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| Video of investiture of scientist-PB, Katharine Jefferts Schori |
For those who didn't get seats for the investiture and institution of the 26th Presiding Bishop or who missed the live webcast--and for those who want to enjoy it all over again--the video is archived by Episcopal News Service at www.episcopalchurch.org/investiture. A DVD of the 4 November service at Washington National Cathedral is now available for purchase from Episcopal Books and Resources. |
| Inaugural William Pollard Lecture, 13 December |
by Courtland Randall
13 December, at First Parish Church, 404 Concord Ave., Belmont, Massachusetts. The new lecture series is one of the BTI Symposia on Science and Religion. Pollard devoted his life to scientific research, parish ministry, and theological thought. This lecture series is dedicated to scientists, exemplified by Pollard, who have recognized and honored the fruitfulness of the relationship between science and religion. He was one of the pioneering leaders of what came to be known as the Ecumenical Roundtable on Science, Technology and the Church (see photo). A WWII colleague of Pollard's, Andre J. de Bethune is the inaugural speaker for the lecture series. A brilliant and highly prolific chemist, Professor Emeritus at Boston College, Dr. de Bethune will compare his memories of those times with some of Pollard's. Of particular relevance to the lives of these two friends and colleagues was their reaction and response to news of the Hiroshima attack while they were both still working on the Project at Columbia University in the closing days of the war. For those interested in the science/religion discussion and its relevance to our times, the inauguration of the Pollard Lecture Series is auspicious. Among contemporary voices, only a few, like William Pollard's, convey observations of a worker who contributed to both fields. He did not retire from one field to turn his attention to another, but rather wove his own life web with action threads spun from both domains in the same time frame. Sadly, this important physicist-priest and academic pioneer died in 1989, but we have access to his useful writings and experiences. Some of his earliest and probably most valuable work in science was accomplished in the Manhatten Project during World War II. Outcomes related to that work at Hiroshima and Nagasaki left indelible imprints in his being, although he always eschewed the idea of guilt as a motivation. More about the career of William Pollard may be found at the ORAU website. The lecture is free and open to the public. Directions to the church may be found at www.uubelmont.org/directions.html. For further information, contact event coordinator Courtland Randall at courtran@rcn.com. |
| In memoriam: Arthur Peacocke, preeminent Anglican scientist-theologian |
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[This memorial tribute to the Rev. Canon Dr. Arthur Robert Peacocke was written by the Rt. Rev. David Atkinson, S.O.Sc., Bishop of Thetford (England). It first appeared in The Church Times, and is reprinted here with permission. Bp. Atkinson is himself an ordained scientist, having trained as an organic chemist.]
The death of Arthur Peacocke on October 21st has deprived the Church of a prophet and a pioneer. A prophet constantly calling the Church to meet the challenges from the sciences, and to bear its witness in the scientific world. A pioneer, and indeed one of the international patriarchal figures, in facilitating the conversation between science and religion. The Collect of the Society of Ordained Scientists, for which Arthur was inspiration, founder member and first Warden, aptly sums up much that Arthur stood for: "Almighty God, Creator and Redeemer of all that is, source and foundation of time and space, matter and energy, life and consciousness, grant to all who study the mysteries of your creation grace to be true witnesses to your glory and faithful stewards of your gifts, through Jesus Christ our Lord." Born in Watford in 1924, Arthur read chemistry at Exeter College Oxford. He became a lecturer at Birmingham University where he worked on the structure of DNA, while also studying for a Diploma in Theology. Later he was fellow and tutor in chemistry at St Peter's College and then Mansfield College, Oxford, before offering for the Church of England ministry. Ordained in 1971 he became Dean of Clare College Cambridge in 1973, returning to Oxford as first Director of the Ian Ramsey Centre in 1985.
Arthur wrote numerous scholarly papers and a dozen books, of which his first major contribution to the conversation between science and Christian faith was Science and the Christian Experiment (1973), which won the Lecomte de Nouy Prize. In it he writes: "The realisation that our minds can find the world intelligible, and the implications this has that an explanation for the world process is to be found in mental rather than purely material categories, has been for many scientists who are theists, including the present writer, an essential turning point in their thinking." He was honoured by the invitation to give the Bampton Lectures in Oxford in 1978, published as Creation and the World of Science, and the Gifford Lectures at St. Andrews in 1993, expanded in Theology for a Scientific Age. He was awarded an M.B.E. in 1993, and the prestigious Templeton Prize in 2001. Extraordinarily he held both a D.Sc. and D.D. Beginning with the interplay of chance and necessity in the universe and the processes of evolution, Arthur explores the meaning of humanity in the light of the sciences. He discusses the significance of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth for our search for meaning, and sees all things finding their fulfilment in 'the love that moves the sun and the other stars.' Throughout he develops a 'critical realism' through which science, by appropriate use of models, theories and metaphors, aims to depict the structures of the real world. Among his other publications are From Cosmos to Love (1976), Intimations of Reality: Critical Realism in Science and Religion (1984), God and the New Biology (1994), From DNA to Dean: Reflections and Explorations of a Priest-Scientist (1999), Paths from Science Towards God: The End of All our Exploring (2001). An unassuming and gentle person, generous hearted, a lover of music and the arts, he was a very great inspiration and friend to an increasing number of clergy and others who found his courageous and energetic intellectual journeys so refreshing and stimulating. In the last week of his life he wrote to his friends, including a reference to his cancer. "This is a new challenge to the integrity of my past thinking. I am only enabled to meet this challenge by my root conviction that God is Love as revealed supremely in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.... I know that God is waiting for me to be enfolded in love." He leaves his wife, Rosemary, whom he married in 1948, a son and a daughter. He also leaves the Church mourning the loss of a great and innovative thinker, for whose life and ministry over so many years we thank God. |
