Common Dreams preparing for Sydney in July 2019….

Common Dreams on the Road 2017 …. coming your way (perhaps!) soon:
You will be interested to know that Common Dreams has arranged for Professor Hal Taussig, one of the leading theologians of the late 20th & early 21st centuries, to tour Australia & New Zealand in October & November this year under the Common Dreams on the Road banner.

Hal has recently retired as Professor of New Testament at Union Theological Seminary where from 1998 he taught masters & doctoral level studies. He is also Professor of Early Christianity at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia. He has also retired from 30+ years as a United Methodist pastor & now is specially assigned by his bishop as a consultant to local congregations. Hal is co-chair of the Society of Biblical Literature’s Consultation on Greco-Roman meals, & on the steering committees of SBL’s Seminar on Modern Theories & Ancient Myths of Christian Origins and the Greco-Roman Meals Consultation.

Professor Taussig is a foundation fellow of the Westar Institute & participated in that Institute’s celebrated Jesus Seminar. He is currently co-chair of Westar’s Christianity Seminar. Among his 14 published books are A New New Testament: A Bible for the 21st Century & Newly Discovered Texts (2013); A New Spiritual Home: Progressive Christianity at the Grass Roots (2006); & Re-imagining Life Together in America: A New Gospel of Community (2002).
While in Australia Hal will visit SE Queensland, Sydney, Perth, Albany/Denmark, & Melbourne. The New Zealand segment includes events in Auckland & Wellington and at the Sea of Faith conference. Details of the dates he will be in each centre & the local contacts for enquiries are:
SE Queensland: 5 – 11 October. Contact Paul Inglis, psinglis@westnet.com.au
Sydney: 11 – 18 October. Contact, Margaret Mayman, m.mayman@gmail.com
Perth & Esperance: 18 – 25 October. Perth contact Richard Smith, richbert@it.net.au . Esperance Contact Elizabeth Burns, elizabeth.burns@bigpond.com
Melbourne: 25 – 29 October. Contact info@pcnvictoria.org.au or (03) 9571 4575
Auckland: 29 October – 2 November. Contact Glynn Cardy, glynn@stlukes.org.nz
Wellington: 3 – 5 November. Contact Susan Jones, minister@standrews.org.nz
Sea of Faith: 6 – 7 November. Contact Adrian Skelton, adrian.skelton@gmail.com

Don’t miss the opportunity to hear this remarkable progressive thinker & speaker.

Common Dreams 2019

This is long range advice that the fifth Common Dreams conference will be held in Sydney on either 4 – 7 July or 11 – 14 July (the exact dates will be determined when the availability of the venue is negotiated). Matthew Fox has been booked as the distinguished international keynote speaker. Matthew is a well-known writer & inspired speaker with at least 30 books to his credit. Formerly a member of the Dominican Order within the Roman Catholic Church, he incurred the ire of the then Cardinal Ratzinger which led to his eventual expulsion from the Catholic Church after which he became a member of the Episcopal Church. Fox was an early and influential exponent of a movement that came to be known as Creation Spirituality. The movement draws inspiration from (though diverges doctrinally from) the mystical philosophies of such medieval Catholic visionaries as Hildegard of Bingen, Thomas Aquinas, Saint Francis of Assisi, Julian of Norwich, Dante Alighieri, Meister Eckhart and Nicholas of Cusa, as well as the wisdom traditions of Christian scriptures. Creation Spirituality is also strongly aligned with ecological and environmental movements of the late 20th century and embraces numerous spiritual traditions around the world, including Buddhism, Judaism, Sufism, and Native American spirituality, with a focus on “deep ecumenism”.

Make a note in your diary & plan to attend what will prove to be another exciting & stimulating gathering of progressives featuring leading international, Australian, & New Zealand speakers & workshop leaders.

Dick Carter, Melbourne.

oOo

 

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