,” a year-long partnership between the University’s master of arts in pastoral ministry program and theology department and St. Pius X Parish. Jaime Sevilla, director of Latino ministries at St. Pius and a second-year student in the MAPM program, designed the program to bring the Spanish and English speaking communities together in addressing central controversial issues of the Catholic theological tradition that sometimes confuse today’s faithful.

Cameron, Deming, and Hosinski presented initial overviews of their theological sub-disciplines, and then responded to questions from the audience of 260 parishioners about the origins of the universe and human beings from historical, biblical, and scientific perspectives. The event marks a milestone in an evolving, mutually enriching relationship between the University’s graduate pastoral ministry program and the rapidly growing Latino Catholic community. Sessions will continue every other month until September 2016.

For more information, contact the theology department at 7274 or theo@up.edu.

Early Christianity Scholars Meet On UP Campus

Staff and faculty portraitsOn Saturday, April 18, eleven scholars from Portland, Eugene, Tacoma, and surrounding areas met on the UP campus for the second annual meeting of the Northwest Early Christian Studies Seminar, according to Michael Cameron, theology. Early Christian Studies deals with the history, culture, thought, and practice of Christianity from about 100-800 C.E. The group heard papers by leading scholars from the University of Oregon, Pacific Lutheran University, and the University of Portland. The group, grateful for UP’s springtime beauty and hospitality, asked to return for its third meeting in April 2016.

For more information, contact Cameron at cameronm@up.edu.