| Announcing the new ST&F Committee roster |
With last summer's General Convention, the terms of half the members of the Executive Council's Committee on ST&F expired. New members were appointed by the President of the House of Deputies, Bonnie Anderson. The 2006-2009 officers and roster are as follows:
The Rev. Sally Bingham (Dioc. of California, Prov. VIII) The Rev. Josephine Borgeson, Secretary (Dioc. of Northern California, Prov. VIII) Dr. Barbara Elliott (Dioc of Minnesota, Prov. VI) Dr. Neil James (Dioc. of Florida, Province IV) Dr. James A. Jordan, Jr., Chair (Dioc. of Northern California, Prov. VIII) The Rev. Dr. Thomas Lindell, S.O.Sc. (Dioc. of Arizona, Prov. VIII) Dr. Sandra D. Michael (Dioc. of Central New York, Prov. II) The Rev. Canon Edward W. Rodman, Executive Council Liaison (Dioc. of Massachusetts, Prov. I) Dr. Richard Schori (Dioc. of Nevada, Prov. VIII) The Rev. Alistair So (Dioc. of Washington, D.C., Prov. III) Dr. Stephen Stray (Dioc. of Mississippi, Prov. IV) Canon Robert Williams, Communications Office Liaison (Dioc. of Los Angeles, Prov. VIII) |
| Astronomer-priest now Dean of Trinity Cathedral, Phoenix |
Dean Knisely has been active in a variety of ministries during his career, with an emphasis on outreach and local and international mission work, as well as a particular focus of late on communications technology and its effect on parish ministry [see "In the Spotlight" below]. He has served as founding president of a local "Habitat for Humanity" Chapter in western Pennsylvania and traveled to Swaziland, on behalf of his parish and diocese in Pennsylvania, and has worked with the church and business communities to respond to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Southern Africa. [For more about Nick Knisely, see below "In the Spotlight." --Ed.] |
| AAAS Annual Meeting highlights for ST&F interest |
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The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) announces the program for its Annual Meeting and Exposition, to be held in San Francisco, 15-19 February. All ST&F Network members who plan to attend are invited to email ST&F Network Convener Sandra Michael at smichael@binghamton.edu to plan an opportunity to meet.
The entire program, including speakers and the titles of their talks, is available for browsing, at AAAS Annual Meeting. Here is a sampling of events of interest to those working at the interface of ST&F:
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| Planning under way for Evolution Sunday 2, 11 Feb. 2007 |
by Dr. Michael Zimmerman, Office of the Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Butler University, Indianapolis, IN 46208
Unfortunately, there is a great deal of work that still needs to be done. One striking example will make my point. Ken Ham, perhaps the world's most successful creationist and the head of the organization known as Answers in Genesis, took out a huge ad in the Cincinnati Enquirer on 10 September 2006. The ad focused on the saddest, cutest, little six-year-old girl imaginable. The text read:
The goals of The Clergy Letter Project are to counter terrible messages of this sort and to elevate the national debate about the positive interaction possible between religion and science. Toward this end, The Clergy Letter Project is sponsoring the Second Annual Evolution Sunday on 11 February 2007. On (or near) this day, hundreds of congregations across the country will come together to demonstrate that religion and science both have a great deal to offer humankind. Albert Einstein articulated this point better than I could when he said, "All religions, arts, and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed towards ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual toward freedom." Congregations can participate in the national event by having a sermon on some aspect of this topic, by having an adult education class, by having a Sunday school class, by having a lunch discussion, or through any other means that is most comfortable. Our web page at www.evolutionsunday.org offers many resources, including more than 50 sermons delivered by members, to help you create the event that is best for your particular congregation. Last year, Evolution Sunday received a great deal of international attention and helped people around the globe to focus on our important message. Indeed, the New York Times article on Evolution Sunday was the paper's most e-mailed article for the week. To generate this sort of publicity again, however, we will need to have more participants than last year. Please think about joining the more than 100 congregations that have already signed up to participate. If you can participate, simply send me an e-mail (mz@butler.edu) and I'll add you and your congregation to our growing list. Additionally, we need to spread the word to members of the clergy who have not yet heard of The Clergy Letter Project. Please take just a minute of your time and forward this e-mail or a note about our web page to friends and colleagues who might be in a position to sign and/or to participate in Evolution Sunday. An act this simple can magnify our reach dramatically. Please help. (If you prefer to send me the names and e-mail addresses of members of the clergy you think I should contact, I'll write to them personally.) Together we have made a difference--together we can make an even bigger difference. Please think about participating on 11 February 2007 and please spread the word about The Clergy Letter Project to colleagues and friends. Thank you so much for all you have done and for your continued support. |
| In the Spotlight: Some Network members take a bow |
For this feature, we invite our members to introduce themselves with short biographies. Please send your own bio-sketch and a picture to the editor.
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| Downloadable Network fliers in both Spanish and English |
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Why not print out Science, Technology and Faith Network brochures for your parish or cathedral tract-rack? Help spread the word to those who wonder how Christian faith interacts with developments in science and technology. There is a real hunger among Episcopalians to be able to ask important questions about faithful living within contemporary society. The Network welcomes questioners.
The Network brochure is available both in Spanish and in English versions, as PDF files (Acrobat Reader required). |
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