Sister Helen Prejean, whose work with death row inmates inspired the Tim Robbins film "Dead Man Walking," will be among the distinguished theologians who will speak at the annual Convocation of the Divinity School and the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, Monday-Thursday, Oct. 13-17.
"This Convocation is not only rich in religious scholarship, it has broad appeal for the community at large," says Divinity School Dean Richard Wood. "It is one way in which the Yale Divinity School fulfills its mission of preparing and serving a learned -- and learning -- clergy while being a good steward of its relationship with the University and the community.
"In a span of just four days, this Convocation calls us to consider the power of the Word in preaching; to rethink the nature of Christian theology; to encounter the moral and ethical questions of life and death in human cloning and capital punishment; and to delve into the social and cultural complexities of African-American religious history and international human rights law enforcement," adds the Dean. "I sincerely hope that all sectors of the community will join in this feast."
Lyman Beecher Lectures
The centerpiece of the Convocation will be three Lyman Beecher Lectures, given this year by author and preacher Barbara Brown Taylor. In a Baylor University survey of preachers and editors of the religious press, Ms. Taylor was listed among the 12 most effective preachers in the English-speaking world. Founded in 1871, the Beecher lectureship is the longest-running lecture series on preaching and the work of the ministry in the United States. Ms. Taylor's lectures, on the theme "Famine in the Land: Homiletical Restraint and the Silence of God," will be given at 4 p.m. in Marquand Chapel on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Ms.Taylor will also receive an honorary degree from the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale during the Evensong service at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 14.
The Divinity School will continue its tradition of morning worship in Marquand Chapel, with services at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of the Convocation week.
Other Convocation highlights
* The Pitt Lecture, titled "Lambeth and the Future of the Anglican Communion," by the Right Reverend Mark Dyer, a theology professor at Virginia Theological Seminar and chair of the Editorial Committee of the Design Group for the Lambeth Conference, at 8 p.m. on Monday.
* Taylor Lectures on the theme "What Is Theology?" by Professor Jürgen Moltmann of the University of Tübingen, Germany, who began studying theology and philosophy as a prisoner of war in England in 1946. He now writes and lectures on systematic theology and the theological elements of hope, joy, liberation, the power of the Spirit and spiritual life. His talks will be held at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday and at 10 a.m. on Wednesday. He will also take part in a conversation at 11 a.m. following his final talk.
* An Evensong service at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday led by former Divinity School faculty member Ellen Davis. Following the service, the Berkeley Divinity School will confer honorary degrees upon Ms. Taylor, Bishop Herbert Thompson of the Episcopal Church's Diocese of Southern Ohio; Boone Porter, architect of the new "Book of Common Prayer"; and Eunice Groark, former lieutenant governor of the State of Connecticut.
* The Ensign Lecture, titled "Dead Man Walking -- The Journey," at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday by Sister Helen Prejean, whose ministry among inmates on death row at the Louisiana State Penitentiary was the subject of her 1993 book, "Dead Man Walking," and of the 1996 film of the same name. A member of the sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille, she writes and lectures against the use of capital punishment and helped found "Survive," a victims' rights advocacy group in New Orleans.
* The Bartlett Lecture, titled "How is International Human Rights Law Enforced?" being given at 10 a.m. on Thursday by Law School professor Harold Hongju Koh, who has written more than 70 articles on internationa lawl, foreign relations, and constitutional law.
* The Bainton Lecture, "In Search of Common Ground: Howard Thurman and the Religious Community," which will be presented by Princeton University professor Albert Raboteau at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday. A Yale alumnus, Professor Raboteau writes and lectures on African-American religious history, slavery, black life and culture in the United States, and religion and nationalism in America.
* The Sorensen Lecture, "Religion and Public Policy: The Controversy about Human Cloning," by Professor James Childress of the University of Virginia, a prolific writer and lecturer on religious and medical ethics, bioethics and civil disobedience. The talk will take place at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
All events will be held in Marquand Chapel, Sterling Divinity Quadrangle, 409 Prospect St. Admission to the Convocation is free for members of the Yale community with a valid I.D and $25 for members of the general public. That fee includes all lectures, coffee breaks and receptions. Walk-in registrants are welcome.
For further information, contact the Office of Graduate and External Relations at the Divinity School, 432-5568.