The One Hundred Fiftieth Meeting

Program
THE AMERICAN THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Midwest Division
The One Hundred Fiftieth Meeting
Friday, October 25, 2002
Swift Hall, Divinity School
The University of Chicago
1025 East 58th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
THEOLOGICAL TABLE TALK  1:00 – 3:00 P.M.
Third Floor Lecture Hall
A Theological Round-Table Discussion
Spirituality in the Classroom
Registration and Afternoon Refreshments 3:00 – 3:15 P.M.
Swift Hall, Commons Room
AFTERNOON PROGRAM  3:15 – 5:15 P.M.
Third Floor Lecture Hall
Book Discussion: Dynamics of Hope: Eternal Life and Daily Christian Living
Charlotte Joy Martin
Associate Professor of Religious Studies
Mount Mercy College
Reception, Dinner, and Business Meeting  5:15 – 7:00 P.M.
Swift Hall, Commons Room
EVENING PROGRAM 7:00 – 8:45 P.M.
Third Floor Lecture Hall
Current Discussion of the Definition and Models of Christian Spirituality
Bernard McGinn
Naomi Shenstone Donnelley Professor of Historical Theology and of the History of Christianity
Divinity School, The University of Chicago
ATS Officers (Midwest Division)
Carol Rausch Albright, President
Donald Alexander, Member-at-Large
Edgar A. Towne, Vice President
Paul P. Parker, Secretary-Treasurer
The Program: Do the familiar limits of the religious studies classroom (e.g., non confessional, non advocacy, assuming no particular existential commitment of scholars, etc.) render any examination of spirituality inauthentic? Do the inherent limits of the theology classroom (e.g., the assumption and even requirement of particular commitments) produce an examination of spirituality that is inevitably adulterated by religion’s power structures? Is it even possible to study something so intimate, overwhelming, and indescribable as communion with God? The American Theological Society (Midwest Division) will focus on the study of Christian spirituality at the University of Chicago’s Divinity School on Friday afternoon and evening, October 25, 2002.
The Society’s meeting will begin with Theological Table Talk, a round-table discussion intended to address pedagogical issues that swirl around a classroom in the study of spirituality. After a brief break and refreshments, the afternoon session will turn to a critical discussion of Charlotte Martin’s new book,Dynamics of Hope: Eternal Life and Daily Christian Living, in which she asserts and that hope in eternal life matters, and matters powerfully for daily Christian living. If you have not already read it, you may still have time to work through it before the upcoming meeting. You can acquire it through www.catalog.litpress.org. Following this discussion, reception, dinner, and business meeting, we eagerly anticipate that Bernard McGinn will bring the Society up to date on the state of his five-volume history of Christian mysticism in the West as he delivers a paper on the definition and models of Christian spirituality.
If you are unable to attend the full meeting, you should feel free to participate in whichever portion of the program is available to you. The Executive Committee designs each program for critical professional engagement and collegial fellowship. Why not take a break from your routine and commune with your colleagues over good food and drink for mind, body, and soul?! For further information, contact Paul Parker at the addresses below.
Registration and Dinner Reservations: To register and RSVP, you may call, write, or email Paul Parker: office phone (630) 617-3559; paulp@elmhurst.edu; or Department of Theology and Religion, Elmhurst College, 190 Prospect Ave., Elmhurst, IL 60126.
Registration for the meeting is free.
Reservations for dinner (@ $14.00) are encouraged.
Dues: Annual membership dues are $15 for members and $10 for associate members to be remitted to the Secretary-Treasurer, Paul Parker, each year at the fall meeting. Attention to this is kindly appreciated. Also, the Society’s membership role remains strong only as we invite eligible colleagues to join us and sponsor them for membership. Your advocacy for the Society is essential for its well-being.
Directions and Parking: Swift Hall of the Divinity School is near the center of the University’s Main Quadrangle between East 57th and East 59th Streets, and between Ellis Avenue and University  Avenue. A parking structure at 55th and Ellis (accessible from Ellis and Greenwood, but not 55th) is available and relatively inexpensive. Otherwise, parking may be found (with persistence) on nearby streets. A map and specific directions may be found by following the prompts at The University’s website, www.uchicago.edu.