Dr. Mark Swanson: "From Missionary ‘Focus’ to Neighborly ‘Commitment’: Chicago Lutheran Stories in Christian–Muslim Relations"

Event Type

Lecture

Sponsor

Interfaith Alliance of Champaign County, University YMCA, First Mennonite Church, Sinai Temple, Central Illinois Mosque and Islamic Center, Hillel Foundation, Muslim Student Association, Illinois Interfaith in Action, the Department of Religion, the Office of the Chancellor, the Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs, and the Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations

Location

St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church and Campus Center, 909 S. Wright St., Champaign

Date

Nov 8, 2019   3:30 pm  

Speaker

Dr. Mark Swanson, the Harold S. Vogelaar Professor of Christian-Muslim Studies and Interfaith Relations and Associate Director of the Center of Christian-Muslim Engagement at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago

Cost

Free and open to the public.

Views

21

Abstract: The lecture tells several different but convergent stories: that of the evolution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America’s approach to Christian–Muslim relations, from the Global Mission Unit’s “Focus on Islam” in 1988 to the Church’s Declaration of Inter-Religious Commitment in summer 2019; the story of developing Christian–Muslim relations in the city of Chicago, especially from the vantage point of the Lutheran Seminary of Theology at Chicago, and the story of Professor Swanson’s own scholarly work at a meeting point between academics and missiology.

This talk is part of CU Campus/Community Interfaith Exploration’s “Cultivating Hope in Anxious Times” series, scheduled from Nov. 7-10: https://calendars.illinois.edu/detail/319?eventId=33357488