Events explore African-American spirituality

UINDY to host lectures, national conferences for religious leaders

INDIANAPOLIS (UINDY) - The authors of a forthcoming book on African-American Christian spirituality will speak Feb. 22 at the University of Indianapolis and will convene a new semiannual conference series on the topic for pastors, scholars and laypersons from around the country.

EVENTS

"African-American Christian Spirituality: Exploring the Heritage & Claiming the Promise"
2005 Showers Lectures in the Christian Religion
When: Tuesday, Feb. 22
The Rev. Eugene Blair, 4:30 p.m.
The Rev. Glandion Carney, 7:30 p.m.
Where: University Chapel, Schwitzer Student Center, 1400 E. Hanna Ave.
Admission: Free and open to the public

First semiannual Gathering of African-American Sages
When: 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23
Where: Good Hall, Hanna and Otterbein avenues
Guest speaker: The Rev. Abena Safiyah Fosua, "Living with Contradiction: A Second Look at African-American Spirituality"
Admission: Free and open to the public
Lunch reservations: Contact the Office of Ecumenical & Interfaith Programs at 317-788-2106 or lstead@uindy.edu

The Revs. Eugene Blair and Glandion Carney will deliver the university's 2005 Showers Lectures in the Christian Religion. This year's lectures, under the theme "African-American Christian Spirituality: Exploring the Heritage & Claiming the Promise," are scheduled Feb. 22 at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m.

The following day, Feb. 23, Blair and Carney will convene the inaugural Gathering of African-American Sages, to be conducted twice yearly at the University of Indianapolis. The purpose of the gatherings is expressed in the West African concept of sankofa, which means "in order to move forward, you have to look backward." African-American Christian spirituality looks to African culture and cosmology while at the same time embracing the presence of the Holy Spirit in congregational life and daily living.

Guest speaker for the inaugural gathering in Indianapolis will be the Rev. Abena Safiyah Fosua, a clergy member of the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and former missionary to Ghana, West Africa. Under her topic, "Living with Contradiction: A Second Look at African-American Spirituality," she will probe the dichotomies experienced by African-American Christians and congregations. She writes weekly articles for the UMC's General Board of Discipleship and is the author of books including Mother Wit: 365 Meditations for African-American Women (Abingdon Press, 1996) and Jesus and Prayer (Abingdon Press, 2002).

The gatherings are part of a collaboration among the university, the Office of African-American Spiritual Formation of the Detroit Conference of the United Methodist Church, and the Upper Room Ministry in Nashville, Tenn. To complement the university conferences, Upper Room Ministries will host pilgrimages to Africa, and the Detroit Conference will host annual gatherings of the Sankofa Spiritual Formation Community.

Last updated on 25 Apr 2008

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