Dear WesleyNexus Colleagues,
Time to take a breadth. Over the past week we have experienced a presidential debate like no other. Hurricanes are being given names with Greek letters rather than names like Arthur in May through Sally in September and finally Wilfred only a week later. And now the President is infected with Covid, along with his wife and numerous staffers and aids. We have been stunned by a whirlwind of news and unexpected events. At the same time, however, numerous persons who have pursued their chosen careers over decades have been recognized for their hard work, creativity and accomplishments. These are women and men with steady hands doing significant work that are having an impact on how we see the world, live our lives and frame our ways of thinking and speaking. We may not know all their names and if we do, we may not remember them for very long, but their contributions to our society, both small and large, will be felt beyond the tumult of these current times.
The Nobel prizes have been awarded for Medicine, Physics and Chemistry, acknowledging the scientific achievements of the recipients. More information can be found here: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/about/prize-announcement-dates/
In addition, just two weeks before, Francis Collins was awarded the Templeton Prize that “honors individuals whose exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton’s philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest questions of the universe and humankind’s place and purpose within it”. His acceptance speech can be found here: https://www.templetonprize.org/laureate/francis-collins-2020-templeton-prize/
Finally, the same week as the awarding of the Nobel prizes, MacArthur Fellowship award winners were announced. As stated on their website, these fellowships are “unrestricted fellowships to talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction”. The persons in this list may not be broadly recognizable but they too have accomplished much and are provided an unrestricted stipend to continue their chosen pursuits.
https://www.macfound.org/programs/fellows/
WesleyNexus applauds these accomplished individuals recognizing that none of them have achieved their success on their own. We hope you will take a little time (if you have not already) to become familiar with their work.
As always, our thanks go out to our generous contributors. We will continue to share this newsletter in the coming months and encourage you to share articles and insights that will help us all weather these difficult times.
Rick, Jennifer, Maynard, and the rest of the WesleyNexus team.
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Carnegie Institute Lecture
Join us on Monday, October 12, at 3:00 PM Eastern as Dr. Kostova presents “New Frontiers in Ribosome Assembly, Quality Control, and Heterogeneity.”
To register for the interactive webinar presented via Zoom, click here or the button below.
The web browser client will download automatically when you start or join your first Zoom meeting: https://carnegiescience.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_27LvUkcCTfu_dvm7r1jknA
You can also watch the conversation live on our YouTube channel here*: https://www.youtube.com/carnegieinstitution/live
*Please note that the YouTube watch party will not allow for participants to ask questions.
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The Institute for Religion and Science at Chestnut Hill College
A Regional Center Exploring Science and Spirituality.
Join us for several special events co-sponsored by the Institute for Religion and Science at Chestnut Hill College and the American Teilhard Association. Space is limited so register early.
“Teilhard and the Feminine”
Group Discussion
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm EDT
Participants will prepare for this Zoom discussion by reading “Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and the Feminine,” a paper recently written by Teilhard’s grandniece, Marie Bayon de la Tour. The meeting will begin with a short introduction. Participants will then be sent to breakout rooms for discussion. Participants will then return to share with the group as a whole.
This discussion on Zoom is free but space is limited and registration is required. Please register before October 21.
To register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rduuqrjksH9J9gnUL5QISgWpWMLjH0ktx
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about how to log in to the discussion and a copy of the paper by Marie Bayon de la Tour.
Evolution’s God?
Teilhard de Chardin and the Varieties of Process Theology
Donald Wayne Viney, PhD
Professor of Philosophy
Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, KS
November 11, 2020
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm EST
Summary: In 1953, Teilhard asked, “Who at last will give evolution its God?” His own endeavor to answer that question often bears striking similarities to the process theism of his contemporaries, Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne. Yet, the differences can also be striking. All three are rightly classified as promoting versions of process theology, but they show by their divergences that process thought, especially process theism, is far from yielding a monolithic viewpoint on the theistic question.
This lecture on Zoom is free but space is limited and registration is required.
