The Episcopal Church Network for Science, Technology & Faith

NEWSLETTER

Vol. 1-2, Season of Epiphany 2002



Join the Network, help your Church

The Episcopal Church Network for Science, Technology and Faith (SciTech&Faith) kicks off its campaign for new members with this, the second issue of its Newsletter. The Network constitutes a pool of resource people with scientific and technical background who can serve as consultants for the Episcopal Church in the task, through its various committees, commissions, and task forces, of forming church policy.

The Network serves as an Association for Episcopalians interested in how faith and ethics interact with technology and science (including medicine, environmental studies, and other disciplines). Any Episcopalian, lay or ordained, with an interest in the interactions of faith with science and technology may belong to Network as Regular Members. There is no limit to its size, and no formal training in a scientific or theological discipline is required. Non-Episcopalians are welcome to become Associate Members and to enjoy the benefits of the Network.

The duties of Regular Members are as follows: While no one should anticipate becoming rich, powerful or famous through membership in the Network, still there are benefits to be enjoyed, including:

Current and new members are humbly yet strongly requested and encouraged to send their Newsletter subscription fee (at least $10, more if able, as a tax-deductable donation) to the Network Treasurer. Mail checks payable to "Network for Science, Technology and Faith" to:
Mr. Milton Coleman, Treasurer
122 West Dauenhauer St.
East Syracuse, NY 13057-2606

Print out, complete, and mail in the following form with your subscription/donation:


Name:

Postal address:

Diocese:

E-mail address:

Phone number(s):

Field(s) of training, experience:

Particular interest(s) in science/technolog/faith:


Current or most recent professional activity:



Lost Souls, Round 2: Do you recognize anyone in this picture?



In 1988, the Reverend Dr. Fred Burnham, Director of the Trinity Institute, and the Reverend Dr. Robert John Russell, Director of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, sponsored a short conference for scholars in the (then small) field of science and religion. Many of the 24 participants (see list below) were ordained scientists. The Reverend Dr. Peter Arvedson was there and took this picture, but we recognize only Arthur Peacocke (left) and Michael Musolf (second from right). Perhaps you recognize one of the other three--or one of the cartoons. Send all ID information to the Editor. Many thanks!

Participants, "Faith and Science: Living in Two Worlds," 1988
The Rev. David L. Anderson The Rev. Dr. Kathleen R. Eickwort
The Rev. Bettina G. Anderson The Rev. Dr. David S. Farrier
The Rev. Dr. Peter F. Arvedson The Rev. Dr. J. John Keggi
Dr. Michael Banner The Rev. Dr. Robert B. Meyer
The Rev. Alexander Blair The Rev. Dr. James A. Mulligan
The Rev. Dr. Sjoerd L. BontingDr. Michael Musolf
The Rev. Dr. Frederick Burnham The Rev. Dr. William P. Parrish
The Rev. Dr. Robert E. Cathers The Rev. Dr. Arthur Peacocke
The Rev. Dr. John L. Clark The Rev. Dr. William G. Pollard
Dr. Stuart Crampton The Rev. Dr. Robert John Russell
The Rev. Dr. Robert H. Dinegar Dr. Russell Stannard
The Rev. Dr. Lindon Eaves The Rev. Dr. Clarence R. Waldron, Jr.

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CHART:
How science/faith groups fit into Church structure





Network and Committee go to AAAS Annual Meeting, Boston, 14-19 February

When the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) opens on Valentine's Day in Boston, the Episcopal Church will be there. In the Exhibition Hall, Network Newletters and brochures will be available at the display table supported by various science/religion groups nationally. And on Friday 15 February, 5 - 6:30, the AAAS Program of Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion will host a reception to introduce its own work and mission, as well as the science/religion initiatives of the Episcopal Church and other academic and church organizations. If you're planning to attend the AAAS Annual Meeting yourself, stop by the display to introduce yourself, attend the reception (all registrants invited), and see what else is going on in the lively area of science, technology and religion. To see meeting program, go to AAAS Annual Meeting 2002.


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Roundtable on Science, Technology & the Church meets in Louisville, 12-14 April

The Executive Council's Committee on SciTech&Faith will join delegations from some six other churches in North America for the annual gathering of the Ecumenical Roundtable on Science, Technology and the Church in Canada and the U.S. The 2002 Roundtable will meet in Louisville, Kentucky, 12-14 April, hosted this year by the Presbyterian Church (USA).

In addition to the Episcopal Church's delegation, official delegations represent the ELCA, UCC, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Methodist Church, and the Roman Catholic Church. Observers often attend from other denominations, as well.

