I am serving as the Project Lead for a Science for Seminaries Seed Grant that Providence Theological Seminary has been awarded by AAAS-DoSER. As part of the grant, we are hosting a Faith and Science Symposium on Saturday, March 19. Due to uncertainties surrounding the pandemic, we have been forced to host the event entirely online. While we will miss gathering in person, this does have two distinct advantages. First, because we are meeting online, we have been able to assemble a strong international lineup of speakers. Second, because the Symposium is online, you can participate from wherever in the world you happen to be located. See the poster below and visit prov.ca/scienceandfaith for more information.
I was recently interviewed by John Longhurst of the Winnipeg Free Press about the Science for Seminaries Seed Grant that Providence Theological Seminary has recently received. Overall, it’s a positive piece, although I was slightly misrepresented on one point. I mentioned that Augustine, Aquinas, and Calvin were all interested in and acquainted with the best science of their day, not that they were scientists per se. You can read the full article here.
As areas of Southern Manitoba continue to lag behind the rest of the province and country in vaccination rates, Providence will be hosting a Zoom Panel Discussion on July 13 entitled, “Vaccines, Restrictions, and the Church.” A recent news story that ran on all of the major networks highlighted the plight of a local pastor who has been bombarded with complaints on social media for his involvement in a recent vaccination advertising campaign. Joining me on the panel will be: Dr. Rebecca Dielschneider an immunologist who serves as Assistant Professor of Biology at Providence University College; Dr. Chris Burnett, a local physician who was recently honored with the medal of excellence from Doctors Manitoba; and Terry Kaufman, a longtime pastor and current denominational executive within the Evangelical Free Church in Canada. More information about the event and registration can be found here.
Recordings of the sessions from the recent Zoom forum on the theme “The Church Post Pandemic” hosted by the Biblical and Theological Studies Department at Providence Theological Seminary are now available on YouTube. These include excellent presentations from my colleagues Lissa Wray Beal and Joshua Coutts and three Southern Manitoba pastors. Alongside of these presentations is my paper that draws upon the work of St. Augustine of Hippo as a resource for understanding ourselves, our world, the identity of the church, and the vocation of pastors in the time of the COVID pandemic.