To register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcsf-mvqDkrGNOaDRp44tzB_J7HPq66P7BS
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about how to log in to the lecture.
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Also from The Institute for Religion and Science at Chestnut Hill College
Catching Fire!
Spiritual Transformation and Evolutionary Process:
Teilhard’s Vision of Becoming
Anita Wood, M.Ed.
January 20, 27, February 3, 10, 2021
6:30 pm to 8:30 EST
“Catching Fire!” is a group process that blends contemplative prayer, reflection, and dialogue for the purpose of spiritual growth. It is based on Teilhard’s assumption that, when people gather together for shared purpose, they have greater potential to increase in consciousness and co-evolve society.
Participants must commit to all four two-hour sessions. The fee to cover all four two-hour sessions is $50. Space is limited and registration is required.
To register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYsf-CgpzgrHdwMuQSVquAzgVEz1WPc15Bc
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about the program and how to log in.
To submit payment for joining the program Catching Fire! or to make a tax-exempt donation to the Institute for Religion and Science, send a check made out to Institute for Religion to:
Kathleen Duffy, SSJ, PhD, Director
Institute for Religion and Science
Chestnut Hill College
9601 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19118
If you have questions, email kduffy@chc.edu
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It’s the Economy, Friends: Putting Sacred Cows Out to Pasture
Please join IRAS for the October session of our new monthly webinar series, Science, Religion, and Society.
On October 21, 2020, IRAS will host another live
session, featuring renowned ecological economist, Brian Czech, President of CASSE, who will offer a sustainable alternative to GDP growth. Respondent: Dr. Solomon Katz, professor emeritus, University of Pennsylvania & author: Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2002), Biological Anthropology (1975)
October 21, 2020, at 4:00 p.m. Central Time, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Presentation Overview:
For addressing our major economic problems such as poverty, unemployment, and inequality, the response for decades has been GDP growth. Politicians in the USA, especially, jockey for position with phrases such as “It’s the economy, stupid,” code talk for growth. Brian Czech of CASSE has become a leading opponent of the pro-growth mantra, arguing that GDP growth has become the biggest threat to environmental protection, long-term jobs, national security, and international stability. The sustainable alternative, he’ll argue, is the steady state economy with stabilized population, per capita consumption, and (all else equal) GDP. It’s also a vision comporting with a rich theological tradition.
Presenter Backgrounder:
Brian Czech is the president of the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy (CASSE), an economic think tank and educational organization he founded in 2003. In 2017, Czech signed on as CASSE’s executive director. In this role, Czech oversees all CASSE operations and plays the lead role in policy development, public education, CASSE publications (blog, books, and journal articles) and international outreach. From 1999 to 2017, Czech served as the first conservation biologist in the history of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as a visiting professor of natural resource economics in Virginia Tech’s National Capitol Region. He is the author of several books, including Supply Shock, Shoveling Fuel for a Runaway Train and The Endangered Species Act: History, Conservation Biology, and Public Policy and has authored over 50 academic journal articles. Czech has a B.S from the University of Wisconsin, an M.S. from the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona.
The IRAS webinar is FREE but registration is required:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_V446bd2wQxKmRMlQ0CEtxw
Previous IRAS On-line Seminars www.iras.org :
September 17, 2020
Navigating Crises and Bridging Cultural Divides
with Citizen Science, with Grace Wolf-Chase.
August 18, 2020
The Unifying Potential of a God that is Real in the
Scientific Universe, with Nancy Ellen Abrams.
July 16, 2020
Theology & Covid-19: Etiological and teleological models at the nexus with science, with Dr. Arvin Gouw
June 30, 2020
Will Modern Civilization be the Death of Us? (Part 1 — with Dr. William Rees)
June 29, 2020
Will Modern Civilization be the Death of Us? Envisioning Tomorrow’s Earth. with Ruben Nelson.