To learn more about the Roundtable, consult their website at URL
http://www.pcs.cnu.edu/~khoffman/ELCA/RT_Purpose.html


ANNOUNCEMENT:
Forward Movement's Edward Gleason will address Ecumenical Roundtable in April

The Rev. Edward S. Gleason, Editor and Director of Forward Movement Publications, will speak to the gathered science/technology/faith delegations in Louisville on 13 April. His presentation will concern how to educate and communicate with church members through the medium of printed pamphlets and short books. All of the denominational delegations share a commitment to parishioner education, to assist in the decisions of faithful living in contemporary culture.

Forward Movement is an agency of the Episcopal Church. Since 1935 it has produced materials to help people in their life and work. Best known for the quarterly magazine Forward Day by Day, it also produces interesting, informative, inexpensive books and pamphlets.



Come to Louisville 11 April, get elected to Network Steering Board

The Steering Board of the Network will convene in Louisville, Kentucky, along with the other subcommittees of the Executive Council's Committee on SciTech&Faith. There are two openings on the Board, and anyone interested in candidacy for election is invited to communicate this interest as soon as possible to the Membership Secretary, The Rev. Dr. J. John Keggi, S.O.Sc.

Note: Network members from dioceses in the South, Midwest, West, and Northwest are especially encouraged to consider candidacy.

Members of the Steering Board provide guidance and leadership for the Network. They foster and maintain communication among Network members and assist the work of the Executive Council's SciTech&Faith Committee, as called upon. They identify Network members who may serve as resource and research persons on special topics, and bring topics of interest on science, technology and faith to the attention of the Committee, the Network membership, and the Episcopal Church at large.

The Steering Board consists of the Officers, two at-large members of the Network, and two ex-officio members of the Executive Council's Committee on SciTech&Faith. They are as follows:

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What are the SciTech&Faith subcommittees up to?

During the current triennium, the SciTech&Faith Committee is currently active in four areas, with a subcommittee for each: (1) Genetically Engineered Foods, (2) Creation, (3) Genomics and Nanotechnology, and (4) the Ecumenical Roundtable on Science, Technology and the Church. (URL )

The G.E. Foods Subcommittee presented a national conference in January 2001 at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City. Members are preparing an edited proceedings of the conference and a series of educational pamphlets and tapes on this and other related topics to distribute to the wider church, through publishing arms of the dioceses and the national church. Members have been invited to address the Executive Council Committee on National Concerns later this year on pressing issues of food security, local, national, and international. To learn more about the activities of this subcommittee, contact the Chairperson, Ms. Susan Youmans.


The Subcommittee on Creation has completed a draft of its Statement of Mission and Goals, which will be presented and finalized when the SciTech&Faith Committee meets in April in Louisville. This subcommittee seeks to promote greater knowledge and understanding of the Christian doctrine of creation, particularly in its Anglican expression. Neglect of this area of theological understanding during the past few decades has led to an educational void that has been filled largely by conservative evangelical and fundamentalist voices presenting a limited and inadequate understanding of creation. To learn more about the activities of this subcommittee, contact the Chairperson, Dr. Robert Schneider.


The Subcommittee on Genomics and Nanotechnology co-presented a symposium and public talk by Bill Joy last February at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco. Joy is Chief Scientist and Corporate Executive Officer of Sun Microsystems. His talk is available in videostreaming at the website of the Counterbalance Foundation, a co-presenter of the event. Here's the link, www.meta-library.net/gnr.index-frame.html, Joy talk. To learn more about this subcommittee, contact the Chairperson, The Rev. Mark Winward.


The Subcommittee on the Ecumenical Roundtable on Science, Technology and the Church is planning the program for the 2002 meeting of the Roundtable, to be hosted by the delegation of the Presbyterian Church (USA). The Rev. Dr. Edward Gleason, Editor and Director of Forward Movement Publications, will address a plenary session, sharing his wide experience with publishing educational materials for use by ordinary parishioners. (See announcement above.) This subcommittee is also arranging the venue for the 2003 Roundtable, to be hosted by the Episcopal delegation, the SciTech&Faith Committee. For further information, contact the Chairperson, the Rev. Barbara Smith-Moran, S.O.Sc. The Rev. Barbara Smith-Moran, S.O.Sc.

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In the next issue: What should every Christian should know about quantum mechanics?


All Network Newsletter materials may be reproduced with proper attribution.
Revised: 20 February 2002
Send comments and news items to the Network Newsletter editor, The Rev. Barbara Smith-Moran, S.O.Sc.
http://home.earthlink.net/~smithmoran/stfnewsletter1-2.html


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