Everyone is invited to a screening of the powerful film, Desire of the Everlasting Hills, an intimate portrait of three Catholics who try to navigate the waters of self-understanding, faith, and homosexuality. This event is part of our series, "Gay and Christian: The Conversation Continues."
On Saturday, February 20, 2016, from 9:00-4:00, the Saint Benedict Forum hosted a Day of Study on the theme, "Homosexuality and Anthropology." The study day consisted of four papers, each of which addressed the question, "What does the virtue of chastity mean for the gay person?" Joshua Gonnerman, Daniel Mattson, Eve Tushnet, and Daniel Keating all offered 25 minute papers on this question. Each paper was followed by 30 minutes of conversation with the twenty invited "thoughtful interlocutors" from the region: priests, counselors, family and marriage therapists, chaplains, professors, artists, leaders from the Diocese of Grand Rapids, and religious sisters.
It was a riveting day of fellowship and meaningful exchange.
Sr. Miriam James Heidland, SOLT, rocked Hope College campus this past week with a series of inspiring talks, workshops, and simply with her joyful and evangelical presence.
The Gay and Christian Symposium was a riveting and moving event for everyone. The Saint Benedict Forum has three follow up events to keep the conversation going: Sr. Miriam James Heidland on Theology of the Body, a screening of the film Desire of the Everlasting Hills, and Pastor Adam Barr on Pastoral Approaches to Gay Christians...
The Saint Benedict Forum is pleased to host an ecumenical symposium, "Gay and Christian: Exploring Friendship, Vocation, and Celibacy." Eve Tushnet, Wesley Hill, and Joshua Gonnerman will all be speaking at this timely event. The symposium is free and open to the public.
Many thanks to our friends in the Knights of Columbus Council #7115 (Saint John Neumann) who organized a pancake breakfast at St. Francis de Sales Church in Holland to benefit the Saint Benedict Forum. It was great to see so many of our friends, fellow parishioners, and students turn out to support our work. God bless you all and stay warm!
Sadly, due to the dangerous weather conditions, the trip to the March for Life was cancelled. Fortunately, we were not trapped on the PA Turnpike for 24 hours. Please pray for us as we continue to witness to a culture of life.
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On January 28, 2016, the Saint Benedict Forum hosted a Catholic-Reformed Dialogue about Jack Mulder's new book, What Does It Mean to Be Catholic?(Eerdmans, 2015). Dr. Mulder's book is the meditation of a Hope College professor and convert to Catholicism from the Reformed tradition. It was written as an effort to practice robust ecumenism, the idea that different Christian groups should share the distinctive gifts of their own tradition as they walk together toward full Christian unity.
Two Reformed scholars offered generous, yet critical responses to Dr. Mulder's book. Han-luen Kantzer Komline, Assistant Professor of Church History and Theology at Western Theological Seminary, took up the question of the relationship between Scripture and Tradition. Lynn Japinga, Associate Professor of Religion at Hope College, challenged Mulder on Mary, development of doctrine, women's ordination, and contraception. Dr. Mulder responded to each presenter.
This event was co-sponsored by the Philosophy and Religion Departments, Campus Ministries, Center for Ministry Studies, Lilly Group on Robust Ecumenism, the Office of the Provost, and the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.
Dawn Eden on Chastity, Duncan Stroik on Architecture for the Poor, Anthony Esolen on the Liberal Arts, Spiritual Friendship authors on being gay and Christian, Sr. Miriam James Heidland on hope...check out our upcoming events.
Cradle Catholic and director of the Saint Benedict Forum, Jared Ortiz, tells the harrowing tale of how he drifted away from God in his youth and how God slowly drew him back through providential encounters with Muslims, Jews, a few Catholics, and reading a lot of books. Watch it here:
Dr. Anthony Esolen of Providence College lectured on “Liberal Arts and the Christian College in a Post-Christian World.” Dr. Esolen spoke of the rare and precious gift that only a Christian liberal arts college can bestow - an education with a heart.
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On October 15, 2015, Duncan Stroik gave a fascinating lecture, entitled, "Architecture for the Poor." He asked: What sort of architecture is appropriate for the poor? Should the buildings we construct for the disenfranchised express their poverty through economical materials, humble proportions, and functionalist interiors? Do beautiful, ornate churches disregard those who struggle for basic comforts? A rousing, thirty-minute Q & A session followed Stroik's talk.
The event was co-sponsored by Hope College's Religion Department, the Art and Art History Department, Sociology and Social Work Department, Markets & Morality, and the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.
Duncan G. Stroik is a practicing architect, author, and Professor of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame. His built work includes the Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel in Santa Paula, California, the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, and the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Prof. Stroik is also the author of The Church Building as a Sacred Place: Beauty, Transcendence, and the Eternal, and edits the journal Sacred Architecture.
