This upcoming Saturday, April 20, Christ Chapel will host the 6th annual Gustavus Faith Conference.
Titled “Doubt and Difference: Finding Faith Through Authentic Engagement,” the conference will focus on the importance of authentic engagement with the world.
It will center around a cornerstone of a vibrant faith which serves to weather life’s trials and tribulations.
The conference grew out of the annual business meeting of the Gustavus Association of Congregations, which began some three decades ago and has grown to include more than 500 congregations – the largest such group within the ELCA.
Most of these congregations are located within the upper Midwest and are rooted in a Swedish Lutheran heritage.
Delegates to the annual business meeting elect members of the Gustavus Board of Trustees, ensuring that the Church and Gustavus retain close ties.
“There are a lot of ways in which (these congregations) support the college through their benevolence and through prayer,” Rev. Grady St. Dennis ‘92, who serves as Chaplain and Director of Church Relations, said.
Over time, it became a Gustavus tradition to welcome the delegates with a faith workshop in advance of the business meeting.
These workshops often vary dramatically in content from year to year.
For example, Chaplain Siri Erickson played a prominent role in last year’s workshop, discussing with Dr. Philip Clayton the interaction of faith and science.
Over time, the workshops gained a following.
“People were asking, ‘Can I come as a guest and just hear the presentation?’ and we started to realize there’s something unique there we should open up to a broader audience,” St. Dennis said.
At this year’s conference, doors will open at 9 a.m., and following a brief performance from the Gustavus Choir, conference attendees will hear from the two keynote speakers.
The first, Dr. Jacqueline Bussie, is a theologian and professor at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota where she serves as Director of the Forum on Faith and Life.
She has written two books, Outlaw Christian and The Laughter of the Oppressed, which respectively received the 2017 Gold Medal Illumination Award in Christian Living and the national Trinity Prize.
Bussie’s talk will be based on central themes of her books.
In Outlaw Christian, Bussie argues that a full, authentic Christian faith must be rooted in love and compassion, rather than what she describes as the “unwritten” and distorted rules of some forms of Modern Christianity: “#1: Never get angry at God; #2: Never doubt; #3: Never question; #4: Never tell your real story; #5: Always speak in clichés about evil and suffering; and #6: Always believe hope comes easy for those who truly love God.”
For Bussie, these rules have stifled the growth of authentic faith in many Christians and weakened the church.
The conference will also hear from Dr. Munib Younan, who served as Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land until his retirement in January of this year.
From 2004-2010, Bishop Emeritus Younan served as President of the Middle East Evangelical Council of Churches, an ecumenical organization of Protestant Churches in the Middle East.
He then served as President of the Lutheran World Federation from 2010-17, representing more than 70 million members of the Lutheran movement from 79 different countries.
During his tenure as President of the Federation, he co-authored a statement with Pope Francis on Reformation Day 2016, which celebrated the commonalities between the Lutheran and Catholic faith traditions and called for increased Christian unity.
He also authored the first translation of The Augsburg Confession into Arabic.
Younan will share hope and insights he has gained from a lifetime of service to the church and involvement with efforts to promote Christian unity.
Those unable to see Younan’s remarks at the Faith Conference will also have the opportunity to hear him speak at Daily Sabbath on Friday morning.
“In addition to being engaging speakers and well-known Lutheran theologians, Bussie and Younan are both highly respected interfaith leaders who have extensive experience working with people of various religious traditions for the common good,” Marcia J. Bunge, Professor of Religion and Bernhardson Distinguished Chair said.
“Their talks will prompt all participants, regardless of their beliefs or backgrounds, to reflect deeply on their own values, commitments, and ways to engage authentically and work together effectively with people from diverse worldviews.”
For Gustavus students, faculty and staff, tickets are free and can be ordered online or picked up in the campus center during tabling times, which will be held Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday before the conference.
For those not affiliated with Gustavus, tickets to the program are $10 per person, with a group discount of 5 tickets for $40 and 10 tickets for $60.
All proceeds from the ticket sales will benefit the John D. and Ruth Hogenson-Rutford Endowment for Church Relations at Gustavus.