The Gospel of Matthew:

Transcription

1 The Gospel of Matthew: Challenges and Resources for Preachers Today Date: May 15-17, 2017, beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, May 15, and ending at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 17 Leaders: John Carroll, Frances Taylor Gench, and Richard W. Voelz Event Location: Union Presbyterian Seminary: Paisley Hall, 1204 Palmyra Avenue, Richmond, VA Registration: $195 ($150 for those who register by April 4); includes lunch on Tuesday, May 16, and breakfast for those staying in campus housing CEUs: 1.2 For: Clergy, church educators, and church leaders Click here to register for The Gospel of Matthew: Challenges and Resources for Preachers Today

2 Workshop Description: In the early centuries of the church s life, Matthew established itself as the most popular and influential of the Gospels, due largely to its extraordinary presentation of Jesus teaching practical and detailed teaching that the church has found to be perennially useful in the ordering of its life. In the twenty-first century, it also presents interpretive challenges with which preachers must wrestle. Matthew s stunning ethical vision sets the bar very high indeed for the life of discipleship: does Matthew really expect us to live like this? Many parables in Matthew contain graphic images of judgment and violence: how may we faithfully interpret such passages? This Gospel, often described as the most Jewish of the gospel narratives, is at the same time filled with hostile rhetoric toward Jesus (and Matthew s) Jewish contemporaries: how can we respond wisely to potentially harmful traditions in this narrative? Does Matthew summon readers to love of neighbor and love of enemy unless they happen to be scribes and Pharisees? Given interpretive riches and challenges such as these, how might we engage the Gospel of Matthew today and find inspiration and nourishment for Christian faith and life, and for the task of proclamation? This series of presentations and conversations, led by Union Presbyterian Seminary faculty in Bible and preaching, will open up the world of Matthew s narrative and its presentation of the ministry and teaching of Jesus, provide orientation to distinctive theological contributions Matthew makes to the life of the church, and suggest resources and strategies for preaching what Augustine described as the fullest of the Gospels. Click here to register for The Gospel of Matthew: Challenges and Resources for Preachers Today

3 The Gospel of Matthew: Challenges and Resources for Preachers Today About the Leaders: John T. Carroll is Harriet Robertson Fitts Memorial Professor of New Testament and Director of the Program for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Union Presbyterian Seminary. He was called to the seminary s faculty in 1992, after serving for six years on the faculty at Louisiana State University, teaching religious studies. John received a B.A. from the University of Tulsa, a Diploma in Theology from Oxford University, and received the M.Div. from Princeton Seminary in 1979, followed by the Ph.D. in New Testament there in He has served as an associate pastor of a church in Michigan, and as interim pastor of a small congregation in the Baton Rouge area. He has also taught as a visiting professor at Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia, the College of William and Mary, and Randolph-Macon College. John s primary research and teaching interests include the Gospels, the message and ministry of Jesus, early Christian apocalyptic literature, theological interpretation of the Bible, and the intersections between the Bible and contemporary culture and between the Bible and contemporary ethical concerns. He has authored or co-authored five books and edited others. He was associate editor and then co-editor of Interpretation from 1996 to 2003, and returned to service as co-editor in January Professor Carroll is a founding member of the New Testament Library Editorial Advisory Board. He is co-chair of the Gospel of Luke Section for the Society of Biblical Literature. John enjoys teaching adult education classes in local congregations and has served as minister member of the session at Ginter Park Presbyterian Church. He is married to Maria Ramos, an English professor at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond, and they have a young son, Oscar James. He also has two adult children, Andrew and Anna. A semi-professional musician, he is principal trombonist for the Richmond Philharmonic and the Richmond Brass Consort and also performs with the trombone choir of Virginia Commonwealth University. He retired from a 15-year amateur baseball career after his team won the league championship in 2010 and 2011.

4 Frances Taylor Gench, Ph.D., is erbert Worth and Annie H. Jackson Professor of Biblical Interpretation at Union Presbyterian Seminary. An ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Frances was on the faculty of Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg from 1986 to She served as a member of the PC(USA) General Assembly s Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church ( ), and is a parish associate at The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., where her husband, Roger Gench, is senior pastor. Frances research and teaching interests include the Gospels, women in the biblical world and feminist biblical criticism, global and intercultural perspectives on the Bible, and issues of biblical authority and interpretation. The author of six books, her most recent publication is Encountering God in Tyrannical Texts: Reflections on Paul, Women, and the Authority of Scripture (Westminster John Knox Press, 2015). Richard W. Voelz, a seasoned pastor and published scholar, joined the faculty of Union Presbyterian Seminary as assistant professor of preaching and worship on July 1, He previously served as the senior minister at Johns Creek Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Johns Creek. Rich received his Ph.D. in Homiletics and Liturgics from Vanderbilt University in While at Vanderbilt, he served as managing editor for Homiletic, the journal of the Academy of Homiletics. He has authored several books, including "Youthful Preaching: Strengthening the Relationship between Youth, Adults, and Preaching," published in the Lloyd John Ogilvie Institute of Preaching Series (Cascade Books, 2016). He also wrote "Tending the Tree of Life: Preaching and Worship through Reproductive Loss and Adoption" (Shook Foil Books, 2015). Other publications include a number of articles and book reviews, and he has entries on passages from the Gospel of Mark in Feasting on the Gospels, published by Westminster John Knox Press. Voelz holds degrees from Milligan College (B.A., 2001) and Emmanuel School of Religion (now Emmanuel Christian Seminary, M.Div., 2005). He is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

5 The Gospel of Matthew: Challenges and Resources for Preachers Today Schedule of Events Union Presbyterian Seminary, Paisley Hall, 1204 Palmyra Ave., Richmond Monday, May 15 1:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. Session I Tuesday, May 16 9:00 a.m. 12:15 p.m. Session II 12:15 p.m. 1:30 p.m. LUNCH 1:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. Session III Wednesday, May 17 9:00 11:30 a.m. Session IV 11:45 a.m. Community CHAPEL (optional)

6 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW: CHALLENGES AND RESOURCES FOR PREACHERS TODAY FEES: $195 ($150 if registration is received by April 4); includes lunch on Tuesday, May 16. HOUSING: On campus housing is limited and assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Guestrooms in Paisley Hall are $25 per night double occupancy or $40 per night single. For campus housing availability please call Elizabeth DiStanislao at (800) , x301. Hotel accommodations are available at SpringHill Suites, 9701 Brook Road, Richmond, VA at a reduced rate. To reserve your hotel room, click here. To Register On-line: click here. To Mail or Fax Registration: Print and complete this form. Mail to Leadership Institute, Union Presbyterian Seminary, 3401 Brook Road, Richmond, VA or Fax to (804) PAYMENT METHOD: OR o Check (payable to Union Presbyterian Seminary) o Visa o MasterCard o Discover o American Express Card Number: Security Code: Expiration Date: Name as it appears on card: Billing Address (street, city, state, & zip): Please charge (amount): REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Name: Address: City: State: Zip: Daytime Telephone: Church Name: Denomination: Circle lunch requirement, if applicable: Vegetarian Gluten-Free with meat Gluten-Free without meat Dairy Free