About the theme

Many clergy and laity are struggling more than ever to balance unity and truth, holiness and inclusion, ecclesiastical catholicity and cultural ductility, apostolicity and modernity. We have witnessed this in some of the recent schisms of the church, debates over the papacy of Francis I, disappointments surrounding the recent Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church (Crete 2016), and the everyday struggle of many faithful priests/pastors to manage expectations regarding their ministries to those who transgress their churches’ teachings regarding sexual activity. How are God’s people meant to manage these tensions? How might their leaders work together to champion the ancient marks of the church—that is, all of them together–in an age when ethnocentrism, libertarian freedom, and culture wars have overwhelmed the sphere of public opinion? Please join us in June as we work on these questions in the spirit of evangelical catholicism.

Our speakers will include Paul Gavrilyuk (University of St. Thomas), Francesca Murphy (Notre Dame), Angela Franks (St. John’s Seminary in Boston), David Luy (North American Lutheran Seminary), Matt O’Reilly (Christ Church Birmingham and Wesley Biblical Seminary) and Russell Levenson (St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Houston, banquet speaker). All are thoughtful church people active in addressing these questions with care. The Protestants among them will address their churches’ efforts to balance ancient marks of the church with Reformation-era marks such as faithfulness in the ministries of the Word and sacrament (and, for some, church discipline). All will help us think about how best to champion the creedal marks of the church in an ecumenical manner and with cultural sensitivity.