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Dr. Francis Collins: Harmony – Life at the Intersection of Science & Faith
Explore the inspiring life and work of physician and geneticist Dr. Francis S. Collins, 2020 Templeton Prize Winner and Director of the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Collins is the Director of the National Institutes of Health and led the Human Genome Project to its successful completion in 2003. Throughout his career, he has advocated for the integration of faith and reason.
In his scientific leadership, public speaking, and popular writing, including his bestselling 2006 book, The Language of God, Collins has demonstrated how religious faith can motivate and inspire rigorous scientific research. He endeavors to encourage religious communities to embrace the latest discoveries of genetics and the biomedical sciences as insights to enrich and enlarge their faith.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwgwIwS1ZnciDYOrNZ0jHbA
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Theological Photography by Tom Oord
Twice a year, I set aside words in my newsletter and use images to do theology.
I made the images in this newsletter during the last six months or so. These photos capture something I find interesting, beautiful, exhilarating, representative, or unique. As such, they are expressions of creation’s response to God’s loving creativity… at least that’s what I believe.
This collection has a higher percentage of creature photos than landscapes. I didn’t plan this, but I hope you enjoy them.
I’ve added links in this newsletter to responses to my theological photography. Some responses involve commentary on my images by others and others are my own thoughts. I encourage you to check them out.
Tom
https://preview.mailerlite.com/h4m8d8/1524052223460380065/o7k8/
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Science for the Church by Greg Cootsona
Part of the AAAS Profiles in Science Engagement with Faith Communities program. https://www.aaas.org/programs/dialogue-science-ethics-and-religion/profiles-science-engagement-faith-communities
Have we entered a climate apocalypse not only in the Golden State, but also throughout our country and our globe? What have we done, and what can we do?”
It strikes me as noteworthy that our culture is taking recourse in the grandeur and scope of words that only theological language can supply. Responding to climate change is at the place where our Christian tradition meets science meets Christian spirituality. We need to recover the biblical language of “stewardship” for this beautiful creation.
https://us7.campaign-archive.com/?e=55d8b7f157&u=d9de7fe5452599a9594354c5f&id=6903dc74b1
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Dalai Lama Global Vision Summit
Join Mind & Life at The Dalai Lama Global Vision Summit—A Free Online Event
How can we feel our suffering world, develop wisdom and compassion in our hearts, and create peace within ourselves and around us?
The Dalai Lama has dedicated his life to answering questions like this and guiding people along the path to a more peaceful world. His teachings and example have inspired and warmed the hearts of millions.
Mind & Life is partnering with Lion’s Roar and Tibet House US to bring you the Global Vision Summit, October 22-27. We hope you will join us in this learning event devoted to the Dalai Lama’s teachings. Over 6 days, the summit will bring together 22 presenters, including Buddhist teachers, spiritual leaders, scientists, best-selling authors, scholars, and some of the Dalai Lama’s closest students to celebrate the life and teachings of one of the world’s greatest spiritual leaders and global visionaries. Many Mind & Life Fellows will be featured and Mind & Life President Susan Bauer-Wu will offer an address.
Sign up now to explore over 40 talks, teachings, meditations, and guided practices. Drawing on decades of personal experience, the summit presenters will share their insights across six key themes of the Dalai Lama’s work for peace worldwide:
Day 1: The Art of Happiness: Bringing the Best of Human Values into Our Lives
Day 2: Transcendent Wisdom: Buddhist Teachings of the Dalai Lama
Day 3: Toward a True Kinship of Faiths: Creating Harmony among the World’s Religions
Day 4: The Universe in a Single Atom: The Science of Spirituality
Day 5: My Land, My People: Tibet’s Message of Peace, Compassion, and Sustainability
Day 6: Ethics for a New Millennium: Vision for a Better World
Registration is free. When you sign up, you’ll receive a free e-book of the Dalai Lama’s teachings on wisdom and compassion, along with access to one of his guided audio meditations.
We truly hope that you’ll join us for a chance to contemplate the Dalai Lama’s vision for a kinder and more sustainable world.